my homework

mother since 1995

air force veteran since 1996

national PTA member since 2001

girl scout leader, registered first aider since 2003

election judge since 2004

elementary school parent volunteer since 2004

cub scout committee member since 2007

transportation security officer since 2007

 

i have strived to maintain strong ties to the families and the community in which i live and serve.  i have integrity and i instill that in the lives of my own children and those children with whom in interact through scouting and school.  i am proud of my job, proud that i stood and took the oath to defend my country as a civil servant, proud of my co-workers when they catch the smallest of things and cannot broadcast to the world why we are here and necessary.  everyone gets the negative reports about TSA, yet our daily accomplishments go unnoticed and unrecognized by a public who needs concrete and tactile evidence that we are actually doing something important.  the stories i wish i could tell...

 so, yesterday i was called a child molester and sexual predator.  by someone who knows me well enough to know that is a false statement.  all because of my job. 

 being associated with that filth, that breed of foulness has absolutely shattered me.  it stung me, burning in my head all afternoon.  for someone to think that i could be capable of such monstrosity.... they did not specifically call me out by name, however, the blanket statement made was quite clear.  it is one thing for a faceless public to cry out that "all TSAs are getting their jollies groping the public and looking at nudie pictures."  it is quite something else for someone in my circle of friends to state that everyone in my workforce, which incidentally includes me, is guilty of these crimes and should be punished individually to the full extent of the law.

 the radical mouth-foaming media continues to incite anger and fear in the american public in several ways.  first and loudest is conjecture.  someone famous  decided that they are better than the public and does not want to have their 'rights' trampled upon.  last time i checked, air travel was not listed anywhere in the bill of rights.  they heard about new travel procedures and decided they didn't like them.  so they talked loudly about how bad the procedures are, using phrases that bring dark images to mind, preying on the fear of molestation and the perverse.  in fact, the new patdown is very similar to the ONLY patdown used straight after the terrorist attacks on our soil.  that information comes straight from officers who have been with TSA since its infancy.  has the media announced that? 

 the second way is distortion.  anything not fully understood is subject to the interpretation of the individual on the receiving end.  information about the new scanning technology is readily available.  however, the media chooses to use phrases such as 'naked scanners' and 'nudie photo booths,' instead of the actual machinery titles.  the media chooses to tout their opinions and conjectures before or instead of hard research. 

 recall, if  you will, the american public stating that they were not impressed with the amount of effort that the president has made in keeping americans safe.  his reaction, in conjunction with the department of homeland security, was to improve safety and security.  and now everybody hates that too.  i am not a popular or important person.  i do not have a radio or tv show.  but i can research and i can explain procedures that i work with every day, which is a measure of experience that the media does not have.

 the full body scanner is like an xray machine, in that it can see through layers.  it is different than an xray machine in many ways.  the images officers view are like shadows, with different shades representing different mass densities.  faces are deliberately digitized.  foreign objects are clearly shown, and anomalies in body contours need to be checked.  that is why passengers are asked to completely divest everything in their pockets.  officers viewing the images are in a closed room, offsite in order to maintain a higher level of privacy.  i do not have hands-on knowledge of the screening room itself, and i would like to thank that particular courthouse in florida for completely discrediting a fantastic system and causing a whole lot of difficulty for thousands of people on both sides of the body scanners every day.

 ionizing radiation from this machine is less than 10 microrem - which is less than half of the government safety limit for scanning equipment, and the same amount you would get from two minutes in an aircraft at cruising altitude.  the full body scanners have been safety tested thoroughly by the FDA, and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, most recently in august 2010.  so, according to the hype, TSA, the FDA and johns hopkins physicists are all liars?  if you say so, and you're in the media.... then you must be correct.

 the patdowns are invasive.  i don't like doing them.  i have not met an officer who says, "man, i can't wait to pat someone down!!"  none of us want to put our hands in your sweaty crotch.  it is tiring work, yet i could fill a bin with the things women stuff into their bras and think they can get away with it.  none of us want to see you naked, either.  heap upon that the stress of travelers who are scared of being 'violated,' officers who are scared of being punched (as many bloggers have stated they will do if patted down), the time crunch of people who refuse to allow enough time for screening procedures, and crew members who insist upon a separate set of rules.... this is a high stress environment for everyone involved.  i notice that the media is all about heaping ugly words like 'child molester' on my head, but have not mentioned that the patdowns for minors (under 13) are not the same as patdowns for adults.  again, their journalistic research abilities fail to impress me.

 as for national opt-out day, next wednesday, the busiest fly-day of the year:  i screen one passenger at a time.  the line-length does not make me move faster or exempt anyone from screening.  i get paid if you go through the machine or get patted down, whether you make the choice to protest and possibly miss your flight or not.  i go home at the end of my work day even if your flight crew is standing in the protest line while your flight is supposed to be pushing back from the gate.  and from what i hear, the FAA fines for delays are pretty stiff.  the opt-out day does not overly concern me.  i just hope we don't run out of gloves.  because i'm not touching anyone without my gloves.

 a note for everyone calling me, and my fellow officers, sexual predators: next time you go in for your annual medical exam, try calling your doctor that foul name and threatening to sue if you are touched and note their reaction.  after all, your doctor is just doing their job - kind of like me.