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You Have Been 'Randomly' Selected?
dpbsmith asks: "One thing I've noticed is that the people who are told by the TSA that they have been 'randomly' selected for baggage inspection have a tendency not to believe it. I know one couple whose wife has been 'randomly' selected four times, while the husband never has been. The wife believes that it is because each of those times, she was traveling by herself, without checked baggage, (whereas she has never been inspected when traveling with her husband with checked baggage). In 'Uncommon Carriers', John McPhee accompanied a truck driver to write about the experience, and bought a trucker's cap to blend in. He says 'I would pay for my freedom at the Seattle-Tacoma airport when, with a one-way ticket bought the previous day, I would arrive to check in my baggage.' His baggage was 'randomly' selected for inspection, and later he was 'once again "randomly selected" for a shoes-off, belt-rolled, head-to-toe frisk.' So, what about it? Is the TSA simply flat-out lying when they tell you that you have been 'randomly selected?'" The better question to ask is: "Are random searches effective in keeping everyone safe?"
An even better question to ask is why you bother asking. Everybody already knows that the TSA's purpose is not to keep you safe, but to intimidate and harrass you. Whatcha gonna do about it, freedom boy? Sue the government? Ha ha ha. Like that's ever going to happen. Like you have a snowball's chance in hell of winning.
Sometimes people get picked multiple times -- that's how random distribution works.
For example, I've been randomly selected as a finalist in the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes almost every year. What are the odds?!?!
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
I've only ever been randomly selected when travelling by myself.
I have never been randomly selected when I was travelling with my wife and two screaming children.
Perhaps they don't want to deal with my wife's reaction. This would be wise.
Perhaps they believe that I wouldn't want to blow up a plane with my own children on it. This would be foolhardy.
The grandparent is right though. Muslims that wear turbans are pretty suspicious. :)
You know, next time I fly, I'm going to make sure to pack items I know would embarass the hell out of the inspector should I be "randomly" inspected. Then I'd really look forward to them opening my bags up, and would be disappointed to not be selected. I'd just sweetly smile with a barely contained smirk and confidentally make some sort of smart-ass remark about joining the one-person mile-high club in the bathroom. ;-)
Oh, I look forward to embarassing any airline dummy who wants ot inspect my stuff!
It's a girl!
That's odd. Where's a naked guy going to hide explosives?
Last time I flew, I got 4 S's on my ticket, as did the rest of my family.
I asked the TSA employee if the SSSS was why we were getting the special treatment and he said "the airline determines who gets marked for extra treatment"
I just didn't realize that each extra "S" meant "+ 1 we think you're a terrorist"
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
That's odd. Where's a naked guy going to hide explosives?
Do you really want to know that?
'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
Now THAT would be an awesome addition to the Slashdot moderation system!
I'm proud of my Northern Tibetian Heritage
>You think the TSA guys would have remembered me by now.
Oh come now. It's their first job. Possibly on the short list of jobs that were available after their rehab program.
You don't really expect them to be competent do you?
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
Religion is politics for the weak minded.
Then what's that make politics?
That's only because all our sheep are Muslim.
On a side note, my wife is in the military and we have to go through "random" security screenings for our cars. Somehow my Saturn gets nailed 10 to 1 over my wife's car every month. There are times when I just want to run the damn guards over.
:)
Based on that last comment, it would seem like they're searching the right person then. no?
Next time, why not change the S's to "8888". It will confuse the hell out of them.
"You have liberated me from thought."