How much airport security is too much?

December 26, 2001 2:29 AM

I'm really sorry to bring this up, i discovered this site while actually looking for a old court case. But i saw the comments that had been put up about the man with the bombs in his shoes. On sunday i arrived at the Reno/Tahoe int. airport 3 hours early , so that i would make sure i had plenty of time to reach the flight. My husband had been radnomly picked for the bags checks. Not only did they search our bags while checking in, and i mean taking everything out. My nair clippers, tweezers, and razors which were in my checked baggage removed from my travel bag. At the check point my husband had to remove his shoes so they good inspect them he basically was strip searched. Okay so after all of that we reach our gate. Getting ready to board the plane we were again taken out of line to have our carry on bags searched. In the middle of a busy airport boarding a plane to Houston, they removed very personel female items from my back pack opening the box to where every person in that area would see them. Every item pulled out and gone through. not only was it bad enough with how overboard they have taken these measures to, But to publicly humilate the person;some computer picked is closely on the board of haressment. This also happen once we landed in Houston and were begining to board the same airline to finish travelling to Jacksonville,Fl. I know that i will not ever fly that airline again. But the reason i wrote was to ask how far is too far for the airlines to go? I realize i'm no where near as smart as lot of the members of this website are. And i'm sorry if i bored you.
posted by mel_slud to etiquette/policy at 2:29 AM (22 comments total)

No comment. Merry Christmas, Mel Slud!
posted by luser at 5:00 AM on December 26, 2001

I'm not sure which post you're talking about (since the cockpit tape thread with case cite links doesn't have your name). In any case, I think citing cases via link is fine. What's not fine is that my snarky non-serious comment about it was removed (or did it ever post?).
posted by ParisParamus at 5:04 AM on December 26, 2001

Big deal, a bunch of people discovered that you, a woman, use tampons. Who'da thunk it?

That's the price for flying, lady. Either get over your insecurities about privacy, stop carrying so much crap and buy what you need at your destination, or take a bus.
posted by mischief at 6:00 AM on December 26, 2001

mel_slud: You joined MetaFilter today, presumably so you could complain about airport security. Neither MeTa nor MeFi are the place for that. Write the president and your representatives in Congress with your complaint.
posted by Carol Anne at 6:16 AM on December 26, 2001

...It's a dildo. It's company policy not to imply ownership in the event of a dildo. We use the indefinite article: "A dildo". Never "Your dildo".
posted by adampsyche at 6:55 AM on December 26, 2001

Worst.
Thread.
Ever.
posted by dogmatic at 7:14 AM on December 26, 2001

No offense, but use a little bit of netiquette and know what your posting to. At the top of MetaTalk it says:

"MetaTalk is a discussion area for topics specific to MetaFilter itself, or weblogs in general."

I am new here too and I didn't know membership was open again until I read your thread.

posted by mkelley at 7:37 AM on December 26, 2001

With all of these security checks now, I don't know why anyone would want to bring any carry-on items with them. I now pack as much as I can in all of my checked baggage. The only thing I bring now for my carry-on is a backpack with my CD Player and some magazines. People need to realize that they may be searched, and perhaps searched again.
posted by LinemanBear at 8:24 AM on December 26, 2001

So.... What you're saying is that you don't like flying anymore now that those darn terrorist have made it inconvenient?

You are so right! Why should we let a few bad apples ruin things for everyone? If we increase security and make people accountable for what they carry on board, then the terrorists win right? What we really need is less security! That will show those poopy terrorists that they can't make us scared!

I mean what's really more important? Making it harder for nutjobs to fly planes into office buildings, or making sure people don't know you carry a butt plug and nipple clamps in your purse?

And besides that, if flying becomes very dangerous, that will make the lines even shorter which will make everyone's life easier. This tightened security just plain sucks huh? Did you ask for it? No way!

"i'm no where near as smart as lot of the members of this website"

Oh, you don't worry about that little camper. You're full of good ideas and I'm sure we all look forward to your next story about how this silly terrorist thing is inconveniencing you. You might want to try and make your next entry a little less pouty, selfish and naive, but that's just a suggestion.
posted by y6y6y6 at 11:04 AM on December 26, 2001

Wow, y6y6y6, you really caught that Christmas spirit, didn't you?

mel_slud: It might be helpful to read the guidelines before posting again. Most importantly the recommendation that you read for a while before posting. This is the sort of situation the one-week lag is supposed to prevent. Metafilter is more about linking to and discussing interesting things on the web. I would like to encourage you to stick around for the thoughtful discussion and civilised atmosphere, but this thread has me wondering.

Shame on you, both mischief and y6y6y6 for not being able to act like grownups here. Reading the guidelines wouldn't hurt in your case either.
posted by Catch at 11:25 AM on December 26, 2001

mel_slud, it's an interesting story. But it seems you posted to MetaTalk to circumvent the new user posting restrictions. I know they may seem a little draconian, but there is a good reason for them.

I realize i'm no where near as smart as lot of the members of this website are.

Where on earth did you get the idea we were smart? You'll soon learn..... :)
posted by dlewis at 11:26 AM on December 26, 2001

With all of these security checks now, I don't know why anyone would want to bring any carry-on items with them. I now pack as much as I can in all of my checked baggage.

Actually, I was so proud of myself for not checking in any baggage when I flew from Atlanta to Baltimore this morning.

I got to the airport at 7am (my flight left at 9:30) and proceeded directly to my gate to check-in. An hour later, I had my boarding pass in hand, and a half hour later, boarding began. I probably would have missed my flight if I had checked in any luggage. I just made sure that my carry-on had no sharp objects and that my underwear was clean and neatly packed, in case I got chosen for a random search.
posted by jennak at 1:56 PM on December 26, 2001

Whoops. I meant that boarding began at 8:30. Mangled that sentence up a bit.
posted by jennak at 1:57 PM on December 26, 2001

December 26, 2001: A day which will live in infamy for at least 15 seconds.
posted by Mack Twain at 4:59 PM on December 26, 2001

Infamy then ended 7 minutes ago.
posted by y2karl at 5:07 PM on December 26, 2001

And furthermore, for the record, I don't think American architecture sucks.
posted by crunchland at 9:45 PM on December 26, 2001

I must say I enjoyed having my shoes caressed with a near-loving care by an elderly security lady on Christmas Eve. I swear she gave the heel an extra rub and flicked me a sly wink as I strode to my gate, cleared for take-off and feeling just a little dirty.
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:58 PM on December 26, 2001

Juat a little dirty? Only near-loving? Kafkaesque, you really must solicit the services of more generous security personnel!
posted by adampsyche at 7:37 AM on December 27, 2001

Airport security is a joke. It should return to pre s-11 levels or lower. No passenger flight will ever be hijacked again, passengers will not allow it.
posted by Mick at 9:32 AM on December 27, 2001

With all of these security checks now, I don't know why anyone would want to bring any carry-on items with them. I now pack as much as I can in all of my checked baggage.

With all these security checks now I don't know why anyone would want to add to the delay by dealing with checked baggage. Air travel is a frustrating, time-consuming experience already, so I do everything I can to simplify the process. That means I don't take anything I can't fit into a single carry-on.

My bag was searched twice before the last flight I took, and it still took less than half as much time as it would have taken to wait at the baggage carousel for a checked bag to spill out of the plane's cargo hold.

Airport security is a joke. It should return to pre s-11 levels or lower.

No kidding. These new security measures cause a lot of people a lot of nuisance and do little or nothing to actually prevent hijacking.

-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 1:21 PM on December 27, 2001

Actually, I don't agree, Mars. I've found the last few flights I've taken that the baggage practically leapt into my arms with touching alacrity. Seriously, I have checked bags the last four flights or so and have had no problems. I actually prefer it to taking a big heavy carry-on. I also gripe incessantly about people whose carry-ons are too big, so this is my time to practice at least a marginal bit of what I preach.

And anyway, I had to check a bag to tote that damn Lean Mean Grilling Machine that I had avoided receiving for so many years. Curse you Foreman!
posted by Kafkaesque at 7:22 PM on December 27, 2001

I've had zero problems on my plane flights at three airports. I arrived two hours early after needlessly heeding the warnings and ended up bored after check-in and bag-check took about 10 minutes.
posted by Mo Nickels at 5:09 AM on December 28, 2001