Anonymous TSA "insider" blog

Taking Sense Away is the aptly named blog allegedly maintained by an anonymous former TSA screener. It delves into the kinds of shenanigans that go on in the image operator room where they get to see what you look like naked in the pornoscanner ("a whole lot of officers laughing and clowning in regard to some of your nude images, dear passengers"); a glossary of TSA insider jargon ("BBC: Bogus Bag Check, or Bullshit Bag Check. What happens when a not-too-bright x-ray operator decides to call a bag search."), and many other useful and enlightening posts.

Taking Sense Away (via /.)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: aviation • security • tsa

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Mitch_M

A very nice lady I was taking to the mall mentioned that she was just hired by the TSA. I said “Are you sure you want to deal with people being mean to you?” She said she could handle it.
- Florian Bösch
  
  A very nice lady… TSA… I give that employment a half-life of 3 months tops.
  - LinkMan
    
    The proper response isn’t “I can handle it.”
    
    It’s “DO YOU WANT TO FLY TODAY?!”
novium

Confession #1 (I think that was it) had me laughing so hard I was nearly sobbing.
- Cowicide
  
  Ah, found that here:
  https://takingsenseaway.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/all-the-airports-a-security-stage/
  
  That was great.
  - novium
    
    It turns out I was actually thinking of this one: https://takingsenseaway.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/confession-x-the-things-they-ran-through-the-xray/
    - Cowicide
      
      That was greater. ^-^
rattypilgrim

I was going to comment but frankly, it’s just getting too depressing. I’m speechless.
oasisob1

TSA insider jargon (“BBC: Bogus Bag Check”)

I think the term you’re looking for is just “Bag Check”. They’re all bogus.
LogrusZed

Education levels have very little to do with how assholish someone is going to be when put into a position of, essentially, unchecked authority.

The only thing a good education might enable in such a circumstance is how good someone is at hiding their assholish-ness. Which is possibly an improvement since I couldn’t possibly care less about what people have to say about my cottage-cheese ass if I don’t notice them saying it.
bolamig

“Run the Cat Through the X-Ray” is a good metaphor for what the TSA is doing.
salsaman

Great blog! Hilarious and insightful, fascinating…

I don’t like the TSA show but if I’m not hopelessly late, I will politely ask not to be scanned and BOOM: FREE MASSAGE!! People you are NOT getting your money’s worth if you’re not getting the blue glove butt rubbing. Instead of them giggling at your nakedness in the control room, you get a nice moment aside– so spa like, shoes off and everything. Head massage too, arms and legs… relax, it’s quite nice!

I’ve been polite to them every time, and they’ve been polite to me every time. Only once did an agent asked me why I didn’t like the scanner, telling me it was safe (while doing the pat down). I said, “if it’s NOT like a naked picture of me, why can’t you show me what it is?” And he said “Well… I see your point.”

Show people some respect, and save the outrage for the occasional actual TSA super fuckup. Oh– and write your representatives.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GS5IQMQ33JYOHE4XK65WDOTINI Jimichan

Almost laughed out loud when I discovered that the author must be a Frank Zappa fan!
Check out the “Great googly moogly!” in the reponse to “What really happens in the TSA private room?”