June 19, 2011

TSA is out of control!

We just returned from our 2 week vacation to Maui. It was our anniversary present to each other that started out with a traumatizing experience in the airport. I have never had a problem traveling before but that has changed. I find myself having a full blown anxiety attack when I know I am about to go thru a TSA check point in an airport. Am I a criminal? No! Do they make you feel like one? ABSOLUTELY! Since when is it OK to feel up a 70 year old woman? I watched in shock as a female TSA employee searched a woman in the Maui airport. I think she was singled out because she was wearing a dress. Heaven forbid! She made that woman spread her legs and felt all the way up to her crotch, around her butt, and under her breasts. This woman wasnt a terrorist. She was a person that came to Maui for vacation. What gives these people the right to molest anyone? Did you see the video of that 5 year old child being searched? Seriously?

I can understand a search of someone that might spike your interest. For no reason at all is a crime in my eyes. I understand not every criminal looks like your average "Joe" but I can safely say children should be exempt. What message are we sending our kids if we allow a stranger to feel their private parts while we stand by and watch? What gives any of those people at TSA the right to take our rights away? I am appalled by the whole situation. Let's not forget the X-ray machines that allow a stranger to see you naked. We werent fortunate enough to experience that on our travels but I did witness it coming back.

We pay the airlines so that we can go on our dream vacations. However, we are invaded and made to feel like criminals before the fun even begins! Not to mention, United airlines wanted to charge us $100 dollars per suitcase because we were 5 pounds over the weight limit on each. We paid $25 per bag before our journey started. I think the prices we pay for airline travel should more than cover our ability to take clothes with us. And forget it if you have a question for anyone at one of the terminals in the airport. I watched a United airlines employee snap at a woman that had questions regarding her flight. Im sorry, if you cant handle the job find another place to work. These people are there to assist us with our travel needs. I have yet to find one friendly face when I walk up to any given terminal. I am disgusted by our whole travel experience. The vacation itself was amazing but the traveling I could have completely done without.

SHAME ON YOU TSA. May you experience in your life what you put each of us through. You are abusing your power and made me feel like the witness to a sick perverted fantasy. I didnt feel one bit safer on my trip, instead I felt like a victim to a system that is way out of control. There needs to be a better way. Innocent until proven guilty. That's the law and I dont remember giving away my rights. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote,"If you trade your freedom for security, you end up with neither."