Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Disabled Me and the TSA

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Disabled Me and the TSA

    A little background info before I get into the heart of the story. I was born with a rare spinal cord disorder that effects the muscle strength in my legs. At 36, I can still walk, but at some point I will be wheelchair bound. In 2005, I severely broke my ankle two days before Christmas, and since then have worn an ankle brace off and on and walk with the assistance of a cane. I also now have an ankle full of titanium (which at airports can sometimes cause problems).

    A few years ago, my husband and I won a trip (airfare and hotel) to Laughlin, Nevada through our favorite NHL team. Some of our friends also won the same trip. We flew out of Minneapolis. Normally, when I fly out of there, I fly out of the larger Lindbergh and have never had a problem. This flight, since we were taking essentially a chartered, casino hopper flight, we had to fly out of the smaller Humphrey terminal. Got our bags checked, no problem. Got in line for security, and here's where things go downhill.

    Because of my disability, the cane, and the ankle braces (and we're not talking about an ace bandage here....it's plastic, metal and Velcro with an attached foot orthotic), I always quietly approach the security agents and tell them that I need to walk through the x-ray machine with my shoes and a cane, and will gladly sit down and remove my shoes so they can test them. Unfortunately on this day, I got the total b!+ch hag from hell. She said "well you only have one brace, so you HAVE to take the other shoe off. Remember that spinal cord disorder I mentioned? Well it also effects my balance....I couldn't pass the "walk a straight line, stand on one leg" part of a roadside sobriety test stone cold sober. So now, I'm having to try and take a shoe off with no where to sit, a line of cranky people behind me, and since my husband already went through (thinking there would be no problems) wasn't allowed to come back through to help me. Now, I'm having to go through the metal detector uneven with only one shoe on, putting stress on the ankle that is full of metal, and I have flat feet, so having no shoe on the one foot wasn't that comfortable.

    Of course, I set the detector off. So I get shuffled over to the further inspection areas and told to sit. I offered to give the b!+ch hag from hell my other shoe so she could run it through the metal detector, and was given total attitude "you said you couldn't remove your shoe." I responded with "I said I can't WALK without my shoe."

    Now here's where the humiliation kicks in. I'm sitting down, and I'm told to lift my leg up so she can use the metal detector wand. Well with the aforementioned disability, my leg muscles are weak, and I can lift my legs 2-3 inches off the ground at most. Cue more attitude. "LIFT YOUR LEG HIGHER." And of course, because I'm under inspection my husband is not allowed to come help. I have to work really hand and lift my leg with my arms, which is embarrassing because everyone can see what is going on. You would think the humiliation would be over, but oh no. Now I get a full body frisk in front of everyone. As if to remind me that she's in charge of my flying future, she's pressing hard on the underwire of my bra into my chest and ribs.

    I felt like crying. If ever there was a time I wish I could have asked for a supervisor, it was then. However, I didn't want to risk missing my flight or get blacklisted by the TSA for future flights. I know this was not standard practice, as I've flown since this incident, including international flights. In fact, on our return flight, the TSA agents were fantastic. I told them they could teach their fellow agents in Minneapolis a thing or two on how to work with those of us with disabilities. We're not trying to cause grief, but we also deserve to be treated with dignity.

    I wonder to this day if b!+ch hag from hell still has her job....

  • #2
    Don't you just love it when people go on a power trip? And it would have been both faster and easier for everyone for her to just accomodate you.
    It's not the years in you life that count, it's the life in your years! - Quote from the office coffee cup.

    Comment


    • #3
      Quoth Cecily View Post
      Don't you just love it when people go on a power trip? And it would have been both faster and easier for everyone for her to just accomodate you.
      yeah but that requires common sense

      and it sounds like that woman only had ego

      Comment


      • #4
        Wow, what a horrible experience at Humphrey. I've never flown out of that Terminal, but damn, that "agent" needs a lesson in compassion. At least the return flight was great.

        BTW, what did you think of Laughlin?
        "Life is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid" Redd Foxx as Al Royal - The Royal Family - Pilot Episode - 1991.

        Comment


        • #5
          Laughlin is nothing to write home about. Very geriatric.

          Comment


          • #6
            Bloody jobsworth!

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth WIphone_lady View Post
              I wonder to this day if b!+ch hag from hell still has her job....
              Very likely. It's scary to think these assholes are in charge of airline security.
              They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

              Comment


              • #8
                ....and people like that are *exactly* why I hate flying. I'll drive or take the train
                Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines. --Enzo Ferrari

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth protege View Post
                  ....and people like that are *exactly* why I hate flying. I'll drive or take the train
                  Yeah but TSA is involved there too, under the name VIPR

                  although from the wiki it looks like they concentrate on specific 'missions' rather than how it's done at the airlines.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I travel in my wheelchair. I wear clogs. They rarely make me attempt to stand and frequently I don't have to remove clothing.

                    Well, and I also tend to travel in clothing that has no metal [I haven't had a bra with underwire in 20 years, and as a fat broad, I can state that as an apple body type with huge tracts of land, they don't make any difference.]
                    EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I'm sorry you had such an awful experience.

                      I once flew with my arm in a sling. It was a round trip and I had to change planes, so I had to go through security four times. Every single person was kind and polite and accomodating. At one gate I kept beeping so they wanded me, and when I continued to beep (I have no idea why unless it was the rivets in my jeans) they finally patted me down, but the lady was still very polite, kept telling me where she was going to touch me, and when she was near a ... ahem ... personal area she stressed that she was using the back of her hand. I was almost ready to volunteer for a strip search just to get out of there.

                      Unlike you, taking my shoes off was not difficult for me so I had little trouble. But
                      I found it amusing was that they wiped down my sling to test for explosives, and if I remember correctly, they did that each time. Now, if I were going to transport explosives in cloth, couldn't I put it in my underwear or in my shirt just as easily as in my sling? But they didn't seem to care about anything else. The sling was out of the ordinary and it drew attention.
                      Women can do anything men can.
                      But we don't because lots of it's disgusting.
                      Maxine

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth AccountingDrone View Post
                        I travel in my wheelchair. I wear clogs. They rarely make me attempt to stand and frequently I don't have to remove clothing.

                        Well, and I also tend to travel in clothing that has no metal [I haven't had a bra with underwire in 20 years, and as a fat broad, I can state that as an apple body type with huge tracts of land, they don't make any difference.]
                        To add to this, I think there's some age discrimination at work as well. In some people's minds, being disabled means elderly. I was probably 30-31 at the time (I'm 36 now), and the b!+ch hag from hell most likely thought I was some young thing trying to get around the rules. Same thing happens when I pull into a handicapped parking place. I can't tell you the number of evil death stares I get from people....well until I get out of the car. When I get out of the car, they can't make eye contact with me.

                        And I understand the feeling as a "fat broad." I could be a charter member of that club.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Quoth Sparky View Post
                          It was a round trip and I had to change planes, so I had to go through security four times.
                          Why did you have to go through security four times? Unless you were changing airports? I've never been to an airport that makes you go outside the security cordon in order to change planes.
                          The High Priest is an Illusion!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Man I would not have been able to keep my mouth shut if I saw that happening. Which probably would've gotten me in trouble, and I more than likely wouldn't have cared.

                            I'm the person who sees someone with crutches or a cane and ask if they need help with the door or something they may be carrying (I don't assume they do, as some people like to do it themselves.) I'm also the person that will gladly hip-check a jackass out of the way when I see him/her diving to cut off the disabled person (I have done this, and received a bloody lip in return for the hip check but BAH! Their knuckles were worse than my lip. I also got a cookie from the barista who saw me do this, but the look on the jerk's face was payment enough for that.)

                            I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. It's not right, and you shouldn't have been put in such a position.

                            Now excuse me while I go slaughter things to vent my rage at this injustice.
                            My Writing Blog -Updated 05/06/2013
                            It's so I can get ideas out of my head, I decided to put it in a blog in case people are bored or are curious as to the (many) things in progress.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Quoth ArcticChicken View Post
                              Why did you have to go through security four times? Unless you were changing airports? I've never been to an airport that makes you go outside the security cordon in order to change planes.
                              Sometimes the terminals are in different wings or even different buildings.

                              When I went through Iceland the Frankfurt plane arrived in a different terminal area than the Boston one departed from. I was also the designated extra random searchee on the way home [US TSA requirement is for some poor random schlub to get extra attention, in this case a rummage hands on in my carry on luggage and a swipe for explosives. I got a spiffy Iceland tourist DVD for the whole deal ] The poor Iceland security people doing it seemed pretty apologetic about having to do an extra screening on me. I was seriously glad to both be in a wheelchair and being escorted [pushed] by an employee who could take me on a couple shortcuts otherwise the hour between planes would not have been enough to get from one side of the airport to the other.

                              I can't wait to travel again, I now have a spiffy tablet for entertainment, a small solar charger in case my phones get tanked out of juice while in transit [I have a US phone and a euro phone so I don't have roaming charges] so I no longer have to schlep a 17 inch screen laptop to do email
                              EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

                              Comment

                              Working...