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73 Comments
- Grova, on 01/12/2009, -5/+33I have to fly tomorrow so......I think TSA employees are the best!
- SherlockH, on 01/13/2009, -1/+20Last year horror story after horror story came out about the TSA that removed any doubt as to why they’ve sank below the IRS has the most hated government agency. But aside from some questionable policies, maybe a lot of their problems could have been solved by canning their worst employees. Here is a list of the WORST TSA employees of 2008.
10. The TSA Agent who screens laptops, but doesn’t know what they are
Back in March of last year a TSA agent who’s specially trained to categorize things as “laptop” or “not-a-laptop” had never heard of the Macbook Air. Usually the owner of the laptop beamed when someone noticed how thin it was and how it lacked ports on the back… but when a TSA agent notices anything you know it’s not going to end well for you. Luckily there were some more tech savvy agents to explain the scary new technology. Still, this is a pretty embarrassing moment for the TSA and it sounds like this guy should try to keep up with the times if he plans to ID electronics for a living.
9. The guy who stole a $50k camera and sold it on eBay
I’m not sure what you’re average TSA agent would use a $47,900 professional television camera for, but apparently neither did he and that’s why it ended up on eBay. Turns out this guy had been helping himself to the contents of everyone’s luggage. When he was arrested they found 66 cameras, 31 laptops, computers, jewelry, GPS devices and more, totaling over $200,000 worth of stolen goods. And you really have to wonder how this guy walked off with $47,900 camera without anyone noticing in the first place.
8. The woman who makes up her own rules about firearms
This instance probably most accurately describes the typical TSA attitude of “It’s my way or the highway.” But it seems like even when you study up on the correct policies of what’s permissible on a plane, there’s a TSO waiting at security to tell you that you’re wrong and you’re always going to be wrong because they say so. The woman of the hour claims that “TSA sometimes gives us different policies than they give you” and tries to deny a soldier the right to transport his firearm which is properly stored as per the rules on the TSA website. She even throws in the insulting “I am the supervisor” line when he asks for a second opinion.
7. The masochist who forced a woman to stand on a sprained ankle
The official policy according to the TSA website is that officers will not ask you to remove a prosthetic device, cast or brace. Yeah? Well tell that to the woman who had to remove her foot brace and stand on her sprained ankle and even lift each foot individually. If you’ve ever sprained your ankle you might have some idea how incredibly painful, not to mention difficult that is. Apparently after the incident the woman’s ankle had not one, but two fractures.
6. The agents who made a woman remove her nipple ring (and giggled about it)
Probably one of the most memorable horror stories of ‘08 was the TSA nipple ring fiasco. A woman was forced to remove her nipple ring with a pair of pliers, even though according to policy she should have been offered a private pat down by a female TSA officer. To add insult to injury, she could hear the male agents laughing from behind the curtain as she removed it.
5. Whoever was responsible for designing the new TSA uniforms
Remember the big fuss the TSA made about their new uniforms? You know, the ones that made them look like cops and added metal badges to insure they would never be forced through a checkpoint? They really talked them up all year—they even had a micro-site dedicated to them . Well it’s hard not to laugh at the fact that these uniforms contain formaldehyde which is causing TSA employees to break out with rashes.
4. Everyone involved in confiscating a homemade battery and then bragging about it
This was really a joint effort. A TSA officer confiscated a completely harmless home-brew battery because they thought it was an explosive. The bomb experts who examined it realized it wasn’t capable of exploding, but the TSA apparently wanted the souvenir. This kind of thing happens all the time, but the really weird thing about the story is that someone at the TSA website then went on to brag about their victory, you know, of confiscating a battery that they called “explosive-like” for no good reason.
3. The TSO who grounded 9 planes by climbing sensory equipment
We can’t help but feel like things in this story don’t add up. The TSO in question damaged an aircraft’s sensory equipment in order to conduct an overnight security check. Not only did they damage the plane, potentially risking the lives of future passengers when their sole purpose is to “maintain security” but they also clearly must not understand the planes that they are inspecting otherwise they probably wouldn’t have used the TAT probe as a ladder.
2. The team behind the “behavior detection” system that doesn’t work
It turns out that the “intense” training course that every member of the TSA was subject to is completely bunk. Apparently 99% of the IDs made using this system were false positives. Less than 1% led to arrests, and presumably even less lead to convictions. It’s hard to imagine why anyone would link criminal activity to signs of stress while travelling… because when is travelling NOT stressful?
1. The TSA screener who smuggled a gun (and still has a job)
Whoops, did I accidentally sneak a gun into security? My hand must have slipped as I passed it around the metal detector and put it back in my holster. Yeah, and I never got the handbook that said “no guns allowed” so it’s not really MY fault. *Sigh* And yep, last we’ve heard, this guy still has a job. Wow. - Akairenn, on 01/13/2009, -2/+18Last time I flew, all the TSA employees I met were both friendly and professional. Even after United decided to screw up and stick me in ORD for nine goddamned hours. A TSA employee actually tried to cheer me up, even.
Anyway, my point is, they could've taken me into a dark room and anally raped me, repeatedly, and I still wouldn't hate them as much as the IRS. :p - Maxjan, on 01/13/2009, -0/+14down already? Apparently the TSA is faster than us.
- fenixconnektion, on 01/13/2009, -3/+17***** the TSA. My luggage had an approved TSA lock on it, but apparently they couldn't get my luggage open...so they cut off the zippers. It's the employees that you don't see who are sometimes the worst.
- theirongiant, on 01/13/2009, -0/+14Site has already died. Mirror anyone?
- oboshoe, on 01/13/2009, -2/+15This will be one of Bush's worst and most enduring legacy's.
The idiots of TSA will be terrorizing travelers for many many years, long after - watcht, on 01/13/2009, -0/+11This ***** belongs in the 10 Worst Server Deaths of 2009.
- jcsoc, on 01/13/2009, -0/+9because everyone hates the TSA
- nomonkey, on 01/13/2009, -0/+9Why?
- PopcornDave, on 01/13/2009, -3/+11Trying to find the 10 worst TSA employees is akin to bailing out the ocean with a teaspoon. I'd really rather see an article about the 10 best TSA employees - if they existed.
- wassamatta, on 01/13/2009, -1/+7http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7AWw7t5zj0
'nuff said - replaysMike, on 01/13/2009, -1/+7Your server is terrible.
- Fruzion, on 01/13/2009, -1/+7http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:n_d-eoGQ5B8J:t ...
Yay for google cache! - DivisibleByZero, on 01/13/2009, -1/+7I've gotten caught accidentally leaving a knife in my bag too many times to count. The TSA isn't perfect, but it's not really like I could do anything with a swiss army knife.
- elliotys, on 01/13/2009, -1/+7The thing that pisses me off the most is how dumb-***** retarded they are, and yet they have the power over us.
- Altotus, on 01/13/2009, -0/+6TSA workers are people. As such, some are bright, some aren't. Some are mean, some are nice. Some are criminals, some are angels. On average, they are average.
The problem with the TSA as an agency is that they emphasize being / looking tough, so there's more leeway around being an ass than being nice.
The biggest problem, however, is that their methods aren't particular effective, so the annoyance and cost comes at marginal, if any, benefit to the traveler. - jason221, on 01/13/2009, -5/+10Screw TSA
- thefoxbox, on 01/13/2009, -1/+6That's because it's not completely down. It is still intermittently accessible.
- pr0carbine, on 01/13/2009, -1/+6If they would just require higher education and fitness requirements, a lot of the problems would be solved.
- disgruntledgoat, on 01/13/2009, -0/+5Don't need names by the sounds of it, all TSA employees are a bunch of bastards, even if they're not engaging in bullying behaviour they actively condone and encourage it.
These guys are obviously the wanna be cops breed and they don't come much worse when it comes to total delusional thinking about their superiority.
And sad to say it's not just you USA this is spreading through out western airports, here in Aus my brother with Down's syndrome was hassled and made to take off his belt, metal objects etc, whilst travelling with my Mother who had just produced a doctor's certificate certifying he had a replacement knee joint that would set of metal detectors.
The only justification these bastards could possibly use is that terrorists use disabled people as suicide bombers, they didn't say this overtly but the message was clear as to why they singled my brother out and it sickened me to the core to hear this.
My brother was at the point of having a seizure by the time they laid of, because my Mother pointed out as much.. wasn't a male officer calling the shots either just some mean old bitch, with half a brain.
Seems like there's a lot of jobs going these days for mean ***** up people.
- djvchris, on 01/13/2009, -0/+4Good luck hijacking a plane with box-cutters these days. You're lucky if you hit the second syllable of terrorist before you have either an air marshal or a bunch of panicked passengers tackling you to the ground.
- presidentraygun, on 01/13/2009, -1/+5Isn't this like picking the ten stinkiest turds?
- wissler, on 01/13/2009, -0/+4No, "Homeland" Security is worse.
- SgtAl, on 01/13/2009, -2/+6I make it point to hate any government agency that has 3 letters for a name.
- Skooma714, on 01/13/2009, -1/+5Kid, you're hired.
Also, you're a sociopath... you get tenure automatically. - oboshoe, on 01/13/2009, -2/+6Think about that. Everyday 5 guns are stopped.
This means that prior to TSA at least 5 guns flew and yet the incident of guns being used in aircraft was still far lower than that of your average city.
Thank your TSA buddys for making your feel good. Because thats all they really do. - servant2thekng, on 01/13/2009, -4/+8I don't think they accomplish much, just make traveling less desirable. I "know a guy who" accidentally left a knife in his carry-on and it wasn't detected by TSA.
- DiggsareDugg, on 01/13/2009, -6/+9I'm not sure if the TSA is making it safer or more dangerous to fly..
- thefoxbox, on 01/13/2009, -1/+4That's the TSA's key value!
- inactive, on 01/13/2009, -1/+4Yes, they can.
- Akairenn, on 01/13/2009, -2/+5The idea that government is out to screw us is hardly revolutionary; this is something that has been obvious and well known since man first hunted and gathered across the Earth. :p
- jason221, on 01/13/2009, -0/+3They can't all be bad... can they?
- Altotus, on 01/13/2009, -0/+3TSA mainly looks for metallic weapons and unstable chemicals. If you've got a old fashioned "cia letter opener" or more modern polyphthalamide or some of the more esoteric x-ray transparent ceramics you'd probably go largely undetected. You could always bring a piece of glass fashionable into a blade too.
Presumably a "terrorist" could use these things too, but probably not effectively now that people are likely to catch on once you whip it out. Nah, there's hundreds of deadly things TSA doesn't screen for that could pass right through airport security if one presumes that objective is harming the airport personnel or passengers (instead of assuming control of the aircraft). The assuming control of the aircraft problem was solved with reinforced cockpit doors. Everything else is for show. - cfuse, on 01/13/2009, -0/+3Let me guess - you're a caucasian male, aren't you?
- Akairenn, on 01/13/2009, -0/+3What gave it away? Security personnel not hassling me, or my hatred of the IRS? :D
- oboshoe, on 01/13/2009, -0/+3To get promoted of course.
- pr0carbine, on 01/13/2009, -0/+2wow, the first nice things I've heard <-with positive diggs-> about my job. its not such a bad gig to work part time as a college student...sorry for the ***** that make traveling suck.
- parestrep, on 01/13/2009, -1/+3http://tinyurl.com/7rproq
- secrity, on 01/13/2009, -0/+1The FAA had been talking about reinforcing aircraft cockpit doors ever since the hijackings started in the 1970's -- the airlines always bitched about the cost and it didn't get done until 30 years later.
- Campog, on 01/13/2009, -0/+1Apparently the TSA has even got to the cached version.
- MahirH, on 01/13/2009, -0/+1^ Spot on. It's there to give the illusion of security.
- eShinn, on 01/13/2009, -0/+1I fell asleep to it.
- secrity, on 01/13/2009, -0/+1I have seen a few that seemed to be pretty good. One guy who was checking boarding passes and IDs was actually pleasant and seemed to be competent. I have met people who handled checked luggage who were also friendly.
I have met several baggage screeners who had a good sense of humor when they had to swab my CPAP machine. I wonder if the people who swab my CPAP are senior to the ones who run the x-ray machines. - EmperorAnton, on 01/13/2009, -1/+2Of all the stories, I can really relate to number 8...it does seem that these employees are given so much control over peoples lives..customer support should be of the utmost importance, not ego...I certainly hope the soldier got his voucher and then some.
- pr0carbine, on 01/13/2009, -2/+3I'm a TSO, and I'm on Digg, therefore I'm obviously good..
- tomato1324, on 01/13/2009, -1/+2i was going through security in NY (i forget which airport) wearing a pewter piece of jewery around my neck with 2 relatively sharp (but pretty small) points, and a TSA agent told me that i should hide it in my shirt before one of her less sensible coworkers thought it was a weapon. at least some of them realize that they suck at their jobs.
- darthom, on 01/15/2009, -0/+1Pop quiz. How many stupid people can you hire in a single government agency? Answer. The current staffing of the TSA. Of course, the same applies to all government agencies. If you are in government, you are mentally deficient. Unfortunately you are also morally corrupt, socially bankrupt, physically repugnant and you smell bad.
- Remelox, on 01/15/2009, -0/+1My wife has been stopped because explosive residue was detected on her baggage. After a quick search and her confusion, she and the TSA agent realized that some of the dust residue from my rocketry was responsible and she was let go. She was not happy with me but it could have been much worse.
- wissler, on 01/13/2009, -1/+2From time immemorial.
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