Airport Security
 

Having been on quite a few flights in the past six months, I've noticed something that I find rather bothersome.

I'm always the guy that gets patted down.

Without fail, every single time I go through security, the guy in front of me gets through without a hitch, the guy behind me gets through without a hitch, while I have to remove my shoes, belt, empty my carry-on, gets patted down, and gets his luggage rummaged through at customs. I get nice souvenirs at Santiago airport for my family and gift wrapped, and sure enough they get unwrapped at customs.

The annoying thing is I follow every single rule, ordinance, suggestion, and I NEVER set off as much as a blip on the metal detector. At least not until the guy gets the hand-held super sensitive one that goes off on my pants zipper and I have to prove its just a pants zipper...

So it makes me wonder, is this random selection really 'random' at all, or do they have a set thing they look for? If so, what the hell are they looking for because I consider myself a very unsuspicious/unthreatening person. Yet out of the past 8 times I've been through security, 8 times I've been that guy taken off to the side to get triple-checked. For a random event, its statistically highly improbable.

Something is amiss me thinks, thoughts anyone?

Last few times I've been on planes have been the exact same to me. I follow every rule, nothing goes off in metal detectors, and people all around me just walk on through. I noticed one thing that made me the "random person" all the time, though it may be different for you:

I always bought one way tickets. I always needed to because my return dates were never set. And apparently just buying a one-way sets off an alert or something where I need an extra look into.

How unsuspicious are you? Cause you can be too unsuspicious. I remember talking to a friend of a friend who works in airport security. She said that they'd often make a show of picking the WASPiest, least threatening, politest, middle class looking people so no one could call them on racial profiling, and if someone does they can point to the white guy getting patted down in the next checkpoint. Also they're the least likely to raise hell or get loud.

Basically try to look a bit scruffier and more irritated, if it looks like you've had a bad day and might go off, they'll generally avoid you unless you overdo it and make yourself look dangerous. If they do call you over still be polite though. Conversely make yourself look like a rich prat who might go to their bosses.

I'm a white middle-class university student with a relatively athletic build, fairly good looking, and I whistle and sing to myself and am generally ridiculously friendly cuz I'm a Newfoundlander.

So if you're right, I'm racially profiled and stereotyped in order to prove that they don't racial profile and stereotyped? Thats rather unfair.

Its really no wonder that airport security is pathetic. I get racial sensitivity and all, but there's better things to be doing than harassing people just to make yourselves look fair.

Besides, it gets to be rather embarassing when they ask can you undo the top of your pants so they can scan your underwear waistline.

I guess I'll just have to get rich and get my own plane.

EDIT: Ironically, this just came to my Yahoo! inbox: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080405/...ehavior_agents

Security sucks. Working at the airport, I know about them.

They are a group of wanna be thugs who, when given just a tiny bit of power, act like they rule the damn place.

Airport security is a joke. They are thieves and assholes.

Any system where government agents arbitrarily pick out people to be detained, have their effects searched and be physically accosted without any cause for actual suspicion is going to be unfair. I think it sucks that you're getting singled out by our country's creeping authoritarianism but at the same time I don't think the appropriate response is to say how unfair it is that it's yourself getting arbitrarily singled out instead of some other guy. Are you saying it would somehow be better or more fair if they just went ahead and harrassed the swarthy-skinned fellows and let all the WASPy types on through?

BM, Discussion is kind of not the "calling a bunch of people thieves and assholes" forum. You are required to be a bit more thoughtful and circumspect here in these environs. See our total Nazi-style discussion forum rules thread for further on this and other topics.

...This may be the first time I've actually seen you in discussion so I will call this your officially unofficial not-a-warning warning.

Nope. I'd think it would be fair if it were actually random, like a computer beeps saying whether or not to check somebody out, making it impossible to predict as the computer wouldn't differentiate based upon appearance. It wouldn't even be a hard system to implement.

If they have actual cause to be suspicious, then sure, check the people out, but other than that any random human choice isn't really random at all because they have specific things they're looking for. I don't think the thought process should be "hey, generic white boy, lets try to look non-racist" or "hey, middle-eastern dude, lets check him out to be on the safe side". It should be exactly what its supposed to be. Random.

I'm probably being idealistic, but at least it would be truer to the concept of random rather than multiple forms of profiling. Then if I keep getting frisked at security, I can blame it on bad luck rather than fitting their preconceived notion of non-racism (which incidentally is still racist).

...Actually you're right, that would probably be an improvement. I mean the fact of random searches is itself still quite terrible but yeah, that would at least be an actually random search.

I apologize Fifth.

When I deal with the security at work (at the Airport). They treat everyone with contempt and hostility. And I've had to fight them off from taking my product off my cart.

I can understand that they work in a stressful enviroment. But they also treat the passenger like crap.

@I Like Swordchucks: Was it at the same airport that you got searched or was it multiple ones. Cause if it was multiple ones, then it's a crappy coincidence. If it was the same one and the same group, then they are obviously using you to alleviate their boredom.

God I wish our security officials were like the US Customs officials. At least those guys are nice.

Apathetic, but at leat not openly hostile, yeah. I've dealt with many customs officials in Minneapolis Chicago Atlanta and Newark.