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Comment by jlgreco | Hacker News Reader

Presumably the hope is that it will make their job more uncomfortable for them.

Its a small gesture that has the potential to lower their job satisfaction. If it became a trend for passengers to do anything reasonably within their power to make the lives of TSA agents more uncomfortable, we could hopefully influence the TSAs retention rates.

It's a long shot, but in the individual case at least you get the momentary satisfaction of making them squirm. (And they do.)

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Yep, I do the same. Always opt-out of the naked scanner. If everybody in line opted out, they would be overwhelmed and forced to change their policies. It's really not even that bad, I've never had a negative experience opting out.

> we could hopefully influence the TSAs retention rates.

Good luck with that. Most people at TSA would have quit if they could find a better job to work at.

Make their job miserable enough and the bar for "better job" becomes lower. Right now their jobs are pretty cushy; they get to sit around in AC, are not held accountable for how they treat "customers", and get to steal cool gadgets on the side. However we have a limited ability to give their jobs more downsides. I assert that we should exercise that ability where possible.

It absolutely is a long shot of course. The personal satisfaction is sufficient though.

I've been flying dozens of times over the last few years. Never groped. Never patted down in some molesting way. Never been a victim of all of these overblown statistically small events being made into huge life changing altercations. Every interaction I've had with everyone has been normal. Even the few times I've forgotten and left a full can of spray deodorant or liquid in my bag, they've pulled me to the side, opened my luggage in front of me, asked if I'd like to check my bag or toss the item and that is that. No harassment of any kind.

Acting like a dick to TSA employees just makes them treat you with even more contempt, thus the vicious cycle continues since they now have disdain for you as a customer.

Do you treat all car salesmen like crap, or people at the BMV, just because they have a general "bad" reputation?

Also do you object to a pat down when you go to a sporting event or concert? What about a courthouse?

You have a high tolerance and have not had unusually bad experiences. Congratulations?

You might as well tell me that your Ford Pinto never caught fire. What is your point?

Your post isn't even self-consistent. Right after you get done telling me that they are perfect gentlemen you tell me that they have disdain for me as a customer and that by making them feel uncomfortable as they grope me, I am making it worse? Huh? I thought they were perfect gentlemen...

Actually I've never been groped or had any of these supposedly horrible experiences. I'm stating that I've treated all of the TSA employees with respect, and I've received it in return. I've had no reason to treat them otherwise since they were always just doing their jobs and not these outlandish horrible people that keeps being portrayed as the norm. These stories are outliers.

If you are going to approach them out of the gate and treat them like shit, well guess what, expect to not be treated with a warm fuzzy. It's human nature.

I absolutely dig all the people in this thread trying to discredit the problems other people have had with the TSA by saying "well they never groped me ..."

Do you doubt that they grope others? Do you think we're making this up?

The assertion is not that the TSA has treated you, res0nat0r, like shit. Telling us that you have not been treated like shit is a refutation of approximately fuck all.

I think my point is that: There is no doubt people have been groped or treated what they think is unfairly. Something like that happening is an emotional issue, and therefore I think these things are blown out of proportion in relation to their actual number of occurrences. So while this does happen I don't think it happens as much as you'd like it to believe statistically speaking. This type of harassment being a normal across the board policy of the TSA is what I take issue with because I don't believe it to be true.

I think we can all agree that we'd all like it to happen exactly 0 times. Statistically speaking.

Currently its way more than 0 times. It can only be made lower if people push to make it lower, rather than your stance of "its never happened to me".

PS: all my interactions with the TSA have been fine. There was a moment at LAX when I had to explain why there would be liquid inside my juggling balls..... but we got through it.

Yup, I do exactly what you describe, for the exact reason you describe. I believe that if everyone did it then it would have an impact.

This is like punching a homeless person to reduce poverty.

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