Controversy Over TSA Frisking 6 Year Old Girl

[Rapture]

NEW ORLEANS (KABC) -- There's new outrage over airport security screenings. The latest controversial pat-down involves a 6-year-old Kentucky girl.


Video posted on YouTube showed 6-year-old Anna Drexel being patted down by a TSA agent at Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. The gloved agent talked her through it, saying that she will use the back of her hands on sensitive areas and will "put my hand in the waistband."
The girl's father, Todd Drexel, said Anna was confused by the search and started crying afterward because she thought she'd done something wrong.

In an exclusive interview with ABC's "Good Morning America," mother Selena Drexel said such searches are inappropriate for children because they're usually told not to let adults touch them in sensitive areas. The Drexels said pat-downs are inappropriate for children and the TSA needs to change how it screens them.

"There needs to be different screening procedures, especially for children," said Drexel. "And if we don't find other ways, we're making them more vulnerable to people that would harm them in that manner."

In a statement, the TSA said the officer followed proper procedure but that the agency is reviewing its screening policies for "low-risk populations, such as young passengers." The statement said the agency is exploring ways to "move beyond a one-size fits all system."

Source: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8070959



I heard about this on the news tonight and I was like "what?" Yes, I do realize that the various terrorist organizations will stop at nothing to wreak havoc, and so we probably need to keep stepping up our game with our security measures...but, frisking 6 year olds?? Really, I think if they want to take a look at our kids, do the body scanning or whatever. Its uncomfortable enough as adults being patted down...now we have our young children getting patted down too..by strangers..and...I just really don't agree with this.

There has to be some other option for screening kids...one that isn't so invasive.

Anyways, thoughts?

 

[unadulteratedawesome]

As far as practicality is concerned, if you want to be completely thorough and if your entire goal is safety, then you have to frisk kids too. Children have been used to carry explosives before.

Personally though, the security measures are absolutely ridiculous. As Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson said: Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

Perhaps our pedo-paranoia will help make people realize how ridiculous the security measures are.

 

[Thief of Hearts Joker]

To be honest I could see terrorist's being crazy and stupid enough to use children for their crap but....COME ON!

Really?! They had to pat down a 6 year old and her privates! I doubt she even knows what a bomb is!

This is becoming bullshit,first it was invading personal space to find bombs ok fine,then they go too far and find things like pacemakers and Bladder stuff ((twas on the news too)) The woman had to fly in pee soaked clothes because of those morons, and now little kids the Airports need to quit being so stupid and find a way to do this so people have fucking dignity while visiting some place..

Im starting to agree with people about just stripping down to a fucking swimsuit till your past the security but for kids i dunno but its going far too far.

If i have to go anywhere in the US I'll be driving Id rather be driving with crazy basterds around me than getting my personal space violated -.-

 

[Tom Badguy]

I do think that a different procedure should be done for children. Though, during the entire time of our new extreme airport security, I've never heard of a situation happen like this involving a child. Frisking a 6 year old is just wrong. I am sure the TSA screener was following protocol and had to do it. Can't blame someone for doing their job. But she has to be going to bed feeling weird.

Why didn't they just have the child go through the x-ray scanner? Wouldn't that have been sufficient? I'm not sure if that airport has one but maybe this will be the spark to start putting them in every single airport.

Airport security is a touchy subject and you usually tend to agree with those who have a problem with the scannings and such. Definitely if a child is submitted to this. I'm sure this will cause a change in scanning procedures for children. At least, I hope.

 

[CassinoChips]

Personally though, the security measures are absolutely ridiculous. As Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson said: Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

The problem I have with that quote (other than using quotes in general to make any point, and specifically, especially from people who lived and died 100 years before the Wright Brothers) in this case is that it operates under the premise that air travel is a right. It's not. It's a privilege. Much like driving is a privilege, and it is granted by the government and given certain limitations and restrictions. Thus, anyone who travels by air is agreeing to operate under the rules laid down by the government, as well as the airline on which they're flying.

All other things equal, this situation doesn't bother me. If they performed this check in this manner with these guidelines, it stands to reason that they should perform it on any randomly screened person, regardless of age, or any other discriminatory factor. Otherwise, we have to start drawing lines. Are 8 year olds ok to pat down? 10? 12? What about 75? You have to throw these things out the window. Either you do it the same way to everyone, or you don't do it at all. If not, you're going to start falling into the pre-judging trap, and you'll miss something somewhere. And as was stated before, putting illegal items on a 6 year old is not completely unheard of.

 

[unadulteratedawesome]

it operates under the premise that air travel is a right. It's not. It's a privilege.

The issue isn't with air travel, it's with privacy. And rights are also subject to restrictions and are able to be revoked by the law. You can even have your right to life revoked in some places in America. In this manner, rights are indistinguishable from privileges.

But the airport security thing is only an annoyance to me, I'm not really outraged or anything. I don't even care enough to do anything about it, so this only comes up in discussions.

If they performed this check in this manner with these guidelines, it stands to reason that they should perform it on any randomly screened person, regardless of age, or any other discriminatory factor..

I agree with this. If you're going to do it, do it sensibly and right. Otherwise you're ineffectual on top of being obtrusive. People have too much of a predisposed reaction to anything involving children. Touching a kid is not perverted unless you're liking it in that way, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about by either party.

 

[Bambi]

eh, i seriously dont see the massive deal in it, terrorists wont give a shit about who they are planting bombs on, and if they see folk are wary of patting down kids or whatever, then they are more likely to go that way

for the sake of a couple of minutes i really dont think its a big deal, as long as the kid is fully aware what is going on and they dont think they havge done summat wrong

id rather be safe in the knowledge im not aqbout to be blown up than someone screaming THINK OF THE CHILDREN

And yes, Im a mother.

and yes I admit id be a bit disgruntled about this happening, but they dont know im not some mass murdering child abusing lunatic.

If they performed this check in this manner with these guidelines, it stands to reason that they should perform it on any randomly screened person, regardless of age, or any other discriminatory factor..

just this, really

 

[Sullivan0930]

if the bitch had a bomb then the guy would be a hero. idk why people look for any excuse to make a big deal about anything. hes not feeling on the kid, just doing his damn job.

 

[Valvalis]

I can see where people might get upset and start worrying that pedophiles will start trying to get airport security jobs now and all that sort of thing, but really honest to goodness, A) everyone walking around on the earth is not a pedophile, and B) like some have already said, I'd rather be safe and have a little girl be frisked than get blown up for the sake of her not crying. I know children are cute and innocent and everything, but I honestly value people of all age groups equally, and I don't think children should get any special privileges when they could easily be used to smuggle illegal things onto an airplane.

I mean it may seem ridiculous that a six year old would have anything on them, but personally I feel it's equally ridiculous for security to be searching me when I know in my head that I'm not going to blow up the plane.

Really I'm not a fan of anyone being patted down or scanned tbh, but unless those in charge find some way to eliminate terrorism then I guess it's what we'll have to deal with. I mean stripping away personal privacy really lets the terrorists win, their goal is to make us uncomfortable and it seems they've already accomplished that. So I think that's kind of fucked up to start with and I hate that feeling, but there's also nothing an individual citizen can do about it. A lot of these terrorists hate countries like the U.S. because of things our governments and their governments have done to each other in the past, and now we're stuck dealing with the consequences. Really it seems the best option is to move to Mars and live under an anarchy system, imho. Farm some moon rocks and stuff.

 

[Big Casino]

Its better than your fucking plane blowing up. Seriously its not like theyre molesting them. I doubt the airport security enjoy it anymore than the kid does.
People make such a big fucking deal of ridiculous things like this. Safety has to be insured. Thats more important than some kid crying for 5 minutes over nothing.
A kid gets patted down, woopdee doo. It lasts less than a minute then its over whats the big deal?

 

[Toshiya]

I don't see much of a problem with it. I'm a nervous flier so I'd rather know that they're being thorough with their security checks so my plane won't explode, rather than going 'oh, some 6 year old set the scanner off but we can't touch her in case we're branded as child molesters'. If this happened it'd just pave the way for terrorists to use little kids to get round the security regulations, surely.
If you set the metal detector off, you get frisked. Simple as.

I was frisked when I was what, 12 years old. I left my belt on going through the scanner and set it off, and some woman had to come over and pat me down. Where's the cut-off age for too young? Surely patting down a 12 year old could be seen as wrong as well, since I was under 16 at the time? It didn't bother me. Sure, it was embarrassing, but it was my own fault for leaving my belt on.
When I went to Barcelona in March I set the scanner off as well, leaving my phone in my pocket this time. You should only object to anyone being scanned if you've got something to hide, I think. If I worked at an airport and a kid set off the scanner but the parents objected to them being patted down, I'd be seriously thinking they had something to hide.
Maybe I'm paranoid though haha, I'm one of the most nervous fliers you'll ever meet.