Reaction at Airport Security

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rainfletcher: I just got off the airplane here at my home city, and had a fascinating experience some of you hung-brothers may relate to.

My boarding pass in San Fran was stamped with a "SSSSS", which meant I'd been randomly selected for 'additional screening'. This means that they're going to go through my luggage and wave that wand all over me. The guy finds my nipple rings (which don't really go with my 'attire') and almost doesn't believe me. After a few minutes of arguing (I was NOT going to take my shirt off in the middle of SFO), he believes me. Then he waves the wand over my belt area, and the fly sets the damn thing off. She he makes me turn my waste band inside out (very tricky with my growing belly) to prove that's all there is. THen he uses the back of his palm to sort of 'pat' me down. He gets to the front of me, and sort of pats / rubs me down about 6 or 7 inches below my waste band.

There, he finds my cock. As you LPSGers can imagine, he doesn't believe that's what it is. It's obviously hanging too low to be a dick, so he's now really pissed at me. He gets his 'supervisor' who comes over and asks me if I'm wearing underwear. Can you believe that question????? I say no I'm not, and he then whispers some things to the skeptical underling.

In the end, he let me go without further inspection.

I imagine there will be stories told around the ubiquitous water cooler, eh?

On a side note - as a measure of how far I've come in all of this, I can tell this story with out too much embarassment or shame. Before the therapy that is LPSG, I would have withdrawn into a little shell for a few days trying to get over the shame that is my dick. Baby steps, eh?

 

[Pecker]

Something I've wondered about with airport security is the fact that they cannot detect that both of my knees are made of titanium. Does this mean that titanium cannot be detected, or does it mean that the signal cannot detect the difference between titanium and bone?

I also have an implant that works as a subcutaneous T.E.N.S. unit. That little gizmo, surgically implanted over my left-lower ribcage, and about the size of a credit card, does set off the alarms, so I carry a card in my wallet to explain it. But it was made in the 80's, before titanium came in to popular surgical use.

Just a thought - will subcutaneous titanium weapons go undetected?

Pecker

(Well, yes, I am happy to see you, but I don't have an erection if that's what you mean.)

 

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Tender: oh no Pecker, youve did it now!!
they will read this and KNOW!!
run! quick wheres my duct tape?!?

oh Rain sweetie, i wasnt sure whether to laugh or cry when i read this. :-/
i would have been nerve rattled for sure...
:-*
Tender
"underling",

 

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H8Monga: Geez Rain, I'm sorry.

If he didn't believe what was in your pants... you could have requested the assistance of a female screener! She'd help settle it.

Geez what do they think you're gonna do? Beat passengers with it?

 

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Donk: Has everybody heard about these new x-ray machines that they are now starting to install in some airports that let the screeners actually look through your clothes and literally see a passenger's naked body? I expect many of us will have some "reaction" stories as these things get more prevalent.

 

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9cyclops9: The same type of thing happened to me a few months ago (minus the nipple rings!) He checked me and eventually did the back of the hand thing ("because the back of my hand isn't as sensitive, so I won't be able to feel any specifics" is what he said). He kind of gave me a weird look when he got to old Cyclops. And my flaccid isn't huge by any means (6 inches). But it was quite funny, and my girlfriend saw him make the face when he did that. "What did he make that face about?"

"What face?" I innocently replied.

John

 

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pghcyclist:

Has everybody heard about these new x-ray machines that they are now starting to install in some airports that let the screeners actually look through your clothes and literally see a passenger's naked body? I expect many of us will have some "reaction" stories as these things get more prevalent.

I couldn't find a good reference on the technology, but here is where some people are talking about it...

http://www.naturistjournal.com/articles/02/03/25/0215239.shtml

This technology is basically a strip search for everyone who wants to take a commercial airplane. It has may of the same civil liberties problems as video cameras used to "stop crime" in public places. For example:

-- quoted material from http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=12706&c=39

Voyeurism

Experts studying how the camera systems in Britain are operated have also found that the mostly male (and probably bored) operators frequently use the cameras to voyeuristically spy on women. Fully one in 10 women were targeted for entirely voyeuristic reasons, the researchers found.

Discriminatory targeting

Video camera systems are operated by humans who bring to the job all their existing prejudices and biases. In Great Britain, camera operators have been found to focus disproportionately on people of color. According to a sociological study of how the systems were operated, "Black people were between one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half times more likely to be surveilled than one would expect from their presence in the population."

Abuse for personal purposes

Powerful surveillance tools also create temptations to abuse them for personal purposes. An investigation by the Detroit Free Press, for example, showed that a database available to Michigan law enforcement was used by officers to help their friends or themselves stalk women, threaten motorists after traffic altercations, and track estranged spouses.

--- end quoted material ---

While some people may not mind being "exposed" to strangers, and may feel somewhat safer because of this technology, the issue boils down to one of maintaining privacy and being both safe and free.

Scott

 

[Pecker]

I'd rather step in front of one of these machines than be strip searched any day.

 

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prepstudinsc: I'll be happy to step in front of one of those machines and show him that the stereotype isn't always true.....white guys can be big, too LOL ;D

 

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pghcyclist:

I'd rather step in front of one of these machines than be strip searched any day.

What's the difference -- naked is naked.

Here's the website that shows the picture (somewhat fuzzy)

http://www.rapiscan.com/secure1000.html

Here's an article discussing the technology

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12789

I'll be happy to step in front of one of those machines and show him that the stereotype isn't always true.....white guys can be big, too LOL

Not everyone is an exhibitionist or comfortable letting strangers see them naked.

Scott

 

[13788]

malito: As a screener I'd like to wade in on this.
1) You should NEVER feel humiliate!!!! The question posed to you was out of line. He/she should have asked if you had any metal in that area.
2) If touching in your groin area is emotionally sensitive to you tell them.
3) You can request a private screening at any time. By doing that you will be taken out of the public eye where you can talk and deal with the problem.
The Job of the screener is to justify every alarm. This is done by re-wanding the spot or touching the spot.
Did the screener explain to you that every alarm would be resolved by touching? The back of the hand is used not because it is less sensitive but because it is less likely to be considered a grope.
If you alarm or are selected by the computer (SSSS) then be prepared for secondary screening. But you should never feel humiliated. And proffessionalism demands that privacy and dignity be maintained.

As for the new tech that is being talked about, it is more dream than reality. I have heard that a machine is being tested and it shows body mass. The ?? is will it be allowed to be viewed by the opposite sex. That is why we have same sex screening now.

As for things we have not detected I have no explanation. We try very hard to find everything but we are human and our tech. stuff is limited.

 

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throb919: [quote author=Hapi Papi link=board=meetgreet;num=1068179738;start=0#3 date=11/06/03 at 23:02:21]...you could have requested the assistance of a female screener! She'd help settle it.[/quote]
Why Hapi Papi, what a heterosexist thing to say!

(I am so just kidding with you...just throwin' it out as part of getting back to business-as-usual around the ol' LPSG!) ;-)

 

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awellhungboi: Wow, I'm sorry you had to go through that, Rain. But, yeah, you sound like you're handling it well. Jeez, it does sound like that guy was out of line.

 

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Tender: [quote author=Pecker link=board=meetgreet;num=1068179738;start=0#7 date=11/07/03 at 08:40:55]I'd rather step in front of one of these machines than be strip searched any day.
[/quote]

perhaps but at least that could be in private.
id rather do a strip than be "viewed" by the rest of the line........
NO WAY!!
Tender

 

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wvalady1968: [quote author=throb919 link=board=meetgreet;num=1068179738;start=0#11 date=11/07/03 at 12:17:40]
Why Hapi Papi, what a heterosexist thing to say!

(I am so just kidding with you...just throwin' it out as part of getting back to business-as-usual around the ol' LPSG!)  ;-)
[/quote]


Oh, Tony!! Leave it to you to throw yourself on the grenade to get LPSG back on track!

:-*

 

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Donk: [quote author=Pecker link=board=meetgreet;num=1068179738;start=0#7 date=11/07/03 at 08:40:55]I'd rather step in front of one of these machines than be strip searched any day.
[/quote]

Agreed. As it is, I practically have to get undressed anyway before getting on a plane (i.e., removing shoes, belt, etc. before going through the metal detector). It would be much more convenient and speedy to just pass through an x-ray. Yeah, it's somewhat invasive of privacy and may be uncomfortable, but there is no constitutional right to fly on an airplane. Besides, I let strangers look at me naked all the time at the gym as it is. As an air traveler, I don't mind being scanned if I know the terrorist is getting scanned also. (Conversely, I do mind the political correctness that results in time-wasting searches of blue-haired grannies while bending over backwards to let the guys who fit terrorist profiles go through unscathed just so we can prove how unbiased we are. The better solution to avoiding discrimination is just to subject every passenger to the same, easily-administered screening.)

But I do think common decency requires that males be screened by males and females by females and that the viewing screens be placed so that only the screeners can view them. This would basically be the same situation as nudity in a gym locker room where you are subject only to viewing by others of the same sex.

 

[B_Jeremy]

This thread reminds me of a scene in Spinal Tap, where Derek Smalls passes through the gate, and the lady is checking him over with the metal detector. She gets to his crotch, and the thing goes wacky, in time he pulls out a cucumber wrapped in foil.

 

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buddy43610: On a side note - as a measure of how far I've come in all of this, I can tell this story with out too much embarassment or shame.  Before the therapy that is LPSG, I would have withdrawn into a little shell for a few days trying to get over the shame that is my dick.   Baby steps, eh?


i too have benefitted similarly being a member of this group! p.s. i'd be the one to take my clothes off at the search point. i almost did it in vegas a couple of years ago. buddy

 

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biggbenn8: Well once found out a few things...

NEVER wear a hawaiin (sp) shirt when coming from California (seemed to fit a 'type').

Never, ever wear baggy clothing (once wore sweat pants (long story involving a cooler 'bursting' all over my slacks)

I have been 'grope checked'. I have found it easier to look them in the eye and say "yes, that IS me, all me- should I show it to you?"

Has done the trick on more than one occasion..

 

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nacard01: One night I got pulled over for a speeding ticket and my friend started getting mouthy. We were on an Army post so when the MP (Military Police) asked me to get out of the vehicle. He patted me down. Needless to say after a brief pause, him returning to his vehicle and coming back up to let us go took about 15 seconds. Not sure if my size helped but his hand was on it for at least 3 or 4 seconds. I couldn't see his face at the time but I am sure it was probably that look of "holy cow".

Nate