CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 19, 2010
TSA Makes Cancer Victim Remove Prosthetic Breast
Flight Attendant, Cancer Survivor Says She Was Required to Remove Prosthetic From Her Bra and Show It to Agent
Flight attendant and cancer survivor Cathy Bossi of Charlotte, N.C., said she was forced to remove and show her prosthetic breast to a TSA agent during a security pat-down at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. (WBTV)
TSA Chief: Pat-Downs "For Your Safety"
The Transportation Security Administration is facing growing anger over invasive pat-downs and digital strip search security scans. Bob Orr reports on the ongoing debate over privacy vs. security.
Passengers Claim TSA Sexual Assault
Bloggers, such as Erin Chase and John Tyner, are voicing their outrage over the implementation of genital-touching pat-downs on passengers by Transportation Security Administration airport workers as part of new security measures. Shira Lazar reports.
.Stories
Torches & Pitchforks at Airport Security
Senators and TSA Defend "Love Pats" at Airports
(CBS) A flight attendant and cancer survivor said she was forced to remove and show her prosthetic breast to a TSA agent during a security pat-down.
Cathy Bossi of Charlotte, who has been a flight attendant for the past 32 years, told CBS Affiliate WBTV that in August she was asked to go through the new full-body scanners at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
As a 3-year breast cancer survivor Bossi said she didn't want the added radiation through her body, but reluctantly agreed.
"The TSA agent told me to put my ID on my back," Boss told WBTV correspondent Molly Grantham. "When I got out of there, she said because my ID was on my back, I had to go to a personal screening area."
Bossi was taken to a private room where two female Charlotte TSA agents began what she calls an "aggressive" pat-down.
Bossi said the exam halted when they got around to feeling her right breast - the one where she'd had surgery.
"She put her full hand on my breast and said, 'What is this?' Bossi recalled. "And I said, 'It's my prosthesis because I've had breast cancer.' And she said, 'Well, you'll need to show me that.'"
Bossi was asked to remove her prosthetic breast from her bra and show it to the agent.
She said she did not take down the name of the agent because of the "horrific" nature of the experience.
"It just blew my mind. I couldn't believe that somebody had done that to me,'" she told WBTV.
Bossi has since contacted the flight attendants union's Legislative Affairs Team.
She says there are better alternatives to such intrusive examinations.
"There are blowers and there are dogs that could sniff out bombs," she said. "There's no reason to have somebody's hands touching your body parts."
A TSA representative told WBTV that agents are allowed to ask to see and touch any passenger's prosthetic, but aren’t supposed to remove them. Later, the TSA contacted the station and said they would review the Bossi matter.
And this, related, from techdirt and Liberty Pulse:
TSA Agents Absolutely Hate New Pat Downs, Find Them Disgusting And Morale Breaking
from the this-is-what-you-get-with-security-theater dept
One of the common themes that people keep mentioning in talking about the new TSA pat down procedures is that those involved must "enjoy" the groping they're giving people. But, of course, most TSA agents are normal every day people who don't actually want to grope random people. Chris Tolles points us to a post from BoardingArea.com, who reached out to some TSA agents and found that many TSA agents hate the new rules and find it to be sapping morale to have to grope passengers. Some of it appears to be the verbal abuse they're getting from travelers, but some of it is just the fact that they have to keep touching people they'd rather not touch in that way:
"It is not comfortable to come to work knowing full well that my hands will be feeling another man’s private parts, their butt, their inner thigh. Even worse is having to try and feel inside the flab rolls of obese passengers and we seem to get a lot of obese passengers!"
Of course, it does seem like a lot of the "morale" part comes from everyone accusing them of molesting them. I recognize, they're not the ones making policy, but many of the people being groped do feel violated and it's not surprising that many of them speak out.
"Molester, pervert, disgusting, an embarrassment, creep. These are all words I have heard today at work describing me, said in my presence as I patted passengers down. These comments are painful and demoralizing, one day is bad enough, but I have to come back tomorrow, the next day and the day after that to keep hearing these comments. If something doesn’t change in the next two weeks I don’t know how much longer I can withstand this taunting. I go home and I cry. I am serving my country, I should not have to go home and cry after a day of honorably serving my country."
This is going to be a serious problem for the TSA if it doesn't figure out something quick. So far, the TSA seems to be in near absolute denial that this is actually a problem, but if these TSA responses are indicative of how most TSA agents feel, there are going to be a lot fewer security people at airports very, very soon.
Of course... it could be true that at least some of those actually are enjoying the process. Reader Lance point us to (an admittedly hearsay) story of a pilot traveling with his 18-year old daughter. As they approached the naked image scanner, the pilot overheard a TSA agent say into his radio: "heads up, got a cutie for you." One of the points the TSA has been making is that the folks looking at the images are off in another room somewhere, unable to see the people -- but they are in contact with those at the security checkpoint, and you'd have to imagine this kind of thing happens.
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