TSA officer faces dismissal over 'get your freak on, girl' note in luggage

[alp227]

Source: CNN

An airplane baggage screener faces dismissal for leaving a note in a passenger's bag that said "Get Your Freak On, Girl" after discovering a vibrator.

The Transportation Security Administration "has initiated action to remove the individual from federal service," an agency spokesperson said. "Like all federal employees, this individual is entitled to due process and protected by the Privacy Act. During the removal action process, the employee will not perform any screening duties."

The agency randomly selects checked baggage for screening on flights originating in the United States. Lawyer and writer Jill Filipovic tweeted a picture of the note Monday and later blogged about it on Feministe.

"This is what TSA will do when they inspect a bag you checked and find a, um, 'personal item,' " she wrote. "Total violation of privacy, wildly inappropriate and clearly not OK, but I also just died laughing in my hotel room."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/28/travel/tsa-officer-faces-dismissal/index.html

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I can't wait for the agent to be unemployed, named, and shamed.

[RKP5637]

1. Imagine if his name is Mr. Dildo! lol n/t

[Nye Bevan]

2. Good. (nt)

[MADem]

3. "He" may not be a "he" at all--but a "she."

The person getting the note was not sure and the language throughout the piece is gender-neutral:

"The note was inappropriate, the agent in question acted unprofessionally when s/he put in my bag, there should be consequences and I'm glad the TSA takes these things seriously. But I get no satisfaction in hearing that someone may be in danger of losing their job over this. I would much prefer a look at why 'security' has been used to justify so many intrusions on our civil liberties, rather than fire a person who made a mistake."


Male or female, we know the person is pretty damn stupid.

Might not have been the first time, either--the TSA officer just had the bad luck to leave a note for someone who was not terribly private about these sorts of things.

[alp227]

9. Fixed. Thing is, MEN perpetuated all this sexual objectification of women nt

[jtuck004]

4. On the plus side, there is a job opening at Hallmark.

the more I think about her statement:

"Total violation of privacy, wildly inappropriate and clearly not OK, but I also just died laughing in my hotel room"

The more I admire the ability of people to hold two conflicting philosophies\positions in their head at the same time.

I wonder if they need to move straight to firing. Why is counseling not appropriate? We have spent good money on their training. It's ENTIRELY possible that this person at least graduated high school without the ability to count change back, maybe never learned about personal boundaries.

But whoever the person was has\had a job going through your most intimate holdings, day after day. Alone, I suspect. It's a god-awful cubicle job, and maybe they were just reaching out. They may well have disassociated from the real world. without even a thought about how inappropriate that act was.

[Turbineguy]

5. Well,

at least they're not firing people who do real damage. That would be a problem.

[McCamy Taylor]

6. Waiting for the SCOTUS to call this "protected free speech"

[alp227]

7. interesting point, but do constitutional rights trump ethics codes? nt

[MADem]

10. Or workplace rules?

I know I couldn't get away with that kind of shit in my line of work--and I worked for Uncle Sam, as well.

[Kennah]

8. Probably won't be unemployed for long - Not once Fox offers up a job

[riderinthestorm]

11. Definitely needs to happen! Let this person go... nt

[Dont call me Shirley]

12. The act was psychological rape. TSA agent MUST be prosecuted!

[NickB79]

13. Considering the women who found the note said she "died laughing"

I think it's pretty inappropriate to compare an immature act like this to something as violent and reprehensible as rape.

[truthisfreedom]

14. I'm just a tiny bit lost here as well. Sounds like everything worked out alright.

Inappropriate note followed by offender facing dismissal. Victim got a good laugh plus a lot of publicity. If you carry a vibrator in your luggage, getting a note like that particular one is not what I personally would call psychological rape.

[tawadi]

15. Hey, they don't let us joke in the TSA line

It should work both ways.

[Ilsa]

16. I'm glad the traveler is okay, but sometimes people travel with other items

And personal remarks like that could be damaging to their condition.

For example, if a man has had prostate surgery and needs to travel for work, he might need to take a small amount of Viagra and a penis pump with him. Yes, it is a medically prescribed device to help circulation and relearn erections. Continual harassment like what that woman experienced can be exceptionally discouraging to someone going through medical recovery of his sexuality.

[Blue_Tires]

17. Which airport??

How fucking brain dead are these TSA folks? Fed jobs don't grow on trees, have plenty of benefits and are in high demand even when the country isn't suffering from 10 percent unemployment...

Yet every couple of weeks some TSA clown practically BEGS to get fired from a very secure job...