Bad Combination: Nipple Rings and Airport Security

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

Well, the first thing that tells me that the charges against the TSA employees have been grossly trumped up is the fact that the prosecuting attorney is Gloria Allred.

Seriously, you don't get Allred unless your goal is to draw blood from a stone.

This Hamlin woman was probably all belligerent with the guards, forcing them to take an aggressive stance. And now she has the nerve to act indignant when she could've proven very calmly that she wasn't a threat. When you become defensive, they're trained to think you've got reason.

Also, any woman with nipple rings is also a woman who enjoys a bit of attention. This reeks of opportunism to me.

Any woman who has nipples rings enjoys a bit of... shut up, Crash. It's a piercing no one can SEE. Which is often the point. Also, I've seen this woman interviewed, she seems pretty down to earth and quiet. You're way off base on this one.

Allred is an ambulance chaser, but she came to the woman, not the other way around. The only thing here that seems like misinformation is the usage of pliers to remove the CBR piercing. That's how you take them out. With pliers. If she was doing it at home, she'd use pliers. The ridiculous thing here is them making her take them out. I have a few sensitive piercings, and they've set off the detector a few times. A pat down in a back room and you're on your way. These employees went over and above. Once they found she had nipple rings, they could easily have given her a wand swipe to make sure there was nothing in the bra itself and let her go. She wouldn't have complained. You know this sort of thing happens with body piercings. These employees went over the top.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

I was just sayin', man. The woman would have probably cried foul if she had to have a guy pat down her boobs, too.

'Cause aren't there usually female TSA people around anyways in case of this kind of circumstance? I would be more comfortable with that.

I don't know about TSA, but Canadian airlines require security of both genders to be on staff for just this reason.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by russ

It has been six and a half years since 9/11. People should know that airport security is serious business by now, and should take the appropriate steps to prevent incident. I know that there are metal detectors at airports. If I have a piercing in a concealed area that I know will raise suspicion, I am going to take the damn thing out before I go to the airport. This isn't rocket science, it's common sense. Who wants to deal with the damn hassle?

Also, not at all surprised to see Champion of Anything Counterculture here defending the woman. She has an attorney who apparently has a reputation which precedes her. Do you think that this Hamlin woman appearing quiet and down to earth in interviews is anything less than perfectly orchestrated by her lawyer? I mean seriously guys, a lawsuit over "snickering"? The next person who looks at me wrong is going to get sued for making me feel surprised, embarrassed, humiliated, scared and angry. According to the story, she was behind a curtain doing this, so it wasn't exactly like a bunch of agents making her take off her clothes right in front of them.

Oh, Russ, Russ, Russ. Not all body piercings can be easily taken out and then put back in. Also, most don't set off the alarms. I'd say 95% of the time, I walk through with no problems, and I have multiple piercings in. And the lawsuit isn't about snickering, it's about security agents overstepping their bounds. They didn't need to make a scene out of it. They certainly didn't need to make an issue out of it. A strip search is bad enough, but to make her remove all the piercings while the rest of them snicker in the background? This isn't high school, those people should be out of a job.

Like was said, security is serious business. Fucking act like it. Now, it's a superfluous lawsuit. Which is part of what I loathe about the US legal system, it makes it easy to do. But these people should be on the dole at this point.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.