Scott King vs TSA – Winner: TSA
I’ve not been on a plane since well before 9/11 and now I don’t have any desire to go on one again anytime soon.
My problems began with arriving at BWI and having to proceed through the security gate. It was my turn to go through the metal detector and when I did so a woman pointed at me and said “Take your shoes off.” And out of surprise, I said “Really?” I looked around and saw that
But before I could remove my shoes, a big burly man pointed at me and said “Step out of the line.” I was then led to a side room and given a very rough and very extensive pat down. After which, I was questioned for 20 minutes about who I was, what I was doing, and where I was going.
Eventually they decided I wasn’t a threat and released me. When I complained about the rude treatment I was merely given a survey to fill out. I did so and made sure nearly
About an hour and a half before my flight was set to take off, I finally managed to reach my boarding gate. I got a coffee and then sat down and chilled in a chair. As time ticked by, my bladder started to fill and fill, until finally I seriously had to pee.
I picked up my two bags (a lap top case and a duffle bag) and went to the bathroom. Once I got in there I was surprised because there was no where for me to put my stuff while I peed. There were no shelves or racks or anything. My only option was to put them on the wet bathroom floor. I wasn’t going to do that cause that’s just gross.
So I set my two bags down right outside the bathroom entrance. I then peed, washed my hands, and exited the bathroom to get my bags. That’s when I had my second run-in with security.
Apparently, when you are in an airport you have to keep all your belongings with you at all time. Like…. With you, with you. I tried to explain to the security guard that I had to pee and that there was nowhere in the bathroom that I could place my bags while I peed. He didn’t follow my logic and as a result I was lead to another private room where I received another rough pat down.
Then another security guard entered and the second guard went through my bags questioning me on almost
The second problem was that I had s
I told them that I was the Executive Editor of Th3rd World Studios, an independent comic book company, and that as a result I always try to read as many other comics/graphic novels so that I know what’s out there. I explained that DMZ had gotten a lot of positive reviews and so I decided it was time I finally read it. But they didn’t seem to care. All they saw was comics with “terrorism” and felt that it was suspicious.
Looking back I understand now that I should have never left my stuff outside of the airport bathroom, but to go crazy over graphic novels is ridiculous. I’m sure they’ve never accused someone with a season of “24″ of being a terrorist. But comics, apparently not being as mainstream as I’ve hoped, are seen as this mysterious dark thing. It’s ignorance like this that makes the general public think comics are just for kids or that comics are ONLY superheroes. It’s sad.
But that wasn’t end of the drama.
Several days later when I returned to the
Apparently my bags were searched by TSA agents and they were very disrespectful to my stuff. For example, in my suitcase I had a bottle of shampoo taped shut, wrapped in a towel, and sealed in a plastic bag. But who
While cleaning up the mess I also figured out that I was missing one of the novels I had bought and “DMZ vol 2.” When I called the number listed on the “your luggage has been searched notice” I was simply told that I could write a complaint letter. That’s it! It doesn’t matter that $40 worth of books were ruined or that I was missing a book and a graphic novel!
Yeah. I’m soooooooooooooooo not flying again ((plus… when I got to my car in the BWI parking lot it completely covered in bird crap!)).
