Granted that folks have used children to meet their debased means, in Vietnam children were used to carry live grenades to unsuspecting American Troops in hopes that they'll be dropped close enough to kill a few. Still this is America and an American child with American parents... oh sure Americans can be our own terrorists (McViegh, et al) but c'mon!!
The Thomases eventually complied and Ryan made it through on his own, but Bob immediately asked for a supervisor. The supervisor was less than sympathetic and stood by the screener's actions. A fellow police officer even told Bob Thomas to drop it and go enjoy his vacation.
But Bob Thomas didn’t forget and after his trip he called the airport manager. Eventually, with help from Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Daniel Rubin, the TSA finally responded to the incident saying that the boy never should have had to remove his braces and they would be looking into what went wrong that day in March.
For the Thomases that probably feels like too little too late.
Overkill is an understatement I think. But is it a glimpse into the future? Will we all have to undergo some humiliating experience just to get on a plane, or even a train (not yet I don't think but wait... just wait) how about a Greyhound bus? Remember the "T" in TSA stands for Transportation.
A Google search with the tags ryan thomas, 4 years old, TSA, showed the follow up story here:
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...d-to-remove-leg-braces-at-airport-screening/1
The Transportation Security Administration
concedes that a 4-year-old boy heading to Walt Disney World for a birthday celebration should not have been forced to remove his leg braces during an airport-security screening in Philadelphia, a Philly columnist
writes.
The
Philadelphia Inquirer's Daniel Rubin writes that the incident occurred last March when Ryan Thomas was flying to Orlando with his parents, Bob and Leona, but that the TSA apologized last week only after the columnist got wind of it.
Read Rubin's full column
here.
Well, at least they got an apology... :shrug:
Never mind the confusion, and emotional trauma the kid suffered -- scared that he might fall down, big tall authority types (to the kid they were) ordering his parents around and yes,
feeling his parents distress though they probably didn't show it.
This is going to be one story in a long list of stories about the TSA's desire/actions to keep everyone safe.
