Thursday, October 16, 2008

Plane Truth


I went to a talk the other night given by Barbara S. Peterson, an investigative journalist who went undercover as an airport screener with the TSA. It was fascinating to hear her insider's view of the convoluted bureaucracy and still-primitive security methods. (You can read her article about it here.) 

Because I'm writing an article about the challenges breastfeeding women face when traveling, I asked her if she'd had any experiences screening breast milk. She said she hadn't personally, but did know that a woman passing through security was once made to taste her own breast milk. It turns out the officer who made the woman do this was privately employed; the TSA spokesman I interviewed said this had never been TSA policy. 

I forgot to ask him, however, why the TSA made Snookums remove her shoes... 


1 comment:

Goody 2 Shoes said...

How fascinating to find out some inside TSA stories.

BTW...Snookums has the cutest bunny slippers.