Why Does My 80 year old GRANDMA Keep Getting SEARCHED At Airports?

[Placebo]

Every single time my grandma has flown since 9/11, and that's been a lot now that her daughter has moved to Arizona and such, SHE GETS SEARCHED BY AIRLINE SECURITY!

EVERY TIME.

Not just given extra attention, but asked to take her shoes off, THEN taken off to a secret room to be 'thoroughly searched'

I ask you, what about my 80 year old grandma screams 'TERRORIST!'??? Why can't she get on a plane without being searched to an insane degree.

And not only that, but my 3 YEAR OLD cousin also can't get on a plane without being searched. HE'S 3 YEARS OLD.

Are terrorists now dressing up like 80 year old ladies and 3 year old children? I don't get it, and it pisses me off big time. :grr:

[Pirate Smile]

1. Is her name Ted Kennedy or Pete Williams?

Not standard 80 year old women's names but, hey, you never know.:shrug:

[liberalitch]

2. At least your meema is in good company...

with teddy kennedy and all

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Are they brown or black?

Or maybe not Christian? Or do they have Arabic-sounding names? I'd say that is why.

[Placebo]

5. She is mexican BUT...

she was born here, and she's a light-skinned mexican, so she's totally americanized.

[medeak]

4. me too

but me thinks it's my name...too close to that wild Medea Benjamin.

[medeak]

6. ps

sold home in AZ...so glad as flying in and out of airport in Phoenix was a nightmare. They are the toughest it seems.

Perhaps because a few of the 9-11 terroists trained in Scottsdale.

[amazona]

7. they're looking for drugs

And 80 year olds do carry them, at least for personal use. I've even heard of drugs being put in diapers, but probably not the same drugs that Grandma is taking home to reduce her expenses for heart medication.

I was searched 6 separate times and questioned twice on one flight from AMS to DTW and I'm guessing it's far more likely they were hoping to find some drugs than they thought a middle-aged lady was going to blow up the plane...especially since some of the searches occurred after I landed.

[Spinzonner]

8. Maybe it's her Bolshevik past

:-)

[salib]

9. Same here

I fly several times a month and I just flew with my mother twice, and I had the same experience. She was set aside for "additional Screening" every time! Must be something they are looking for. Oh well.

[murphymom]

10. then on the other hand...

my husband (a brown-skinned Mexican-American who can pass for most any kind of generic third-worlder) and I took the car ferry to Port Angeles back from Victoria last month and Customs didn't even LOOK at our drivers licenses, let alone anything else. I didn't know whether to be appalled at the lax security or miffed that they thought we were too innocuous to bother with.

[Shoeempress]

11. Screening's a joke. We connected to a flight thru San Fran,

and a woman from SF got on with 18 inch long metal Knitting needles sticking out of her bag. I can't bring tweezers, but Knitting needles, No Problem.