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LOS ANGELES - A Texas woman who said she was forced to remove a nipple ring with pliers in order to board an airplane called Thursday for an apology by federal security agents and a civil rights investigation.
I am sorry, but I have to take off my shoes, belt, earrings, wedding rings, necklaces, etc. to get through security at the airport. If the security alarms were going off and they made her remove her nipple ring, too bad. Why should she be treated any differently than anyone else just because she decided to get her nipples pierced? She needs to complain about something else. Welcome to reality as an American in 2008.
Sounds like fascism to me. It was one thing reading "1984" and learning about Big Brother in English class in the 10th grade (in the late 70's), it's another thing for it to become reality in living color in the 21st century. Scary.
Another female should have been able to pass a wand over her chest and see where the buzz was going off, or were they afraid that her breasts could be removed and weapons were stored behind them?
Whats next, "Please remove your shoes, your belt, your breasts... " Thank you for flying TWA
I don't think you guys are understanding the story. I think they are referring to nipple rings attached to the bra and not the other "place". She was removing it from her bra and not her female parts. Personally, I don't really care and it seems like it was blown out of proportion. They could of easily wand her and done a pat down but I am guessing she refused and so they asked her to remove it which is absolutely reasonable I think...
I don't think you guys are understanding the story. I think they are referring to nipple rings attached to the bra and not the other "place". She was removing it from her bra and not her female parts. Personally, I don't really care and it seems like it was blown out of proportion. They could of easily wand her and done a pat down but I am guessing she refused and so they asked her to remove it which is absolutely reasonable I think...
No, I think that "we" are understanding the story quite well. The piercings were on "the other place", more specifically a place called "the nipples" that are part of the human breast. Both men and women have breasts and nipples. The passenger WAS wanded but that wasn't good enough. A male TSA agent said that the passenger would not be allowed to board until both nipple piercings were out. The passenger went back with a female TSA agent and initially offered to show her nipple piercings to the female TSA agent in hopes of not having to remove the piercings, which would not be an easy process. That wasn't good enough so the passenger went to remove the piercings; was successful in removing the first one, but could not remove the second one by herself. Subsequently, the female TSA agent had to get a pair of pliers and forcibly and painfully remove the second nipple piercing. By the way, a male TSA agent could be heard snickering during this entire process. Why is this necessary for a passenger to fly? I see this as a venue for misuse of power, especially towards women, it seems. Reminds me of the woman that had to taste her own breast milk before boarding. What's next? Removal of sanitary products in order to make sure that they are not weapons?
P.S. - On its Web site, the TSA warns that passengers "may be additionally screened because of hidden items such as body piercings, which alarmed the metal detector. If you are selected for additional screening, you may ask to remove your body piercing in private as an alternative to a pat-down search," the site says.
The passenger said that she would have accepted the pat-down, if offered (as an alternative to removing the piercings.)
I don't think you guys are understanding the story. I think they are referring to nipple rings attached to the bra and not the other "place". She was removing it from her bra and not her female parts. Personally, I don't really care and it seems like it was blown out of proportion. They could of easily wand her and done a pat down but I am guessing she refused and so they asked her to remove it which is absolutely reasonable I think...
I'm afraid that you have the details of the story bass ackwards. The woman involved in this sorry situation (Mandi Hamlin, age 37), not some young "hottie", was wearing two nipple piercings, a horsehoe shaped ring and barbell type piercing. The piercings were through Ms. Hamlin's nipples, not her bra. The story that you saw with Atty. Gloria Allread used a maniquin and a bra for illustrative purposes only. Scar tissue had grown around the piercings making the jewelry very difficult and painful to remove. The TSA is nothing but a bunch of buerocratic A-Holes that have run amok that degrade and humiliate airline passengers because..., they can!
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