TSA Pat Downs, The Untold Story

As with all media bias, we only hear one side of the story. As the TSA pat downs and body scanners make news for what is spun by the media as being egregious, more positive news is left by the wayside. Stories about breast cancer survivors being made to expose their prosthetic breasts and people getting large blades through security despite the pat downs dwarf stories that show the real success of the program, stories like Jonathan McDougal's.

Jonathan is a single, 31 year old suburbanite, Pokemon trading card game champion, and an avid flyer that travels the country in an effort to catch 'em all. Jonathan loves America and loves making it a safe place to live. As far as Jonathan is concerned, the TSA pat downs aren't intrusive enough. Jonathan's story isn't one of sensationalism, just one of a satisfied customer -- a story not being told.

You see, Jonathan has felt unsafe for a long time on flights. He has been worried about the "lack of attention" to detail in security screening for a while now. "I feel much, much safer when I get a really good pat down, the more stern the pat down, the safer I feel. I like it really thorough," he said while grinning. "I mean, you know, like, because then I know everyone is getting that same security screen," Jonathan stated emphatically.

"I've opted out of the backscatter scans every time, I really appreciate the personal service by the TSA agents," Jonathan stated. When asked if he thought the TSA could improve security further, he responded, "There is a good 2 or 3 inches at the top of my inner thigh I could be hiding some sort of bomb that just isn't being checked. If the agents could just get up in there a bit more I'd feel a lot more safe." He later added that the TSA agents need to rotate their hands a bit and use additional strokes to increase their search coverage.

Jonathan is also quoted as saying, "Everyone is being babies about this, the TSA isn't even checking my crack and I could have a blade in there for sure. In fact, I told the last TSA agent that I might have a package hidden back there and she didn't even check. She kind of gave me a disgusted look like, 'Why would I check you, you're clearly a safe flyer' and sent me on my way".

I applaud Jonathan for his courage to step forward and take an unpopular stance in the wake of this media smear campaign.