It seems to be a week of parents, kids, and air travel, and a whole lot of discussion of hoaxes.
First, there was the Heene family, and what it becoming known as the Bubble Boy Flight. Or hoax, depending on which side of the issue you come down on. A recent CNN breaking news report said that charges were soon to be filed against the dad. What charges? Not yet known, but many who followed the story on Thursday will be curious to find out.
Next, comes the story of Nic (a mom), Jackson (a baby), Atlanta’s Jackson-Hartfield Airport, and the TSA.
On October 16th, Nic posts on her blog that while she was undergoing a secondary screening a TSA official took her baby out of her arms and left her sight. You can read her story on her blog. A cry went up from outraged parents and passengers. And who could blame them.
I read her story and while it sounded outrageous, I had a niggling little voice inside of me that said. . . “there’s more to this story.” Maybe it’s because I’m naturally suspicious and need corroborating evidence. Maybe it’s because I deal with the TSA and security screening more than most people. Maybe it’s because something just didn’t sound authentic.
The TSA chimed in on the TSA blog, citing their attempts to contact Nic and receiving no response. They posted a video of the individual who they claim in Nic, showing in elapsed time a security process that took around 9 minutes starting from the time she put her items on the security conveyor until she walked away from the security screening area. What happened in those 9-ish minutes didn’t bear much in common with Nic’s description, with the exception of there was a baby and there was a security screen. In the video, baby and mom were never more than a couple of feet apart, always within eyesight of one another.
You will never hear me asserting the the TSA is a paragon of efficiency or etiquette. I have seen everything from people trying their hardest to do a job that no one really wants done to power hungry officials. Everything from gross incompetency to an I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude.
I’ve seen passengers who are polite, despite the intrusion on their civil liberties and the ridiculous procedures involved. But I’ve also seen passengers with chips on their shoulder, taking out anger or frustration on people who are just trying to do their job. I’ve seen passengers who refuse to calm down, becoming their own worst enemy, as well as those who are angry and spoiling for a fight and exaggerating their circumstances.
In this world, it takes all kinds.
Take a look at these videos and decide who you believe told the truth. I’m not asking whether you agree with TSA procedures, because not many people do. I’m not asking if you thinking a mom should be separated from her child, because clearly she should not. What I’m asking here, is who is telling the truth. If blogging in citizen journalism, we need to care about that.
Watch the video and then vote. Feel free to leave a comment as well.
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