TSA Breast Milk Screening PHX 2_1_10 Part 1.wmv

I am the brunette in black getting my items ready for screening (you will see me about 45 seconds into the video). I travel every week and bring home breast milk with me through Phoenix Sky Harbor. TSA rules allow for alternate screening (no xray) for breast milk and I almost never had a problem...until the week before this screening. I was held for 30 minutes that week while the TSA manager called to find out the rules. I was told to "pump and dump," asked why the milk wasn't clear, and asked where my baby was if it was really milk (traveling, working mom pumping doesn't usually have the baby with her). After begging him to figure it out, they finally let me through. I called and complained to TSA and was instructed to travel with the TSA breast milk rules printed out and present them whenever there is a problem. As my items come through security this time, I notice immediately that I was dealing with the same people from the week before. The woman tells me right away that my milk might have to go through xray, and then I tell her I printed the rules. I go to grab the rules on top of my bag and she freaks out and pushes my arm away. Another guy comes over and calls for "back up" and they put me back in the glass cage. Standing 50 ft away are the same manager and supervisor I had dealt with the previous week. They will stall for 20 minutes before coming over to me. Meanwhile, one of the guys comes over to me and tells me "to be quiet if I know what's good for me." At the end of this portion I have been locked up for just under 10 minutes. The whole ordeal takes just under 1 hour.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• TSA
• TSA screening
• breast milk

[staceyarmato]

@xterraguy: my brother in law did me a favor by helping me put the videos together, speed them up, and narrate. He didn't know all the details so there were a few errors but he tried to get it up as soon as possible knowing that the issue really needed to get out there. My son was 7 months old at the time and I was not pregnant during the video. I got pregnant 6 weeks later and am due any week now with our next little one. Travel and pumping will start again for me in February 2011...

[staceyarmato]

@mommy2kdk: I get to the airport just over an hour before my flight. It is a weekly commuter flight b/t PHX and LAX and I don't check luggage. Usually the screening takes 5 extra minutes and lines are short.  Clearly I wasn't planning on an hour long screening which is why I missed my flight. @kcornishscott: I am working on getting women and men together on a blog soon. TSA is a major power-house and we need to band together otherwise this abuse of power will continue. I will update soon.

[staceyarmato]

@mommy2kdk, you bring up a very good point. TSA does a very poor job of communicating the rules for breast milk. However, they are as follows: medical liquids can have an alternate screening (which means no x-ray) but must be announced before the x-ray machine. Breast milk is classified as a medical liquid. Also, the 3.4 oz requirement does not apply to medical liquids and as such does not apply to breast milk.

[staceyarmato]

Thank you all for your support. Check out a better version of this video at Newport81's YouTube page. Thanks!!!

[nottaplecostumus]

Occupy the TSA, they are trying to teach us to be good slaves. This is as absurd or more so as the prosthetic breast one, and the 90-yr-old woman one.

[vic4rp]

Well,If you want this mess to stop,vote for Ron Paul,he is the only one speaking out on the TSA,acta,sopa,NDAA,patriot act.

[ericynot]

Perhaps when you've sobered up enough to type intelligibly, you'll realize that every word of my comment about the TSA was dripping with sarcasm. I hold the TSA in utter contempt, as do I people who type comments as vulgar and nonsensical as yours.

[harleykman]

Are you an dio.t TRSA RULES FORIBD THE SCANNING BY XRAY MACHINE. Clear?

,.

God. Our country is going downhill because of illiterate mother fucking shtiheads like you. THE RULES FORBID XRAYING MILK. What part of that does not enter your oeqa-size dbrain? Stul;pdi mpiec eofidotif shit.

Burn inhell . You'd ptrobably sityh trehe and sya, "ThE Germans ain't so bad. Hitler is just trying to SAVWE us from the rotten jews!" Pig-headed fascist shit

,.

[sereneyoshiko]

thanks for sharing your story.

[shotster7468]

Pat, the large TSA man/woman (not sure) looks like she has been drinking alot breast milk and with that kind if weight should probably cut back.

[TheMashKETCHUP]

what the hell is that.

a box of shame??!?!?

[ericynot]

I can't believe so many people are complaining about such a minor issue as a TSA inspection of a few ounces of liquid taking so long that an obviously goth woman missed her flight.

Heck, she's probably in some kind of Satanic cult and planning to feed that milk to sacrificial babies. Why, look how the kindly TSA agent ever so politely holds the door to her cage open for her at 2:53. Our men and women in TSA blue are clearly total professionals without whom we'd all be dead in a matter of days.

[mem89756]

America, land of the free home of the brave. What an embarrassment this video is to what used to be a great nation. The millions upon millions of hours americans will be illegally detained this year put in context the pathetic situation we have allowed this to become. "America land of the cowards, home of the gutless" if we keep allowing this to continue.