A video showing a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent patting down a three-year-old in a wheelchair has some viewers reacting in outrage.
The ordeal began when the child, who has cast for a broken leg, was separated from his family for further searching. As the employee swabs the trembling toddler for traces of explosives, his father can do nothing but stand on the other side of the partition.
“My little boy wanted me to come over to hold his hand and give him a hug,” he wrote in a sticky note on the video. “He was trembling with fear. I was told I could NOT touch him or come near him during the process. Instead, we had to pretend this was ‘ok’ so he didn’t panic.”
The boy’s father is radio programmer and podcaster Matt Dubiel, who happened to have a camera on him ready to film the shocking search. The YouTube community seemed to agree that searches like this one are wrong.
“I feel sick. This is why I hate the TSA and feel really uncomfortable in America in general,” wrote MisterDipple.
“It might make you feel safe to have you or your child touched like this, but the majority of Americans see through the smoke screen at this poin,” commented Conservativetandt. “There are other nations in this world that deal with more threats on a daily basis than we ever will and THEY do not do these kinds of things. Read up a little bit on how Israel does their security.”
This is by no means the first time a report of bad TSA behavior has sparked outrage on the Internet. However, the more frequently it happens, the more viewers are becoming opposed to invasive searches. After one blogger proved an easy way to outsmart TSA scanners, some Americans are beginning to wonder—what are we sacrificing our privacy for?
As redditor Nebz604 wrote on a thread about the video: “What a scary country to live in.”
