I dislike the sense of judgment from TSA officials when I don’t correctly predict which items they do/don’t want me to put in the tray. It’s not my fault that different airports seem to have completely different rules for the same items.

I've often thought that having a standardized checklist on a big board in the security line would be a big help.

    Laptops: In/Out
    Liquids: In/Out
    Shoes: On/Off
    Etc

Recently had to fly with some splints and crutches and stuff and that was a whole extra set of fun difference in airport rules. First one really wanted to rub their explosives swab on my finger that was held together by exposed metal pins and had exposed subcutaneous tissue. They were a bit put off when I asked for alternate options.

One time, a TSA official told me "never take off your watch in an airport unless you want to lose it" -- which is how I learned that you can wear your watch through the metal detector just fine, which I've now done dozens of times.

Until a few weeks ago when a another TSA official berated me for thinking I could walk through a metal detector wearing a watch...

Even different lines in the same security area can have different rules. If you travel a lot you start to recognize which machines require laptops out of bags and which don't, for instance.

It is really anxiety inducing overall though. Not to mention the ritual of getting partly undressed before the stupid thing then trying to put everything back on and in pockets on the other side.

I've experienced this at non-US airports where the x-ray at the entrance asks for different things to be in the tray than the x-rays before boarding. It's impossible to keep track of what goes where.

TSA PreCheck means I don't have to worry about those rules. Completely worth it. I haven't taken off my shoes, belt, taken out my laptop or liquids in a decade.

I had a small local airport act like I was an idiot for not knowing they wanted all food items removed from carryon for scanning.

Literally never heard of that.

Even at the same airport they can’t seem to get it right amongst themselves. Recently had one TSA person yelling at me to keep something in my bag and then the next person down the line yelling at me for having it in my bag.

When I pointed to the other agent and said “your friend over there told me to do the opposite, that’s why it’s in there!” they just sort of scowled at me.

I just smiled and went about my day, but yes the TSA is often just a total dumpster fire. Some folks are very nice but too many of their folks have a giant chip on their shoulder about something.

I used to travel for work. 100ish flight segments a year all over the country, typically carrying two laptops - corporate and client.

In one airport, I had a TSA agent yell at me that I'm not allowed to bring two laptops through precheck in my bag. That they had to go through separately. I complied but asked if that was this airport's policy because no other airport seemed to care. She swore up and down that this was national TSA policy and I should know better if I flew so much.

When I look at the TSA's success rates in audits, I tend to agree with the claim that it is more a government jobs program than a security agency.

There’s a fundamental issue with people, which is that it’s difficult to treat masses of people as separate individuals.

After the 20th time you ask someone to take out their laptop, there’s a part of you that’s screaming, “we’ve done this 20 times, you should know this by now!” Of course, “we” haven’t done this 20 times, only one side of the interaction has the repeated experience. But it’s natural to project that onto the other person, and get into a mode of, “I’ve told you before.”

Obviously this can be overcome, I'm not sure TSA hires people with enough self awareness to even see the problem.

So many airports don't have a sign telling you what to take out for some reason.

Isn’t this the point? To destabilize you, put you on your back foot, make you feel preemptively guilty and a little angry, to feel the presence of an Authority?

This is one of my major pet peeves, and it extends well beyond TSA. Help desks, call centers, car rentals... Essentially, it's when someone expects you to be able to do their job. When you invariably don't, they treat you as if you're stupid.

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