to be a bit annoyed at the way this body search was done?e

[CharlotteRumpling]

So I was just body and hand searched at Heathrow. I dont object to that at all. I object to the demeanour of the woman security guard. A lot of tutting, rolling eyes, snappy tone because I was apparently holding my hands the wrong way/ not getting into position fast enough. I left home at 5 am so a bit sleepy. On the other hand I recognise it's a very hard and intense job. But the women after me was body searched because she had coins ( I didn't) and she got a pleasant please and thank you. She also did not have her hands checked.

I am brown btw.

Why have you instantly tried to make out this was because of race?

I’ve rarely come across any “friendly” people in security, they are dealing with never ending long queues, people not following instructions and the pressure of their decisions/checks having huge repercussions if not done correctly.

Let it go or make a formal complaint.

Any time I've been in an airport it's been rammed for various reasons including holiday season but invariably Security didn't have time to be nasty or nice. They were trying to get people through as fast as possible - and people are absolute dingbats sometimes, faffing about with no self awareness when there's a horde of people behind them.

I'm so sorry that happened to you, MyOtherCar, but I guess at least it was a woman

The worst one I ever saw was at Luxor, where naturally each search was done by someone of the same sex ... until that is a family with a very pretty teenage daughter came through and a huge guy came forward practically slobbering and proceeded to give her a very handsy search

I felt awful for her, but almost worse for her poor dad, who stepped up to say something and was met with a smirk and a tap of the security guy's gun

Because the white person who followed was treated quite pleasantly.

I once saw a poor elderly chap get barked at to remove his braces going through security. He then waddled through the machine with his pants round his ankles. I've never forgotten it.

Yep. It's absolutely possible to do a hard and intense job without being rude and unpleasant to people. I'm sure that tutting and being grumpy doesn't make their day any better. And they should never shout at passengers, that isn't ok .

Were they? Or was it just perceived that way?

Who is still hanging around after their search to listen and watch intently on the next person who’s a stranger?

Its not an unheard of insult or beyond the bounds if reasonable inquiry to discuss race, racism, and racial profiling in the absurd security theater that we are forced to undergo in airports. There has been plenty of respectable sociological research and legal inquiries into inequitable and racist practices in screening procedures.

People don't necessarily pay that much attention to the exact hand position etc. of actors pretending to be searched in a TV show (or make sure to closely observe real people currently being searched who'd probably rather not be stared at, and are most likely on the other side of a crowd of queuing passengers). I could probably see TV body search scenes dozens of times and not take note of whether people were facing their hands forwards, backwards, or side-on. Just as you've probably seen the word "queue" thousands of times (including in several posts above yours) and still managed to leave half of it off.

Edit to add: if you're thinking of coming back with a "well actually I'm dyslexic" or whatever, well done, that's the fucking point. People are different, choose different media to consume, notice different things, remember different aspects, have differing levels of ability to apply knowledge in different situations, and so on.

Exactly, agree with @SoNiceToComeHomeTo too.

mumsnet is appalling sometimes.

If this was a woman saying she was treated badly (especially by a man)in some way and felt it was a gender /sexism issue I’m sure far less posters would immediately rush to the airport staffs defence or say it wasn’t about sex/gender.

It would be more 50/50 at least.

Why is your first port of call to invalidate a woman of colours experience?

@CharlotteRumpling I don’t know this woman’s motivation and I obviously wasn’t there but it’s well known many brown people are treated worse especially at airports. And the fact she was polite to the (presumably white?) woman after you is obviously further indication some racial bias could’ve involved.

Sometimes people just know in their guts, so you will probably know deep down either way.

YANBU to be annoyed but that said forget it for now at least and Enjoy your holidays!

I had some dreadful agressive woman when I was visiting London for the day flying in from France. I explained we were holidaying in France and I was flying over for a day to have lunch in London with an old school friend. She implied my husband and I were planning a new life illegally in the UK armed with only the contents of my handbag and despite a flight booked back to Paris that night. She couldn't grasp the concept that I wasn't dying to stay longer in the UK. I didn't tell her that she was deluded about the delights of the UK and I have the right to live in the UK even though I was travelling on a foreign passport. I was polite because I thought she was dying to snap out a pair of rubber gloves. Both my husband and I are white.

I am nearly 70, white and my hand luggage was swabbed for drugs and I was patted down quite thoroughly on a recent short flight. First time it has ever happened to me. I suppose pensioners must be being used as drug mules these days. It isn't a pleasant experience and I am sorry that happened to you OP.

Oh dear. Currently at a airport hotel, flying in a few hours. Hoping we don't have an experience like that. It's not a great start to any holiday but glad your enjoying your holiday now.

Who said it was “unheard of”? I’m just making the point that attributing every slight made to you and instantly assuming it’s because of your race in my opinion waters down genuine incidents of racism.

The OP said themselves they weren’t getting into the right positions asked of them because they were sleepy so the person probably get irritated. Yeah it would be kinder for the person to have given OP patience but none of us know how busy the airport was, how long that person had been working, if they’d had numerous bad interactions that day etc - the OP may have been been unintentionally rude back by pulling a face. Who know? We weren’t there.

I’m assuming the person searched afterwards was white, which kind of moves more towards saying OP wasn’t profiled for her skin colour. And was OP there for the full encounter of a different person being search? Who hangs around that long at the security check point?

I think ive seen the oceans films a long time ago but can't remember an airport scene. That's a very niche genre.

What crime movies/TV... hardly niche.