I used to work for CATSA (the Canadian equivalent of the TSA), and let me tell you that it sucks even more being the person doing patdowns than the person being patted down. Up here we aren't legally allowed to search private areas, and if we have a valid reason to do so we have to call the cops and take the passenger to a private room where the cops perform the search. As a passenger, it sucks going through security. I know, I used to travel all the time when I was younger. I hated waiting in line and I hated having to get a pat down when I knew I wasn't carrying anything on me.
But you have to see it from airport security's perspective too. I have never been treated as badly in my entire life as I did when I worked airport security. People are constantly rude, think they know better than you do and treat you like you are a fucking retard (I worked there after having graduated university while I was trying to decide if I should continue in my field or try and find a different profession). We don't make the rules but we do have to do our job. Bitching at the person checking your bag, wanding you or patting you down isn't the right way to go about things, it's just going to put them in a bad mood and they're going to start acting like dicks. For example, I can do a thorough and gentle pat down in roughly 30-45 seconds, and if the person I'm patting down is nice I'll go as quickly as I can so they can be on their way. If the person is being a douchecanoe, I'll take a couple of minutes and be a bit more rough. I didn't necessarily enjoy doing it, but it made me feel better so that I wasn't in a bad mood all day long and dwelling on how big of a douche that person had been. Even then, I would always be cracking jokes with my coworkers and passengers, mostly because I'm really silly but also because it would put people in better moods.
That said, I don't agree with the TSA and US government making people go through
those kinds of patdowns. That is just downright disgraceful, embarrassing and a violation of people's rights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7AWw7t5zj0
