I'm with you. Every time I travel to the US it's like being in a strangely authoritarian regime - and I've been to several.
I make it a point to smile during my pat downs, ask if they'd like me to bend over, and shift my privates. When they invariably mention that they use the "back of their gloved hand". I ask if they wouldn't mind using the front of their hand - a shocking number of TSA agents are homophobic, and whilst straight, I play into that.
There's nothing I enjoy more than making agents of the security theatre uncomfortable. It brightens up the traveling experience.
Meh. To me this is like getting mad at a cop for writing a parking ticket, or harassing a hostess for long waits in a restaurant. Sure, they have power over you, and their actions are making your life inconvenient, but they are not the ones making the decision-- they're just doing their job. Be mad at the people that created the policies, not the people who are just following orders.
I make it a point to smile during my pat downs, ask if they'd like me to bend over, and shift my privates. When they invariably mention that they use the "back of their gloved hand". I ask if they wouldn't mind using the front of their hand - a shocking number of TSA agents are homophobic, and whilst straight, I play into that.
There's nothing I enjoy more than making agents of the security theatre uncomfortable. It brightens up the traveling experience.