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Faulty Metal Detectors in Nashville, TN Government Buildings

November 14, 2009

I had to go to the County Court Clerk's office the other day on personal business.

Like most government office buildings these days, they have metal detectors in place just inside the entrances.

Not wanting to be held up at the metal detector for any longer that necessary, I always leave everything I can in the car, including my wallet. I take out of my wallet and put into my shirt pocket only what I need, my driver's license, etc.

I walk in and get up to the metal detector. I put my car keys into the bin to be scanned. I walk through the detector. It doesn't go off, not even for my belt buckle.

The lady running the metal detector asks me suddenly, "What about your wallet?". I told her "I don't have my wallet on me". She acted very surprised and asks again, "Are you sure you don't have a wallet?". I told her firmly, "No, and your machine just said I was clean, so what's the problem?". She said, "Well.. sometimes the machine is wrong, so we like to ask".

I was so completely floored by her statement I couldn't even think of what to say.

It seems in Nashville you are guilty and subject to harassment even when planning in advance to try to make your way through the security system as quickly and easily as possible. Here I am trying to give this lady less stuff to scan, less reason to suspect me, less work to do overall, and she insinuates I might be doing something wrong by not having my wallet on me.

And what about the metal detector that she says is "sometimes wrong"? Why are our government office buildings being protected by known faulty metal detectors?

Do you know what I am saying?

Tags: metal, faulty, detector

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