SEATTLE, Washington - February 22, 2011 - KC McLawson works for a cafe near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and since the body scan and pat down controversy last November, her boss has taken extraordinary measures to ensure the TSA knows of his displeasure.
“We have posted signs on our doors basically saying that they aren’t allowed to come into our business,” she says.. “We have the right to refuse service to anyone.” Banning TSA from a restaurant seems a little harsh, doesn’t it?
“My boss flies quite a bit and he has an amazing ability to remember faces. If he sees a TSA agent come in we turn our backs and completely ignore them, and tell them to leave. Their kind isn’t welcomed in our establishment. A large majority of our customers - over 90%- agree with our stance and stand by our decision,” said McLawson.
“We even have the police on our side and they have helped us escort TSA agents out of our cafe. (When) TSA agents start treating us with the respect and dignity that we deserve, then things will change for them in the private sector,” she added. “I wondered if putting TSA on the no-visit list was somewhat extreme. I mean, what have they done to deserve this? Then I reviewed the week’s troubling news.”
I asked McLawson if I could talk with her boss, but he declined. She says she hopes telling her story will raise awareness of the anger felt by small businesses across America toward the TSA.
“Maybe more businesses will step up to the plate and do the same,” she says.
There’s been a considerable amount of interest in finding the cafe for which McLawson works. I’ve been trying to balance our need to know with her desire to remain anonymous. It’s not easy.
One point of clarification: McLawson told me she worked for a cafe near a major airport. Her IP address indicated her location was in Seattle. It is possible that she’s using an alias or works at another airport.
