abmj-jr

+1. Labeling this drivel as "Must Read" is ridiculous.

Asiaflyguy

Well said... +1

glx

You're a bully. Period. I wish I had the extra time in my day to work up the level of venom that you seem to have.

The TSA agents follow protocol to get a paycheck. Have a problem? Take it up with their bosses.

ckeegan04

I hate the police state feel of the TSA as much, if not more, than most. But most of the TSA employees on an individual level are just out there doing a job and for the most part are pleasant people.

Deliberately being a jerk to them (which is all this "literal" nonsense is) is just an a-hole move for the sake of being an a-hole.

Take your issues with the TSA to a place where you might actually get something accomplished and give joe blow agent who is just trying to make a buck the respect any hard working person deserves. Save the smart assedness for the TSA agent who actually has the power trip thing going on.

pinniped

And acting like a spoiled little brat to the TSA agents is somehow supposed to make the process better for all of us?

I'm not following the logic. If anything, it seems to me that the OP's behavior has a much greater potential to make life more difficult for both himself and other passengers who later have to deal with the agent(s) he's bullied.

flyupfront

I agree with many of the others' comments. KDS exemplifies the kinds of bad behavior that makes today's travel so painful. Karma has a way of catching up. Next time, I'd cut the poor TSA folks a break and let them do their job.

Carl Johnson

First, that's a false dichotomy, used as a clumsy sleight of hand to conceal the the fact that you have no good argument. Second, yes. There is no security in place and I totally would fly without the TSA, or a replacement. The TSA misses 70% of weapons. Can you look at those people and seriously tell me that any moderately careful attacker would fail to sneak an elephant past them? The only thing the TSA does that relates to aviation security is to create a large, vulnerable mass of people at the checkpoint, thereby creating a target for an attacker. The fact that there has not been such an attacker shows that the TSA is a total waste.

Carl Johnson

That's only because TSA clerks who don't do their jobs properly aren't fired. The TSA clerks are there to screen for WEI and that's all. If the TSA had any hiring standards, that is what they would to and they would react in a professional manner to anything a passenger said. Instead of which, you get clerks telling people they can't video, arguing with people who present ID that's on the TSA list of acceptable IDs, telling people going on international flights that they need to see the passport, which they don't, on and on and on. The numerous failings of the TSA clerks aren't the OP's fault, and it isn't just the policies that are at fault, it is the fact that the TSA clerks don't carry out the policies according to instructions. The screening process would be much less bad if the clerks just stuck to the rules.

NewportGuy

We sit and complain about the intrusive and offensive acts by the TSA, yet here is someone who is speaking out and he is told to shut up? Seriously, what does it take to get people angry?

And of course one of my favorites:

eajusa

Why I bothered clicking the link on the front page is beyond me.

pinniped

But this clerk did none of those things. The clerk in question was professional and didn't take the bait, even though the OP was clearly taunting him.

Sounds like he "stuck to the rules" to me.

Oh good gawd, please stop it with the "liberty" stuff. I think most people agree it's totally fair game to criticize the TSA, comment on their tactics, and point out where the system can be improved. There are lots of threads here about legitimate misconduct by the TSA: that should absolutely be taken seriously.

But the OP's childish behavior isn't about "speaking out" or trying to enact positive change to the system. Hell, it isn't even an effective step towards the goal some people have of abolishing the whole thing entirely. It's just childish behavior, plain and simple. Like what my 7-year-old does what she doesn't get what she wants...

cynicAAl

I guess you and I are unique in our enjoyment of "playing with TSA" at times. It certainly doesn't make you a bully, or a jerk, or anything other than someone who is just a little fed up with pointless security theater. (referring to front-line TSA interactions). Obviously, there is lots of important work screening pax behind the scenes. A simple walk through a metal detector would be adequate at the check point. No ID. No questions. No BPs. No groping. No exposure to radiation. No (useless and inaccurate) swabs to look for evil.

I've played literal sometimes. It's fun.

TSA: State your name
me: "your name"
TSA excuse me ?
me: you're excused. this time.
TSA: what is your name ?
me: it's the unique identifier that I was given at birth.
TSA: can you state your name for me ?
me: Yes
TSA: are you refusing to state your name ?
me: no need to refuse since it's written on those 2 docs you're holding in your hand
TSA: so what is your name ?
me: it's right there in your hand. Let's see if you can pronounce it correctly ?
TSA: do you want to fly today ?
me: I actually don't "want" to fly. I'd rather be home. Are we done here ?
TSA: have a nice flight.

And I'll save some of you the trouble: I'm a jerk. And I'm OK with it. No need to tell me what I already know.

Carl Johnson

I once said: "Oh, you can't read?" and said it slowly.

Another couple of times I took a second boarding pass I had printed and read it off that. They've quit doing it at the airports I go out of, though.

Carl Johnson

I have my point of focus, OP has his. OP's, I think, is weighted more strongly toward the idea that the TSA is a total waste (which it is) and everything they do is an intrusion (which it is).

Well, we have here people calling the OP "childish" and a "brat," and using other content-free words to disparage him. And we have in this relatively short thread had "do you want there to be no security at all?"

Try using words with meaning, rather than "childish" (which says nothing about what is being talked about, only about your feelings), to explain to the OP what's wrong with his views and actions.

zitsky

I'll tell you anyway, you certainly sound like a jerk but I know you don't care. I don't like TSA either but I don't deal with them by acting like a 5 year old.