Originally Posted by
PTravel
To take what position? As an attorney, I swore an oath to uphod and defend the Constitution. Whatever oath you took has no more meaning than the Boy Scout oath.
You have the legal power to deny access to the sterile area, but you do not have the legal power to prevent it. For that, you must call a LEO. Moreover, your "power" is limited to determining whether a passenger or his baggage contains weapons, explosives or incendiaries. That's it. No different than a postal clerk who refuses to take a leaky parcel.
As I recall, you're one of the "good ones," so this is not directed at you personally, but at some of your compatriots who confuse the uniform with "authority."
Correct.
By implying that my oath has no meaning, you also imply that yours is just as worthless. It is essentially the same oath, maybe with a bit of different wording. Some people take their oaths seriously, as I do (and by what I read, you seem to take yours seriously as well). Some just think it is another "inprocessing" moment on the way to a steady paycheck. There are folks like that in every position that requires an oath (the military, federal government, state government, various LEO positions, attorneys, etc).
The position I was referring to was the position of TSO.
The legal power to prevent access is still a fairly potent power, and requires that when that power is exercised, that it is done by the SOP. I completely disagree with any unprofessional behavior and any abuse of the power granted to us in our duty position, it is simply inexcusable. Hence the reason I am so hard on folks that prove out to have abused their station, I have no mercy for them (as should HQ and the local chain of command).
It is nice to be referred to as one of the "good ones"! There are many on here that would disagree with you wholeheartedly. I am simply a big supporter of the agency, and want the folks wearing the uniform to do their job and do it right, and to take the position seriously. There are other things I want or may advocate, but most of what I want boils down to something that simple.