Originally Posted by BearX220

I think it's the only way TSA can cover for a massively undertrained, uncontrollable workforce going rogue on the front lines.

The agency has shown no interest in preventing theft, harassment, intimidation, abuse, etc. at the checkpoints. We have all seen crazy TSOs making up rules, screaming at passengers, etc. with no fear of reprisal. We have all observed nonsensical, bizarre procedures imposed by half-bright or possibly sociopathic personalities. You never know what you're walking into at a checkpoint.

Saddled with so many undesirables, TSA has a basic choice: defend the public against its own people, or defend its own people against the public. The former would be the equivalent of hacking big holes in the agency's own boat, so management has opted for the latter.

This creates solidarity among the rank-and-file but also pits the agency against its own patrons, e.g. taxpayers. And it forces TSA into lame coverups for ongoing abuse and incompetence, e.g. calling erratic employee behavior "consistent inconsistencies," which is sort of the equivalent of Pee Wee Herman taking a header and then claiming, "I meant to do that."

If TSA had hired more carefully and did not execute its mission is so reprehensible a way, it wouldn't be necessary to go to war against the public. But they're trapped now. They can't call out their own incompetent or corrupt or maniacal employees, because there are so many of them and TSA is dependent on them. They are stuck defending a nationally deployed corps of freelance maniacs, peeping Toms, thieves and bullies. The only managerial solution is to double down and treat the public as a bigger threat than their own malignant workforce.