There certainly seems to be an element of class warfare going on. Nobody mentions it, but those traveling by air, at least those who fly fairly often, tend to be at a higher rung on the societal ladder than the screeners. Not that this makes the flyers any better humans, but on the flip side, resentments held by the screeners certainly come into play at times esp in the form of "payback" that OP got.

Human nature at its finest. Next time you go there, prepare to get groped roughly.

There's a fine line between asserting your rights when it's important, and waking the dragon or dragoness when you don't have to.