Originally Posted by
saulblum
The entire premise of SPOT and BDOs hinges on the assumption that everyone flying is in a good mood: that they're embarking on their Disney World vacation or honeymoon or are about to seal a business deal or are going to their son's wedding.
Guess what? Some passengers are flying to funerals; others are flying to visit sick relatives who may have days left to live.
And the last thing those passengers need is to be judged harshly, and potentially face extra screening, because they did not sufficiently satisfy a BDO that their jitters are not a precursor to blowing up a plane.
That's all true but it doesn't go far enough. What kind of person is in a bad mood when talking to a screening clerk?
The kind of person who flies a lot and therefore encounters screening clerks frequently.
What kind of person is friendly and cooperative when talking to a screening clerk?
The kind of person who wants to avoid calling attention to himself.
What kind of person most wants to avoid calling attention to himself?
So yeah, what you say above is true and that by itself makes the BDO and SPOT and other rubbish an outrage, but in addition, the judgments they make are the opposite of the judgments they should be making.
Leave aside the fact that they are not trained enough or intelligent enough to make any judgments. IF somebody does want to do something to harm an aircraft, that person is going to engage with the screening clerk politely and respectfully and answer whatever idiotic questions the screening clerk asks. That person is going to hand over his water bottle at the gate for magic-strip testing, while leaving his deadly 11-ounce shaving cream can concealed in his roll-aboard. That person is not going to hand a suspicious NEXUS card to the document scribbler, and is going to answer promptly and accurately when the document scribbler asks for his or her name, without pointing out that the name is written on the boarding pass, or stating shock that the document scribbler can't read.
The scary terrorist who is going to blow up a plane with toothpaste, water, and a nail file is going to exhibit all the behaviors that the TSA takes to indicate that a passenger is not a threat.