Originally Posted by
jkhuggins
One of these days, I'll need empathy when I don't deserve it ... and I hope someone will have pity on me and extend it to me. I can certainly treat others the way I would hope to be treated.
Note that, even in that terribly brief segment, it's not "just" filming. It's filming with an audio commentary. And it's the snarky sound of that commentary that suggests to me that this is the end of a much longer conversation: one that we really should hear in its entirety before rendering final judgment.
In the past, TSO over-reaction at the checkpoint has been justified, in part, because 'disruptive' pax are a distraction that can 'interfere with the screening process' and put everyone in danger (the excuse, IIRC, for going after the shirtless guy with the 4th amendment painted on his torso).
In the interests of safety, staying focused on the mission, TSOs need to realize that when they allow themselves to be distracted - by pax taking photos, their cellphone, conversations with their bros, hot female pax - they put themselves and everyone else at risk.
Ever see the guards at Buckingham Palace? Or our US military at attention? That's an exercise in not allowing one's self to be distracted.
When a TSO like this allows himself to be distracted, he's demonstrating that he's only human, I get that. But he's also behaving unprofessionally and potentially putting everyone at that checkpoint at risk. He's not only allowed himself to be distracted, by his very actions, he's distracting others.
'Sticks and stones'...they're professional folks and should behave accordingly. Their own training warns them of the dangers of one bad guy creating a distraction to enable another bad guy. Fortunately, it appears that this time no one was harmed.
It's a bit like having an OR nurse who freaks at the sight of blood. If you can't maintain professional behavior, perhaps you're in the wrong line of work.