I have had one of my bags "checked" (they rub a little patch on the handle and put the cloth into an explosives "sniffer") on several occasions.

In my opinion?

Checking for exploding bags= good.

Arguing with security personnel= not good

It's not at all akin to a car stop, where a perhaps over-enthusiastic trooper wants to turn a broken taillight into a full cavity search.
In my opinion, there is NO "illegal search" bill of rights type issue at an airport. Just one man's opinion, and I understand the ambiguity you resent, but at an airport?? I think it's better if everyone just does as they're told. In my opinion.

[This message has been edited by JonNYC (edited 04-26-2001).]