urlbuster, when people asked me (and, to be honest, people still do ask me even tho I am laid off) what I THINK of the new security measures, the TSA, etc etc, I give them an honest answer. In our training, we were told to be as HONEST AS POSSIBLE with the passangers. Several of us asked how honest, and the only thing we were not allowed to say is that someone died in-flight.. (If someone DID "pass on" in flight on one of ours, NO ONE was allowed to declare it until we landed and they could be declared dead on the bridge. Odd, but..)

You wrote: Yes, my job was to serve the pax, and NEVER ONCE did I just "stand on a soapbox" (or any other kind, for that matter) and "preach my personal views on travel security. Simple fact is, a lot of our flights WERE NOT VERY FULL. We were encouraged to TALK TO OUR PASSANGERS, and I did so. I woudl never bring up the security issue, but if a passanger asked, I gave them an honest answer. Not everone asked, but some did. And to be quite honest, if a crew member ever approaches you and tries to chat, you can tell them no. It's YOUR CHOICE. You may not pay to hear my or other crews opinions, that's fine by me. But some people actually LIKE discussing this kind of thing with crew. Helps them understand things one way or another. If someone disagrees, fine. They are entitled to disagree. Who knows.. I may be right, I may not. In the end, it's OUR OPINIONS. We all are entitled to them..

You also wrote:
I actually have a great deal more respect for you, because you DON'T tow the Frequent Flier line like a lot of people. And you are right. Your opinion IS just as valid as anyone elses.

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tsadude:
Then I salute you for that. I wish more people would. I ask you this. If a pax or crew were to see a TSA person standing around, and question it, what is the likely response to it? Lord knows I saw plenty of TSA standing around at DTW (Berry terminal) when I was always tehre. Some of whom could have opened the 2nd detector, instead of just standing there..

Chris