Originally Posted by
VelvetJones
Glad you finally admitted the truth. Maybe now you'll also admit that you should have never been called "Officers" in the first place. Giving someone a shiny badge does not make them an officer, it only inflates their ego and sense of power over others.
This.
TSA changed uniforms and use the label 'officers' to project 'authoritay'. They reinforce the public's perception of their 'authoritay' by their use and abuse of that 'authoritay' at the checkpoint, including conducting 'freeze' drills at active checkpoints. In a time of crisis, the public will naturally look to uniformed 'federal officers' for guidance.
Just as schoolchildren will look to the adults in the school for guidance. Hopefully the kids won't be looking at the fleeing backs of those adults for guidance.
I wouldn't look to an airport Starbuck's employee for guidance, but they aren't folks who constantly remind me that they are trained federal officers, they aren't dressed to look like police/military, and they aren't empowered to order me to 'freeze' or to deny me access to the sterile area of the airport.