MT6731,

You have asked why we don't just write to the policy makers to complain about how easy the FAMs are to spot. I just wanted to mention that the media attention to the problem of non-anonymous FAMs has been and will be influential to the policy makers. If there's a story in USA Today telling passengers how to spot the FAM, then you can bet somebody's going to be chewing somebody out up in headquarters. And complaining on FT is indeed a way to influence travel journalists, many of whom hang out here hoping for leads on stories. So it is indeed a valid form of activism to point out problems with the FAM program on Flyertalk.

Most of us don't condone bashing individuals here; we only want to bash bad policy. The fact that the FAMs make themselves so amazingly obvious seems frightening and wrong. Many of us feel guns don't belong on planes. Why don't they just train the FAMs in jiu jitsu or something? Then it would be impossible for the bad guys to turn FAMs into a major security liability.
And yes, many of us who think the FAMs make us less safe by introducing weapons to the cabin are doubly insulted when the FAM's take away our confirmed seat assignments and service class upgrades.