Respect works both ways, or should do.
Let me preface this by saying that, as a lifelong libertarian, I was wary of authority long before that awful day. I have no real problem with the need for or existence of the TSA (or an equivalent agency), although I do believe some of their policies are wrong-headed and ineffective, but that's a separate topic.

From various posts it is clear that different FTers have had widely varying experiences at the sharp end of the TSA. And it's certainly possible that individual attitudes have colored those experiences. Speaking only for myself, it's about a 50-50 mix between civil, respectful screeners who correctly apply the policies and those who seem convinced that they have been given carte blanche to indulge their own belligerent, megalomaniacal behavior. Unless and until the latter are rooted out, fired, retrained or otherwise eliminated then the TSA as a whole is not deserving of my respect.