Originally Posted by AngryDan
The other day, someone compared me to a NAZI stormtrooper for not allowing him to carry his Old Spice through the checkpoint. I had so many thoughts. First of all, if I was really comparable to a NAZI guard then I don't think he would be able to insult me with impunity. I smiled and offered him a complaint form. I don't think the NAZIs had a complaint forms.
Best quote of the day. Thanks AngryDan.
When the police break down your door in the middle of the night and drag you off to jail without letting you know what the charges are and you just "disappear", your civil liberties are being violated. When the police can chop off your fingers and rape your daughters in front of you, your civil liberties are being violated. When the government censors newspapers and doesn't allow free speech, your civil liberties are being violated.
When you're required to walk 20 feet without your shoes and aren't allowed to bring on your water bottles, it's an inconvenience. A hassle. But it's not a trip to a deathcamp.
And when you're trying to smuggle contraband onto an airplane, no matter how little sense the law makes to you, you're a criminal. And a jerk.
I approach TSA officers as professionals, and they treat me well. They've always been polite and even somewhat apologetic that they have to search me.
If you're getting different treatment from them, then perhaps you're nervous because you're trying to smuggle on water, you're anxious about the upcoming confrontation, and you're angry that you have to take off your shoes. Guess what? Nervous, anxious, and angry is the profile of people they're supposed to take a close look at. If you're getting hassled, perhaps you should take a look at yourself instead of blaming the guy that doesn't make the rules and is just trying to do his job.
When I think of the sacrifices the WWII generation had to make I realize just how wimpy this generation is. You're not being asked to storm the beaches at Normandy, just walk 20 feet without your shoes.