Originally Posted by
hiltonhead
Bringing a prohibited item into a secure area, especially when it is posted that the item is prohibited, and having it taken from you is not theft. BTW...the definition of theft has nothing to do with the final disposition of the item...but other than that, you were right on.
In many cases (the vast majority, IMO), the items being confiscated under threat of force are of no possible threat to the safety of the passengers or aircraft in any way. Their confiscation constitutes armed robbery by the state. For the state to then PROFIT from said robbery, either financially by sale of the items or in public opinion due to publicizing of the "donation" of those items to some charitable cause, is even more unconscionable.
It's one thing if I left something behind at a security checkpoint, or on a plane - that's MY fault. If that same item is TAKEN from me (whether or not there are publicized "rules" about it - since said rules are nothing more than bovine excrement), that's THEIR fault, and worth getting angry about.