Maybe you'll call me naive, but if you had gone in with a better attitude, things might have gone smoother for you. A positive mindset goes a long way. You expected a battle and you got what you wanted. I agree that the TSA are incompetent bullies, and the woman with the name issues sounds like a nut job, but you engaged first when you ridiculed the older woman examining your passport. It was just "a little longer" than you expected, so why be so impatient and ask a purposefully sarcastic question? Could it be, in your negative looking-for-a-fight mindset, that you incorrectly assumed she was being slow for the express purpose of holding you up? Maybe she's just old and slow. You could've taken our passport without saying anything and gone on your merry way.

I'm afraid I must concur with the idiot... you are indeed the man! Good on you for sticking up for yourself, and may you receive much karma for hopefully clearing the path of idiots that others might also have to negotiate.^

I forgot about that story. I have to say though, that the Kudos for this TSO is a little misplaced. The battered woman in question asked for help, and like any normal person, help was provided. If she had asked any of us for help, we would have done whatever was needed to get her to safety too. So, yeah, not impressed.

TSA started it and then further aggravated it with retaliatory actions. Plus with TSAs actions the OPs comments and actions are justified. Personally the OP was being nicer then what i would have done as i would have been all up in multiple clerks faces for there actions. TSAs mandate was to keep WEI off airplanes not go snooping in violation of the 4th amendment.

Aha.

Welcome to Flyertalk SilentCat. Brand new I see.

;)

Is it me, or are the TSA/DHS trolls coming out of the wood work lately.

All the more reason to keep your cell phone in record mode when going through the checkpoints, if you had her screaming at you on record and submitted it to the OIG, I think someone would have had to go through retraining. I highly doubt that requiring a passenger to apologize to a TSO is SOP.

Just make sure that the state allows recordings without permission.

Mr. Ellliott

That I don't know. I'm merely extending a sincere, warm welcome to someone who appears to be a brand new Flyertalk member

;)

That's disappointing. If I screamed at my customers, there would be no "re" training or "re" anything for that matter Same goes for most of us here I assume.

There's something to be said for picking your battles. The passport thing that apparently started this episode off I would have let slide, but that's just me.

However, there can be NO EXCUSE for the retaliation that occurred. If a passenger is acting snippy (in the opinion of the passport peruser), you as a TSA clerk are in the wrong job if you can't let it go. If you pursue this further to get even, you and whoever participated in the "getting even" should be summarily fired. You don't belong in that job and you are a danger to every person who runs into you.

Do you really think the OIG would take any meaningful action against a screener who screamed at a passenger? I'd like to think so but my confidence of that is very low.

It actually sounds like an accurate assessment of the situation... Sorry to say.:rolleyes:

I don't think Rosemarie was particularly professional either. She has no business telling you how to behave in public, not to mention the fact that you behaved in an absolutely appropriate way - right down to calling the guy foolish.

As for Venishia, you should really escalate with her.

Yes, PhlyingRPh, brand new. I'm also newly United Elite.
The way I read the OP's story, he got picked on after the passport check because he made fun of the woman checking his passport. That looks like he started the battle. I agree that the retaliatory picking on is inexcusable, and he appropriately stood up for himself, but the OP really could have let the first woman's slowness slide. It doesn't appear she was being belligerent, just took longer looking at his passport than he thought necessary. Doesn't seem there was any need for him to make it personal and get snide with her. If he had a little patience, I don't think the bag checkers would have whispered about him and targeted him.

America's a funny place. Some of us go out to vote. The votes elect whoever. The whoever pass laws, for a variety of reasons, only one of which is to represent the wishes of the citizens. The laws become regulations. People are hired to enforce the regulations. People who don't like the laws that these elected people pass the express their disagreement in confrontations with those enforcing the regulations. Feelings get hurt on every side. The whole thing really appears like a vehicle on bald tires that only gets someplace with a LOT of waste energy.

But hey, this is "the best society in the world". Gives a person an interesting perspective to judge all the other ways of doing things.

And people are ready to FIGHT TO THE DEATH to preserve this way of life.