cardiomd

I generally agree with you on this accord, regarding passenger incivility.

However, the "politeness asymmetry" exists and is part of being AT WORK and on the job. When working in the ER I have had more than a few people spit at me, and a few even take a swing at my head. Did I retaliate, or not give care?

Granted, MDs get quite a bit more deference as a rule and are generally respected, but part of being a "professional work force" is the ability to absorb a bit of this kind of punishment with a smile and deep breath. My nurses, secretaries, techs, and other staff deal with a lot of punishment and do a generally good job of maintaining a smiling face and professionalism. Yes, they HAVE to be nice.

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

I know patients can be hostile... including many under the influence, or with mental health problems... but it would be a different story if they went to the ER with the intent, from the outset, of being hostile, and with the view tha all staff were incompetent pedophiles, and posting, in advance, on chat rooms how they are going to do their utmost to disrupt the ER.

that's kind of what we get a lot of on this forum on FT.

PhoenixRev

This is pure tripe.

Brennen writes for a blog that allows comments. If he wasn't looking for anything other than to post his opinion and not face differing opinions, then he should have requested comments not be allowed on the column.

As the old saying goes, "If you can't stand the heat..."

InkUnderNails

I do not go to the airport intending or even planing a disruption. I go to the airport to get on an airplane. Between leaving the house and taking my seat, there are a series of things that I must endure to successfully complete this task.

What the TSA has become is the primary potential barrier to my getting on the plane. Most of the time it is simple and of no consequence. Occasionally, it becomes the focus of every bit of restraint and calm that I can muster. The times that I will encounter the officious martinets whose sole purpose in life seems to be to needlessly offend and incite as many people as they can will negate the good intentions and actions of many polite and capable TSO's.

I do not go looking for a fight or confrontation. I go expecting to get on my plane without incident, and I prepare by knowing what is allowed and what is not and taking the proper care. When confronted by the occasional TSO with less than adequate training, I do not surrender. I still have rights and privileges and I will assert them if needed.

That is not hostility.

clrankin

How would it be a different story? Would you then approve of the doctors and their staff doing nasty things to them - like forcing them to strip down so they could be seen naked, or fondling their balls, or squeezing their breasts?

It does not make one single bit of difference what a passenger's intents are when they go to the checkpoint - TSA is in a customer service role, and as such should train their agents on how to handle hostility with a smile and respect.

TSA should have a zero tolerance policy of rudeness toward passengers at the checkpoint - one "respect my authority" type incident should be enough to get a screener fired. There are always more pizza boxes to advertise on, and always more obese greasy haired zit faced pepperoni lovers to fill the vacated positions.

TSA's very actions today violate our rights. The courts have given TSA limited latitude to perform a minimally invasive search for WEI. They have gone way too far in their search for the non-existent "holy grail" terrorist. This, unto itself, should be sufficient ground for every American to be boiling mad when going through a checkpoint.

N965VJ

Sophomoric "humor" and useless information; so what else is new?

clrankin

Perhaps it's time to write my Congresscritter again. Posts such as that from TSA represent a waste of taxpayer resources and provide no value to society at all. The organization exists to screen passengers for WEI, not to act as a poor stand-in for Leno or Letterman.