TSA Agent Calls Passenger an Idiot; Wraps Himself in USA Flag, Flicks off Passenger
#1
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TSA Agent Calls Passenger an Idiot; Wraps Himself in USA Flag, Flicks off Passenger
You can't make this stuff up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh53s8jVOSQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh53s8jVOSQ
UPDATED: More detail about this encounter and past encounters here:
http://freeinfreedom.com/2014/03/11/...elling-public/
http://freeinfreedom.com/2014/03/11/...elling-public/
Last edited by beofotch; Mar 11, 2014 at 1:16 pm Reason: added the detail on past encounters and context
#2
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#4
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He didn't "wrap himself" in a flag, he used it as a shield. Kinda symbolic really, the videographer exercising his constitutional right to film, and the inspector exercising his constitutional right to free speech (the idiot comment) and to seek out privacy (using the flag of LIBERTY to exercise this freedom). Very fitting, really.
#5
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Without context, I'm really loathe to make much of a judgment here. I suspect that the passenger filming this goaded the TSO into that remark and that behavior. TSOs are supposed to be better than that, of course. But if the passenger filming this was acting like an idiot for ten minutes before this event, this response may actually be quite admirable.
In short ... this video is so short that it's a Rorschach inkblot. People will see in it what they wish to see.
In short ... this video is so short that it's a Rorschach inkblot. People will see in it what they wish to see.
#6
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My question is this: Why is it necessary to have the American flag at the security check point? Is it intended to make the passengers or TSA agents feel more patriotic or to intimidate the flying public? To me it seems a bit disrespectful to the flag to have it in such a cluttered area when it can be put out of the way of the security screening and into a more dignified display area. I don't want to be one of those "precious flag" people but it seems that we have flags just about every where these days and I feel it unnecessary and frankly unpatriotic. Using the flag to physically obscure the filming process is tacky.
#7
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Without context, I'm really loathe to make much of a judgment here. I suspect that the passenger filming this goaded the TSO into that remark and that behavior. TSOs are supposed to be better than that, of course. But if the passenger filming this was acting like an idiot for ten minutes before this event, this response may actually be quite admirable.
In short ... this video is so short that it's a Rorschach inkblot. People will see in it what they wish to see.
In short ... this video is so short that it's a Rorschach inkblot. People will see in it what they wish to see.
We don't have any idea of what proceed this short video.
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Doesn't matter what preceded the video. Doesn't matter if the TSO was goaded. Unacceptable, unprofessional, and the TSO should be disciplined.
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If you poke a stick at a lion, then don't be surprised if he bites. Sometimes people get what they deserve.
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It is admirable that some of those posting find empathy for someone who deserves little, especially a someone who reacts with hostility for an act as innocuous as filming.
#13
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Note that, even in that terribly brief segment, it's not "just" filming. It's filming with an audio commentary. And it's the snarky sound of that commentary that suggests to me that this is the end of a much longer conversation: one that we really should hear in its entirety before rendering final judgment.
#15
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One of these days, I'll need empathy when I don't deserve it ... and I hope someone will have pity on me and extend it to me. I can certainly treat others the way I would hope to be treated.
Note that, even in that terribly brief segment, it's not "just" filming. It's filming with an audio commentary. And it's the snarky sound of that commentary that suggests to me that this is the end of a much longer conversation: one that we really should hear in its entirety before rendering final judgment.
Note that, even in that terribly brief segment, it's not "just" filming. It's filming with an audio commentary. And it's the snarky sound of that commentary that suggests to me that this is the end of a much longer conversation: one that we really should hear in its entirety before rendering final judgment.
In the interests of safety, staying focused on the mission, TSOs need to realize that when they allow themselves to be distracted - by pax taking photos, their cellphone, conversations with their bros, hot female pax - they put themselves and everyone else at risk.
Ever see the guards at Buckingham Palace? Or our US military at attention? That's an exercise in not allowing one's self to be distracted.
When a TSO like this allows himself to be distracted, he's demonstrating that he's only human, I get that. But he's also behaving unprofessionally and potentially putting everyone at that checkpoint at risk. He's not only allowed himself to be distracted, by his very actions, he's distracting others.
'Sticks and stones'...they're professional folks and should behave accordingly. Their own training warns them of the dangers of one bad guy creating a distraction to enable another bad guy. Fortunately, it appears that this time no one was harmed.
It's a bit like having an OR nurse who freaks at the sight of blood. If you can't maintain professional behavior, perhaps you're in the wrong line of work.