TSA Abuse of Power
 

On the special security screening line at SEA there was a mother and her two bratty teenagers who obviously didn't fly much (but just might be terrorists !). They were in front of the machines next to an agent handling the incoming bags when the sister was annoying her brother and he hit her in the arm hard. Immediately the screener (a female) said that he needed to cut that out or she'd make sure he didn't fly. Seemed to me that it was none of her business and that if she did keep him from flying that it would be an abuse of her power.

But the screener didn't keep the kid from flying, did she?

So the TSA managed to shut up a "bratty teenager." Sounds like no one is really worse off here...

But then someone couldn't complain here.

Child is not listening to their mother, mother says pointing to a screener "be nice or they will arrest you". Guess the screener is abusing their power by just being there.

Hmmmm, is it SOP to allow passengers who assault other passengers in plain view of the checkpoint to fly?

Seems to me like the screener used quite a bit of discretion. If I were a screener, I might have called over an LEO to deal with it (who probably would have given the kids a quick word and let them go, but it would still put them on notice that this is not acceptable behavior).

It seems the screener was just being curteous and proactive by preventing two "bratty" kids from beating up on each other. At an airport, passengers should not be giving any indications they may cause roudy or unpleasant behavior infligt; security is not there only to prevent terrorism, but also to ensure an overall safe journey. British Airways and British airports regularly refused to board passengers that are too rowdy or drunk or whatever. This seems no exception.

However, don't get me wrong. Abuses of power by the now overzealous US government are quite frightening. And I very much find many security measures unnecessary (i.e. not effective).

The fact is, it was a lie. The screener has no authority to keep kids from flying based on those actions. If I was the parent, I would've filed a complaint.

In this story, the screener never claimed to have that authority. But the LEO almost certainly does. Personally I don't want brawling passengers on my flights or in my airport, whether they're teenagers or not. If parents want to decide when it's okay for their kids to fight, then they shouldn't let them leave the house. You don't get an automatic exemption from generally and legally accepted behavior just for being under 18.

The original poster said "she said she'd make sure he didn't fly." That is an unequivocal claim of authority. As a parent I'd complain because children need to be taught that it isn't acceptable for members of the government to lie to the public. Often I look around and wish that our parents had done that for us.

I think you need to relax and stop using any little thing to jump all over and complain. Be honest, you could care less what happen here. It is just an excuse to complain about the TSA.

What the screener said wasn't anything unusual anywhere else. I have heard something similar in a movie theater when an usher told kids to calm down or they would be able to watch the movie, bus driver tell kids they couldn't ride the bus unless they were good, a father tell his kids they weren't going anywhere in the car unless they settled down.

You are kidding, right?

The only way to really test whether she could do that or not is to take her up on her dare. :)

As a private citizen I can claim to make sure someone is arrested without having the authority to do so myself.

No, I don't want to deal with fighting people, whether they're teenagers or adults or whatever. And they shouldn't be on planes.

Failure of the imagination there.. another way to test it is to call over a supervisor. ;)

What would the complaint have said? I can't stop my kids making a nuisance of themselves so I want to complain about the person who did quiet them down.

I've been there, too. I had a mother tell their children to behave or I was going to send them to jail. All I was doing was helping load items into the xray. Who's abusing the power here? Obviously, the mother is.

Puhleaze.

Folks,

Every reply has missed the point here. :D

What is really outrageous is why a mother and two teenagers, who obviosuly didn't travel frequently, were in the 'sepcial security line' in the first place. I'm assuming they had the dreaded SSSS on their boarding passes. Was that because they were on one-way tickets? Or perhaps bought tickets at the last minute (maybe a funeral to go to?)?

A brother hitting his sister or vice versa is normal behavior. Weren't any of you kids once? :cool:

Don't know if I'd call it abusing power, but you do make your point. I, too, have been pointed at whenever a mother is trying to get her misbehaving child under controlled with her saying, "if you don't behave, that man is going to take you away." Then the mother wonders why, on some future trip and her child happens to undergo secondary screening, the child is scared of screeners and traumatized by the screening experience. Uniformed policemen, security guards and others are also targets of the same lazy parenting technique.

Go figure.

Pardon my French, but: touche'

Sure, the teenagers should have been better behaved, but honestly, is it any of the TSA's business? The mother needs to do that all by herself.

My kids always behave themselves and have no metal in their pockets when going through the security checkpoint. Just before we get to the airport, I remind them, "Be sure to empty your pockets and be quiet, or the security pigs will get mad at you." It really works, plus it instills hatred, rather than fear, of this disgrace of a USA government agency.

And a fine example you are for your children. :rolleyes:

As opposed to, "The government is here to help, just do whatever they say"?

Yes, it was a lie.

Agreed, the screener had no such authority.

If I had been the parent, I would have thanked the screener.

Agreed. ^

I think some people are complaining about the TSA just for the fun of it.

This is no different from the cop that warns a kid to behave or he'll go to jail.

Children listen to authority figures.

That's just sad.

geez. :( Just plain sad. I only hope that it's just TSA that you teach your kids to hate.

Yep, just the TSA. How else are we ever going to eject this travesty if we all "sit back and enjoy it"?

The travesty is the damage that is probably being done to these children by showing such hatred towards a group. I hope there isn't such hatred towards an ethnic group next. The amount of therapy these children will face in the years to come. It is sad :(

sort of reminds me about that comment on "first class flyers and flyers in first class".

Scott, You would be hard pressed to find a cop who would say that. In fact, most cops hate the fact that parents will tell a child "If you don't stop misbehaving, that Policeman will put you in jail". All that does is promote fear of police officers, something that should not be ingrained into our children.

Also, this is not complaining about the TSA for the sake of it. That screener was out of line. It's the parents responsibility to keep her children in line. Not an Airport Screeners.

I agree that children should be taught to respect authority figures. But, a TSA screener is not an authority figure. They are simply a screener. No spiffy white shirt with chevrons and a cloth badge is going to change that.

Sorry, fell over in laughter.

:D

CameraGuy,

Make a trip to any middle school or high school in this country with cops on campus. I'll tell you now that a lot of them feel they are father/mother figures and tell you how to act.

True. It is also a parent's responsibility to make certain that his child is crossing the street safely -- not the local grocery store clerk's.

But if I were to slip up and not see my child stepping off the sidewalk when the light is still red, I would be very grateful to the clerk who grabbed his hand.

In this case, a young boy was hitting his sister. This is not healthy behavior for the boy and definitely not the nicest thing for the sister. Perhaps the parents were nervous newbies and not able to pay attention to their children's behavior. Perhaps they were busy getting screened and did not see it. In any case, the screener stopped the girl from being hit and I think, for that, deserves a ^

But, they don't tell them that they will be arrested if they misbehave.

I know what the cops at schools do, they try to educate kids on alcohol and drug abuse and attempt to educate kids about the consequences of breaking the law.

That is not the same as a cop telling a 5 year old that he/she willbe arrested for talking back to their mother.

I disagree. A child in imminent danger from being hit by a car is not the same as two teenagers horsing around.

CameraGuy,

I'm 21 and can say that, yes, some officers do threaten to arrest kids and make little comments like this when they make smart ... comments.

I made a smart ... comment to a cop while in high school when he asked a stupid question of me. He got upset and made a comment along the lines "That comments like that get people like me thrown in jail!" Now tell me if thats his job?

Nope, that is not his job. Nor is the job of the power tripping screener in this case to discipline the teenager.

Another subject being blown out of proportion so there is something to complain about.