Ain't gonna happen.

I was perfectly clear in my "offensive" post. Look, I'm Jewish, for crying out loud! I know the difference between Nazis and air marshals. I said in plain English that I was not for one second comparing them -- and I meant it.

What I was doing -- and you know it, even if you want to pretend otherwise -- was making the point that a claim of "just doing my job" is insufficient justification for what you do. And (responding to a subsequent point) the fact that the government created the job tells me nothing useful. A government created Nazi concentration-camp guard jobs, too.

I know perfectly well that the vast majority of air marshals are well-intentioned people trying to do a good job. That's not really in dispute, is it? Even the greatest opponents of the air marshal program don't believe that the air marshals themselves are evil, right? But it may still be true that in "doing their jobs," the air marshals may be causing more harm than good. They hurt the airlines financially by taking premium seats without paying any compensation. And they bring weapons onto planes in quite an obvious manner, such that passengers are actually put at risk. A real terrorist doesn't have to smuggle his own weapon on board. He just has to look for the air marshal and take his. Would that be so difficult? I don't think so.

Bruce

First of all, nobody believes you when you said that you did not mean to make the comparison you did. You made the reference and your disclaimer is transparant and unworthy of belief. The rest of your post is hogwash too, except for this:

"And they bring weapons onto planes in quite an obvious manner, such that passengers are actually put at risk. A real terrorist doesn't have to smuggle his own weapon on board. He just has to look for the air marshal and take his." That is gospel.

Sounds like faux outrage.. if people aren't desensitized to that comparison in 2004, well, let's just say it is far less offensive than it would be to mention FAMs together with the 9/11 terrorists or some other contemporary threat.

Nobody believes me? Speak for yourself, dude.

Bruce

Nope, you made the analogy and you need to stand by it or abandon it. It's like saying something, and then saying "I did'nt really mean that". Bullsh it, this is not high school and we don't believe your bankrupt disclaimer. These FAMS are real men and women of character, doing what they believe in.

Looks like we agree.

Bruce

I believe him.

Were the two idiots who held a planeload of people hostage at gunpoint "men and women of character"?????????

How about the moron who left his weapon in the bathroom???????????

Your blanket statements are causing you to lose what little credibility you may have had.

I am getting sick. This thread has covered these items time and time again. The two people who held the plane at gunpoint were doing their job per the training and standard operating procedure at that point. It has been studied, put under the microscope, and theorized upon a billion times since then (almost two years ago, within a year of 9-11).

This thread has posts that blast the individual Air Marshal, then there are claims that they are not including everyone, and then this post. Are you trying to tell me you are not lumping all Air Marshal's into one category based upon your quotes above?

The fact that two FAMS held a planeload of people at gunpoint says nothing about character. The fact that they did their jobs as they were trained says a little about their character. The fact that a FAM forgot his weapon in the toilet says nothing about his character. The fact that you use these examples as a reference for character says something about you.

Good job circling the wagons by both of you.

Nobody with good character (or brains) would have done what those three morons did.

You can state that the two idiots "followed procedure" til you are blue in the face, but that is crap. Drawing their weapons MAY have been proper, but keeping them trained on a planeload of pax is beyond moronic.

To defend the actions of a "trained professional" who cannot account for their weapon is beyond comprehension.

The only crap is what is coming out of your mouth. Of course I will be banned for that statement as I am not one of the "golden few".

oh, and by the way, please tell us all how you come to your enlightened position of being "all knowing". Please tell us your vast experience to make such judgements. Oh, wait a minute, of course you won't. You will respond with some off the wall statement, and make some reference to how we are all moron's because we don't agree with you.

Tell me Camera Guy, is your forum nickname just a reference to a hobby, or are you one of the "morons" who works for the news service's or printed media who only tell's one side of the story, to the detriment of all other angles. Of course that would be the side that has the most money to earn.

Ah, you know so much about what happened. Not. Enlighten the rest of us, oh great and knowlegeable one. Seeing as how one of the FAMs involved is a friend of mine I would say my source is better than yours but maybe I am wrong. Doubt it though.

And the "moron" who left his weapon is of bad character? A mistake is indicitive of character these days is it?

I say 1) yes and 2) yes. Men and women of character.

You know this based upon your years of training as a LEO do you? And still, how does a mistake (leaving a weapon in the lav) speak to someone's character? I guess when Hoover didn't deal with the Depression quick enough and Roosevelt didn't deal with Hitler quick enough and Reagan didn't deal with AIDS quick enough and Clinton didn't deal with Al Qaeda quick enough that it speaks to their lack of character.

Moron.

Try again. ;)

I can disprove you here and now since I believe Bruce; furthermore, I am confident there are many others on FT who also intrinsically believe Bruce more than many posters here.