Sure there are people out there doing things that are wrong. Doesn't mean for a moment that I will tolerate being treated with suspicion if I am not doing anything wrong.

As to the news, well, they sure are not going to show the many, many more people who are not doing something wrong. The tilt of the media is toward sensation. Unfortunately this brings unreasonable and fear and suspicion into our daily life ... it's truly a curse.

As to LEOs being underpaid, I agree. Doesn't mean I surrender my rights to them. Won't help pay their mortgages or rent. Teachers are also undepaid, but you don't have to listen to my lectures to make me feel better either! ;)

Listen, I get paid to make sure no one is doing anything wrong comming into the airport. So of course, thats what I see. If I was a waitress, I'd notice if your plate was empty. You seem to spend your time looking for what we're doing wrong. How is that any different?

I don't assume that you are doing something wrong always or that something needs to always be done. That's the difference. ;)

We don't assume your doing something wrong all the time, but to assume you wouldn't do anything wrong because of who you are, well that would just be wrong. To pull people aside because they look like they could be doing something wrong would be profiling. If that was what we did, we all know who would be getting pulled aside for secondary, don't kid yourself by thinking we could be unbiased. We all know what the 9/11 terrorists look like, and that their the reason all of this screening that you hate so much is taking place. And to tell you the truth, those feelings are justified. But to say that something doesn't always need to be done is wrong. Isn't everyone complaining that the TSA is not consistant? What better way to be consistant than to have everyone do the same thing, no matter who they are. But to be honest, change is the only thing that is consistant in the TSA.

Not for a second do I believe that all the TSA would be "unbiased". After all, I suspect that racist/tribalist hate is gaining adherents in the general population in America. And that will -- too often but certainly not universally -- be reflected by members of the government/government agencies.

There are plenty of hate campaigns in the world, but only one or two that seem to be politically acceptable in America at the current moment.

And about "we all know what the 9/11 terrorists look like". Apparently "we all don't". Idiots directed their vile "revengeful" idiocy and hateful violence at turbaned sikhs for crying out loud. Certainly not Arab nor muslim.

.... and it was such ignorant fools -- to say the least -- who claimed that "we all know what the 9/11 terrorists look like" and then attacked people of a TOTALLY different ethnicity.

There is growing level of publicly acceptable hate in America -- directed at people perceived, by the ignorant, to be "Arab" or "muslim". After all, "we all know what 'they' look like". :rolleyes: That such "popular sentiment" would be exhibited at airports is not a shock. (That said, if something like 9/11 happened in most other countries in the world, there would have been some massive and violent human rights abuses "at home" -- perpetrated not only by thugs on the street but also by the government.)

Wrong. "Something doesn't always need to be done" is right often enough. "If it ain't broke, don't 'fix' it." ;)

Sometimes doing "something" is worse than doing less (far less, including "nothing"). (See prior paragraph's last sentence.)

Something doesn't always need to be done.

Ask people who were arrested for and/or convicted of crimes they didn't commit, usually because they agreed to answer questions when they weren't doing anything wrong.

I admit this happens and it really is a shame. But that is what is great about being an American. Although you may get arrested wrongfully, our system is designed so that it has to be proven in court. Do innocent people get convicted? Yes. But more often than not, it is the right people that get convicted. And we're talking about airport screening, not a criminal investigation. We can't arrest you. Everyone is claiming that EL AL is the airline that is the safest, why not emulate them? its because their tactics are far too intrusive for the people here.

Some Cops are VERY WELL Paid
 

As to LEOs being underpaid, I agree. Doesn't mean I surrender my rights to them. Won't help pay their mortgages or rent. Teachers are also undepaid, but you don't have to listen to my lectures to make me feel better either! ;)[/QUOTE]


Not all cops in America are as poor as church mice. In rural areas, the
pay is not all that great, but in other areas, they get paid plenty.
There's a big controversy raging in Las Vegas right now about the
police (Metro) contract. A Las Vegas newspaper reported that a rookie
cop in Las Vegas gets paid $49,000 + per year plus benefits. Pretty
good for a 21 year old guy who never went to college, no?

I've heard of sheriff deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department, in their 30's, who receive $75,000 - $85,000 per
year, including overtime.

And let's not forget the Massachusetts State Troopers working
overtime at Logan Airport. I saw a story about their pay.....
some of them were getting $100,000....$120,000 and more, thanks
to "security" overtime at the airport.

So not all cops are dirt poor, unless they're in a rural area, where
the pay is nowhere near as handsome as in the urban areas.

And for what it's worth, I think the cops working gang-details
and the like earn every penny of their pay.

Same story with teachers. My cousins are teachers on Long
Island and their pay and benefits are great. They will retire
in their mid 50's with a nice pension, too. Rural teachers....
the picture is not as rosy.

Greg

Please, she/they will always just tell you that you should be glad to put up with the third degree no matter what. They should be asking the right people the right questions instead of harrassing the wrong people most of the time. Nothing great about "being American" as far as what this Administration has twisted it into. :td:

Ask the right people the right questions? Who are the right people? Do they wear signs so that we kniow who they are? This is the same idiotic rhetoric that we hear every day, "do I look like a terrorist?" How the heck do I know, point one out to me and I'll let you know if you look like one. What I was trying to point out, which went completely over your head, was that the people in this country would not stand for the El Al approach to screening.

Cops and teachers alike are not paid enough. My daughter is a teacher in a very underpriviledged suburb of Philadelphia. That being said, anyone that goes to work everyday with the possibility of being shot at by our upstanding citizens, will never be paid enough. How can you say they are well paid when guys that play football for a living are payed millions of dollars? Then they stub their toe and can't play for a month. With what they make, they should play even if their limbs have fallen off and their almost dead. I'm sorry, but until our police and fireman are paid what athletes are, there is something very wrong with this world.

If everyone were to be paid what top entertainers are paid - and that's what professional athletes really are - then we'd all be making millions and nobodies would be worth much at all.

How about the reverse: have football players paid what teachers, cops, nurses, coal miners, lettuce pickers, etc. are made? :D

There is, in fact, more than one something wrong with this world. That cops who choose the job, who can retire after 20 years with a hefty pension and benefits are not paid what the top football players are paid is not nearly the worst injustice that I can think of.

... barking up the wrong tree?

Do you know about what hal1050 was referring when he said something akin to "ask the right people the right questions"? Perhaps a reference to question your bosses and bosses' bosses? Perhaps a reference to question your political representatives? Perhaps a reference to have the general public question the "right people"?

Plenty of professional athletes have their careers ruined by even the slightest of injuries .... and when trying to get back in the game after an injury -- if their contract has come to an end -- they are often left hanging dry. I'm sure many such persons would love to get on the field/court and get paid what "cops and teachers" are paid, but the professional teams won't give them a chance.

Oh come on, how can you even feel sorry for them? They make more in 1 Week than I do in 5 years. If they have half a good season, their set for a long time. The teams won't let them play for less money? Get real.