I'm overlooking your ;) for a moment to get on a serious note.

We all know that people will treat others the way they are treated and the only thing that the OP did was make sure that his following fellow travelers are treated badly.

Last Friday I had my first experience of being being sent to a backscatter machine (thank you United for allowing me an overnight stay in ORD.) Rather that throwing a fit about nude-o-scopes, I merely said "I'm concerned about the health implication and would rather not go through that" at which time I was sent through the WTMD and given a pat down. The screener was pleasant perhaps because I didn't throw a fit and act like an idiot.

I think all of of us agree here that the current screening process is (shall we say) not optimal, but antagonizing screeners is not the way to fix it. All it does is raise blood pressure and makes you look like a fool.

With the exception of Ari and FlyingHoustonian, all the posts up to your's (and several following) were "atta boy" lemming posts congratulating the OP for his socially unacceptable behavior.

So yes, that does appear to be the theme of this particular forum.

Then I am equally guilty of being a jerk and I admit it and although I may have toned down the way I act towards a clerk who was courteous like this one, I smile at the thought of being able to do anything LEGALLY possible to make the clerks working life as miserable as inhumanly possible^ and if that carries over into their nonworking life, then so be it^, they are the ones that made the choice to work for an organization that is hated and despised by travelers from all over the world, they are the ones that choose to stay and enforce TSA upper managements orders to grope and molest people at the checkpoint, to force or coerce people into the radiation porno machines or submit to being sexually assualted as the only alternative to not flying:td::mad:

"trying to get on their nerves" you say?, ABSOLUTLEY^

"testing their professionalism"? then its a very short test in most cases:td:

If this disgusts you, I make no apolgies, I have not read every post in this thread yet, but I am betting that the majority are in agreement with the OP.

I rest my case. Clearly there are a few "good apples" in this forum but the majority appear to be tin foil hatted children that have found a "forum" where they can play big dog on campus.

While I understand the criticism of the OP, I have to say, I fully empathize with the OP. As frequent flyers, we are constantly pushed to the limits. Being nice and friendly to the TSO's is acquiescence plain and simple.

Why make it easy on the gropers??? If you believe they are "just doing their jobs" then we have already lost the war for the hearts and minds of the people. There is no such thing as a good grope. Yes, it's much better when they don't touch my testicles, etc., but it doesn't make it a necessary or pleasant.

I don't often go throuh A at IAH, but I have had an unpleasant experience with the barking, threatening, testicle-groping, etc. I would give any of the blue monkeys any benefit of the doubt, especially the angry toothless guy at the A CP.

What does this have to do with the thread topic?

The majority does not want blue gloves on their genitals.

Ah yes, you had a good screening experience because you approached the screener pleasantly and treated him/her like a human being. Works like a charm every time, doesn't it?

Well...except maybe for Tom Sawyer. Before you dispute his account, I would point out that it is highly unlikely that Pistole would have publicly apologized to the man if he had a shred of a reason to blame him. You know, like maybe if Mr. Sawyer had just been 'pleasant' to the screener, his ostomy bag wouldn't have been manhandled.

With all due respect, the screener may have been pleasant because that particular screener is a pleasant person. Besides, apparently that screener wasn't the one stuck patting you down anyway.

Thank You for the compliment:p

I very rarely went thru A when I was still actively flying, most of my checkpoint experience were at concourse C or B.

Concourse C because it is usually the busiest of all sometimes seems slightly more subdued with regard to the clerks and their harrassment. A in comparison except for the usual surges overall is a lot less busy.

I'm glad you feel rested...my tin foil hat is in the shop. :rolleyes:

You can take your tin foil off now.

I think it is obvious that there are some power hungry idiots working as screeners, but what sense is there in antagonizing somebody just for the hell of it?

Is it the gate agent's fault that you missed your flight? Your spouse's fault that you had a horrible commute?

Place fault where it belongs. I've spoken to many screeners who feel the same way that we do about some of the policies but acting like a two year old towards them will not fix the problem.

The OP's story begins with a TDC asking him to pronounce his name; I would argue that this unacceptable action from the TDC was the first instance of "being a jerk" and thus IMO excuses later snarkiness from the OP. The TSO started it, not the OP; if you have a complaint about the behavior, it should be directed at the TSA who started the incident.

Perhaps you feel the OP should have just caved and given the name immediately, so as not to provoke an "incident," but that's not how America works.

In America, we should not be required to answer inquiries from a government agency in order to travel without government inhibitions. Period.

Do you devote equal amounts of time to chastising 'power hungry idiots working as screeners' for their behavior or do you just focus on pax behavior?

Once again: a rude, unruly pax can be a pain for people (gropers and fellow pax) at a checkpoint - possibly every time he/she flies.

A rude, unprofessional TSO will negatively impact a lot more people (gropers and pax) at a checkpoint - all day, every day.

There are far fewer screeners than pax, so to get maximum improvement, I would spend a little time focusing on the folks who have the most impact for good or bad - and that's the TSO.

I would hope that when you speak to all these screeners you talk to, you ask them to 'see something, say something', because behind and around every rare 'power hungry idiot' screener, there are numerous others TSOs, LTSO/STSO, supervisor and manager who are all aware of that TSOs behavior and are all guilty of supporting it if they don't continually speak out.

Better a frustrated pax who vents in print on FT (or elsewhere on the internet) than a bad-tempered ignorant TSO who vents on pax at the checkpoint.

On this you are quite wrong. The TSA is ultimately at fault and the organization that is making life more difficult for the rest of us. You just support them doing so. The OP was just exercising one of his Constitutional rights in free speech to make a political and procedural statement, as has been allowed by the courts, to even include giving the bird. I'm sorry you don't approve of citizens exercising their rights, at least when it comes to an agency of which you approve.

I do not approach the check point planning to be a jerk. I will however become one rather quickly if the situation makes it seem appropriate.