I think that my experiences with the TSA would be much more pleasant and quite a bit less memorable without the constant barking.

This morning, at MSN, I'm coming through security at about 5:20AM. I had everything organized and walked through the WTMD as soon as my last bag entered the x-ray.

On the other end, I have a set routine -- I slide my laptop into the already opened pocket, put my freedom baggie in another already opened pocket, and grab my shoes so I can get out of the way.

This morning, some nasty woman started barking at me to get my stuff off the rollers and onto the table so I don't "hold up the line." I already had three of my four objects already off and was reaching for the fourth when she grabbed the bin and slid it out of my reach. *****.

Then I get to DCA and as I'm walking out, all I can hear is a few TSOs barking, braking, and barking at the long line entering the terminal A area. I could feel my blood pressure rise.

Why don't they just shut the hell up already?

According to Bart, his management thinks its doing a service by having the barkers there to help "speed" things along. Philosophy might vary from airport to airport though.

I don't normally tempt Godwin's law, but the TSA personnel at EWR's terminal c, middle entry, are pushing the comparison to SS guards telling people to step into the showers. I was horrified at their tone the last time I crossed through security with my son, who is 7. All I could think is that he will grow up thinking this kind of abuse is normal.

This is what bothers me intensely, too: institutionalized abusiveness as the routine course of conduct towards fellow citizens rather than benign courtesy and respect for dignity.

Periodically, I think that it would be good to have an initiative just to get the TSA to be more polite. Now, I think that the more vile they act, the better off we are. I like to think that we won't be inured to this quickly.

They want everyone to be well trained, to get with the program and fall into line like good little sheep. Anyone who speaks up against this systematic abuse is unpatriotic and possibly even a security threat. Oh, and they want us to keep paying for our own abuse because they know what's best for us.

"Freedom baggies out, laptops out, shoes off, belts off and boarding passes ready! Do NOT speak or ask any questions! If you speak we will have to do a secondary screening and body cavity search!"

Funny that this was just posted....I was going to start a thread of my own about it....I thought they were all but gone. Going through the TSA has been almost "pleasant" (and I use that term loosely) lately...but lo and behold at LAX today, a barker....so annoying, loud, and pointless

I'm thinking of hiring a barker for my waiting room. It might help keep my patients in line. "Insurance cards out! Copay ready! Clothes off! Let's go! Move it!" I'm sure that my office will move far more efficiently.

This goes along with my plans to institute a SPOT program. If a patient looks unduly nervous or sweating, he or she gets a colonoscopy. Not to mention, "Sir please stand over here for continuous prostate examinations."

Oh, Doctor, that's funny. I will think of this post the next time I visit my doctor. I wish my doctor had the sense of humor that you have.

At PHL the ID checkers are the worst at this. Many visits ago, past them, I was really hacked and yelled "STOP BARKING". Everyone thought I was looney.

I will give an OT praise to TSA yesterday, I was rushing out of D to catch SEPTA, the exit lady asked if I was seeking terminal F (which can't be accessed airside after leaving D), I said no, but thanks - nice of her to do more than just be "standing around".

Agreed, although not always (perhaps it is certain shifts?). Like the OP, I am at the same checkpoint, through the metal detector, my stuff is through the scanner, and who shows up but Mr. Clean. You know the guy: too many steroids, shaved head, TSA shirt far too tight. "Move down!!!" "Move down!!!" he shouts. I just look at him and add calmly: "Please." He puts his face up next to mine and shouts "Move down!!! Please!!!" and shoves my things to the end of the rollers.

As I head to the PC to enjoy a glass of Stag's Leap, I spend perhaps a half a minute to wonder what the rest of his life is like.

Great point. Nasty people are usually nasty everywhere they go. They need to feel superior over other people, so they put other people down. Their lives are usually so miserable by their own hand. I have run across these types a lot lately. It's all bravado in front of the guys/gals. They need to be slapped back into reality. They especially pick on people who are the nicest because they mistake niceness for weakness. They are the weak ones and it glows like a beacon. Those are the people they get the most joy from picking at people. They are great at doing this in front of a crowd, but get one on one with them and their inferiority complex shines.

I bet this guy bullies because he is in front of his comrades and wants to look macho. He wants to look like he's got the upper hand, when in fact he's really making a fool out of himself. He probably has no friends in the real world and is a sad excuse for a human being.

There are people who get their jollies by acting this way.

I will never forget sitting in a restaurant in an east-coast city and listening to the 20-something at the table next to me telling his date "we graduated from the police academy today, got our badges and guns so now we have the power over the people". While there are many good folks in LE, there are some folks like this that give everyone a bad name.

Sorta reminds you of the stereotypical image of a Marine DI with new recruits.

Most legitimate law enforcement organizations conduct psychological screening of applicants in an attempt to weed out individuals who exhibit such behavior. I doubt TSA does so.

A USMC Drill Instructor performs as he/she does in order to accomplish a specific training mission - preparing young men and women for service in harms way, potentially under enemy fire. The attitude and the stress levels generated in the recruits by that attitude are carefully calculated and taught during Drill Instructor school. It is designed to keep recruits under a specific level of stress/tension at specific times, while at the those times training them to perform specific tasks related to the mission of the Marine Corps.

Most of the men and women that serve as Drill Instructors are actually very decent people, without the power trip evident in the conversation you overheard concerning the recent LEO graduate. Take the Smokey Bear (nickname for the Drill Instructor's distinctive cover, or headgear) off, and they are, for the most part, very hard working, dedicated military personnel that believe in their mission - to prepare Marines for battle and give them the skills to provide them with the best percentage chance of surviving the battles they may face.