Both. Combined with the third option of "because I can, that's why." (Edit: I've just been over to PV and am going to lean more towards 'stupid' after reading the musings of TSOWilliamReed.)

Seriously, I hope that "most" TSA screeners don't make decisions like this. But there are enough making absurd decisions to be of concern. And looking at some of the stories: this keyring event, the leather bookmark incident, Mr Gel-pack's problem, the homemade battery pack, it seemed to be a combination of natural stupidity about things that are a bit unusual, an overactive imagination about their potential for danger, a tendency to err on the side of confiscating too much rather than too little, and an attitude of "I may as well take this since you can't really stop me."

I agree this is a factor, although whether it's "due to the heat they will catch" or "due to the heat they imagine they will catch" is up for debate. My views on the (lack of) intelligence and integrity at TSA HQ are well known, but even I'm not seriously considering that they would discipline a screener for allowing a 1" GI Joe plastic gun onto a plane.

Look, like most people with a boss, I have to be aware of limits on my official actions. I can't, for example, write a letter to the newspaper using my company's name to back up my personal views. But if I thought that my employers would punish me for writing letters to my family, either (a) that's wrong and I really don't understand my terms of employment, or (b) that's right and I really need to find a new job. Similarly, screeners who are confiscating 1" toy guns and bullet keyrings are either grossly misinformed about their job or are working for people more idiotic than even I can imagine.

"or are working for people more idiotic than even I can imagine."

My vote would support this conclusion.

Last night I did em one better. As they were getting off their shift in the baggage makeup they just about ran me over. I said,where they could here it."these stupid sobs think they own the airport". Their lead or whoever he is looked at me but decided not to say anything. I was hoping he would .

Just stating my feelings. You folks are so luck you "only" have to be screened by them & not be around them 8 hours per day.

As long as they wear their tin badges they probably do think they own the airport.

IF only a tenth of what you have stated in other posts is true, I dont know how you are able to restrain yourself.
If stupidity and lack of commonsense are a requirement for their jobs, I would say there are a lot of TSA employees, with most TSO's leading the way , that are overqualified for the position they hold.

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That things shouldn't be the way they are and to question authority? I don't think those are necessarily bad morals. When authority is overstepped, it should be questioned.

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Likewise, Tex. Don't flatter yourself with an obsession about your posts. Yours just happened to be a comment I was responding to this time. Or are your posts off limits to me comment on? And to think I was even being nice to you ... what was I thinking?

I read the post. Putting myself in coachrowsey's place and consideing the "moral" he would have taught his kid if he were there, I would have been fine with my son learning that moral. He's already learned similar. YMMV.

When my children were young, I taught them to respect people in authority - while doing their job. If we saw a police officer breaking the law or otherwise abusing his/her authority, I pointed that out as well, noting the difference between respecting the office at all times and respecting the person when they deserved it.

I would have said the same thing Coach said if I observed rude and obnoxious behavior on the part of anyone employed by the government.

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When the other people are acting like a "stupid SOB" or an "obnoxious A-hole", yes.

How would you have me describe them otherwise, if that is indeed how they are acting? You would rather I lie to my children?

So Bart, when I asked a coworker (on the Mesquite PD reserve force) what he had hoped to accomplish when he gave a lippy hippie (his words) a road side tune up was that wrong?

Was it wrong when I told the coworker that all he had accomplished was to make that hippie, his friends, family and associates forever distrust the police?

Respect to the office always. Respect to the individual only if he warrants respect. A thundering herd of TSOs running out of the airport at shift change warrants no respect (seen the same thing at businesses and you had better not be standing in the doorway unless you enjoy the prospect of being trampled).

TSA had a chance to do it right from day one. TSA didn't and lost much of the good will generated from 9/11 towards security organizations. Have you ever walked into a restaurant, for the first time, expecting a good meal and decent service and received neither a good meal nor good service? I have. Did you ever bother to go back for another try? As passengers we have little to no options when dealing with TSA, so rather than voting with our feet as we would with a restaurant, we express displeasure by venting. TSA could read the complaints over at PV and ask themselves if these complaints are even remotely true then do something to correct the process. Sadly the complaints appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Bart, your organization has reaped what it has sown and you don't like the results.

Bart:
My sons know very well how I feel about the TSA, but on a side note(not trying to make an excuse just being honest) I never use that kind of languague outside the work enviremont & I have friends who know me that post on FT.

Sometimes I just wish I could really post away about these people, what I see, the way they act & present themselves. You would understand why I want nothing to do with them. These people (TSA) think they can knock everyone around. With very few execptions I can assure you airline people hate the site of them.

I've seen this behavior on the Metro many times.

In contrast, I have never seen a group of service personnel or LEO's on the Metro that wasn't polite and courteous, to a fault.

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