to the OP
I think you were wrong, but for all the right reasons.

Stirring up trouble with the TSA, on the spot, at the airport, can't work in your favor.

I do support filing a complaint.

Oh, and they are idiots, people who couldn't get a job as a mall cop.

Agreed, but the OP seems to have limited this incident to commentary not something that escalated to the point where the screening process was interrupted so a review of Rendon v TSA might be on point.

It doesn't require a law degree to read that and find: "...a passenger who grumbles, even if the grumbling includes profanities, would not be found to have interfered with a screener in the performance of his duties. Indeed, Pindroh, the screener in this case, testified that he frequently hears passengers grumbling in line about how long the screening process is going to take and whether the screeners can hurry up the process, and notes that such grumbling is just normal talk from the customers..."

To the OP: Do you think the LEO literally meant that you cannot call TSA agents idiots because it is a violation of the law, or did he just mean you can't do it beacuse the idiots will call me over and then you will be delayed?

I blame them.

No one forced them to work at TSA. They chose to sell out the principles of this country for a paycheck. That's wrong at any price.

"I was only following orders." - Sound familiar?

This is all further proof that if you challenge the ego of the TSA, they will, in turn, go after you.

The cop really didn't do anything. He/she could have did the NCIC check, etc....but didn't. He/she probably just did the token effort in talking to you to keep the peace between the cops and the TSA.

No, it's the truth. By the same line, it's not wrong to call politicians stupid either. They ARE stupid. You want me to call them smart?

You have to call a stupid person stupid. Otherwise, they would never know their place.

How can it be wrong to state the truth?

Then my question is why do they still work there ? I can not for the life of me understand why the "few" good ones stay. I have to work around these people 5days per week & ride the employee bus with them. For the most part the way these people act just on the bus is just way over the top. Time permitting I'll wait on another bus in hopes of not being around them

It would be wrong to not call them idiots. I don't care about wanting to hold on to a cushy job. I'm sure there were peope in Hitler's regime who felt the same way.

yup

and yup again

and not to forget our very own MKEbound and the original kip hawley is an idiot freedom baggie

From Dave Barry's "How to Win an Argument:"

Except in this case, the OP was completely correct, so it would need to be the TSA or the LEO using the Hitler argument.

OP can you explain exactly why you called the screeners idiots? All you said is that you felt frustrated.

Even if most of the flying public didn't agree with that statement, the OP has every right to say it.

All your points are reasonable but don't really apply to this discussion. The OP was asking if they had the right to call the TSA idiots, not whether they are idiots.

Mike

DEN, huh? At least one of them is a Gun Toting Idiot�, which is like getting an oak leaf cluster for the tin badge.

Do you work at a fairly large, busy airport like a FLL, MIA, TPA, etc or one of the smaller airports?, what is your idea or definition of "many tsa people"

I have friends who are airline employees, they work in EWR, ATL, MSP, ORD all very busy airports with many flights a day, and their positions require them to have frequent contact with TSA every day of the week, from the screeners all the way up to the TSA director for the airport and some of the higher ups in D.C.

EVERYONE of them I have talked to over the last several weeks would disagree with your statement "90 percent are not idiots", and say the large majority, ESP the screeners are idiots.

Yes, as you point out its the "DC idiots that make the rules", but in many cases the screeners dont have to "endorse" the rules, they must "interpet" them, and in this area, I believe, the screeners are idiots.

Two prime examples of idiot screeners lack of common sense in interpeting rules,

1. A screener in LAX who forcibly took away a 10yr old childs G.I Joe doll because G.I. Joe had a small, plastic toy pistol and the screener said "replicas of weapons are not allowed" . The GI Joe figure measured about 7inches tall, the "replica weapon" was molded into the dolls hands.

2. This one I experienced myself at IAH about 6months ago, go thru security, screener said I need to inspect your carryon, inspects carryon, finds nothing, and then berates me in a very loud, rude way because of what??...my 1 quart bag that contained my toothpaste, shaving cream was not zipped up all the way, yea I sure felt safer knowing he was on the job .

I have many other examples I would be glad to share, either experienced myself, witnessed or related to me by coworkers, or airline employee friends.

As for the part of your post that states "they make more money than most airline employees", "have better vacation", I presume that would be any airline employee with less than 10yrs of seniority, i.e, gate agents, ramp agents, ticket counter agts, baggage agts.

Most of the airline employee friends I know hold one of the positions noted above, have seniority ranging from 14yrs to 38yrs, they work for DL, WN, CO, AS, and they all have a much higher salary and vacation time than any screener they deal with has. I dont know about the health care or retirement part of your post.

One thing I certainly agree with you on is, I too thought the new administration would have done more by now as it relates to getting rid of the some of the garbage that we know as TSA. I am very disapointed that they have not.

My apoligies for getting slightly off the topic of the op.