choster

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/com...55E661,00.html

alex0683de

Ouch! Unbelievable, even if the guy really had been 8 feet tall, that comment was risky. You could find yourself being kneed in a very sensitive place for that one.

Suffice it to say it was an incredibly stupid comment, but hey, that's what we've all come to expect from 90+% of TSA employees...

rdg_dc

"this black guy"

oklAAhoma

IMHO that was a poor choice of words from someone who herself was upset at being typecast.

cj001f

uhh, last I checked it was merely a descriptor.

Spiff

Concur. His ethnicity is irrelevant. His stupidity is not.

I hope Mrs. Jackson uses her position to put some much-needed pressure on the US to stop harassing travelers of any gender, ethnicity, religion or citizenship.

oklAAhoma

Last I checked woman and black were both *merely* descriptors. But in this case both were used in an inappropriate context. His actions and comment were quite obviously offensive. However, his color (and his size for that matter) had nothing to do with his absolute and utter stupidity and need not have been mentioned.

oklAAhoma

^^ Well said. I hope so too.

cj001f

One is adding adjectives to flesh out the picture (and I wager that most Ft'ers recounting this ancedote would include them as well, even those of that demographic) - the other is expressing incredulity that someone of a demographic could in fact be competent. I suppose it depends on the size of your pocket outrage and moral equivalency how offended you are.

oklAAhoma

Huh? You must have me confused with someone else. I'm fairly sure my pockets have never even been annoyed, let alone outraged.

It's simply my opinion that both parties were careless in their choice of words. Apparently you don't see it that way. I'm fine with that as you are certainly entitled to your opinion. Can't we just agree to disagree on this? As they say: YMMV.

choster

POINT
I find her characterization of tall people as menacing despicable and uncalled for. Of course, considering Hollywood often typecasts tall people in roles like Frankenstein's monster or the giant in Jack & the Beanstalk it's no wonder vertically gifted are feared and misunderstood. Yes, some Giganto-Americans do trample villages underfoot, but many turn to a life of crime because paths to stable professions like figure skater and jockey are closed due to prejudice and lack of opportunity. That guard is not some nameless ogre, Mr. "eight foot tall" has feelings and dreams.

COUNTERPOINT
In a story too familiar to too many, a normal person has become the victim of intimidation and oppression at the hands of a Tall person. Yet here again, the media will ignore the real monster in this story: the persistent societal demon of underlying Tall Privilege. Study after study shows that tall people earn more money, prevail in elections more often, and win more basketball games. Not satisfied with denying this system of institutional discrimination, Tallers are constantly demanding "more legroom" or "more headroom"-- which is it going to be, Tallers? Ms. Jackson deserves a medal for striking back at the "high"erarchy.

AZ_MISMAN

choster,

I was waiting from the "Jane, you ignorant slut" line from the classic SNL Point/Counterpoint skit.

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=529180

SirFlysALot

And why did they question her? Did the plans have pointy edges? Seems they were looking for suspicious things instead of things that could endanger an aircraft.

LessO2

Nice one one from LAX TSA.

jholiiday

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=513010