TSA's new policelike badges a sore point with real cops: TSA say they "aren't respected"

[Bluebear]

WASHINGTON — Screeners at the nation's airport checkpoints are going to start wearing police-style badges — but real officers aren't too happy about it.

Some sworn officers fear airline passengers will mistake screeners for law-enforcement officials with arrest powers.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is starting to equip its 48,000 screeners with 3-inch-by-2-inch, silver-colored, copper and zinc badges that will be worn on new royal-blue police-style shirts.

The attire aims to convey an image of authority to passengers, who have harassed, pushed and in a few instances punched screeners. "Some of our officers aren't respected," TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-06-15-tsa-badges_N.htm

[Solly Mack]

1. respected as people or respected as authority figures?

well, duh, of course


but I find it very telling the kind of respect people seek

[Bluebear]

2. Cripes, one false move & they can make you miss your flight, etc.

What more do they want? :)

[Solly Mack]

3. LMAO! Seriously! Now that's the power to ruin your day/business trip

lololol

Love it!

[Bluebear]

4. RESPECT ME!!!!11 DAMMIT!!!!!!111

[Solly Mack]

5. I was recently at Dublin airport and grinned the entire time

teeny tiny older woman gave me a pat-down...beautiful brogue. She blushed the whole time, constantly apologized... and then gave me a concerned look. Her brogue was pure joy for me. I think she thought me an eegit. I am...but still lololol

[Skittles]

7. in England at Heathrow airport an old lady pawed me

she asked me if I knew why she was pawing me and I said I HOPE it's because of security, causing an uproar of laughing amongst fellow travellers. Growing up with an English mum made me quite immune to the charms of their accents. :)

[Solly Mack]

8. lol! Love it!

I must confess to wearing overalls when visiting back home (US)... one woman was patting me up the inner thigh and commented that I had sure had a lot of snaps and buttons..to which I said "Yes...but not there"

If I gotta be fondled then by golly, I'll be fondled on my terms.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. I am just waiting for one of these fucktards to get pulled over

try pulling their "badge" and "I am a federal agent" routine on the police officer and upon searching the TSA fucktards vehicle recovering travellers stolen property.

However the real danger of the TSA is they are being transformed from just a bunch of petty theives on the government payroll to something of an internal customs agency to monitor and control domestic travel. Very much like the good old days of the Soviet Union and Apartheid South Africa.

I seem to recall something about "professionalizing" airport security, all that has happened thus far is a bunch of otherwise unemployable trailer park and ghetto dwellers have been deputized and enthusiastically use their new authority to terrorize and intimidate their fellow Americans.

However it is refreshing to know that 25% of TSA employees quit the agency every year, meaning atleast 25% of people will when called upon by their government to violate the rights of their fellow citizens will ultimately decline.

[truthisfreedom]

9. sigh.

[AnotherVietnamVet]

10. TSA is wrong on so many levels.

Earlier this year I flew back from a trip and they removed my terrorist water bottle and my terrorist SPF 15 sun lotion. The water was easy to fix, but I paid some good $$$ for the sunscreen.

[gratuitous]

11. Well, I know a badge and a uniform makes me feel something

I'm just not sure if it's respect or something else. But as more people choose to travel by other means and the airlines lose more money, and the public realizes better that all this "security" isn't doing a damn thing to make anything safer anywhere, perhaps we'll start to move past these silly charades.

On the other hand, TSA is a government program promulgated by a political party that claims to hate government. What else could TSA inspire but contempt?