Things didn’t end well for the last guy…

  • @UnderpantsWeevil
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    06 hours ago

    fuck everyone who works for the TSA, bunch of useless dickheads

    Federal government creates a giant CYA department to account for their massive intelligence failure 23 years ago and now I’m going to be angry at the now-currently-unpaid 23 year old directing me through a metal detector so I don’t try and bring a gun onto a high speed high occupancy mid-air aluminum tube because she isn’t doing the REAL WORK of playing candy crush in a squad car like a proper police officer.

    FFS, I’d argue that TSA is the most useful form of police officer currently on duty. I’ve been through my local airport a hundred times and I consistently find them to be polite, patient, and stoic in a way street cops never are.

    • @[email protected]
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      35 hours ago

      because she isn’t doing the REAL WORK of playing candy crush in a squad car like a proper police officer.

      Your words, not mine, fuck the police and don’t put words in my mouth

      FFS, I’d argue that TSA is the most useful form of police officer currently on duty

      You’d very much be wrong. While the cops aren’t great by any means the TSA consistently fails audits and has, last I heard, stopped an estimated 0 incidents of terrorism. Cops at least do have track records of stopping some crimes

      I’ve been through my local airport a hundred times and I consistently find them to be polite, patient, and stoic in a way street cops never are.

      I’m very glad you’ve had that experience, actually. Having flown out of 12 states and 4 countries: US TSA is the rudest and slowest of the security teams 99.9% of the time and it’s not even close

      • @UnderpantsWeevil
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        13 hours ago

        the TSA consistently fails audits and has, last I heard, stopped an estimated 0 incidents of terrorism

        My coworker just got done negotiating payment on a $7000 fine for carrying a gun through security. She was not the only one at the courthouse for this kind of infraction. The TSA certainly seems to be catch some number of potential incidents. But one more notable consequence of the TSA (and contemporary international organizations) has been a sharp plunge in the frequency of airplane hijackings, which I certainly appreciate.

        US TSA is the rudest and slowest of the security teams

        As someone who regularly travels through Europe, you could not possibly be more incorrect. Italy is far and away the rudest. And I’ve seen airports from Korea to Turkyie get jammed up for hours due to their comparatively primitive security screenings. Had a domestic Japanese flight that ended up taking me four hours just to board, because of security delays. Taking the Shinkansen from Sapporo to Tokyo would have been faster, despite going a third the speed of the plane.

        • @[email protected]
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          2 hours ago

          The TSA certainly seems to be catch some number of potential incidents

          Should have been more clear (oh wait just reread my comment and I already was clear on this your point is irrelevant): incidents of actual terrorism and not people forgetting something in their bag with 0 intention of actually doing something with it. They also love to take shit that should be allowed, too, because they’re thieves on a power trip

          But one more notable consequence of the TSA (and contemporary international organizations) has been a sharp plunge in the frequency of airplane hijackings, which I certainly appreciate.

          Not the TSA at all, that’s the air Marshalls and other increased security in the actual plane like hard locked cockpits

          • @UnderpantsWeevil
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            02 hours ago

            incidents of actual terrorism and not people forgetting something in their bag

            You’re backing yourself into a corner, because you now seem to acknowledge TSA is doing something, you just think its a thing that only applies to “good” people rather than “bad” people.

            And your rubric is contradictory. If the TSA stops you with a gun before you get on the plane, you get to say “My bad, please just let me off with warning” or they’ve failed at their jobs. But if you let someone with a gun onto a plane and then they hijack the plane, they’ve failed to stop a terrorist. How does a TSA agent stop a terrorist incident on these terms? Is the argument that the TSA is useless because terrorist attacks aren’t being thwarted at the moment the individual passes through the metal detector?

            air Marshalls and other increased security in the actual plane like hard locked cockpits

            Are additional measures that help screen for less-conventional weapons and strategies. But, again, we seem to be using “stopped a terrorist attack” as only happening after it has begun. TSA isn’t on board the planes, so there’s no way they can ever do the thing you’re giving Air Marshals and locked doors credit for.

            That TSA as a first-stage screen reduces the number of incidents air marshals and door locks have to prevent as a last resort doesn’t seem to matter.