Certain Words Should Not Be Used

[ShinyTop]

... at an airport counter. This woman (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42930) said the wrong thing to the wrong people. Just proves one does not have to have common sense to have Dr before your name.

[Coot]

RFLMFAO!!!

[Sacchiridites]

from article referenced above...."Although they found nothing suspicious, authorities blew up the bag with an explosive charge and then doused it with water.

Khoshnu was eventually released and allowed to board a later flight to San Diego. KGTV reports the Assistant U.S. Attorney in Phoenix decided her actions did not merit charges...."

I'm laughing and my daughter's looking at me funny now...thanks.
I can just see them handing her soggy, black, sooty luggage to her.:lol:
No, I don't suppose that charges would be very effective after that. I can almost 'feel' the look on her face! rofl

[Piobaireachd]

Security should have given her a body cavity search on her way out the door. You can't be too careful you know...

[MorWired]

... at an airport counter. This woman (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42930) said the wrong thing to the wrong people. Just proves one does not have to have common sense to have Dr before your name.Not to mention one would hope a shrinky-dink would have better control over their emotional responses. :crazy: :eek: :doh:

Of course mental health professionals are just plain old folks and get frustrated just like rest of us, but you'd hope that a psychiatrist had better impulse control than this. Who in their right mind (oh ... umm ... yeah ... right ;)) would now choose this woman to be their therapist?

[cdw]

What a complete waste of money and resources...and we're laughing?

[RetFireCapt]

Ok, so it's a complete waste of money and resources, but it's a FUNNY complete waste of money and resources.

[cdw]

Think so? So, here you are, crowded airport, incompetent security people, going through your things, stopping you from going about your business, your luggage is fine, you know it, they know it, but after all they have to show they are doing something. You're running late. You say...what the heck, you couldn't find a bomb if I had it in my luggage. The clerk, deciding to teach you a lesson (which isn't the point of their job to begin with) sets off a situation that takes people from doing the job of protecting others...and it progresses. All the way to the point of your landing. Again, taking people from doing the job of protecting others. All because you sarcastically said, (and rightly so, probably) You couldn't find a bomb if I had it in my luggage.
Funny? No. Not at all. It's a terribly expensive abuse of power of a little person. And it snow balled through a bunch of other little people with power. Perhaps I'm old, perhaps I'm cranky tonight...but I do not think that is why these people were put there. They were not doing their job but abusing their power. I see nothing funny in it in the least. And I daresay you wouldn't either if it happened to you.
:)

[Piobaireachd]

Think so? So, here you are, crowded airport, incompetent security people, going through your things, stopping you from going about your business, your luggage is fine, you know it, they know it, but after all they have to show they are doing something. You're running late. You say...what the heck, you couldn't find a bomb if I had it in my luggage. The clerk, deciding to teach you a lesson (which isn't the point of their job to begin with) sets off a situation that takes people from doing the job of protecting others...and it progresses. All the way to the point of your landing. Again, taking people from doing the job of protecting others. All because you sarcastically said, (and rightly so, probably) You couldn't find a bomb if I had it in my luggage.
Funny? No. Not at all. It's a terribly expensive abuse of power of a little person. And it snow balled through a bunch of other little people with power. Perhaps I'm old, perhaps I'm cranky tonight...but I do not think that is why these people were put there. They were not doing their job but abusing their power. I see nothing funny in it in the least. And I daresay you wouldn't either if it happened to you.
:)

I don't see where it was an abuse of power. The customer made a stupid remark and paid the price. They did nothing out of line in my opinion.

When I was stationed overseas they blew up an Admiral's wife's car because she felt she could park it anywhere she wanted at Di Vinci Airport in Rome. We thought that was pretty funny too. We all had our horror stories about her on base. She was also abusive.

[MorWired]

Think so? So, here you are, crowded airport, incompetent security people, going through your things, stopping you from going about your business, your luggage is fine, you know it, they know it, but after all they have to show they are doing something. You're running late. You say...what the heck, you couldn't find a bomb if I had it in my luggage. The clerk, deciding to teach you a lesson (which isn't the point of their job to begin with) sets off a situation that takes people from doing the job of protecting others...and it progresses. All the way to the point of your landing. Again, taking people from doing the job of protecting others. All because you sarcastically said, (and rightly so, probably) You couldn't find a bomb if I had it in my luggage.
Funny? No. Not at all. It's a terribly expensive abuse of power of a little person. And it snow balled through a bunch of other little people with power. Perhaps I'm old, perhaps I'm cranky tonight...but I do not think that is why these people were put there. They were not doing their job but abusing their power. I see nothing funny in it in the least. And I daresay you wouldn't either if it happened to you.
:)Oh, you're absolutely right. Been there, done that, held my tongue though.

The thing is, not only is the airport security ineffectual in general, if she really DID have a bomb, the suitcase flew on her scheduled flight -- so what was accomplished? Nada.

And, since the plane landed without incident, what was the point of blowing up the bag after the fact? Yep, our tax dollars at work.

The fact remains though that, particularly given her profession, she should have behaved more rationally.

[cdw]

Oh, ok. Making a stupid or sarcastic remark is enough to have your luggage blown up and security personnel wasting their time on it instead of protecting and securing the facility. And blowing up the admirals wife's car because she parks it in places you feel she shouldn't is appropriate too. Might make you feel good, might give you the giggles, still is a terrible waste of money and abuse of power.
IMVHO.

[RetFireCapt]

I see nothing funny in it in the least. And I daresay you wouldn't either if it happened to you.
:)

A. That would never happen to me, because I know how to keep my yapper shut when I need to.

B. If it DID happen to me, you bet your bippy I wouldn't think it was a bit funny. BUT, I'm an asshole who laughs at the idiotic misfortunes of others. I also enjoy racist, sexist, ageist, and retard humor.

Like I said, I'm an asshole. ;)

[Coot]

The thing is, not only is the airport security ineffectual in general, if she really DID have a bomb, the suitcase flew on her scheduled flight -- so what was accomplished? Nada.



Just a point of observation; we get far too little for our hard earned tax dollar, in terms of effectual services and good stewardship of said money, that I think a little bit of high comedy is a far better utilization of these monies than many of the boneheaded pork projects the money does get wasted on.

I approve, I most wholeheartedly approve of a little slapstick on the taxpayer dime. Of course, the fact that the brunt of the joke happens to be a person in a 'profession' I loosely liken to witchquackery just makes it all the more humorous. :haha:

[RetFireCapt]

Something tells me that the attitude she displayed
means she had it coming. And having been in similar situation with taxpayers of her ilk, I'll bet those TA guys enjoyed evey minute of the payback.

[Violet1966]

I haven't flown since 9-11, but I can tell you that there would never be any circumstances, unless someone was God forbid dying, that I'd be annoyed with them checking my luggage. I'm also not stupid enough to even utter the word "bomb" in an airport these days. Woman was a moron...plain and simple. They had to rule out any chance that she could have a bomb that couldn't be found. She set herself up and wasted that money and resources. This is the way we live now. You just can't joke about certain things anymore...or act sarcastic like that. The woman is an idiot.

[MorWired]

Just a point of observation; we get far too little for our hard earned tax dollar, in terms of effectual services and good stewardship of said money, that I think a little bit of high comedy is a far better utilization of these monies than many of the boneheaded pork projects the money does get wasted on.

I approve, I most wholeheartedly approve of a little slapstick on the taxpayer dime. Of course, the fact that the brunt of the joke happens to be a person in a 'profession' I loosely liken to witchquackery just makes it all the more humorous. :haha:But seriously, this is a huge gap in our so-called "security." I ranted about my airline experiences this holiday in another thread here (and that wasn't even the full-on rant -- consider yourselves fortunate :) ), but the scariest part of all this is that anyone determined to do harm can. There is very little stopping them.

For example this baggage thing. In my holiday nightmare, my ticket that the airline issued on the spot to replace the ticket I had purchased six weeks prior because they cancelled that flight was flagged because the ticket had been "purchased" at the last minute. (If anyone sees logic here, please draw me a map.)

On that ticket, in great big font, was the code "SSSS" (or maybe 5 of them), which even I knew meant I had been flagged. You're a terrorist, the ticket has that on it, you don't fly. Try your luck again another day. Simple no?

If your ticket doesn't have the code, then once you make it through the security checks, then all you have to do is create a disturbance, like this woman did, and you will be barred from flying -- but your checked luggage has already been loaded, and so will be making the journey without you. If I were a terrorist, that would be a bonus -- don't even have to commit suicide to achieve my goals.

While waiting for the overbooked replacement flight, they were offering incentives for people to not fly on that flight, but announced that their luggage would stay on the flight and they'd retrieve it at their destination. Hello? Whatever happened to no unaccompanied baggage flying? Making mental note for my future terrorist activities, pack a suitcase, check it, then collect a stipend for not flying with my explosive suitcase. Nice work if you can get it. :eek:

[Piobaireachd]

Making stupid comments about bombs or explosives was a no-no before 9-11. The airports had signs warning such in the 70's and 80's. Nope, the woman is an idiot and got exactly what she deserved. As far as a "waste of money" goes, let's just call it training.

[Coot]

If your ticket doesn't have the code, then once you make it through the security checks, then all you have to do is create a disturbance, like this woman did, and you will be barred from flying -- but your checked luggage has already been loaded, and so will be making the journey without you. If I were a terrorist, that would be a bonus -- don't even have to commit suicide to achieve my goals.

While waiting for the overbooked replacement flight, they were offering incentives for people to not fly on that flight, but announced that their luggage would stay on the flight and they'd retrieve it at their destination. Hello? Whatever happened to no unaccompanied baggage flying? Making mental note for my future terrorist activities, pack a suitcase, check it, then collect a stipend for not flying with my explosive suitcase. Nice work if you can get it. :eek:

Yep, and that's a complaint I've had since 9/11. Europe, for all it's infinite failings at least does luggage matching. If you aren't sitting in a seat in Europe when the plane takes off, the plane is stopped and your checked luggage is removed. They at least figured out that part of the equation after Lockerbie.

The FAA is still mandated to impose no cumbersome requirements on airlines in terms of security measures. Airlines in the US have insisted that luggage matching is too cumbersome...as are quasi explosion proof containers for checked luggage. It's not that the technology doesn't exist, it's that the airlines don't want to implement any policies that might raise the price of travel and could possibly hit their bottom line.

[Sacchiridites]

Oh, ok. Making a stupid or sarcastic remark is enough to have your luggage blown up and security personnel wasting their time on it instead of protecting and securing the facility. And blowing up the admirals wife's car because she parks it in places you feel she shouldn't is appropriate too. Might make you feel good, might give you the giggles, still is a terrible waste of money and abuse of power.
IMVHO.
Ahh, I really did think it was funny only for the simple fact that they 'blew up' the luggage that wasn't going to blow up in the first place. It's really ironic. And it really did strike a funny bone.
In the light you say you see this, Cyd, I can see where you're coming from. I have not yet acquired a thirst of happiness over someone's misery. I hope I never do. Most of the time, I am anguished and outraged that people exercise judgment in action, like crazed vigilantes.
I needed a laugh, honestly, I truly did. And I didn't even think about all the money and resources that were wasted. I suppose I assumed they were getting paid the same rate as if they were standing there, wishing for a cup of coffee and a cigarette in their cozy kitchens. They just happened to take special effort to ensure the luggage was not going to blow up on anyone but them. I am thankful no one was bodily injured, aren't you?
And I suppose that if I were in line behind her, and I heard "bomb" come out of her mouth, I would have thought twice about boarding with her/her luggage. I wouldn't have been laughing one bit.

[MorWired]

I haven't flown since 9-11, but I can tell you that there would never be any circumstances, unless someone was God forbid dying, that I'd be annoyed with them checking my luggage.At the airport I flew through in CA, they make you stand by while your checked luggage is screened. My dad and I watched as the guy went through my underwear (because I'm sure when he felt the plactic bag the bras and panties were tied in, the cloth felt "dangerous" http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/verwirrt/hum.gif), and then they untied plastic grocery bags of tangerines and avocados from my parents' trees, and took every last thing out of my suitcase and jammed it back in (after I carefully packed the breakable things deep inside to be cushioned by the clothing). Ok. It had to be done. Not that big a deal.

Then, once the flight I was boarding was cancelled, they had us retrieve our bags, and not more than an hour later they searched my suitcase a second time. Except this time the jerk searching it tore open the bags of fruit rather than untying them, so I arrived with mashed tangerines all over my clothing, some of which was ruined.

I don't have any objections to increased security, but I have a lot of objections to arrogance, laziness, and stupidity.

~~~
Edit: totally O/T -- post #666, I've been waiting for that. http://webpages.charter.net/connectingzone/mad/3.gif

[cdw]

I'm trying to remember the name of the woman...damn this slow brain...ahhh...bea arthur...who made a comment and they wouldn't allow the plane to fly...remember that? She made a comment about security and a bomb or a gun or something of that sort and they wouldn't allow the plane to fly because she would endanger passengers. Yes. And everyone thought she was terrible. And then it came out it was her own, very private, plane. And the whole security bs was exactly that..bs. And little people with power. And yes, this is, in my mind, the same type of thing. If you find humor in that, fine. If you think the woman was an asshole for saying outloud exactly what we have all been saying here, which is that the security at the airports is for shit and they can't find 3/4 of the stuff that is transported and they shake down little nannies for nothing, well ok.
Count me as an asshole for making a sarcastic remark. If you do not see that blowing up her luggage and having the fbi called in and having security and I would assume the bomb squad called in at the destination location is more assanonic than her comment, well.... what's to say. The whole incident is stupid, a waste of money, a waste of resources and certainly did nothing to protect anyone at all whatsoever. To me, it's not funny. To me, our security and the people there who are supposed to be performing those duties should be doing just that. NOT teaching someone a lesson. It's not funny...sorry.
I'll get off the box now. And god help anyone of ya that make an off the cuff comment. At the airport, train stations, bus stations, anywhere. Some little person with a little power might just decide YOU should be the object of a lesson.
Wrong.

[Coot]

Cyd, the woman is a fucktard, she didn't pull a Bea Arthur, she wasn't flying on a private plane. About the only thing I would have found more humorous is if they had announced her name and that they needed her key to continue the safety inspection...once she had inserted her key, then someone would have blown up the luggage. Two birds could have been killed for the price of one. Get rid of annoying luggage (probably Louis Viton) and a waste of human skin...what's more appropriate than that?

[MorWired]

Cyd, the woman is a fucktard, she didn't pull a Bea Arthur, she wasn't flying on a private plane. About the only thing I would have found more humorous is if they had announced her name and that they needed her key to continue the safety inspection...once she had inserted her key, then someone would have blown up the luggage. Two birds could have been killed for the price of one. Get rid of annoying luggage (probably Louis Viton) and a waste of human skin...what's more appropriate than that?Hmm, have security personnel been trained to recognize "dangerous" words in all possible languages? Since, like, you know, I'm pretty sure that when the 19 people who truly were a waste of human skin got on board 3 1/2 years ago, they were probably not discussing bombs or box cutters in English. :doh:

[Coot]

Hmm, have security personnel been trained to recognize "dangerous" words in all possible languages?

Probably not, but I'm working from the HHG scenario where Arthur finds out from the captain of the ship they're on that they're mostly telephone sanitizers, hair dressers, guidance councillors and the like, and that the planet needs to be settled with real services offered by these folks before real citizens dare to set foot. ;)

Though I have yet to see a DentArthurDent hamburger, one can only hope. :)

[MorWired]

Probably not, but I'm working from the HHG scenario where Arthur finds out from the captain of the ship they're on that they're mostly telephone sanitizers, hair dressers, guidance councillors and the like, and that the planet needs to be settled with real services offered by these folks before real citizens dare to set foot. ;)

Though I have yet to see a DentArthurDent hamburger, one can only hope. :)I dunno, given the complete lack of common sense and/or intelligence we appear to be displaying on this planet, I say it's time to bring on the Vorgon weapons of mass construction. http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/alien/smilieufo.gif

[Coot]

Well, that's certainly extreme. Here I'm cheerleading for the demise of the deadweight, and you're advocating for total victory over all of us on behalf of the slugs. ;)

[MorWired]

Well, that's certainly extreme. Here I'm cheerleading for the demise of the deadweight, and you're advocating for total victory over all of us on behalf of the slugs. ;)Said like a truly paranoid android.

Hey, I'm just saying a hyperspace bypass isn't such a bad thing.
Besides, given that this happened to a psychiatrist, it's only a matter of time before the Vorgons arrive. http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/emorph/smilie_miru_nu.gif

<small><small>Pssst, it's 42 ...</small></small>

[Allene]

I haven't flown since 9-11, but I can tell you that there would never be any circumstances, unless someone was God forbid dying, that I'd be annoyed with them checking my luggage. I'm also not stupid enough to even utter the word "bomb" in an airport these days. Woman was a moron...plain and simple. They had to rule out any chance that she could have a bomb that couldn't be found. She set herself up and wasted that money and resources. This is the way we live now. You just can't joke about certain things anymore...or act sarcastic like that. The woman is an idiot.

I agree that the woman was dumber than dumb, and I'd like to see more, not less, luggage searching. That said, some of the security people are even dumber than that woman.

[Piobaireachd]

The more we refer to the folks who show up to work, day after day, and work their asses off for minimum wage as "little people", the more abuses of power we are going to experience. Paybacks are a bitch...

[cdw]

Oh for god's sakes. Give it a rest. They are little people. And they have power. So are the workers in the INS little people with power.
You are a little people. I am a little people. Get over it. It's not appropriate to be using that power to 'get back at people'. It's a figure of speech, one that has been used in this forum time and again. Please, do not try to make it into something it wasn't meant to be.
Thank you.

[cdw]

I agree that the woman was dumber than dumb, and I'd like to see more, not less, luggage searching. That said, some of the security people are even dumber than that woman.

Ah, thank you Allene. Yes, her off the cuff remark should have been tempered. But it's not like she threatened that she had a bomb, she didn't yell through the airport that she had a bomb.
Yep...dumb and dumber. :)

[MorWired]

The more we refer to the folks who show up to work, day after day, and work their asses off for minimum wage as "little people", the more abuses of power we are going to experience. Paybacks are a bitch...I thought we replaced the minimum-wage slaves (who, while no better (or much worse) when it came to security, at least they didn't indulge in their own brand of terror with such regularity) with federally employed, and higher paid, "security professionals." Didn't we?

[Piobaireachd]

I thought we replaced the minimum-wage slaves (who, while no better (or much worse) when it came to security, at least they didn't indulge in their own brand of terror with such regularity) with federally employed, and higher paid, "security professionals." Didn't we?

Minimum wage for TSA Screener is $23,600/year. That's something like $12/hour

[ravital]

Oh for god's sakes. Give it a rest. They are little people. And they have power. So are the workers in the INS little people with power.
{Snip}
It's not appropriate to be using that power to 'get back at people'. It's a figure of speech, one that has been used in this forum time and again.


Thank you!

There's no sense in repeating that this woman's behavior was foolish, that's a no-brainer.

Does everyone appreciate the chain of events here? She gets on a plane somewhere in America - presumably in the North-East since she's from NJ, makes a connection in Phoenix, gets herself in trouble in Phoenix - but her luggage gets on the connecting flight to San-Diego anyway? Ok, let's give the airlines the benefit of a doubt here, and assume they didn't have the opportunity or time to inspect her luggage or get it off the flight altogether in Phoenix.

Then, after the plane lands safely, all in one piece, that's when they go through these extreme measures - after inspecting the luggage, finding nothing, they blow it up anyway - someone please explain to me why this is not gratuituous payback and abuse of authority?

Didn't we come up with a new rule that forbids airlines to fly luggage all by itself without it belonging to someone on the same plane? Oh, I guess this is in effect only as long as convenient to the airlines? I have flown several times after 9/11, and I do know for a fact, because I've been told, that while my own connecting flights were delayed or canceled and I had been rerouted, my luggage made it to my destination hours before me on a separate flight.

So it's not your safety or mine that matters, it's still the convenience of the airlines.

Get this: You already can't check an lighter in your luggage - maybe that makes sense. You can't carry a torch-lighter on you - that makes perfect sense. But starting soon, you won't be able to carry any kind of lighter or even matches with you, or leave them in your checked luggage. Someone please show me why that's not an example of the airlines and airport authorities doing what's convenient to them, under the guise of "safety and security?"

You can fully expect more and more perfectly reasonable people develop more and more airline-rage, and more incidents like the one above in the future. All because the airlines and airport authorities think they can make us swallow anything they want as "safety," and the law lets them. Be prepared to get arrested if you have the nerve to complain about a hair in the sandwiches they give you, or a rude ticket agent.

[Stiofán]

A little story which took place in January. A friend was flying from Paris to Washington, then on to L.A. He was checking his luggage at Charles De Gaulle when the counter personnel informed him his baggage was 30 pounds over weight. he said he hadn't bought anything so they was no way his bag could grow by this much weight but the lady at the counter was insistent. They went around and around for a few minutes (according to him, being the perfect gentlemen) when he finally gave up and under his breath muttered "just my luck to get stuck with a bitch". That's all it took. She gave him a dirty look, accepted his credit card for the overcharge and he boarded the plane. Upon reaching Washington, he transferred to a connecting flight and was immediately pulled out of boarding and questioned, searched, bags thrown open, etc. After he got home he called a friend at the in the know who told him he had his passport marked unruly and uncooperative, and now he gets harassed every time he flies.

And the real funny thing is, he's federal law enforcement agent!

[Misu]

Think so? So, here you are, crowded airport, incompetent security people, going through your things, stopping you from going about your business, your luggage is fine, you know it, they know it, but after all they have to show they are doing something. You're running late. You say...what the heck, you couldn't find a bomb if I had it in my luggage. The clerk, deciding to teach you a lesson (which isn't the point of their job to begin with) sets off a situation that takes people from doing the job of protecting others...and it progresses. All the way to the point of your landing. Again, taking people from doing the job of protecting others. All because you sarcastically said, (and rightly so, probably) You couldn't find a bomb if I had it in my luggage.
Funny? No. Not at all. It's a terribly expensive abuse of power of a little person. And it snow balled through a bunch of other little people with power. Perhaps I'm old, perhaps I'm cranky tonight...but I do not think that is why these people were put there. They were not doing their job but abusing their power. I see nothing funny in it in the least. And I daresay you wouldn't either if it happened to you.
:)


Cyd, you're not cranky - I totally and 100% agree with you, and couldn't have put it into words as well as you did (believe me, I tried).

[Misu]

Cyd, the woman is a fucktard, she didn't pull a Bea Arthur, she wasn't flying on a private plane. About the only thing I would have found more humorous is if they had announced her name and that they needed her key to continue the safety inspection...once she had inserted her key, then someone would have blown up the luggage. Two birds could have been killed for the price of one. Get rid of annoying luggage (probably Louis Viton) and a waste of human skin...what's more appropriate than that?

What exactly are you saying? Are you saying that people with a tiny bit of power should also take on the task of teaching assholes at airports lessons?

[Misu]

The more we refer to the folks who show up to work, day after day, and work their asses off for minimum wage as "little people", the more abuses of power we are going to experience. Paybacks are a bitch...

It's not about payback - it's about doing your job. No one put a gun to their head and told them to do this. We live in a free country where jobs are something you apply for, not something you are assigned. If these people are there, it's because they are choosing to be there. They chose to work in shitty fields, and those kinds of fields are not given "perks" such as giving people a hard time, and if someone dares speak up, they have their luggage blown up. Passengers are not allowed to abuse these workers, and I'm not saying that - but we don't know really know what went down. For all your talk of how evil the MSM is, you all are taking what the article states that happened as bonafide fact.

I worked in the Miami Int'l airport for 2 years, working with passengers. My mom worked as a ticket counter agent for 7, and my dad was the manager of cargo for a few latin-american airlines for over 10 years. Believe me when I tell you that many people who work in airport jobs are "little people" with huge chips on their shoulders, and they take any opportunity they can to mess with you, the passenger. 9-11 has only given them even MORE power - to the point that now my 57 year old aunt is afraid of flying only because she knows she's going to have her breasts groped and squeezed by the security gaurds at the gates - and there's nothing she can do about it, because last time she came to visit they did EXACTLY that. Now, are they allowed to do that? WHO KNOWS? You can get detained and miss your flight for even ASKING !

[Violet1966]

But seriously, this is a huge gap in our so-called "security." I ranted about my airline experiences this holiday in another thread here (and that wasn't even the full-on rant -- consider yourselves fortunate :) ), but the scariest part of all this is that anyone determined to do harm can. There is very little stopping them.

For example this baggage thing. In my holiday nightmare, my ticket that the airline issued on the spot to replace the ticket I had purchased six weeks prior because they cancelled that flight was flagged because the ticket had been "purchased" at the last minute. (If anyone sees logic here, please draw me a map.)

On that ticket, in great big font, was the code "SSSS" (or maybe 5 of them), which even I knew meant I had been flagged. You're a terrorist, the ticket has that on it, you don't fly. Try your luck again another day. Simple no?

If your ticket doesn't have the code, then once you make it through the security checks, then all you have to do is create a disturbance, like this woman did, and you will be barred from flying -- but your checked luggage has already been loaded, and so will be making the journey without you. If I were a terrorist, that would be a bonus -- don't even have to commit suicide to achieve my goals.

While waiting for the overbooked replacement flight, they were offering incentives for people to not fly on that flight, but announced that their luggage would stay on the flight and they'd retrieve it at their destination. Hello? Whatever happened to no unaccompanied baggage flying? Making mental note for my future terrorist activities, pack a suitcase, check it, then collect a stipend for not flying with my explosive suitcase. Nice work if you can get it. :eek:

Unfortunately, people who follow through with required procedures, don't always do so gently. The most you can do though is blame the handler and not the process. I know it seems senseless because you know you're not a terrorist. Just think though, and it might sound far fetched, if one of those tangerines had a detonator and c4 in it. If it was someone else's luggage and it had explosive avacados and tangerines in it. It made it onto a plane where someone you loved had God forbid perished. I think we'd all be mad as hell if it was thought there was no risk during a baggage check because it looked like an innocent bag of fruit. These days, you can't be too careful.

I hope you complained to the airport security department that your belongings were ruined. I'd seek to make them compensate me if they damaged my belongings like that.

[Fiona]

"Although they found nothing suspicious, authorities blew up the bag with an explosive charge and then doused it with water."
ROFLMAO :lol:

Sorry Cyd- I think that's hilarious. She's damned lucky she wasn't charged or at the very least "searched" if ya know what I mean. Seriously, it was a waste of money and resources and her fault that it was wasted. So perhaps we could argue that she SHOULD have been charged, or fined. Point is, it's expensive yes, and not a joke. This time joke is on her. Maybe now she will have that ounce of humility and/or that would have prevented this situation.

one could hope...

[MorWired]

Unfortunately, people who follow through with required procedures, don't always do so gently. The most you can do though is blame the handler and not the process. I know it seems senseless because you know you're not a terrorist. Just think though, and it might sound far fetched, if one of those tangerines had a detonator and c4 in it. If it was someone else's luggage and it had explosive avacados and tangerines in it. It made it onto a plane where someone you loved had God forbid perished. I think we'd all be mad as hell if it was thought there was no risk during a baggage check because it looked like an innocent bag of fruit. These days, you can't be too careful.

I hope you complained to the airport security department that your belongings were ruined. I'd seek to make them compensate me if they damaged my belongings like that.
No, I didn't complain, I didnt' realize it until I got home, and was just glad the nightmare was over.

I get why the fruit was searched (the underwear is another story though), but that doesn't mean that you rip things open and shove things around. What's the point of packing breakables carefully, if they're going to mess with your packing?

There's doing your job, and then there's being an arrogant asshole. So the first guy got a little carried away with himself, ok; but if this is the second guy's normal way of doing his job, he should be looking for another one.

[cdw]

Well, Fi, all I can say is, don't get cranky at the airport. Ever. I also know that you wouldn't behave in the manner that the ticket counter person did or the security people, so I what I find funny is that you would find humor in this persons mistreatment. :lol:

[ShinyTop]

I c an concede that there may have been an abuse of power. None of which excuses the idiot for saying those words to officials in an airport. I would rather they overreact 50 times than under react the one time an airplane goes down. Threats of hijacking and bombs have been around for 30 years or more and this moron should know better.

Even when I had been searched the 3rd time of 4 possibilities I respectfully asked why. And when given the ridiculous reason that it was because I transferred from one airline to another (reservation made many weeks before) I kept my mouth shut. It is better to keep quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. This woman was an educated fool. And yes, people do laugh at fools who get what's coming to them. It is called humor.

Regardless of any abuse of power this woman probably learned a lesson. If not, I will laugh twice as hard the next time her baggage is used for bomb practice.

[MorWired]

I can concede that there may have been an abuse of power. None of which excuses the idiot for saying those words to officials in an airport. I would rather they overreact 50 times than under react the one time an airplane goes down.But who is safer because they did this? As I pointed out way early on, the "bag with the bomb" flew anyway. Blowing it up after the fact did nothing but punctuate the total ludicrousness of the situation. If all of this had happened at the airport the incident took place, I'd maybe get it -- if it's so damned important and suspicious, then pull the plane off the runway, and go through the luggage. After it landed and after the bag was searched was nothing more than a great big "fuck you, lady" courtesy of the federal government.

[ShinyTop]

Yes. Dumb. And the woman was still stupid. I did not post this thread to reflect on the skill and acumen of the airport security. I posted because it was incredibly dumb for her to have said it.

[mikepd]

This story points out not only was the psychiatrist not thinking by saying what she said but also the security procedures in place are not that terribly secure. To allow the baggage to get on board the aircraft without any person matching it, is a good example where more follow-through is needed to make sure that security measures are, in fact, carried out.

It is always a bad idea to raise the ire of those who can affect whether you get to where you want to go but it is also wrong for "security" to not follow their own rules.

There was more than one dumb person in this story.

[cdw]

And all she did was say it. She didn't threaten anyone. And we all know that. And they knew it too. And hence they pushed the envelope and abused their positions. I sure as hell I don't ever have that happen to me. We'll just have to agree to disagree. Wasn't and isn't funny to me. :)

[Fiona]

I also know that you wouldn't behave in the manner that the ticket counter person did or the security people, so I what I find funny is that you would find humor in this persons mistreatment. I wouldn't act like she did either ;)

If I'm pissed I still am smart enough not to use terrorist key words such as "bomb" at an airport.

I agree there was an abuse of power... that wasn't shiny's point. As a matter of fact, I was thinking earlier, that if the "counterperson" who sounded the alarm so to speak, did it out of spite and not true "suspicion" she/he should have their luggage blown up too ;)

[Coriolis]

Oh for god's sakes. Give it a rest. They are little people. And they have power. So are the workers in the INS little people with power.
You are a little people. I am a little people. Get over it. It's not appropriate to be using that power to 'get back at people'. It's a figure of speech, one that has been used in this forum time and again. Please, do not try to make it into something it wasn't meant to be.
Thank you.


I have no problems with her being detained briefly and that she missed her flight -- you say the word "bomb" in an airport, no matter how harmless, and it's going to cost you, and everyone knows this.

But I have to agree with the essence of Cyd's point. It was a rediculous display of "let's get that bitch". Blowing up her luggage AFTER it was searched and found to contain nothing? I mean, come on! Were they trying to prove her point?