I had one Canadian Customs Officer ask me if I was trying to move to Canada because I had too much stuff in my car. It doesn't have to be a big deal.
You are absolutely correct. The man would have been best served by not rocking the boat. The problem is that it’ll get worse and worse. If you see the big picture, we’re required, for example, to remove our shoes, and TSA (I know this isn’t TSA) shake down old women/children (want to cavity search) regularly, but terrorists (Undie bomber), etc. get a free pass.
The problem is that the guard dogs have become wolves, and when they can’t get in their ego fixes in, they’ll come for you. This is just a micro incident of a systemic (macro) problem. Cheers...