So, I open this story, expecting to feel anger toward the TSA and sympathy for the mother. But I have to say -- I think the mother handled this very badly. I'm not surprised they gave her a hard time. It started out small -- I do not think the sippy cup had to be a monumental problem -- but then she spills, she yells, she protests. Come on.
She handled this badly.
I don't. They don't do a thing except hassle people. And no I don't believe they have prevented a single thing from happening. I haven't been treated as badly as this, but I've had my experiences with the knuckleheads from the TSA.
And because she wasn’t prescient enough to know that said pigs where on a severe power trip that day, ITS ALL HER FAULT?
Man, have I got a gulag for you!
I agree, you don’t yell in airports (anymore) particularly if a cop is giving you a hard time. Calmly treating them with respect seems to work fine for me—of course I’ve never had to deal with a sippy cup. Still, this sounds like a story completely from the mother’s side, and I bet there is more to this. Spilling liquid...in a Washington DC airport, no less...will cause TSA folk to freak out, as evidently they did in this case.
Me either. Way too many retarded losers that couldn't get a job ripping movie tickets.
I couldn't disagree with you more. It sounds as though she was being perfectly reasonable in attempting to deal with an unreasonable situation, only to have the TSA and the cops back her into a corner from which there was no escape that would end favorably for her. There was no reason at all for her to be hassled in this manner---none. It is complete and utter bullsh*t.
“She handled this badly.”
No, the TSA handled this badly.
TSA folks I meet are usually pretty friendly. I doubt they really wanted to make an example out of this woman and her sippy cup.
I took my 93 year old grandfather to the airport and through security. He's frail, in a wheelchair, but he can walk. TSA personnel asks if he can walk through the Screener and I say "yes." Well the dipshit TSA moron decides that since he can walk, then by God he's going to get the Full Monty, proceeding to have him remove his belt and stand with his feet together and his arms streched out parallel to the ground. I said he CAN walk, but he's not a freakin' gymnast you morons!!
I didn't say this so they could hear me, lest I end up in a headlock with a few jackboots looking on for good measure, but there in gramps, straining to not fall on his ass, pants falling off of him while the TSA Jaokboot gives him the wanding of his life. I was so mad I had to walk away.
I no longer fly myself. I vacation over here on the east coast now. Sadly, America has let MUSLIM terrorists decide how we are going to live our lives---scared and with diminished freedom.
BFD! Who is the professional here? If the moron at the inspection point can't get it right the superior, or the superior's manager, or the airport management, or the airline, or some other poobah (there has to be a lot of them in DC) should have intervened. I don't expect any of this to change until these bloated bone heads can get fired or be brought up on charges for violating the rights of citizens.
I know some will say what an incredibly hard job it is, but there are a lot of tough jobs out there. Hey, even McDonald's won't let you near the grill if you burn the meat.
Wrong attitude.
WE are the customer. They provide the service. We pay for the service.
The TSA is WRONG!!!
Any bending to this sort of behavior, and they’ll think they can get a way with it.
I agree with you here. Bottom line, if she WAS a terrorist, she WOULD have spilled the “water” to avoid detection.
THAT is the key here.
If they DIDN’T do what they did, they would be negligent.
And face it, the islamists are trying to recruit JUST THIS TYPE OF PERSON!
That was my impression as well. She should have just admitted that she was somehow ignorant about the rules and complied rather than putting up a stink (and possible throwing water at others in line, who were being delayed while she argued). She was going through security, not checking in to the Marriott. She would have been better off following the instructions.
I defy ANYONE who is a regular air traveler within the US to take exception with what you say, and to claim it is not so.
You have placed your finger RIGHT on it.
And this, my friends, is the essence of FASCISM.
My gosh, we have lost sooooo many freedoms. You can see it when you return to the USA after long periods abroad and further erosion has occurred which you notice right away, since it has not gradually occurred around you.
I agree. The reason they made her clean up the water is because if there was something in the water, then she would have been injured and not them. If there had been something in the water and security let her go through, everyone would have been screaming incompetence, off with their heads. And you described airport security to a tee.
What do you appreciate the most? Is it their surliness, laziness, general incompetence, etc?
I agree that TSA is devoid of common sense. I am a diabetic with an insulin pump. I know that I am never going to get through security without a pat-down. I tell the first screener I meet that I have the pump and need to go for special screening. Nevertheless, these blithering idiots inconvenience the rest of the passengers by making me go through the regular line and fail to transit the machine screening a couple of times before standing me in the corner to wait for some cretin to come and tell me to spread my legs and hold my arms up. But I realize that this is a U.S. Government Operation, and that the gubment is run by the Congress, and a balance of efficiency and effectiveness is simply not within its capabilities to attain in any endeavor it undertakes— so why should we expect TSA to be any better than any of the rest of the gubment?
I haven’t had anything but positive experiences with the TSA.
This was handled badly, but it is one case.
The lady should have known not to take a drink along.
Amen, ClearCase_guy!
Yeah, the TSA officer seemed to be a little rough, but the woman should've known that she needed to declare all liquids going into the security line at the terminal. And, those liquids must fit into separate 3-oz containers, all of which must fit into a 1-quart clear plastic bag, which you remove from your bags and screen separately, in the same way that you do for your laptops.
This lady should know that the TSA isn't going to mess around with our safety! And I'm glad that they aren't.
Folks, if you're gonna fly, read up on the rules. They're there to protect us from another terrorist air disaster in this country. I know y'all want that!