4 ms·

You are blaming the victim for having his rights violated. Thinking, "of course he shouldn't have had a flash card with the word 'bomb' on it, if you do that y

by nemo 12y ago

You are blaming the victim for having his rights violated. Thinking, "of course he shouldn't have had a flash card with the word 'bomb' on it, if you do that you'll have your rights violated" is blaming the wrong party, while accepting an unjust status quo.

zaroth 12y ago
There are certain things which will flag you for enhanced screening at airport security. Not following directions, for example. Nick didn't remove electronics from his carry-on which is what initially got him singled out ("behind the glass partition"). This happens all the time, completely mundane. Then during that screening they found his pockets were stuffed with paper with indistinguishable Arabic writing and English words like bomb, kidnap, etc. So now Nick has failed to follow all the basic instructions (empty pockets, electronics out) and he's got a pocket full of What The Fuck. If Nick pays any attention in the security line that day and follows simple instructions none of this happens. As usual, his rights were not violated until the police showed up. Only at that moment do I concede anything wrong happened. If you think about it, either TSA is a glorified toiletry inspector, or they are trying to use their brains to deduce who should be screened more thoroughly. If we ask them to use their brains, and given as a society we don't want our Elon Musks of the world as TSA agents, you tell these agents to look for certain flags and then tell them they must call for help. That's exactly what Jane Doe TSA agent did. Kudos to her for actually trying to make it more than security theater. Make no mistake, when the agent calls for help assessing a cooperative passenger, the $25k cringeworthy thing to do is handcuff them and drag them away to sit in a cell for a few hours until help arrives. We've all heard the stories of the guy who says sarcastically to TSA "well its not like I have a BOMB or anything?!" I see this similar to that. It's not even "put the cards in checked bags" it's simply follow instructions to get through security, empty your pockets and put the cards into you carry-on.
- chrismcb 12y ago
  His rights were violated. Just as everyone else's is, the second TSA searched him. TSA continued to violate his rights by searching him further, then threatened him. They also claimed he was terrorist and asked the police to arrest him.

by nemo 12y ago

zaroth 12y ago

There are certain things which will flag you for enhanced screening at airport security. Not following directions, for example. Nick didn't remove electronics from his carry-on which is what initially got him singled out ("behind the glass partition"). This happens all the time, completely mundane. Then during that screening they found his pockets were stuffed with paper with indistinguishable Arabic writing and English words like bomb, kidnap, etc. So now Nick has failed to follow all the basic instructions (empty pockets, electronics out) and he's got a pocket full of What The Fuck. If Nick pays any attention in the security line that day and follows simple instructions none of this happens. As usual, his rights were not violated until the police showed up. Only at that moment do I concede anything wrong happened. If you think about it, either TSA is a glorified toiletry inspector, or they are trying to use their brains to deduce who should be screened more thoroughly. If we ask them to use their brains, and given as a society we don't want our Elon Musks of the world as TSA agents, you tell these agents to look for certain flags and then tell them they must call for help. That's exactly what Jane Doe TSA agent did. Kudos to her for actually trying to make it more than security theater. Make no mistake, when the agent calls for help assessing a cooperative passenger, the $25k cringeworthy thing to do is handcuff them and drag them away to sit in a cell for a few hours until help arrives. We've all heard the stories of the guy who says sarcastically to TSA "well its not like I have a BOMB or anything?!" I see this similar to that. It's not even "put the cards in checked bags" it's simply follow instructions to get through security, empty your pockets and put the cards into you carry-on.

chrismcb 12y ago
His rights were violated. Just as everyone else's is, the second TSA searched him. TSA continued to violate his rights by searching him further, then threatened him. They also claimed he was terrorist and asked the police to arrest him.