Respect my authoritah!!
Posted on June 18th, 2008 by bile Categories and Tags: Uncategorized, 4th Amendment, airline passengers, Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network, authority, badges, checkpoint, Department of Homeland Security, Duane McGray, Ellen Howe, police, police officer, police state, politics, private property, protection services, real id, South Park, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, uniform, US Constitution, War on DrugsTSA’s Badges Are a Sore Spot With Cops
Screeners at the nation’s airport checkpoints are going to start wearing police-style badges - but real officers aren’t too happy about it.
Some sworn officers fear airline passengers will mistake screeners for law-enforcement officials with arrest powers.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is starting to equip its 48,000 screeners with 3-inch-by-2-inch, silver-colored, copper and zinc badges that will be worn on new royal-blue police-style shirts.
The attire aims to convey an image of authority to passengers, who have harassed, pushed and in a few instances punched screeners. “Some of our officers aren’t respected,” TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said.
Nor should they be. Not only is what they do an egregious infringement on the 4th Amendment but also the 9th and 10th and perhaps the 14th. It’s also an affront to private property. It doesn’t matter what outfit you wear. This, this, this, or this. You make people’s lives more difficult without any benefit.
“A lot of cops at airports are not real thrilled about it,” said Duane McGray of the Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network, an airport police association. “It’s another way of saying (to airport police), ‘You’re not important.’ “
Boo fucking hoo. Police in general are far less important then they think they or wish they were. The war on drugs has given the police officer profession a sense of importance that is completely undeserved. Do consumers want protection services? Sure. But the police don’t offer protection.
I hope this leads to a showdown between the local and federal authorities in the same way the Real ID law is. Reminds me of another South Park reference:
AUTHORITARIAN FIGHT!!
