TSA Declares Themselves Fashion & Funny Police
from the bombs-zomg dept
While we were just discussing an accusation against the TSA for racial profiling (GASP!), did you know that they were also the official state-sponsored fashion and humor police? I mean, who couldn't see these guys adjudicating your local fashion show?
TSA uniforms: like Michael Jackson, but creepier
Image Source. CC BY-SA 2.0
Reader pixelpusher220 writes in about the tale of how one man's shirt got him booted off of a Delta airplane after passing through TSA security, as recounted by Cory Doctrow.
Back in 2007, I designed a shirt for Woot! that featured a screaming eagle clutching an unlaced shoe and a crushed water bottle, surrounded by the motto MOISTURE BOMBS ZOMG TERRORISTS ZOMG GONNA KILL US ALL ZOMG ZOMG ALERT LEVEL BLOODRED RUN RUN TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES. Among the lucky owners of this garment is Arijit "Poop Strong" Guha, who proudly wore it this week as he headed for a Delta flight from Buffalo-Niagara International Airport to his home in Phoenix.But it was not to be. First, the
TSADelta agents questioned him closely about the shirt, and made him agree to change it, submit to a secondary screening and board last. He complied with these rules, but then he was pulled aside by multiple Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority cops, more TSA, and a Delta official and searched again.
Apparently the new terror plot is to make you laugh so hard your face explodes
It's worth noting that these shirts were designed by Cory Doctrow and sold as part of a charitable program.
Now, I'll restate it again, Arijit had already gone through the TSA screening when he and his wife were then approached by Delta employees at the gate who informed him that he had committed the crime of making other passengers "uncomfortable". When Arijit informed the Delta employees that he was wearing the shirt specifically to mock the security theater we call an airport these days, he was put through another round of screening at the gate by several TSA and local agents and then told that he would be allowed to board. The Delta pilot, catching wind of this, requested Arijit not be allowed to board, because laughter would not be tolerated on his enormous hunk of flying metal. Oh, and they also refused to allow his wife to board the plane too. No reason was apparently given for this, but I'm guessing there may have been some plaid mixing with pin-stripes in her outfit, and the pilot found it to be lacking in fabulousness.
Or maybe there was another reason. According to Arijit, the officer wanted to interrogate him further, saying that Arijit had given a "stupid answer" and "looked foreign":
“Certainly he wasn’t implying that dark-skinned people are not real Americans and that white people are the only true Americans,” Arijit writes in part of his snark-filled synopsis. “Fortunately, Mark’s request was denied. Apparently, someone at NFTA recognized this bigoted meathead for the bigoted meathead he was and that nationality is simply a concept that exists solely on paper and cannot be discerned from just looking at someone.”And yet he still wasn't allowed on the plane. Was it because of his t-shirt? Was it because the motherfucking eagle on it caused concern amongst passengers? Or, as has been previously accused, was it because too many TSA agents find brown-skinned people suspicious and alarming?
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Filed Under: jokes, privacy, security, t-shirts, tsa
Companies: delta
Reader Comments
The First Word
“Sadly, the most sensible people are never in charge.
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If all the people who don't like the way the US has changed over the last couple of decades leave, what does that leave ? A bunch of idiots, the people who enjoy subjugating them, and NUCLEAR WEAPONS. That's a bad, bad combo.
Those of us who don't live there can't fix it - it's up to you.
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Do not fall for the self-fulfilling prophecy of helplessness. Almost all of the truly world-changing leaps forward in history were caused by powerless nobodies who forgot to be helpless.
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Look at the human rights struggles in our past. In each of them, the task seemed impossible. Commenters in the day would say the very things that you are saying here -- and worse.
And, it would have been very easy to just give up those fights. Years passed fighting them without any discernible difference being made, years of apparent hopelessness.
But, in the end, the fighting was successful. It took longer than a single person's lifespan to do, but it was done.
Hopelessness guarantees failure. Victory comes to those who never give up.
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How about this? We pull a mass run on the banks and nobody in America pays their mortgages, college loans, nor credit cards until the government puts an end to fractional reserve banking and dissolves the Federal Reserve. Demand they nationalize the banks that give out interest-free loans with existing currency instead of creating money on the spot that bleed people dry, creating greater austerity. They should declare that only the government can issue new legal currency. If we don't pay our debts, the banks' money is worthless and they have no power over us. We can pull the rug right out from under them. No loan payments means no bribe money. As with any form of civil disobedience, this will cost some people some comfort in the short run, but people have to widen their perspective and look at the long term benefits, which would certainly outweigh the short terms costs.
Then we also need to deal with capitalism, because this system is the reason these problems exist. Capitalism encourages the creation of problems that capitalists can then leverage to sell a product. In fact, if you watch an ad, any ad, you notice the first thing they establish is a "problem" or want that their product specifically solves. If there were no "problems" or wants, they'd have no customers. So, they have to create these problems and wants, real or imagined, constantly. Capitalists are just middlemen, much like the labels and studios. They are the people that take profit by controlling the flow of goods between the workers and the consumers.
If we can tackle those issues, we can finally make some progress in removing the monetary influence from government.
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Guess what, every country has it's share of bad practices (yes, even Denmark), racist tendencies & repressive laws (yes even the Netherlands), crazy right wing people (yes, even Norway) or secret laws (yes, even Sweden).
So, I'm not sure where you're going to emigrate that's not going to have something to be worried/complain about. Bottom line is that, although the US has had some more annoying/frustrating practices, it's nothing like some other places (like CCTV, license plate cams & photo radar the UK) and is generally a whole lot better that most.
Besides, part of the reason we are discussing this is that the Internet has made everyone a whole lot more aware of the amount of spying & extra-legal activities the government is engaged in. 30 years ago, there were similar abuses, but they almost never were widely known (cf J Edgar Hoover).
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Nobody with a functional brain does.
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But global warming might take care of the last thing holding me back from moving...
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Read it on Global News: Global News | Canada's summer 2012 weather forecast: why so hot?
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And you'd be totally wrong. You need to study up. Canada is being ruined by petro-fascists who stole federal power several years ago. 51st statehood and/or Petrodollar is all but certain.
Sweden is now off the list, too. It has moved to the extreme right and (like England and Aussiland) is just a cheap whore to the US now.
I'm currently watching New Zealand to see if they have the cahones to stand up to the US and scream rape. The jury is out.
Sadly it's freaking cold there.
Not everywhere. Canada is bigger than the US, ffs! I live in southern Canada and I've been sweating my balls off since early May.
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^$%$@#
Wait, wait, what about the rest of Europe?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling
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Re: Anonymous Coward
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Sadly, the most sensible people are never in charge.
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Free speech is dead, 2nd amendment is next.
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Re: Free speech is dead, 2nd amendment is next.
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Re: Re: Free speech is dead, 2nd amendment is next.
The Canadian ruse is long over. H***er and his gang of fascists have been ruining the country for several years now.
Heil H***er.
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Re: Re: Re: Free speech is dead, 2nd amendment is next.
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Re: Re: Re: Free speech is dead, 2nd amendment is next.
A newsflash from 1970.
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Re: Re: Re: Free speech is dead, 2nd amendment is next.
I'll also leave one super secret tip because I like disrupting things. It isn't hard to not be identified as American until you up your mouth, for whatever reason shoes are a dead give-away. So more often than not, you're better off leaving the damn tennis shoes at home. I don't know WHY the shoes identify people so well, I just go with how things are.
For the ambitious, you can always pay attention/look around for 30 minutes after arriving, make note of people you see dressed in a manner you think fits you (don't pick other americans....), and visit mall.
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Re: Free speech is dead, 2nd amendment is next.
Are you saying that they were just slightly ahead of their time?
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New National Anthem
The fascist state we got is hideous.
We're gonna leave this place and go away.
'Cause we can't stand the USA!
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Re: New National Anthem
Those of us that are staying acknowledge that there are problems, but the system is still healthy enough to fix them. We really don't need you in our way.
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Re: Re: New National Anthem
Just trying to shooing away people is instantly invoking murphey's law so that all your left with are the people you wanted to shoo away in the first place. Nice try though.
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It's not (just) the TSA
"Who at the Airport is Making My Life Miserable for No Good Reason?" is America's favorite game show. The answer is different every time, which is what makes it exciting. Certain ethnicities get sent to the bonus round right away sometimes but we all get to play.
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Wierd
I miss that AC.
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One person I do miss, om my mild trolling side mind you, is Anonymous Coward With A Unique Writing Style. He had the LONGEST explanations for the littlest of things.
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Re: Re: Re: Wierd
I don't think I've seen that one much. Or... Maybe I have. How does their posts generally look/what's the definer? OOTB/Mike Fanboy tend to drag on about stuff too but they've both got their 'touch' that makes 'em stand out.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Wierd
The definer was that when you asked him about his logic, he would clarify by making it a much longer post than it already was. He wasn't a benevolent troll, just one that lacked a bit of compositional writing skills.
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Re: Wierd
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Re: Re: Wierd
Well, if you are a federal employee, and if you work to subvert the Constitution of the United States �then you should expect a reprimand from your boss.
Maybe even being fired.
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tsk tsk
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the worst of it
The people I'm ashamed of are the other Americans I meet at the airport who think the TSA are doing good work. They're the ones who are shocked at the sight of a Swiss Army knife, were probably standing around with pinched faces while Arijit and his wife were being hassled, and breathed a sigh of relief when the two were barred from boarding.
I wish I could tell the world that these stupid, cowardly, censorious sheep are not real Americans. But they are. They are.
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Just be cause you can do something, doesn't mean you should do it.
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Back @#26
For example, which one are you?
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I often wear a Rooster Teeth shirt that has a picture of a tent with a sniper rifle coming out of it, next to a campfire with the words "It's a legitimate strategy." I also camp in real life, sans the sniper rifle, so people usually just laugh when they see it. So you are saying that if I happened to walk into a theater wearing that shirt, I was hoping to evoke a response?
Sometimes we wear a shirt because it matches a particular statement, (I tend to camp in video games, and I've been called a camper before, and have had many an argument about the different playing styles,) but it doesn't necessarily mean we are hoping for a response. Most people just laugh...
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evoke a response
Either way, they are evoking / inviting a response.
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Re: evoke a response
Yeah, but certainly not the over-response we see here. I am sure if Guha thought he would get this response, he would have worn another shirt. But hind-sight is 20-20, and if we lived our lives worrying constantly about how someone might over-react to something we did, we wouldn't get out of bed in the morning.
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Yup. That is me. What, snipers are allowed in warfare, but not computer simulated warfare in video games?
I spent a lot of time in covops ships or picket in EVE too...but there, camping was something that everyone enjoyed. Nothing better than to enter into enemy held space and hear the soft, non-threatening voice of "jump out of here as quickly as you can because there are three capital ships in here with you and they are quite pissed about something!" Always adds to the pucker factor, but at least you knew they were there due to the camper.
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For the record this incident didn't stop at the 'it's not you it's the shirt phase' and he's had no trouble wearing the shirt on a flight before.
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In defense of the TSA
The other fact of the matter is that it varies from airport to airport. Outside of what happened to my mother that one day, Columbus International's TSA agents has done a very good job. The Agents at Vegas were extremely polite to us after we explained calmly. Then Atlanta and Boston (all Southwest and Delta by the by) way back for my cousin's wedding in 2010.
My point is that most of these incidents are fairly isolated in terms of location, and may depend on what sate or airport you are in. Boston, New Hampshire, Ohio, Nevada, all wonderfully awesome people working for the TSA.
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Re: In defense of the TSA
Insert Cockney British accent here ^^^^
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Re: In defense of the TSA
I opted out of the cause-even-more-cancer-to-my-poor-skin scanner and the guy was very professional in the pat down, although it made his co-workers somewhat nervous when I opted out. I really didn't feel uncomfortable at all and it was quick and painless.
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Having said that, I have made the conscious decision not to travel to the USA a number of times in the last few years, just because the benefits of the trip didn't seem worth the hassles of flying in and out of the USA.
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And I am White but have hair to my shoulders so is it because they feel like I am a "Druggie" or something ? Cops used to bother me in the early 70's like these guys.I would not call their behavior isolated.Just in the first week of July my Mom died and her brother and his Wife flew down for the funeral in Aventura.He is 84 or so and was hassled and his wife was hassled because she has one of those bags for going to the bathroom ( I forget what they call them) as she has had Cancer before.
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Shit disturbers can stay home as far as I am concerned. Jackasses like this guy make my life difficult, trying to make political statements while I am just trying to travel.
if you want to protest, make a placard and go march in front of someone's office. Stop wasting my time with your "freedom theater".
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I'm with ya. With all the candidate billboards and campaign signs everywhere and political ads or newscasts all over the radio I can't even drive to work without some moron making a political statement.
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This! And an old dead guy from our $100 bill has the following to add:
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin.
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Look, It's not about stopping him from making his free speech, but remember: his free speech stops at my nose. Where his free speech starts to lean into my life, there is a space where we need balance. If he wants to protest the TSA or whatever, that's his prerogative. If he wants to do it in a way that impacts my ability to fly, then I have an issue.
You cannot look at his rights without looking at the rights of everyone around that are affected by his little protest.
I would say as a traveller, I am not comfortable with a guy making jokes (or protests) about bombs. That makes it less comfortable for me to travel, and thus limits MY rights.
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You get to feel 'uncomfortable' and maybe be a little delayed getting on your flight.
He gets to be interrogated by multiple people, multiple times, has a police dog check him for drugs, has his wife interrogated, misses his flight, was lucky not to spend some time behind bars... all over a freakin' t-shirt.
Really the only thing I can think to say to you and those like you is this: Suck it up and get on with your life, the rights of others are more important that your ability to have a 'comfortable' travel experience.
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you deserve every fascist jackboot you get.
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Or more apropo to the times, yelling He's got a gun! in a theater...not protected.
Or more apropo to the situation, yelling Look, there's a terrorist over there! in an airport...not protected.
It doesn't matter how many times you say...j/k...j/k...j/k!!! Still not protected.
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If you see someone wearing this t-shirt, is it equally reasonable to assume that they found out about the terrorist plot, took the time to screen print a shirt, and decided to show up wearing it?
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Mocking stupid, pointless, counterproductive and useless rules and regulations with humor is totally unacceptable; the only proper way to deal with them is to just calmly accept having your rights violated and your family groped in public(especially if you happen to look foreign, which is an obvious indicator of ill intent) and move on, otherwise the terrorists will win!
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As I made clear in my comment, I'm not a lawyer, but we all know that there are limits on protected speech.
It didn't seem like too far of a stretch to me.
I'm not sure how looking foreign has anything to do with protected speech...I guess I'm missing your point. Do foreign-looking people get extra protection or something?
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None of the limits on protected speech cover this shirt nor was the shirt the real issue.
You must be blind if you can't see how putting this man through multiple rounds of additional screening and interrogation and finally forcing him and his wife to book another flight on the next day after said screening and interrogation passed without turning up anything actually suspicious is too far a stretch.
Looking foreign has everything to do with the racist profiling the TSA employs and the Delta employees and NFTA transit police employed here.
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Does any foreign-looking person get extra protections when they have an individual agent who is absolutely racist to deal with?
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What exactly on that shirt would cause harm though? Yelling 'fire' in a theater is the standard example because people are likely to get hurt in the resulting panic. Same with your 'yelling about a gun' and even the 'he's a terrorist' examples.
All of those are loud, public claims, true or not, of a legitimate threat to public safety, so panic would be expected, along with a high possibility for injury, hence why shouting them without reason is considered a no-no.
This guy's shirt on the other hand has to be read for anyone to know what's on it, and it's so over the top that it's obviously not a serious claim about anything, but rather is making fun of irrational fears and actions based upon them. Given that, it doesn't even come close to being in the same category of the other examples you mentioned.
>I'm not sure how looking foreign has anything to do with protected speech...I guess I'm missing your point. Do foreign-looking people get extra protection or something?
Depends on how you define 'protection'.
From the original source(emphasis mine):
This response did not please her partner, a transit cop named Mark. Mark grabbed his walkie-talkie and alerted his supervisor and proceeded to request that he be granted permission to question me further in a private room. His justification?: �First he hesitated, then he gave a stupid answer.� Michigan, my friends, is a stupid answer.
And then, he decided to drop any fa�ade of fair treatment: the veil was lifted, this was about who I was and how I looked: �And he looks foreign.�
The point I was trying to make with that remark is that unfortunately, nationality, or even just perceived nationality, plays far more of a role in these situations than it should. Had he been white with a nice 'american' name, odds are things wouldn't have escalated nearly as much as they did here, so his perceived 'foreignness' was a definite factor in what speech was considered 'over the line'.
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I agree with everything you said, voted you insightful and would more if I could, but an additional aspect is that those exclamations are also indicative of and immediate threat requiring swift action. are are still allowed to shout that our world is doomed and we are all going to burn in a giant fire in December 2012 after all.
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Uhh, no, not really. The court system rarely results in anything like reform or justice. The courts have also ruled that all kinds of things that would be unconstitutional anywhere else are perfectly OK in an airport.
And court isn't even available to you for this sort of thing unless you have a warchest.
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This, my friend, is not even remotely true. The founders of this country didn't go to court to deal with the King of England. They recognized that the courts would see them without standing, being a colony of England. Nor did it work during the Woman's Suffrage or during the race marches. Action has always occurred outside of the courts, then unfortunately dragged into the courts after the fact.
People who are being oppressed and having their human rights violated by the states have no requirement to handle their grievances via the courts, though it usually ends up there, but it never starts there. The four boxes of liberty have always been: soap box (what the t-shirt represents,) ballot box, jury box, and cartridge box. Going to court is number 3 on that list, and nobody wants to get to 4.
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Stupid maybe, but protected and not dangerous.
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freedom of speech is not the same as freedom of responsibility for what you say. You can be free to say a thing, but still be held responsible for any damage it may cause. In this case, the guy with the shirt was not hurting or threatening anybody. If somebody felt threatened or offended, they were free to take another flight.
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I may disagree with what you say,
but I respect your right to be punished for it.
We are free to SAY anything, but that doesn't mean there won't be consequences in certain situations.
The truth isn't even a defense against libel/slander anymore... WTF is happening to this world?
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Pardon me for saying this but this passenger is an idiot for trying to pull this stunt. He should have been given a full cavity search and banned from the airlines.
This wasn't a protest, it was sheer stupidity and showed a lack of common sense.
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The most effective form of tyranny is the self-enforced kind.
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These collaborators are not the Americans you want at your back when it's necessary to resist.
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He should be commended for having the balls.
Once you're afraid to speak your mind you're better off dead.
Getting close, eh?
Common sense is irrelevant, clearly.
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Language barrier
She has a really funny problem when she does conference calls between the sister company's office in New Jersey and the IT department simultaneously.
The IT department is all Indian with very thick, heavy Indian accents accents. The women she contacts in New Jersey have thick Jersey accents....My mother ends up having to translate English to English when Jersey an IT talk together.
Now that said and done, the TSA officer still acted wrongly as well as those at the airport dealing with boarding passes.
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This passenger obviously knew what was going to happen. It's the same as yelling "fire" in a crowded theater. How the hell do you wear this T-Shirt and not expect to be pulled aside and undergo extra scrutiny.
If I had been standing behind him, I would have had that passenger arrested for that T-Shirt.
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Because you might be under this delusion where you live in a sane world where people don't freak out and get their panties in a bunch over something ridiculous?
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arrested for that T-Shirt.
Are you serious?
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Re: Re:
Remember Cohen v California?
�40 years ago, a ruling that still rings today� by David Hudson, Jr., First Amendment Center, Jun 7, 2011
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohen_v._California
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I did not know that as an American I actually had the power to get someone arrested because I do not like their shirt. I need to try that.
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Obviously, despite the fact that he hadn't had any problems with it before, he just knew that this time it would get this kind of reaction and wore it just for that reason.
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Wow... just wow!
So wearing a t-shirt that is clearly a parody of the TSA and their strong track record of over reacting and discrimination is now a criminal offense? How far do we take this line of thinking? You feel that my 1st amendment rights are overridden by the TSA, and they already feel that my 4th amendment rights were tossed out over a decade ago, so which other rights do you want to throw out? Forget the guy's t-shirt... he was brown... should have just arrested him for that, right?
As much as I try to keep these discussions civil, your ignorance is appalling!
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I've got an idea for a t-shirt. Someone bent with their hands on the wall, an agent behind putting on a glove. Caption: TSA - Get Bent
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Look at the cute little fascist getting all Internet tough guy. Go DIAF.
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I first complied with all of the measures necessary to prepare my carry-on to go through the x-ray machine, including the mandatory removal of my laptop from the bag so I could place it in its own bin. I left the bag unzipped, as I would have to put all of the things I removed back in it in about thirty seconds.
One of the superfluous agents then asked me several questions about things he could clearly see with even a cursory glance at me or the conveyor belt, such as "have you removed your laptop from this bag?" and "do you have any other carry-ons with you?", dug swiftly through my bag, and subsequently admonished me, while zipping it up:
"When you go to the airport, you might want to keep your bag closed."
Thirty seconds later I opened it, so I could put all of my things back in it. I've never felt safer!
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Maybe, but that is poor execution since the most valuable item there was removed by TSA policy and placed on the conveyor belt on its own. A thief doesn't need to open the bag when the laptop is sitting there waiting for them.
Except maybe to prevent theft by the TSA, since they do have a tendency to take items from luggage while it is in their custody and outside of view of the owner, but again, seems like zipping up the bag won't prevent that from happening.
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That and I have actually flown to places to travel in the US.
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Dressing up...
Now Maybe it is Fashion Police, maybe it isn't...bottom line is that most of us who fly out from home treat it like an event where it is necessary to go in casual dress up.
Now I look at Arijit's shirt. I don't quite know what to make of it. I know it is a political statement, but seriously. Why would you wear that shirt if it provoked a response?
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Why make it easier if that's not your disposition? To hell with the path of least resistance.
An entire nation cowed by fucking terrorists. Awesome. We are so worthy.
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I hate to rain on your parade but just because some asshole terrorists claiming to be Muslims in Jihad (which is actually code for "I am at war with my own personal demons and am working to improve myself spiritually") decide to ruin the day for what, an entire fucking nation...will NOT change the way I dress to fly.
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This one wasn't the TSA
It was Delta and the local transit cops that turned out to be completely clueless and/or racist. I'm guessing that the TSA was already aware of Arijit's condition and saw no reason to bother him further.
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Re: This one wasn't the TSA
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716-630-6030 of the NFTA Buffalo Niagara Airport, the inappropriate wearing of controversial attire just makes you a target for trouble.
Liberty and freedom of expression be damned.
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TSA Declares Themselves Vindictive & Petty Jerks
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I spied a few of these "but it wasn't the TSA" which is the truth
you are a moron.
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" In essence they're copycats feeding on the flames of freedom burning that the TSA's existence fans."
*Sarcasm On* I'm sure he's definitely not still blaming the TSA for it. *Sarcasm Off*
I'm sorry you called me a moron. In the future I think it may be healthier for you not to troll aimlessly with name calling, you might actually learn something.
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3XL techdirt t-shirts?
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Mocking/humor
Sometimes I wonder if the TSA and airlines have a quota of how many people they have to have detained/arrested per week to show they are truly "fighting terrorism".
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Well done TSA!
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The Last Word
“Do not fall for the self-fulfilling prophecy of helplessness. Almost all of the truly world-changing leaps forward in history were caused by powerless nobodies who forgot to be helpless.