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« Hypocritical Advice is the Best...Oh, Skip it • The Rants • And Now For Something Completely Different »
And The Rubber Band Played On...
2006.11.14 (Tue) 14:55
Pure absurdity. A hapless traveller using the handle "eastwest" on FlyerTalk related a tale of incoherent and incompetent airport "security," as personified by that wretched hive of scum and villainy, the TSA. eastwest's good-sized rubber-band ball was seized at the security checkpoint; the skillful terrorist-foilers claimed it had something metal in the center (it didn't) and that it was coated in explosive chemicals (more likely just leaked gas or oil from the trunk of eastwest's car).
This had gone on for about 1/2 an hour and I knew the flight was leaving soon. I repeated, "you can have the rubber band ball. I just need to get home, so I need to get going." The LEO said, "you're not going anywhere." At that point, I knew I was in trouble.
He pulled out his pocket-sized flashlight and said, "take off your sunglasses, I think you're on drugs." I said, "what?!" He replied, "I am ordering you to take off your sunglasses." So I did. He shined the light in my eyes, and said, "Yep, you're on something. Anything you need to tell me?" I was incredulous. I said, "Look! I showed you my SIDA badge, I'm in the random drug test pool, I get tested regularly, I don't use drugs. Now or ever." He said, "I don't believe you. Turn around and put your right hand behind your back." He snapped on handcuffs and said I was under arrest for suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance.
For nothing more than an affinity for a monotonous hobby, eastwest spent half a day in jail. Sure, he got the royal treatment once they chopped open his rubber-band ball (to reveal no metallic objects) and took a blood sample (to reveal no drugs), but he still had to sit in jail for 12 hours of "observation." Great.
You know, if there were more stories about how effective airport security has been in stopping terrorism (which we agree is a good goal) and/or smuggling (which is only a crime because of the inappropriate and arbitrary contraband laws), and less stories like this one where some poor innocent shmoe gets fucked over by a piggy-eyed plastic badge on a power trip, then maybe we'd admit that Homeland Security has been doing a smashing job.
But we don't live in that world. And in this one, there are far, far more of the latter kind of story than the former.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
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[ Filed under: % Civil Liberties % Greatest Hits ]
Comments (22)
Jason Spicer, 2006.11.15 (Wed) 01:46 [Link] »
Akusai, 2006.11.15 (Wed) 05:46 [Link] »
Infophile, 2006.11.15 (Wed) 09:09 [Link] »
Akusai, 2006.11.15 (Wed) 18:27 [Link] »
Akusai, 2006.11.15 (Wed) 19:35 [Link] »
Fan-man, 2006.11.15 (Wed) 22:00 [Link] »
Jason Spicer, 2006.11.16 (Thu) 02:59 [Link] »
Akusai, 2006.11.16 (Thu) 05:36 [Link] »
Infophile, 2006.11.16 (Thu) 20:40 [Link] »
Akusai, 2006.11.16 (Thu) 21:09 [Link] »
The Two Percent Company, 2006.11.16 (Thu) 21:10 [Link] »
Jason Spicer, 2006.11.16 (Thu) 21:15 [Link] »
Akusai, 2006.11.16 (Thu) 21:36 [Link] »
Infophile, 2006.11.16 (Thu) 23:18 [Link] »
Akusai, 2006.11.16 (Thu) 23:36 [Link] »
Glintir, 2006.11.17 (Fri) 13:27 [Link] »
Jason Spicer, 2006.11.22 (Wed) 13:35 [Link] »
dikkii, 2006.11.22 (Wed) 16:49 [Link] »
constanze, 2006.11.26 (Sun) 15:07 [Link] »
The Two Percent Company, 2006.11.26 (Sun) 18:54 [Link] »
constanze, 2006.11.27 (Mon) 16:19 [Link] »
The Two Percent Company, 2006.12.01 (Fri) 13:07 [Link] »
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