According to airport security goons, denouncing figures of authority is no longer a protected right. At least not in a reliable way. For instance, merely writing that Transportation Security Administration secretary Kip Hawley is an idiot on your state-prescribed zip-top liquids baggie–true as it may be–may provide authorities with the reasonable cause to detain you. On September 26th Ryan Bird of Milwaukee enjoyed 25 minute detention and was booked as a threat to the nation because the words “Kip Hawley is an idiot” were emblazoned on his “liquids bag” at Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport.
[The TSA Supervisor on duty] grabbed the baggie as it came out of the X-ray and asked if it was mine. After responding yes, he pointed at my comment and demanded to know “What is this supposed to mean?” “It could [mean] a lot of things, it happens to be an opinion on mine.” “You can’t write things like this,” he said. “You mean my First Amendment right to freedom of speech doesn’t apply here?” “Out there (pointing pass the id checkers) not while in here (pointing down),” was his response.
(via flyertalk.com)
Facing public scrutiny, TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark later backpedaled, saying that Bird was free to express his opinion, that writing on bags is not prohibited. “The passenger was never detained by TSA,” she explained. “Local law enforcement briefly interviewed him and determined he had not broken any laws, and he was allowed to fly.”
BoingBoing’s own Cory Doctorow describes his experience with arbitrary seizure of property:
I flew from SFO to LAX yesterday morning, and was robbed at gunpoint by a TSA agent, who stole my cologne, face-wash, and moisturizer. She said that my moisture baggie could only contain vessels of 3 oz or less’ worth of moisture. I pointed out that all these vessels did have less than 3 oz’ worth of moist substances in them, as they were all half-empty, and she said yes, but the vessels were capable of holding more than 3 oz.
(via BoingBoing)
I feel safer already. Don’t you?
(via BoingBoing)