A Ron Paul supporter working for the TSA... the thought somehow disturbs me.
why? its just a job. like being a cop or a fireman or a janitor.
Well, put it this way. These people generally believe the very existence of the TSA is unconstitutional and oppressive.
That said, I do not have anything t
I work in baggage, so I don't have to do something like tell a mother she can't take baby food on board for her newborn, or enforce other asinine rules. But I do, quite often, get into arguments with my coworkers over the constitutionality of TSA and the rules it brings. I've been pulled aside many time by supervisors and given the whole "maybe this isn't the right job for you" speech. They are right, it's not, but it pays the bills. And when told that, it just makes them start questioning my loyalty and patriotism....it's great.
Find another job?
Oh Believe me, I'm working on it. They pay me just enough to make it difficult to find another job...
Finch, I was a screener too, but it isn't just a job. The liberties that people were willing to surrender for the a small bit of security always bothered me. Was I keeping America safe from terrorism? I don't know about that, although I certainly saved America from stupidity several times a week. How can anyone think it's ok to pack a chainsaw with a full tank of gas? Or the folks who were going camping and packed several bottles of propane? Or the gallon of tolulene?
The money is good, the bennies are the best, and if you were working for a private company you might, might, be able to say it is like being a rent-a-cop. But you are an employee of the government, and you make a living searching through people's underwear, and you are almost beyond the reach of civil law. Some of your co-workers are very competent. Many aren't. I worked with a guy who spent 20 years in the Navy and never made it to even NCO rank. Imagine Archie Bunker, but not nearly so smart. That guy was my boss. America was less safe with that jackass on the job.
Now is a bad time to be looking for work, and the compensation package at TSA is seductive. But if you truly are a libertarian you have to have developed an ulcer by now. Just putting on the uniform, and seeing yourself in the mirror--
Good luck to both you and your conscience, Finch.
What scares me the most is when I hear a passenger say something like "yeah, it's inconvenient, but it needs to be done" or something to that effect...it hurts. You're absolutely right, Americans are willing to give up way to much, and I think that this job is why I have so little hope for this nation. I've seen first hand how much harassment at the hands of the government people will tolerate and I worry that no amount is great enough for them to start pushing back.
But what has really gotten me lately is the newest brainchild of the TSA - the Behavior Detection Officer. A group of people who are given more money to stand around and stare at you, when they think you are acting suspicious, they pull you aside and start grilling you, maybe even get the LEO's involved to run your background. Just the name of the group alone gives me chills, sounds like something out of 1984....
