TSA-- Winning Heats and Minds One Pissed-Off Passenger At a Time

From a private e-mail received as a result to this post:

I had another "discussion" with the TSA clowns in [deleted] a few days ago. After clearing the metal-detector, the lady pointed at a nearby Plexiglas booth and told me to stand there. No explanation of what's going on. Shortly a TSA guy showed up and told me to come with him. I refused. He seemed surprised and made the demand again, and I refused a second time.

He finally asked why I wasn't following orders and I told him that I would not leave my belongings unattended on the x-ray belt. He told me I had no choice and I told him I wanted a supervisor. He didn't like that. But he grudgingly got the stuff I pointed at and carried it to the rear of the screening area. That was his second mistake.

I read him the riot act for putting my shoes, soles down, on top of my computer case. He didn't seem to understand why I was so furious. I renewed my demand for a supervisor, and when he didn't comply, I raised my voice (it can be a fearsome thing) and demanded a supervisor. When one appeared I explained that it was unsanitary to put shoe soles on belongings, why I was upset at being singled out for some enhanced security procedure without so much as a word of explanation; why I refused to leave my belongings unattended and that I still wanted to know what was going on.

He apologized (sort of) and told me that it was a random security check. The first clown rubbed a cloth on the palms of my hands, put it in a machine and sent me on my way. TSA seems to look for new ways to piss off passengers every week ...

It is what they seem to be best at doing.