I think it’s safe to say that the TSA has gotten a little silly over the years. I’ll be the first in line to say that airline security has been non-existent over the past few decades, and a more thorough screening of passengers and baggage is long overdue. Some people will tell you that these new screening requirements are far too oppressive and Big-Brother-ish. I completely disagree. Or at least I did, until I read this story on CNN.

Inspecting baggage before it gets loaded onto the plane is something that we should’ve been doing since the airline industry was deregulated. Screening one in thirty bags, however, is useless; you’re giving someone a 97% chance of getting something through. Limiting the items that passengers can being aboard makes sense, until you realize that things like aerosol cans — which can explode violently when the surrounding pressure drops — are ignored so that we can focus on more lethal items like toothpaste. And while checking passengers against a list of known security risks sure seems like a great idea, you really have to give consideration to where this list comes form and what it’s based on.

I’m speaking, of course, about Ryan Bird. You may (or may not) have heard of him — he’s the guy who wrote “Kip Hawley is an idiot” on his carry-on Ziploc. The TSA inspector, upon seeing this, became enraged and called the police. While I’m not sure what, exactly, the TSA inspector expected the responding sheriff’s deputy to do, it’s not surprising that the deputy did nothing. When the deputy began collecting information from Ryan — as is completely normal — the TSA inspector whipped out a pad and began copying down Ryan’s information as well. Why? Because he “needed it” as well.

The TSA inspector berated Mr. Bird for writing that in the first place, stating that his first amendment rights didn’t apply and “you can’t write things like this”. After all, “you can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater”.
Unless, of course, it’s true.

There’s a galactic difference between submitting your opinion in writing to the TSA and attempting to start a panic in a crowded theater. The latter creates a risky situation with the potential (and likelihood) of bringing harm to people and property. The former is a constitutionally-protected expression of opinion done in a person-to-person, semi-private manner. It would appear that expressing disappointment with the TSA qualifies you as a terrorist, subject to detainment and police intervention.

Makes you wonder what would’ve happened if he had written “kill all Muslims” on the bag.