
T.S.A. Agents Refuse to Work During Shutdown, Raising Fears of Airport Turmoil - smacktoward
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/nyregion/tsa-shutdown.html
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mhb
_In the wake of the 9 /11 attacks, airports became completely different
places. Young people have no idea what an airport used to be like. They'll
never know what it's like to travel without having to first submit to a
humiliating security check. They'll never know what it was like to say goodbye
to your friends and family at the gate, rather than at the front doors of the
airport, or to greet them at the gate when they arrived._

...

 _To earn a living groping us, taking body scanner photos of us that can see
through our clothes, patting-down our wives and children. The government
shutdown is making it hard for the TSA to earn a living detaining us.

They're the victims._

[http://www.stationarywaves.com/2019/01/topsy-
turvy.html](http://www.stationarywaves.com/2019/01/topsy-turvy.html)

~~~
apacheCamel
But isn't this a problem with the actual TSA and its policies instead of the
workers who just follow them? These are still real people who have to rely on
their paychecks to live.

~~~
RPLong
You surely aren't suggesting that these employees have no say in which job
they get, right? I mean, I personally don't have a job that requires me to
grope and/or detain people. I personally wouldn't seek such a job. That raises
the question: what kind of person would choose that job over any other,
especially when government shutdowns and foregone wages are a known risk of
employment?

~~~
apacheCamel
Now I am unsure of what field you are in, but not everybody has the same
flexibility in terms of job availability. I agree with you in saying that I
would never choose such a job but when it may be one of the few options
available, with good pay, how could you say no? If you have a family to
provide for, then you need to do it. What if these workers don't agree with
the policies and joined the TSA to try and change it for the better? You are
talking down to an entire workforce as if they all are actively behind its
policies and actions.

~~~
RPLong
Just so I understand you right, you're saying it's okay to violate people's
rights, so long as the pay is good, your family really needs the money, and
you hold some kind of internal objection to your own work?

~~~
apacheCamel
I never said that anywhere in my statement above, if it was implied, please
tell me where. I am saying people can disagree with the policies of their
employer and still stay at their job. Sometimes this forced through financial,
geographic, maybe social reason. If the worker is actively disregarding human
rights, then that is a single issue with that worker. If you think it is TSA
enacting these human rights violations, then blame them, not the people just
following what their bosses say.

~~~
RPLong
Let's suppose I want to "blame them [the TSA]." Okay, who should I be
complaining about? Which TSA employees is it okay to hold responsible for
forcing my daughter to have a nude photo of herself taken?

Supposing that every person _today_ who applies for a job _today_ with the TSA
knows about the body scanners and the pat-downs and the unexplained
detentions, to what extent are _new job applicants_ morally blameworthy for
applying for a job that they already know involves all of these things?

At best, your argument covers people who applied for jobs with the TSA before
anyone knew what the TSA was going to be doing at airports, and who have over
the course of 18 years been unable to find work elsewhere. What share of TSA
employees do you suppose that is? What's your guess?

~~~
apacheCamel
The TSA is a federal agency so there are plenty of proper channels to complain
through. My argument covers anybody that doesn't actively revel in these
terrible things that the TSA does. There are TSA employees who never have to
do or deal with these types of things. I can't give you a number, I don't even
want to guess because that would be silly. You can complain to the woman/man
at the desk who takes your ID all day long, but if they have never kept up
with the latest TSA news then they are just showing up for a paycheck. I am
saying it is extremely unfair to lump everybody into one category just because
they work at a particular company/agency that you actively dislike. You don't
know their thought process.

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joezydeco
All 51,000 agents should stay home for one week and bring the country to a
grinding halt.

 _That_ would result in some progress from Congress.

~~~
lj3
> and bring the country to a grinding halt.

And if it didn't come to a grinding halt? They risk demonstrating how
worthless their jobs are.

~~~
gremlinsinc
If their jobs are indeed worthless, then it's a win, in that we can save tax-
payer dollars for worthless jobs.

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gremlinsinc
The irony... Trump closes govt because of national security concerns (border
wall/terrorism)... TSA agents are pretty high on the list of jobs that protect
us from terrorism, and I guarantee more important than a damn border wall.

~~~
RickJWagner
Plenty of people see it as the Democrats in Congress who are holding things
up. (After all, there is universal agreement that border security is
important. Also, many prominent Democrats have pledged support for physical
barriers in the recent past.)

I tend to agree with Cher, which doesn't happen often. She says that Democrats
can be seen as heroes if they compromise on the wall to re-open the
government. (But if they do not do this, Cher believes the Democrats will
ultimately suffer for the fallout.) Time may tell if she is right or not.

~~~
krapp
>Plenty of people see it as the Democrats in Congress who are holding things
up.

Yes, we call those people Republicans.

~~~
RickJWagner
That's fair.

Both sides usually blame each other. During the Obama administration, there
was a government shutdown as well. Democrats blamed the Republican congress,
Republicans blamed Obama and the Democrats.

It really does (or should) take cooperation when things are as evenly
distributed as they are. I only wish there were incentives for the politicians
to work faster.

~~~
humantiy
I agree, but I'd take work together to find common ground first over work
faster. I think in some respects when they work faster or in complete
agreement we get things passed that are not in the best interest of the
american people/values (Patriot act comes to mind).

