“Give a person a badge .... I love playing with them ‘cuz they can’t do anything to me.”
Yeah, a lot of them let their title (”Transportation Security Officer”) go to their head.
A lot of police, especially the airport cops, get heartburn over that “officer” thing. They’re sworn law enforcement officers, and the TSA screeners most definitely aren’t.
Leaving Orlando one time this kid behind me (maybe six) had some Disneyland stuff with him the TSA jerk would let pass. He really was upset and crying and the dad was arguing with the TSA agent about some plastic things that looked like a gun and a pirate sword (plastic) about a foot long. I grabbed the stuff and put them in my protected flight bag and told the TSA guy to have a nice day. In the terminal I gave the stuff back to the kid and then took him to the flight deck to show him around.
If I’m getting a pat down, I always ask “You aren’t gay are you?”
Usually met with an indignant “No.”
“That’s too bad, at least one of us should enjoy this...”