I Hate the TSA as Much as Anybody But Come On
OK I hate the TSA just as much as everybody else, possibly more. But after seeing a story on Dvorak Uncensored I have to call bullshit. Let's see if you can find what's wrong with this story. The story is titled, "Child rape charge rocks TSA." Here is the story opener:
A Transportation Security Agency worker who pats down members of the flying public was charged with multiple child sex crimes targeting an underage girl yesterday.
The bust outraged privacy and passenger advocates who say it justifies their fears about Logan International Airport’s full-body scanner.
So what do you think happened? If you answered the TSA agent used his authority to take a child to the back interrogation room and raped the child you would be completely incorrect. Here is what happened (Buried towards the end of the article):
The 14-year-old victim watched a movie at his house, Okeeffe said. She said during the film, he massaged the victim’s thigh and touched her under a blanket, then during the February school vacation the girl stayed at his house with his daughter.
So what's the point of this article? The huge majority of the article makes a big fuss about the fact that the TSA have naked body scanners attended by agents. It makes a huge fuss about one of these TSA agents being a pedophile. But the fact the perpetrator was a TSA agent is COMPLETELY irrelevant here since everything he did was done at HIS house not the airport. At no point was any evidence brought forth stating he made initial contact with the child at the airport or through his "authority" as a TSA agent. In fact the kid was apparently friends with his daughter. Yes instead of focusing on the crime it's made into a hit piece about the TSA.
I hate the TSA with a passion. The entire organization is nothing more than security theater run by people given a badge and just enough authority to feel they can toss people around. But this hit piece is fucking stupid. It's akin to making a hit piece about a police department because on of the officers committed a crime off company time and at his place of residence and didn't in any way use his position or authority to commit the crime. The fact that a man committed statutory rape and was also a TSA agent are completely irrelevant. Yes the article focuses almost exclusively on the fact the person was a TSA agent and purposely misleads you to believe the crime happened at the airport. Finally the fact that the crime happened at the agent's house is briefly mentioned in the second to last paragraph. Fuck!
Oh and since I'm on a rant I might as well point out the following bloody obvious:
TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said Shanahan had passed two background checks, neither of which picked up any record that would prevent him from getting a job.
That's right background checks don't determine if you're going to commit a crime, only if you have committed a crime and got caught. But Dippity Dipshit says:
“It’s a huge, huge issue,” said Kate Hinni of FlyersrRights.org. “The TSA needs a complete overhaul... If you have a pedophile looking at those naked pictures, they’ve got all your information, it’s a gross violation of their authority.... They should make sure none of them is corrupted in any deviant sexual manner.”
So how in the Hell are those hiring TSA agents suppose to make sure any applicant isn't corrupted in any deviant sexual manner? Answer me that. What you don't have an answer? Maybe that's because it's fucking impossible. This article is just full of stupidity from start to end.