Come on, Boing Boing, you guys have crossed the line from silly to tiresome. Watch the long-form video and at about the 1:02 mark or so, you can CLEARLY see the woman pulling out a container and emptying it on the floor, as is stated in the report. You can even see her shake the last drops out. Do you guys seriously think this is the way for a civilized person to act? You can even see, a few seconds later, the TSA officer looking at her and the floor, thinking, “Did she just do what I think she did?”
Yes, we agree already, TSA is up to their eyeballs in policies that are poorly conceived, formulated, and executed. They create a lot of hassle for everyone. And clearly having four or five TSA guys all humped up in the lane supervising “cleanup in exit lane 4” is way over the top. But dumping water on a slick floor for other people to clean up or slip on — such as the older folks you can clearly see walking down the lane throughout the video — is unconscionable.
And did you not pay attention to the fact that this woman is another badge-toter? Is it not possible that she indeed wanted special treatment simply because of that fact, and not out of being a poor struggling mother? I can definitely assure you from firsthand experience as a Washington DC area native, that sort of thing happens constantly around these parts. I’ve seen police and other law enforcement officers try to skirt safety regulations because they think they shouldn’t have to follow the same rules as the rest of us. Why not try looking into that angle a little?
This woman showed up late to the airport, tried to get special treatment, and when it didn’t work out, she lost her cool. Rather than admit it, she’s playing you guys and much of the other TSA-hating press like a cheap violin. (I don’t love the TSA myself, but give me a break — there’s quite a difference between civil protest and asinine, infantile tantrum-throwing.)
I love your blog, and hate to see it degraded since it carries so many truly wonderful tidbits, so it pains me to have to call bullsh*t. But really, sometimes you guys need to pick better stories (and real victims) to stand behind. I hope your next hot story is a bit more worthy of the coverage.
i concur that it appears she dumps the water on the polished floor in a fit of frustration.
the larger issue i think you touch upon – that we, as a collective society, fail to judge poor behavior for what it is. shame, as a concept, is today largely removed from the behavioral flow chart of many people.