eroding freedom

POSTED BY: NewOldBrownCoat
UPDATED: Tuesday, September 23, 2025 17:28
VIEWED: 3325
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NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Friday, September 29, 2006 3:40 PM

from CNN:

Quote:

A Wisconsin man named Bird who wrote "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" on a plastic bag containing toiletries said he was detained at an airport security checkpoint for about 25 minutes before authorities concluded the statement was not a threat.
...
A TSA spokeswoman acknowledged a man was stopped, but likened the incident to cases in which people inappropriately joke about bombs. She said the man was "a little combative" and that he was detained only a few minutes.
...

the screener told him, "You can't write things like that."
...

The supervisor told Bird he had the right to express his opinions "out there" -- pointing outside the screening area -- but did not have the right "in here," Bird said.

I hardly know where to begin. Expression of a personal political opinion can be restricted at will by an untrained lowest level bureaucrat acting beyond the authority of his job. How long before someone wearing a " Sadam was not the problem" t-shirt; or an " I voted for Gore, it's not my fault" t-shirt; or or a "Hillary in '08" t-shirt , can be arrested at an airport; or outside a government office; or at a political rally?

ANTIMASON

Friday, September 29, 2006 3:53 PM

honostly, i think the stage is being set as we speak for that kind of scenario; which is why the Patriot act and other anti-terrorist legistlation is so dangerous. its only a matter of time before anything regarded as anti-establishment will be considered terrorism, and citizens become terrorists

CHRISISALL

Friday, September 29, 2006 8:23 PM

Welcome to America, 2006, where it's almost 1984.

Really. Chrisisall

FELLOWTRAVELER

Friday, September 29, 2006 8:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Welcome to America, 2006, where it's almost 1984.

Really. Chrisisall

Chrisisall, please report to Miniluv!

HORNSLONGTX

Friday, September 29, 2006 9:56 PM

Ponder for a minute the lengths poeple associated with this and other fansites have gone. Now consider what might happen if poeple did the same thing when stuff like this happens. It would stop. Your Congressman/woman works for you, your Senator works for you. The whole stinkin government system is paid for by you and they are supposed to be working for you. Send letters, call them, make petitions. If people put half the time and money that they put in to getting their favorite show back on air in to politics they would get more of the government they want and less of what they don't.

Oh yeah and one more thing VOTE!! for everything you can.

CITIZEN

Saturday, September 30, 2006 12:52 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by hornslongtx:
Ponder for a minute the lengths poeple associated with this and other fansites have gone. Now consider what might happen if poeple did the same thing when stuff like this happens. It would stop.

Except that's not how it works. At first people let others get dragged off because they're the bad guys and we are scared of them and our government is just keeping us safe.

Then we're just too scared of our government to speak out ourselves...

More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.

GEEZER

Saturday, September 30, 2006 1:01 PM

Link to the entire article.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/28/idiot.baggie/index.html

Mr. Bird was looking for a confrontation, and got one. He still made his plane and got to keep his bag of cosmetics. Maybe next week he'll express his displeasure at something else by yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

SIMONWHO

Saturday, September 30, 2006 7:30 PM

Geezer is exactly right, it's only terrorists who want free speech so they can spread their evil; patriots shut up and do exactly as they're told and never criticise the government because that's unpatriotic and you're all terrorist lovers and hate freedom.

In conclusion: the government is always right and if you think differently, you should keep it to yourself or expect to be "detained" by security until you understand the truth.

God bless America!

DANFAN

Saturday, September 30, 2006 10:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:

Mr. Bird was looking for a confrontation... Maybe next week he'll express his displeasure at something else by yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

Geezer, first let me say that I enjoy almost every post you make. Even if I don't agree with them, they make me think.

That said, your comment in this post is one of those I just can't agree with. This is a slippery slope. Almost ANY opinion can be confrontational to someone. If hard core members of the NRA picket the Democratic National Convention, they are being confrontational... expressing a strong and somewhat controversial opinion at a location intended to spread the opinion broadly. If ALL they are doing is speaking, or carrying placards, should this make the picketers subject to detention, questioning, and background checks?

Change the players... pro-choice demonstrators at the Republican National Convention. Should we detain them because "they were looking for a confrontation, so by God let's satisfy 'em"?

And the implication that the detention was insignificant because he caught his plane seems specious to me. Is it legal to express an opinion or not? Is it legal to detain someone for non-violent, non-threatening, legal activity or not? Yes, you can express an opinion that does not risk life. No you cannot detain someone ONLY because you didn't like the opinion... at least you're not supposed to be able to.

And likening his expression to shouting "Fire" in a crowded place simply doesn't wash. Calling someone an idiot is clearly unlikely to cause a blind panic in a crowd. And in no dictionary is the word "idiot" synonymous with "I intend to kill him at the earliest convenient moment. Failing that, I'll kill everyone on the plane with me in a fit of frustration. Ignore me at your peril."

Compared to pro-gun owners, pro-choicers, pro-lifers, pro- or anti-anything, calling someone an idiot is small potatoes. EVEN IF the guy was looking for a confrontation, I believe the TSA officers blew it.

Just wanted to put these thoughts out there. Carry on, folks...

GEEZER

Sunday, October 1, 2006 6:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by danfan:
This is a slippery slope. Almost ANY opinion can be confrontational to someone. If hard core members of the NRA picket the Democratic National Convention, they are being confrontational... expressing a strong and somewhat controversial opinion at a location intended to spread the opinion broadly. If ALL they are doing is speaking, or carrying placards, should this make the picketers subject to detention, questioning, and background checks?

If they're outside the convention hall, they can picket. If they try to enter and do their protest inside the secured area, they'll be stopped, detained, possibly charged. If you try to run to the front door of the White House waving a sign saying "Bush Is An Idiot!", wanna bet you get stopped?

I suspect that the security screeners who stopped Mr. Bird figured anyone confrontational enough to write an insulting remark about the head of TSA where security was bound to see it might also be confrontational enough to cause trouble.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

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