TSA cartoonist on a roll

The cartoons by reformed TSO, Bill Forster, over at Homeland Security Theater have been great. If you don't read them regularly (he posts twice a week, I think), I highly recommend them. And, don't forget to read the back story.

His cartoon from last week shows a surprise engagement getting ruined by the heartless TSA:

And here's an excerpt of Bill's commentary:

...Four times. Four times!!! FOUR TIMES I saw this happen!

... Once I was standing next to a fellow screener who didn’t speak English (because they hired those) and he got a ring in a bag. He told the guy that he had to check the bag and started searching through it. The guy started freaking out because his girlfriend was standing RIGHT THERE asking what the problem was. He kept begging, “Do we have to do this here?” and “Can we do this in private?” Now, the TSA can do it in private and if requested MUST do it in private. However if your screener doesn’t speak the language it becomes a little difficult to communicate that request. So I caught on and realized what was going down. I ran over and grabbed the bag. In a stern “you’re in big trouble” type voice I said the the man, “Sir! You can’t bring this on an airplane. Come with me, NOW!” and escorted him into a private screening area. Once away from his girlfriend I asked, “So whadda got? An engagement ring?” The color returned to the guy’s face. “Oh thank you! Oh thank you!” the man exclaimed. I checked the ring and held him in there for a few minutes. Then I told him to walk out of the private area complaining that I was a jerk and took his Swiss Army Knife. It worked. The girl didn’t catch on. She was the lucky one!

Bill is the exception to the rule. He somehow maintained a smidgen of humanity while every incentive at the TSA discourages such individualistic critical thinking. TSA goons are not bad people, necessarily, but they have to fight hard to not become bad people while working for this agency. Their lives - to a man - will be much more productive and worthwhile if they all quit and recognize their employer for what it is.