[nfb-talk] TSA: A Right to Anger

[Ryan O]

Bennett, you make an interesting point. First, I haven't perceived that
anyone on this list has been anything other than calm and rational in the
expression of their viewpoint. Joseph is the only exception. I know he's
angry about what happened to him, but he's thrown a few verbal grenades at
people who are on his side. Joseph is not a shining example of picking his
battles.

Speaking of which, you ask if you don't have the right to be angry over
treatment you received at the airport. Certainly you have the right to be
angry. We all have the right to any emotional reaction we may feel. But I
would submit that every day, I encounter people who make me angry through
their words and actions. Inside and outside the airport, sighted people
violate my privacy, my personal space, my personal dignity and sometimes
even my civil rights on almost a daily basis. If I wasted time and energy
getting angry and lashing out at every single violation, I and my fellow
blind would get very little else accomplished in life.

This is why I and others like Brian Miller have stressed the importance of
picking your battles. No one is defending the invasive behavior of the TSA.
At the end of the day, Joseph was the only one who was there. He had his bad
experience and yes, he's got a right to be angry. But sometimes we in the
blindness community tend to separate ourselves unnecessarily. Is Joseph's
ordeal any worse than the parent who is forced to watch their six-year-old
child repeatedly groped? Is it worse than the elderly person wearing an
adult diaper who is forced to take it off for an invasive examination? Is it
worse than the guy in the wheelchair who is forced to miss his flight
because of a prolonged examination? Personally, I don't think so, but Joseph
is the best one to answer that question.


I think this issue is going to come to a head sooner or later. If TSA agents
are violating regulations by taking a blind person's cane away from them, it
is likely that other regulations are also being violated. It's only a matter
of time before the masses rise up and insist on change (what a concept,
'ey)? When that time comes, we can channel our anger in a positive direction
and stand with the general public and bring attention to these abuses.


RyanO