[noduerme]

As a white guy who was caught accidentally carrying a large knife once through security, at the bottom of a carry-on backpack I'd had since high school, I don't think it's in any way essential to use racial or ethnic markers to figure out whether someone is taking something dangerous onto a plane. I didn't even know I was trying to bring a knife onto a plane at a regional airport. There's no reason to think that Sikhs are explicitly going out of their way to hide something.

[542354234235]

Interesting that none of these comments seem to be questioning why we can’t just carry a small pocketknife on the plane. We used to be able to before 9/11. The 9/11 hijackings only worked because the policy was comply, land, and let the negotiators do their work. Suicide attacks using commercial airlines just wasn’t a thing. We now have armored locking cockpit doors and no airplane would give up control to hijackers anymore. United Flight 93 was already taken over and heard about the World Trade Center and they revolted.

Now, knives could only be used to commit a crime i.e. assaulting another passenger or crew. Banning liquids does more to prevent terrorists than banning knives. I can see banning them for the same reason concerts ban them, that it is a lot of people in a small space, but that is very different than “national security” or “preventing terrorism”.

[xxs]

it's still allowed across the EU (Mostly all of it)- up to 6cm blades are permitted in the cabin luggage.

[notamario]

A Sikh is far more likely to be carrying a little sword than the average population.

[noduerme]

And far less likely to stab someone than the general population.

It's not a great analogy, but the same applies to registered concealed carry gun owners. They're not the people who shoot people.

[K0balt]

Welcome to the club. I inadvertently traveled with not one, but two large box cutters in my carryon satchel for at least 20 flights before I discovered them while searching for some swag. I put them in there for a booth setup in Vegas years prior. Sent a completely calm, even sympathetic report to the powers that be, got put on the DNF list for my troubles.

Still screened and detained 100 percent of the time, sometimes for hours, sometimes having to surrender personal devices, decades later.

The message is very clear.

[ralferoo]

> Sent a completely calm, even sympathetic report to the powers that be, got put on the DNF list for my troubles.

What were you hoping to achieve by sending that report?

Most people would have just thought "wow, lucky I wasn't caught with that", taken it out of the bag so it didn't happen again and carried on with their lives.

Deviating from that normal response makes it look like you're just trying to cause trouble.

[ghaff]

Yeah, if I had a "Crap, what was that doing in there?" I'd be very quiet about it.

As I wrote in a very different thread, I avoid putting anything in baggage that I might carryon that is even marginally prohibited. I used to do a lot more travel and it's inevitable that knives and the like would inevitable get left in a pocket.

[int_19h]

Some of us genuinely believe all that "cops are there to help you, so try to be helpful to cops" stuff we were raised on. Right up until the point when you actually try to do it and find out how things really work...

[K0balt]

At the time I was very naive. I actually thought it was my civic duty lol.

[thinkingemote]

You sent a report saying you were not searched for 20 times and now you are searched all the time? Has it been over 20 times that you have been searched?

[K0balt]

lol. No, I’m definitely winning the search transaction! I got way more than I paid for!

[noduerme]

So here's me at Burbank:

Officer: Look at this knife. You're trying to take this on the plane?

Me: Holy shit I didn't realize that was in my bag.

Officer: Well do you want it back? Or do you want to fly today?

Me: I don't want it.

Officer: Don't mind if I keep it?

Me: It's all yours.

[chaboud]

I had a TSA agent take my knife and hide it, carrying it over the X-ray belt and putting it in his bag in the secure area.

It was a $13 knife, but he liked it.

No doubt that was a security violation, but it's all security theatre.