Sippy cup terrorism

Give unlimited power to the Transportation Security Administration and you get ridiculous scenes like this:

Monica Emmerson was traveling with her 19 month old toddler when she was detained at Reagan International Airport and threatened with arrest because her toddler had a sippy cup with tap water in it.

I thought immediately that she was disobeying the liquid controls but...

TSA's rules allow passengers to take up to three ounces of liquid on board; they also allow parents to take milk or baby formula on board in larger quantities than that, if declared to TSA. But the question that she was asked by TSA --was this "nursery water" in the sippy cup?-- was an unanswerable one, since there's no such thing as nursery water in the TSA regulations, and it's not a generic term.

Monica Emmerson was detained for 45 minutes. She wasn't questioned about possible ties to terrorists. Her carry-on items weren't rigorously searched -- or even searched again. Neither the police nor TSA took any action that indicated that they throught she might be a security risk. She was just detained, harassed and threatened with arrest. All because of a sippy cup with water in it.

She missed her flight.

Update: An anonymous commenter as a TSA employee posted the rebuttal to this claim. Had a hard time seeing the second video but someone luckily youtubed it:



It really does look like she deliberately spills the water from the cup on the floor (1:03 in). The commenter also said she made her flight. If that is the case, I stand corrected and apologize to the TSA employees and turn my ire on to the mother who behaved more than badly.

The reason why these stories take off and become iconic is because so much of what has happened since 9/11 has been so badly done, mismanaged, politicized. We are no safer than we were before 9/11 due to the massive incompetence of the Bush administration. So many people have suffered with idiotic no-fly lists and officious behavior of employees of indifferent corporations that these stories carry weight and match our experiences on so many different levels.

This story may dissolve down to a tantrum of a misbehaved and frazzled mother, but there are many other tales of woe and irritation that are true that will fill in behind it.

And that's the real story.

Update 6/19: NTodd of Dohiyi Mir offers his experiences as a frequent flyer dealing with TSA employees.

Update: Join the Sippy Cup Protest noted by Mustang Bobby at Bark Bark Woof Woof.