Denis O'Hare and partner had airport troubles — Page 3

Well, it IS GWB's fault . . . it's his post-9/11 policies that have setup this environment of paranoia that has really made a minimal impact on the true safety of this country. Believe me . . . I ride the trains every day and know that I'm not safe. And the security at the airports is helpful, but not really good enough. There are reports of individuals testing the system to see how well it works . . . and it doesn't

Still, Denis' partner should have thought before speaking. Jokes of that nature are not allowed -- most everyone knows that.

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Good God. Someone ALWAYS has SOMETHING to complain about! The guy is gay. The didn't say "Fag" or "Queer" arrested. They simply said he was gay.

They wanted to highlight the fact that the person involved in the arrest was a minority. So, you people should be happy that they mentioned it!

The article was published in a gay magazine. It was also on YAHOO.com. Who honestly believes that if they put "Dennis O'Hare" in the title, any one would know who the hell he was? Who would read an article about some supposed Broadway actor if they didn't recognize the name? Nobody.

Updated On: 11/2/05 at 05:59 PM

I'm surprised they weren't strip searched.

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It was definitley an inappropriate thing to say.

It maybe didn't warant the type of attention it got, but still. Anyone stupid enough to say something like that and be disrespectful to people who are trying to do their job deserves to be chastised.

Hopefully he learned his lesson.

Updated On: 11/2/05 at 06:49 PM

That kind of remark doesn't even sound like a deliberate joke at all, just one of those "automatic response" jokes that slips out before you notice it. The fact that it could have led to a week essentially in solitary (or a year in jail) is a subject for George Orwell. I cannot believe the "well, it was too much, but he sort of deserved it" postings on this thread. Mr. O'Hare's response was too restrained. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THIS COUNTRY????!!!!

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my contribution to airport screening stories: I love flying, and switched from wearing my usual boots/socks to wearing flip flops to the airport, so that I could get through the checkpoints faster. Until I was stopped twice in a row (out of LAX, back from JFK) to take the flip flops off; the rubber soles were too thick, so they had to come off and go through the machine just like the thick heeled boots do. So I went back to wearing my boots and walking around the airport in my socks. They're always nice socks. :)

SWA's terminals in Burbank used to have extra special signs posted, *everywhere,* (like 2-3 at each counter), warning people that jokes about having a bomb, being a terrorist, and the like will be severely dealt with by the TSA, something to that effect. I guess apparently folks on their way to Vegas (it's where a lot of SWA goes from BUR) like to make a lot of 'jokes,' or at least moreso than at JetBlue at the same airport, where I never saw the signs at. It was strange.

the TSA is a joke......you know, it's one thing if you say you have a bomb....it's another to just say what he did.

As were no safer than we were (flying) before 9-11, it's apparent the entire TSA is a joke......the walk around as if they are some kind of Imperial Guard.......give me a break

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The fact that TSA is the final authority and don't have to answer to anyone when they HAVE done something wrong, as in this case, gives them entirely too much power.

They're not disgruntled employees, they're on this power-trip of knowing they can't get in trouble no matter what they do. If I acted towards people at my job the way TSA employees have acted towards me, I would have been fired the first day.

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"Well, technically, we can say almost anything that isn't slanderous or libelous, or that isn't a threat to National Security."

Well, technically, that's not true either. One need look no further than the message board guidelines on this site to see that. And making comments about being a terrorist at airport security could fall under the guidelines of being a threat to National Security. Yes, the agents probably overreacted, but their job is not to determine whether a comment made is a joke or not. It is to follow procedure, and it's not like this is something totally new. We've been living with this for a few years now and airport security has been under relentless scrutiny since 9/11.

"I meaan clearly one can tell the difference betweebn a joke and an actual statement."

Only if you were there and heard the exact comment and how it was said. Even if they file a civil liberties claim, they would have to have witnesses who heard the comment and how it was made. Otherwise, it is nothing more he said/she said (pun not intended). If TSA procedure does not outline the extreme measures in the detention that took place for that type of situation, then O'Hare and partner would have something to work with.

I think what disturbs me most is how Denis was treated as a nobody because they were not legally married. Nobody has really responded to that and that is what saddens me most. I can only imagine how stressful it must have been not to know what is going on or for how long his partner would be detained. It makes me sick. THAT, to me, is a far more distressing issue than security overreacting and/or doing their job.

Case in point - When I flew to Spain a couple of years ago, I had a layover in Warsaw (don't ask). When I attempted to get on my connecting flight to Madrid, I was stopped by Polish police because I had a pocket knife in my bag. It was a gift from my father (he was always giving me pocket knives for Christmas, for some reason) and I forgot I had it. They didn't make a big deal about it. I simply had to drop it in a box and have my bags searched, but they were very nice about it. Obviously, O'Hare airport in Chicago security was not doing a very good job because this item should have been GLARINGLY obvious and it was not much smaller than a box cutter.

Personally, I'd rather security do their job than not, and I'd rather excericise common sense than my right to make terrorist jokes in airports. It's not the biggest sacrifice and American can make in his lifetime. Let's have some perspective.

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As I mentioned earlier in the discussion, I think there was a bit of an overreaction here. The airline should have let it go after they realized there was no evidence to suggest O'Hare's partner was a terrorist. That matter should have been dropped at that point. I agree with you there.

As for the nonlegal status of their union, that's another issue entirely and not relevant to making remarks about terrorists in the airport. Even if the workers were sympathetic (I have no idea if they were or not- the article doesn't say anything about it) to their plight, legally there is nothing they can do. That's not the fault of the TSA workers. They (and you and I) may not agree with that law, but it is the law at this point in time.

Well, after practically being strip searched for my flight back here a month ago, I can see the idiocy of it all. I was sick, sweating and obviously had a fever, but they went through EVERYTHING of mine, including having my cell phone x-rayed (Three times).
I was wearing flip flops and they had those x-rayed as well...FLIP FLOPS...Cheap, thin plastic flip flops.

I wanted to barf all over them.

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