Well, much as I can't stand the TSA, this guy was a total jackass.

Basically a real life equivalent of an Internet Troll.

Here is his watch. http://i.imgur.com/jCzMN.jpg

Long before 9/11, I would have expected his watch to draw attention from airport security.

I expect TSA to be loads loads better, but I don't expect them to be perfect. Did they react to a reasonable provocation? Yes. Did they over-react? Probably, but fuck this guy. He's the sort of asshole that gives TSA a good name.

That this guy claims to be a commercial artist and a teacher both of whom should know better just says he is an even bigger and more arrogant prick than the random schmuck wearing this through security on a lark.

It's actually offensive that he points to his website and claims to his career as reasons why he could not possibly be a terrorist, or as reasons we should accept his fucked up watch as ironic art. Oh, he's so fucking classy and sophisticated.

People wearing T-Shirts. People with GI Joe's and their 4" rifles. People with 4oz of hand lotion. Testing water. Groping people. Stealing. Untested X-Ray machines.

Those are TSA offenses.

TSA giving this jackass a hard time?

Karma.

TSA should be more consistent though. Here's a guy that does pretty much the same thing, probably worse, and he is let go.

http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/20/flaming-lips-wayne-coyne-oklahoma-city-airport-grenade-tsa/

Question: What kind of dumbass packs a freaking grenade in his carry-on ... and accidentally tries to take it onto a plane? Answer: Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne. And he shut down an Oklahoma City airport in the process.

The grenade wasn't live -- thankfully -- but according to the police report, Coyne still accidentally packed it in his bag on November 10th and triggered an alarm at the TSA checkpoint at Will Rogers airport ... like a dumbass.

Needless to say, TSA freaked ... and shut down the terminal while officers frantically tried to figure out how to handle the situation.

According to reports, Coyne was flying to LAX to catch a preview of the new Flaming Lips musical "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" -- and told police he was given the dead grenade at a party as a joke.

Shocker, the grenade reportedly resulted in several missed flights ... and lots of wasted money -- but once TSA determined it was harmless, they let Coyne go.

Coyne tweeted following the incident to make up for the SNAFU, writing, "Sorry Sorry Sorry!! Everyone that was inconvenienced by my grenade at OKC airport."

Sorry Sorry Sorry!! Everyone that was inconvenienced because of my grenade at OKC airport!!moby.to/gf33hv
— Wayne Coyne (@waynecoyne) November 10, 2012

That watch is not steam punk. It is most certainly not a throwback to Victorian aesthetic.

Steampunk is not just "Victorian", It's Victorian + Wild West + Mad Scientist, ala Jules Vern or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I have seen many such items at steampunk conventions, the watch is fairly standard for the genre.

And what his lawyer said is what I've said all along, if he was going to use the watch for evil, it would have been hidden, and not in plain sight. So, what's next, are we going to have to start wearing orange jumpsuits every time we fly? None of that individual stuff, makes Grog the TSA Cavemans' head hurt...

I saw a picture of the watch. It seems like a needlessly provocative design to take through airport security. I would expect and want TSA to examine it closely, although I would not want them to arrest the man if it turned out to be harmless.

I am not buying the argument about hiding it. Sometimes, the most effective hiding place is in plain sight. TSA is left with a dilemma.

Basically a real life equivalent of an Internet Troll. -- jerry at November 21, 2012 2:32 PM

Oh, and for all the naysayers out there, McGann had already traveled with the Big Scary Terroristy Watch before and was, in fact, explicitly told by a TSA supervisor that it was perfectly okay.

Regardless of what you want to think, you have an implied right to travel in the United States. That you are willing to accept a grope because you want to fly doesn't mean the rest of us want to accept it.

I had a coworker that had traveled multiple times with the same carry-on laptop bag for about two years. She hit a TSA line and they had her empty the bag and x-rayed it about five times because this small pair of sewing scissors was showing up on the x-ray. It took about 30 minutes. Then finally they said she could go on because the scissors was small enough not to be a threat, without ever physically seeing the scissors. She had her husband rip the bag apart to find them. They had been sewn into the lining panels during production.

Until you can give a defined list of what is, or is not acceptable on a plane, you are giving a blank check for abuse to convenience store workers having a bad day.

As for calling him a troll, that is the same as blaming a guy who is legally, open carrying a firearm down the street for being stopped. The Second Amendment says it is legal to own a firearm. And it has been re-affirmed many times.

One of the best things in the United States is that you have a right to be yourself, and not have to live someone's standards of acceptability.

I think the problem in the case becomes that he had nothing explosive. I mean, he could disassembly his time piece to create a timer...big deal. Lots of other timers exist...laptops make good timers...many watches are already timers. Oh and the kicker....he is on the flight, if there is an explosive there he does not need a timer, he could just push the button himself!

I note the outrage - "How dare this guy be provocative!" - and wonder:

How is that in any way an excuse for the TSA?

The list of things they have taken from - taken from people just like you is immensely long.

And you've just said that if you don't behave, you deserve to have your property taken from you.

Nice going.

Jerry, I've had a TSA goon mis-read my passport and tell me "this has expired". He was reading the "issue date" which at the time had been 4 months earlier than when I was traveling. I still don't know if his goofy smile was one of embarassment or he was jerking me around the whole time.

The TSA deserves no quarter.

With the right materials, 99.99% of which you can buy at half a dozen stores within a few miles of most houses, I could kill most if not all people on a plane with a one quart bag full of 3oz bottles.

Saying the "douchebag" (nice going, Jerry) is way off base. Amy hits the nail on the head: The TSA is full of controlling cop wannabees, and they screwed this guy. On purpose.
Maybe he is a douche, but that's his right, so long as he isn't hurting others, and he wasn't.
That the TSA bullies can't keep the window in their navel clean and can't see out isn't the victim's fault.

Huh. I've only ever seen "steam punk" used to describe a style that was a throwback to a fictional past. Didn't know it included post-apocalypse stuff too. Learn something new every day. Thanks Kat.

Look, if they detain him because a watch looks suspicious, fine (if stupid). That they arrest him after determining that there is nothing wrong with it is an act of deliberate intimidation and police state overreach. People who blame the victim in cases like this are naive, because this type of abuse creeps to "normal, innocent" people next.

An idiot who wears that to a security checkpoint deserves scrutiny. It's provocative, plain and simple. But I know you guys think it's just trendy.

But I would be willing to bet he doesn't wear it to client meetings. So why to the airport.....