TSA Seizes Disney World Toys

8-year-old Jeremiah Ramirez had just lost his father to cancer, so his mom took him to Disney World to raise his spirits and take his mind of the tragedy. While there he picked up a Pirates of the Caribbean toy gun and sword, and was hoping to bring them back to North Carolina, that's when the TSA stepped in. When he tried to go through security at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport his toys were confiscated. "It's very upsetting because at one point I had told one of the employees, 'You know this is not a real weapon,' and he said 'Yes, I understand that, it doesn't matter,'" said mom Maria Edge. I may not be clear on all the reasons the terrorists hate us, but stuff like this is why I do.

Comments

So they won

[BluePeppers]

We've got to hand it to the terrorists... They're good at what they do. They set out to affect our lives in a detrimental way, and we let them do it, doing their work for them most of the time, with "anti-terror" measures and "national security" legislation.

Re:So they won

[almondo]

I think the fact that so many road warriors have retired from travel is good evidence that they won. Personally, I quit taking road warrior jobs not out of fear of terrorists, but simply because I am tired of pathetic TSA bullshit making me throw away my shampoo and mouthwash every week.

The TSA theatrical security is far more pathetic than security through obscurity ever was.

The real terrorists are the TSA themselves.

Re:So they won

[tuxedobob]

Whenever I fly, I try to put as much as possible in my carry-on, because I generally don't trust the airlines to deliver my stuff to the proper destination.

Re:So they won

[dynamo]

Yeah but at least then you know where they went.

Toy Weapons

[HTH NE1]

Toy weapons were banned as carry-ons before 9/11.

Keep them in your checked luggage.

Re:Toy Weapons

[Kingrames]

Precisely.
Think of the children.

Crying themselves to sleep.
MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!!

Re:Toy Weapons

[thisnamestoolong]

"Toy weapons were banned as carry-ons before 9/11."
But does anyone ever stop to ask... WHY?? Seriously, why do we allow people to push us around with arbitrary regulations like this? What has gone wrong in our society where we think that this is OK? I mean, if the airlines were behind it I would say that it is stupid, but when we have the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (TSA) involved it ceases being a silly rule and becomes a violation of our civil rights. I mean, carrying a toy gun is not an essential civil liberty, but that is not the point. The point is that the GOVERNMENT is telling me that I cannot do something without providing any reason. If the government is going to tell us what we can and cannot do, we need to demand that they give us a DAMN good reason for it. This no longer happens, which is very apparent in airline security, drug laws, and many other facets of our modern society. Wake up, people. Ask questions, demand liberty.

Re:Toy Weapons

[Duradin]

Explosive decompression isn't explosive and a couple of bullet holes aren't going to cause a dangerous drop in cabin pressure.

Err, sorry, what I meant was FEAR!!! FEAR FEAR FEAR!!!!!!1!.

Re:Toy Weapons

[JCSoRocks]

Yup. Hasn't this guy watched Mythbusters? He needs to hand in his geek card - now. They shot all sorts of holes into the side of their plane and it didn't do a thing. "Bullet hole in a plane = instant plane explosion" is a huge lie.

Re:Toy Weapons

[iamhassi]

"Toy weapons were banned as carry-ons before 9/11. Keep them in your checked luggage."

No grey area? Sure the all black 9mm plastic replica found in a 23 yr old's backpack should be taken away, but the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean plastic sword and gun held by the 8 yr old?

People need to use their judgement once in awhile. If there's a doubt, take pictures, video, record licenses, double check, etc, but don't rip toys out of children's hands.

Re:Toy Weapons

[itsdapead]

I feel that the same goes for air travel -- it is the only viable means of real long distance travel, and the government has made it so that we cannot utilize this wonderful tool without bending over and giving up every last one of our civil liberties.

Fine, but I'd be more inclined to protest about the genuinely stupid and inconvenient things, like being forced to take off shoes and belts, being prevented from taking a bottle of water etc. that have been introduced as part of the post-9/11 security theatre. Trying to carry something that actually looks like a weapon on a plane is the sort of thing that anybody with an ounce of common sense ought to avoid without being told.

Airport security...

[Anonymous Coward]

Years ago, before 9/11, I heard this story. I don't know if it's true. But it is consistent with what I've come to expect from airport screeners...

.
Seems this fellow was flying home bringing toys for his kids. Star wars action figures, to be precise. Airport security caused a fuss, and confiscated the guns from the action figures. We are talking a piece of plastic smaller than a dime here folks.
.

Now this fellow was about to make a scene when he realized:

• He worked for the FBI.
• He was still carrying his weapon. A real LOADED gun.
• He was now past security.

Yep, that's about what I've come to expect from our airport security...

Least Disney has a heart

[gubers33]

And sent the poor kid some replacements.

Re:Least Disney has a heart

[RockDoctor]

Least Disney has a heart

And sent the poor kid some replacements.

That's a marketing department, not a heart. One is a fist-sized mass of complexly arranged muscles and nerves ; the other is a large building filled with overpaid shit-for-brains with the communal ethics of a pile of fetid dingos kidneys.

Sad To Say...

[rapope]

It already has. Things may start to get better under Bush lite.

REAL guns were allowed when I started flying.

[EWAdams]

There were no security measures whatsoever, and no need for them.

Clearly, something has happened since then that has caused a bunch of people to want to kill Americans. They didn't in 1960, and they do now.

I can't imagine what it was.