TSA detains man for carrying cash {Gadling}

Apr 3rd 2009 12:02PM Paul - "Being a smart ass doesn't help in this day and age."

I kind of think that was the point. We've become the sort of nation where we do not question authority of any kind, giving that authority power beyond thier station. I agree that he probably would have made his flight if he'd just answer what seemed to me to be reasonable questions, but some people have drawn a line in the sand; they say they are not going to give power to someone beyond the limts of thier authority. Would it have been okay if the officer queried about his marital status, recent bank transactions, or outstanding parking tickets he may have had? And why would those be less relevant than "he's carrying more than $50"? For some people, carrying a few thousand in cash isn't that unusual at all. I'd be miffed if I was taking a large chunk of cash on the plane (say, travelling to the VI or Las Vegas or Atlantic City and was using cash to make sure I didn't overspend) and was detained because of it.

He never refused to answer anything - he just asked if he was legally required to answer. Why could the police not answer that question? Could it be that he didn't - because no crime had been committed and he wasn't under arrest - so therefore they knew they were overstepping thier bounds? One of the reasons we have laws is to ensure that everyone follows the same rules; once we leave the rule-setting up to individuals (i.e. - allowing the police to question someone illegally for the sake of convenience), we have despotism leading to anarchy. I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of either despotism or anarchy.

Personally, I wouldn't have taken it as far as he did. I probably would have thrown some accusations back at them (Are you accusing me of being involved with drugs? Do you suspect that I'm a drug dealer? In what way is having this cash a threat to the security of the plane and it's passengers?), just to see the reactions, but I wouldn't have spent nearly a half-hour doing it.