Yeah, this is what I was referring to as well,** JoelUpchurch**. The “cesspool” being the collection of mysogynistic comments on both blogs. I hope my apology to you was clear; I might have bristled at your initial suggestion that Jill keep her sexuality to herself for her own good, but I wouldn’t peg you for a minute as a contributor of woman-hating bile like that.
I didn’t actually read the comments that were posted, since I didn’t what to exposure myself to such filth. I am kind of curious if any of the screen names might have seemed familar?
I didn’t notice. It isn’t that comments are any more vulgar than what can be read here, it’s the near-rage behind the comments in both blogs that is shocking. As you indicated, the Autoadmit comments just prove how helpless we are to protect our online personas. The nasty comments on Feministe implying that women have no business masturbating simply because men are available to fill the need are just gross and sad.
You misunderstand me . . . I agree completely with this. The TSA agent was wrong. I was in no way trying to imply otherwise (unless I misunderstand what you’re getting at in the above quote)
No, I don’t think they’re scandalized, but people are fascinated with sex because it’s taboo. It’s one person in a million who
Besides…she wasn’t sporting it on a chain around her neck, just hoping for some random stranger to comment in order to generate blog buzz. She was chatting it up with an audience of liberal, modern-thinking women. If someone picked up the story and ran to the presses while giggling like a 13 year old boy, it says more about the media’s fascination with scandal than it does about Jill’s motivation in posting the two sentence anecdote.
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I guess my point is that if Joel was being a prude for thinking it was any kind of big deal for a person to talk about her own use of sex toys/aids in print, then it’s prudish for anyone to care that this was Jill’s ‘personal’ item being commented on.
I suppose that we will just have to agree to disagree on whether it’s possible for liberal, modern-thinking women to get a kick out of talking about sex, and also about whether anyone would have cared if this story had involved commenting on the color of a scarf in her luggage as opposed to her sex toy.
But yes, the agent was unprofessional, rude, and rightfully fired.
No, I gotcha. I just disagree with the statement that we should expect people to lose their composure over the mere presence of a vibrator. The item was tucked away in her suitcase, not hanging around her neck. Professionals know better. I guarantee they see worse things…who knows what prompted the agent to comment, or maybe the agent routinely writes inappropriate comments but this one time had the misfortune to call out a blogger. I feel that Jill probably knows her feminist audience well enough to recognize that the admission of traveling with a sex toy wouldn’t raise any flags, but, but unprofessional conduct from TSA agents is pretty newsworthy.
So I don’t feel that she had any idea what a duststorm the reference to a sex aid would stir up because her audience consisting mostly of modern women is presumably comfortable with all things sexual. I bet she expected a couple laughs over the unexpected crass comment. That’s all I would expect from my peers.
But seriously… the fuss her blog entry created opened a necessary dialogue both about privacy concerns with the TSA, and about a bunch of fellas getting their boxers in twist because a woman dared masturbate without considering their feelings.
Call me old fashioned, but I don’t like the idea of federal agents searching through a citizen’s private things and then making comments on said citizen’s masturbatory habits.
At least this TSA agent knew what the thing was. Last time the then girlfriend now wife and I went through Salt Lake City, the agents saw some entertainment items in our carry-ons and didn’t know what to make of them. I had to explain to the poor benighted probably Mormon jerks just what a vibrator was, how it was used and that it was doubtful I could take over an airliner with one.
“I’m holding the stewardess hostage. If you don’t open that cockpit door, I’ll make her come again.”
Yes your apology was clear. Thank you very much.
Golf clap
What did the TSA employee’s raging cunt do to get her fired? Was it shouting obscenities during patdowns? Did it wolf whistle at construction workers in tight t-shirts at the new terminal? Maybe her cunt has Tourette’s!! Won’t somebody think about the raging cunts??
bolding mine.
Yes! Of course! What? Are you mentally damaged? It’s not WHAT he said, it’s THAT wrote it, placed it in her personal items, and intended it to be found by her later. As she said herself (very paraphrased) it’s indicative of the poor behaviour and the failures of the TSA as a whole where it comes to respecting our rights to privacy and dignity.
SNORT!!! Ow ow…You just made me frighten my dog! 
I’m an Atheist myself, but I’m curious about why you feel it necessary to refer to Mormons as jerks. It seems rather gratuitous.
Read the line again. I didn’t say Mormons were jerks. I said those particular TSA drones were jerks. And probably Mormons as well, which would explain their lack of understanding about vibrators.
Gratuitous because it’s undeserved, or redundant?
If you read one of the stories that Rucksinator links to, that “raging cunt” had this to say:
Plus, he defends using the word cunt so many times with this gem:
Wow, a drunken misogynist, Mrs. Rucksinator is a lucky woman.
Yeah, OP is totally off on this one. No idea what inspired the use of the word “cunt,” either. 
No TSA agent should be writing notes of any kind in people’s luggage. It’s completely inappropriate. And amazingly, I agree with Bricker on this one. You may well have seen my private materials and laughed your head off behind closed doors, but it is the nadir of professionalism to make that known to anyone. I mean, does this TSA agent have time to write notes? No wonder people are smuggling all kinds of weapons past security.
I try to respect the job that TSA workers do, but I have personally witnessed many behaving unprofessionally (cracking jokes, tossing trays around, snapping at passengers). This, as well as the case of the protester finding a note in his luggage, doesn’t do much to help the brand.
You didn’t express yourself very well. You should have said, “these jerks, who were probably Mormons”. By saying “Mormon jerks” you were implying Mormons are jerks. Your speculation about their religious orientation was unnecessary and gratuitous.
Actually that is what he said. Some commas would have probably helped
“I had to explain to the poor**,** benighted**,** probably Mormon**,** jerks just what a vibrator was”