This is generally how I feel. The TSA is much closer to a jobs program than it is to an elite oppression unit, but anybody who enforces those nerd ass rules about how much liquor you're allowed to bring in your carry-ons is a cop. They might not be Customs, but they ain't Mister Rogers either. Anybody with state authority to dig through your personal belongings and shoot x-rays at your crotch is a cop.
At best, they are cogs in the machine, just doing what they gotta do to pay the bills, but you can make the same arguments in favor of the actual cops or even the military. The military is just a jobs program. Most police forces are just a jobs program. They just happen to have externalities which make life worse for everyone. They are a band-aid solution which preserves the status quo without addressing root problems.
This is generally how I feel. The TSA is much closer to a jobs program than it is to an elite oppression unit, but anybody who enforces those nerd ass rules about how much liquor you're allowed to bring in your carry-ons is a cop. They might not be Customs, but they ain't Mister Rogers either. Anybody with state authority to dig through your personal belongings and shoot x-rays at your crotch is a cop.
At best, they are cogs in the machine, just doing what they gotta do to pay the bills, but you can make the same arguments in favor of the actual cops or even the military. The military is just a jobs program. Most police forces are just a jobs program. They just happen to have externalities which make life worse for everyone. They are a band-aid solution which preserves the status quo without addressing root problems.