TSA Hires a Child Molester
October 19th, 2012
When the TSA needs new agents to rummage through our personal belongings, take naked pictures of us, and occasionally sexually assault us, a basic background check is asking too much. 65-year-old Thomas Harkins was hired by the TSA to “serve” at the Philadelphia International Airport. What they didn’t know before they hired him was that his last job was as a priest, and he was defrocked over allegations that had molested two grade-school children. Or who knows, maybe they saw it as valuable work experience, seeing as part of his new job included occasionally molesting children. They took no actions against him once they found out. TSA spokes bureaucrat, Ann Davis said, “an allegation alone does not warrant dismissal or automatically disqualify applicants from employment with the TSA.”
A common social theory in libertarian circles is that positions of power are inherently dangerous because they attract people with a predisposition to abusing that power. A petty thief holds up a liquor store, or mugs people leaving the ATM. But an evil genius doesn’t construct an entire evil empire from scratch. He simply puts on a placid smile and a flag pin and runs for office. It’s much easier, and less expensive, for an evil genius to deceive a gullible electorate than to acquire the same degree of power in the free market. Besides, guile is a much more common trait among sociopaths than business acumen.
But suppose that social theory penetrates all the way down state hierarchy from presidents to your average high school drop out that applies with the TSA. What if it’s not the genius that attracts evil people to power? What if it’s the evil that attracts geniuses to power? Well… that would mean that evil attracted everyday common idiots to all the lower ranking positions of power too.
This story might just be evidence of that theory. I don’t want to pick on Catholics, or impugn the intelligence of the priesthood, but the fact remains that the Catholic Church is a hierarchical power structure. So, if this social theory is sound the Catholic Church would be subject to it. If priesthood is a position of power over children, it will attract those seeking power over children. That doesn’t mean all priests, or even many, but it does mean the position is inherently dangerous. And it can be mitigated if it is acknowledged.
So, it makes perfect sense that someone with a predisposition to abusing power over children would move from power positions of power over children to another. The TSA offers the perfect opportunity for such a person. According to Peter Feuerherd, a spokesperson from the Camden diocese, Harkins was even barred from church services. So, the TSA didn’t even bother to contact his previous employers. Since then the TSA has promoted Harkins to a position where he doesn’t pat down children. Some solution.
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