One of the best (and by best, I mean maddening) quotes from the full story:

Ms. Cooper said that at the airport, when she begged to know what was happening to Mr. Salerno, an agent told her, “You know, he should try spending a little more time in his own country.”

31: during my short stint in journalism school less than five years ago, we were taught all about zeroing in on people's base desires and more or less exploiting that to make an advertisement. The only difference between then and now is that the messages have shifted to meet the present cultural norms. Current ads still imply that products will increase your sexual attractiveness, but the images and words they use are more in line with today's mainstream thought than, say, this ad. I found it to be a pretty foul line of work and jumped ship as soon as I could.

This improves my opinion of Tom Disch considerably. Before this all I knew was The Brave Little Toaster film, which would undoubtedly be a different experience for me as an adult, but after seeing it once as a kid I would have requested a trip to the dentist rather than a repeat viewing.

#13: Love it!

Wow, I'm amazed at all the positive feedback on here. Yay. I second the comment in #4.

I've worked with "helicopter parents" frequently. The worst is when the parents of a college-aged employee call or e-mail - usually before that person's first day - to talk to us supervisors to investigate the job so they know it's going to be emotionally and physically acceptable for their kid. Talk about embarrassing. Cut the cord already!

@20: We must have read 16 differently. I read it as, "Is 'invalid' still an acceptable term in the US? It is in my country and I wish it wasn't." Maybe Klaradox was trying to make a point about being offended by seeing the word in this post, but I thought it was more of a tangent discussion of modern usage of the word (maybe you can clear that up Klara). I overall agree with your point - the wording in historical documents should not be altered to fit our modern/PC sensibilities - but IMO directing your comment at 16 was a little hasty.

@22: It is pretty standard in blogs in general for people to respond to each other's comments, especially if people disagree with you.

You Ann Arbor kids should try Silvio's. They have way more toppings than the Cottage Inn. Very cool people working there too.

Whether or not the Craigslist posting is "legit" does not change the fact that I'm sure similar scenarios play out all the time in this town.

I'm with Scuba SM - Ann Arbor's whole world revolves around the university, and a huge number of the students don't have cars. Landowners can price gouge all the want because students want and need to live local. Meanwhile Ypsilanti is less than 10 miles away and is filled with "repossessed crappy houses." My sig other tongue-in-cheek has referred to the interstate tnat encircles Ann Arbor as "the wall."

I think the reason Detroit hasn't gentrified is because there's no jobs there. They need a new industry first.

I did an internship at Juvey. I can't say for sure but I am going to guess that the charges against this kid are going to get dropped or severely reduced. When cops arrest kids at school, more often than not they want to make an example and get overzealous with the charges brought against them - and yes, the charges against this kid are completely overblown. The D.A.'s office have bigger fish to fry - WAY bigger fish - so they might ask for some community service if anything at all.

If you guys are upset about weapons at school, I suggest you put your energies into preventing guns and knives coming into classrooms, which happens every day and does result in deaths, unlike this guy's camera.

I'm distressingly normal. How disappointing. Is that because I can kick backgammon ass or because I'm better at Guitar Hero than physics?

28 Takuan: Totally agree. A simple heads up would do.

4) Oh yeah, also, don't forget to address Taukun's comments in #111 - I want to hear a response to that too.

1) The woman claims they were laughing, and I'm willing to take her word on that considering all the terrible press on the TSA.

2) Sorry, I was mistakenly looking at "items" since I don't think of piercings as clothing. I appreciate that you gave the link even though you were condescending about it.

3) They should add the part about the state troopers - depending on the piercing, its age, ease of removal, etc. I would rather flash a trooper than remove the ring. Just my personal feelings anyway.

Uh-oh, what'd I do? heh Yeah, I'm human...are you, sir?

By the way, I don't fly - I fell in love with Amtrak and never looked back.

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin

If this woman is so "idiotic," then why is there nothing on the TSA website regarding piercings? (If there is, tell me where it is - I just combed the site and couldn't find anything.) If there is risk that being selected for additional screening can result in your having to remove any rings you have underneath your clothes, isn't that pertinent information for travelers? All of my piercings are above the neck, but I would be pretty angry about taking out any of my piercings, *especially* if they were new and/or might involve expense (not to mention considerable pain) on my part to get the piercing redone, when I had no reason to anticipate that my rings would be an issue. Should everyone who has a piercing beneath their clothes start wearing plastic rings when they travel? (I think this is all a very bullshit way to "protect" us but I am seriously interested in answers to these questions.)

And no amount of protest from anyone will change the fact that the TSA officials were being completely unprofessional (to say the least). Laughing while someone is crying and in pain? Sorry, that is your effing job. Laughing at someone even being frustrated shouldn't be in your vocab. At any other job that is the kind of shit that would easily get you a reprimand or citation, but I have serious doubts anything will happen to these guys.

For all you doubters out there:

1) a) Obviously you have to take a calculated risk. If someone appears to be high or mentally unstable clearly this strategy would be a bad one. If you are not someone who feels comfortable in making that kind of assessment, then don't gamble with it. b) If someone is going to make use a of a weapon, they will most likely do it *before* the crime, not after.

2) This story may or may not be true, but I'm not going to believe one guy whose identity I can't prove over the Internet versus the Story Corps fact-checkers. It is their job to make sure those stories are true, and obviously it is their ass (or job) if it's not.

3) I am a social worker and have gone through a similar situation as this story. I'm not going to rehash every detail in the interest of space and time. Basically, while waiting for the bus at night, I was approached by a man who gave me the impression he had intent to rob and/or sexually assault me, both of which are common in the area I was at (near my place of work). Instead I asked him about his life and he told me about construction projects he had worked on in the area and pointed out examples in nearby buildings of patterns in bricklaying, which I knew nothing about. In the end he shook my hand. I hope that he got something out of it because it gave me some renewed faith in everyone's human essence, which, yes, in an ideal world social workers would never lose sight of that, but it certainly happens. If telling that story to other people makes me egotistical, then so be it, but I feel my reasons for sharing it have to do with what that man taught me.

I can't say I'm surprised by this. Like others said it's the same as past generations. Emo kids are definitely the target of harassment to be sure. For example, I did a quick search on Facebook and found 412 groups whose title either involves "death to emo" or specifically wishes emo kids were dead. I have worked with teens who are both the aggressors and targets of such attitudes and wouldn't say it's uncommon.

I don't understand why anyone thinks this is funny, minus the Hare Krishnas showing up. That kinda came out of nowhere. (Oh yeah, and why are cutters funny, 58? There is nothing funny about self-harm, and I think it's terrible that it's become "fashionable.")

65 and 68 - I think you guys are thinking of the "choking game." It's the most popular with middle schoolers but happens with high schoolers too. Two kids I've worked were injured attempting to play this "game" at school. How this is something that caught on with kids is beyond me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_choking_game

One thing I have not seen mentioned here are things that have been shown to correlate to sex offenders reoffending. One of them is having a difficult social rehabilitation...if someone feels hated, isolated, powerless they are more like to recommit. The scarlet letter of these signs, in my opinion (as a social worker), has definite probability of contributing to that.

I have a number of friends and acquaintances who have worked with sex offenders, and all of them feel a major reason that doing rehabilitative group work etc. is difficult is because of the wide spectrum of crimes that falls under "sex offenses" now. I am glad that people have brought up public urination; how do you work with someone who has done that (drunk or no) and someone like the man in this story? Most sex offender group homes have "tiers" based on the offense, but still, you've got them all under the same roof.

Re: mental illnesses, technically there isn't a "cure" for any mental illness. You learn how to manage it through a combination of medicine, coping strategies, and/or life and lifestyle changes. Some people are successful at managing it while others have relapses. I believe an important change needed in the U.S. system is having insurance covering more than 10 therapy sessions. The idea that someone can get everything worked out in 10 sessions is a joke. I think this has potential as a preventative tool if we were to get rid of the fake deadlines. Oh yeah, and having everyone covered by insurance. That would be great too.

Jami - Love your analogy.

I read the post and comments about Calpernia's video first, and WOW the comments are radically different on this thread. Fascinating. I am so glad Xeni followed this up with Calpernia's video.

Thank you to those who have explained the FTM bottom surgery. There are actually two different surgeries you can get, but both are pretty nonfunctional, are prone to many complications, and enormously expensive.

I recommend that some of you need to look up "genderqueer." Working outside the gender binary is getting progressively more common.

Individually or as a group you can feel that gender does not matter, but in our larger society, like it or not, it still does matter. Many of the people I know who have transitioned do not feel strictly male or female, but they feel it is easier for them to function in society presenting the way they most closely identify. Being a gender warrior who openly operates outside the binary is no easy task, and I applaud this couple for doing so.

By the way, Calpernia, I love you and your work!

Worlord: The problem with your tattoo/piercing analogy is that those things are choice, whereas being trans is not. I don't know any trans people who have transitioned "just for the heck of it." Also, I strongly disagree with your contention that being trans is "highly visible" from "across the street." While this may be true when someone is beginning to transition and/or use hormones, most trans people don't stand out as you indicate. In fact, I am willing to bet that you and everyone else on here (including myself) have interacted with someone who was trans without us being aware. However, the fact that a person is trans may come up in doctor's offices, employment situations, or for a variety of reasons through casual social contact. However, this does not give license for people to ask invasive questions - that is need-to-know kind of information. And as others said, things are different when you are friends with a trans person. However, Calpernia was talking about complete strangers asking these questions - questions we would all be offended by if they were asked the first time we met someone. As for people who are clearly in the intermediate stages of transitioning, being "visible" still does not give license for strangers to ask questions, much like Pentomino indicated regarding albinism. It will inevitably happen, but that doesn't make it ok.

Most trans people are not trying to parade the fact that they are trans. They are usually transitioning so their exterior matches their interior, and consequently be potentially *less* noticeable. The point is certainly not to turn themselves into a walking biology exhibit.

Jennfrank: Easily the best post on here. Can't imagine any of that being said better.

Porori: Your child is incredibly lucky to have such a loving, open-minded parent. Besides all the great children's books out there and finding a supportive parental group (either in town or on-line), I recommend just listening and allowing him to do what suits him regarding gender expression. Best wishes to you.

I don't subscribe to the "blame the victim" talk I'm seeing on here, sorry. You guys are way off.

Back when I used to travel with my violin frequently, I was pulled aside for special screening every single time so they could search the case. Some of them even cracked the same "mobsters carrying guns in violin cases" comment from airport to airport. Conclusion: I think they ARE robots.