As I have read this post the prime complaint is that air crew, ATCOs and others who daily work on the 'other side' are being subject to the same measures as the travelling public.
It has been pointed out numerous times none of these people need toothpaste, shaving foam or whatever else is on the list today to cause havoc...their jobs and the abilities inherent in them are sufficient.
Rightly to be treated in the same fashion as the anonymous travelling public and vulnerable to unpredictable attitudes from security staff is not helping anyone. Nor does it enhance security as it does not remove any of the potential risk.
But associated with that fact is this assumption that just because of who they are... manifested by say a uniform and ID, they should be granted a different standard of treatment from the security staff who are there to deal primarily with the travelling masses. This assumption is incorrect. The fake crew scenario was an easy way of making it clear. If that is all it took to ensure that the crew were not subject to the same restrictions as others then it would be abused, especially if you are expecting the security staff to make this judgement call...
I mentionned that if crews and others wish to be treated differently..which is not an unreasonable desire, then this treatment should perhaps take place in a different location, with different criteria and with security staff trained in a different fashion. The focus here would be less on what they have and far more on who they are...and are they supposed to be there in the first place. What they are then taking on board would not be such an issue. This solves both the attitude problem.. on both sides. and the irritation of having kit needlessly confiscated.
I can understand that on a forum such as this being able to vent one's fustrations is desirable. However if discussion is the aim of the game then discuss. If its reinforcement of your own viewpoints that you seek then perhaps another section could be opened for that..