On my world-wide travels I pass through security screening as Crew and from time to time as pax. There is NO DOUBT but I am treated differently when attired in my Uniform. My carry on luggage is never searched as a pax, it is regularly searched as a Pilot, even though it is the very same bag with the very same contents.
The route structure I work on does not extend to the US, but the worst BS I have encountered is in Europe. Its nothing short of ridiculous, Scanning, sniffing, swab and frisking. Its an industry that has blossomed on fear, the unknown and mass speculation.
It would be an interesting exercise to discover the personalities pocketing the profits from this "mega, ever expanding monster".
OCH