On a flight yesterday, minor celebrity Kim Kardashian figured out that the guy next to her was the air marshal, at which point she excitedly announced it to her followers on Twitter. “Jim the air marshall makes me feel safe!” she tweeted. But it’s okay, she understands how security protocols are supposed to work; after some of her followers complained about what she’d done, she responded, “[I] highly doubt anyone is twittering like me on this flight! shhh.”

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Update: Okay, I’ll take the bait. Here’s why I decided to post this on Consumerist. First, we post a lot of stories of airline passengers being treated badly, or treated like security risks, or denied proper service or carriage after paying for their airfare. We also post a number of stories of “bad consumers,” people who ruin it for the rest of us. I think the idea that a celebrity with a public platform would out the identity of an air marshal fits the category of bad consumer behavior, and because the story has to do with air travel and airline security, it also at least bumps up against the first category I described. It’s also just a funny story, and more unique than the other one I saw today about a man and his pregnant wife who were ordered off a Spirit flight because he kept asking for water. I figured this would give readers a chance to debate security theater in general. You may not agree with my decision, but at least you have my explanation now.

If you disagree with the post, email me, or email Meg or Ben to complain. We have a rule about not posting, “Why is this on Consumerist?” See the comments code here. (Also, take any complaints about the fairness of the comments code to email channels–that’s also not a subtopic for our comment threads.)

“Kim Kardashian Outs Air Marshal On Twitter During Flight” [Huffington Post]

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