A wooden stick with sharpened steel ribs sufficiently strong to penetrate a body sticking out in front of it does not strike you as more likely to be useful than a pair of scissors or something along those lines in keeping other passengers in check?

My point is not that it'd be a great weapon - it's not. But compared to the stuff they are confiscating, it's miles ahead in terms of potential damage.

It demonstrates either a total lack of critical thinking when deciding what to allow, or how little this has to do with security, or both.

Personally I'm quite pleased they don't ban my umbrella, but I'd prefer it if they removed most stuff from the list of banned items.