My Dad was a big fan of dry humor, and....

[olger]

...apparently the TSA isn't.

http://www.inquisitr.com/521460/man-sues-tsa-for-5m-after-being-detained-for-peanut-butter-joke/

[cricket]

Sarcasm, spread like peanut butter, leaves a dry palate.

[olger]

Well hon, I guess they're going to confiscate my 'explosives.'

And they get all panicky...and arrest the fellow.

morons.

[cricket]

I do think the arrest for 25 hours was a bit over the top. However, airports are no place for sarcasm involving explosives, bombs and other threats. After 9-11, any american going into an airport and making sarcastic comments should know better.

[Narcah]

Freedom of speech does not mean you get to yell "Fire" in a crowded theater. It also does not mean that you can yell "Explosive" in a crowded airport.

[Liz]

I am not a fan of the TSA but I think the "moron" here is the guy that made the "joke". There is a time and place for everything.

[phkrause]

The sad thing here is, if it was something than people would upset that they didn't do anything. You can't win no matter what you do. We can't have it both ways!!

[Tom Wetmore]

While it may seem extreme from our POV, I do understand the zero tolerance policy for no joking about bombs, etc. How often do we misunderstand a person's attempt at humor or making a joke? (Happens here all the time.) How often is a joke delivered without a hint of even a smile or twinkle in the eye, or a completely deadpan expression? (Dry humor) And how often does a maniac send confusing signals with emotions and facial expressions that do not match his words or that are totally inappropriate to the situation? TSA personnel should have to make a judgment call for that sort of thing. But travelers should show good judgment.

[olger]

It was peanut butter. Natural peanut butter.

[Guest]

I'm giving a very deadpan look, right now...the deadest.

Can you tell?

[LifeHiscost]

It was peanut butter. Natural peanut butter.

[joeb]

Well, the smell eliminates peanut butter.

And so does the texture and feel. I've yet to run across green peanut butter that feels and looks like modeling clay.

The rest of this isn't addressed specifically to you LHC. It's just my comments on this example of our government being way out of control.

No terrorist is ever going to make jokes about having a bomb. He's going to try to keep the subject as far away from that as possible.

Second, there are electronic sniffers, as well as dogs, that can detect, instantly, extremely small amounts of any type of explosive. So to detain a guy for an extended period of time just examining a jar of peanut butter is nothing more than power tripping on the TSA employee's part. They're just messing with him because they can.

It's not as if we have had a run of middle-aged married guys who bring their wife and kids along on their terroristic suicide missions. The very fact that he doesn't fit any kind of profile for a terrorist should eliminate him as being suspicious very quickly.

Also, anyone stupid enough not to recognize real peanut butter, you know, the non-homogenized peanut butter, should'nt be in a position of authority.

That's the only kind of PB I ever eat. It's peanuts, a little salt, and nothing else. No sugar, no preservatives, no chemicals, nothing artificial. It may be called "gourmet" for marketing purposes, but it's nothing more than the way peanut butter was made before scientists learned how to feed us really unhealthy things made of healthy ingredients in the name of taste.

[BobRyan]

I am not a fan of the TSA but I think the "moron" here is the guy that made the "joke". There is a time and place for everything.

Agreed. If the TSA actually had a 100% reliable "insta-bomb-sniffer-outer" machine handy - that could tell them if the PB&J was truly lunch or a bomb - then they would be criminally negligent for detaining the man for 25 hours.

But the whole point seems to be that they don't have one so just about anything scares the wits out of 'em.

I would certainly hate to be the guy that had to "taste the peanutbutter" all day, each time someone made a joke about it - to see if it was a bomb or just peanut butter.

[LifeHiscost]

Quote:

I would certainly hate to be the guy that had to "taste the peanutbutter" all day

OTOH, I'd hate to be the person who had to pick up victims of a bomb blast that occurred while somebody was lamenting, "Oh, if I'd only checked his/her crotch.

God cares!

[Guest]

I gotta get me some good peanut butter. I've been thinking about mixing it with jelly or something.

[olger]

I'm giving a very deadpan look, right now...the deadest.

Can you tell?

[olger]

This incident reveals a U.S. that is a frail version of its former muscular self, so humorless and self-righteous post-9/11 that it has lost perspective on what constitutes a real threat.

[phkrause]

This incident reveals a U.S. that is a frail version of its former muscular self, so humorless and self-righteous post-9/11 that it has lost perspective on what constitutes a real threat.

I do agree, but not only this country, all countries have become very paranoid since 9/11. What really bothers me is to see how many SDAs are no different, even on this forum.

[Tom Wetmore]

Just tells us how powerful fear driven behavior is. It makes people do things that are illogical and irrational. And it makes people very compliant with illogical directions and commands and very willing to give up almost anything to lessen that fear, even if it does nothing to actually lessen whatever real danger there might be.