He was flying to Maryland to get married and had apparently had a few beverages before boarding his flight. When a flight attendant asked him to close his laptop — he asked her, "Are you the one who checks for shoe bombs?" This was a mistake.
Within minutes, federal agents removed him from the plane. He spent much of his time in the St. Louis County jail in solitary confinement.
When he was reunited with the regular prisoners he claims to have received a standing ovation. He's been charged with making a false bomb report and still intends to get married in Maryland.
Shoe Bomb Joke on Plane Lands Missouri Groom-to-Be in Jail [Fox News]
(Photo: Jeremy Brooks )
"The first amendment is an absolute right"
You're welcome to believe this. No court in the land would have agreed with you, from the date of the nation's founding up through today. Don't believe me? Ever heard of the Sedition Act of 1798?
]]>He wasn't denied his 1st Amendment right, he just didn't like the outcome.
]]>I accidently switched airline tickets while traveling with a coworker on a business trip in 1998. When we got to the counter to check in, the ticket guy asked why I had my coworker's ticket and he had mine. I explained that I didn't know, but perhaps we had inadvertently switched them while eating lunch before coming to the ticket counter. He gave me a stern look and told me that the matter was quite serious, and that I shouldn't be joking around.
My coworker and I exchanged puzzled glances, and I asked the ticket guy why he thought I was joking. I told him that I had answered the question to the best of my ability, and that there was no reason to believe that I was joking around, of making light of things. After completing his lecture, he let us go on our way.
To this day, I have no idea why he acted the way he did.
]]>I don't think there's any correlation between the situation you describe and this particular case.
It's plausible that a person who is being sneaky over a long period of time (such as a spy) might joke about things hoping to avoid suspicion, but this is a story about a drunk guy making off the cuff comments. You're comparing apples to oranges.
By the way, if joking behavior is such a reliable indicator of unlawful activity, why would the government want to train employees (some of whom are active spies) to avoid the activity? Seems a little counterproductive to me. It's a little like teaching a room full of potential bombers how to avoid scrutiny.
]]>As far as TSA people not having a sense of humor, there was many a laugh had that day.
]]>@Mr_D: It really is one of those things where there is a pretty clear line drawn. Joke about bombs, flight crew are supposed to have you arrested.
]]>Undoubtedly what he said was STUPID, but anyone with half of a darn brain could figure that out. The appropriate response would be to take him off the plane and check him out. Sure, he'd miss the flight and have to take the next one.
In jail? In SOLITARY CONFINEMENT? Sorry folks, that's extreme. That's fascism and it is NOT what should even remotely happen in the United States or ANY country that would consider itself civilized.
I am so SICK and TIRED of this wussy hand wringing, nanny state and zero tolerance bullshit where you can be hauled off because some "decides" they don't like what you say or that they get a bug up their hind ends and "decides" that stupid, innocent comments are cause for incarceration. This boo-hoo PC bullshit could not end soon enough for me.
]]>Shouldn't the guy have been sober when boarding, to begin with ?
]]>"what's this!!!!, what's this!!"
Your a real witty one.
Perhaps some lynching humor is next?
What I said was just a joke, but when you get in public and joke around when law enforcement is nearby, you better be careful what you say.
]]>Plus, "The airport says it was more serious. A spokesman says Shafermeyer was also defying orders to put away his laptop."
Dunno which, if either, are true, but it does seem possible he was somewhat more challenging than the report here suggests.
]]>Har-d-har-har. I was fortunately able to talk my way out of that one pretty quick.
]]>The first amendment right isn't an absolute right. you can't shout fire in a crowded theater, you can't slander someone, you can't tell foreign agents the names of all of our spies, etc.
]]>Well, given that the t-shirt can in no way, shape, or form, be considered a threat, you're comparing apples to giraffes.
]]>But yes, planes make me feel nervous and powerless. Granted, I'm on Zoloft, but I see no need to chance it by flying unless I can't avoid it.
]]>Bunch of wussies.
]]>1. Yes, due to having to be at the airport 2 hours before a flight leaves, I have to get up at like 2 am!
2. I dunno, we never found the bodies.
3. Yes, the concentration camps are located in the terminals. Horrible places of unspeakable torture, of which there is no escape.
Here's the thing - there are two kinds of people who would bomb a plane. The first would be organized terrorists,who probably wouldn't make a comment about having a shoe bomb. Then there are your run-of-the-mill nutjobs, who might. They probably figured he was in the latter category.
]]>I'm fucking sick and tired of the use of the word "Nazi" bandied about.
Did the TSA people get people out of their homes @ 2 am?
Did the TSA round up people and execute them?
Did the TSA create concentration camps?
No..they didn't. You might not like their polices but they're not Nazi's.
You however are a putz.
]]>Apparently Big Bro is slacking as your still posting.
]]>Zing! :D
]]>Joking about a bomb on a plane can cause the same effect (people are idiots), so the spirit of the law is that he essentially made a fake threat no matter the context. Imagine the article if he said the same thing, everyone laughed, and the plane exploded on takeoff.
]]>Steve Carell is not amused.
]]>@Dooley: Yes, but because they are sold inside the gates, they have been terroristproofed. Just like bottled water sold inside the gates has been examined bottle-by-bottle by experts and certified to be explosive-free.
]]>That lucky girl.
I suspect his being pulled from the flight had more to do with his intoxication than the joke itself. I support the airline pulling a drunk and unruly passenger. If it was just the joke, then that was overkill, IMHO.
]]>Funny, because they actually SELL nail clippers at the gift stands INSIDE the gate area (past the TSA checkpoint)
]]>How can you extrapolate that he is a bad guy from what happened? So he had a few too many drinks, probably in celebration of his wedding, and just generally feeling good. He made a joke on a plane that wasn't deragotory or anything. Gestapo swoops in and throws him in solitary confinement.
Sorry, this is still America and you are innocent until proven guilty, and free speech still exists. He never said he had a bomb, or threatened in any way.
If I went up to a security guard at the airport and asked "are you guy that arrests terrorists?" Would that mean I am threatening? Would it mean I WAS a terrorist? Maybe I had seen a terrorist in the bathroom and wanted to report him!
]]>(I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm saying the policy is wrong. I bet you are right.)
As someone else pointed out, this moronic joke was nothing whatsoever like shouting "fire" in a crowded theater. He was not crying wolf. It was more like making a joke about checking for theater fires: not funny, but not worth a Code Purple Freak-Out.)
]]>What a ridiculous thing to say. Did you already have a drink? maybe she was concerned that you were going to stash it and take it with.
]]>I think it's a terrible problem today that we trample people's rights in the name of "just to be on the safe side." Probably Dead Wrestlers Society is right that he's an idiot, but I naively think drunken idiots should not be thrown off their planes and into jail for making drunken, idiotic jokes, even if they are about checking for shoe bombs.
]]>@B:
Wow, I almost posted the exact same thing.
]]>The train takes 3 more hours, but I don't have to deal with security, can carry three bags (or two bags and a folding bike), it's quieter, I get more space and the freedom to get up and walk around whenever I want (not to mention 30 minutes in Philadelphia to grab a bite to eat), and I don't spend the majority of the trip rushing around, finding gates, etc.
As air travel gets touchier and touchier, and less efficient, the train becomes a more attractive choice daily.
]]>I told my wife I hope she enjoyed the honeymoon, because it will be a LONG time before we fly again!
]]>Whatever you say, battousai.
]]>I wear boots. Have one pair of tennis shoes I wear when I exercise. Other than that, boots. When I go through an airport, it is a pain to take them off and then put them back on, so I don't. The guy usually pulls me to the side, scans me and I'm on my way. Last time through I got the type of treatment you mentioned. I refused and came very close to being arrested.
'Homeland Security' has done nothing but put uncontrolled power into the hands of idiots while creating a class of sheep in the people actually paying a private company for a service. It doesn't protect those flying from squat. It's pitiful enough I have to ask some overpaid union worker for the opportunity to scan me like I'm five and playing mother may I?
]]>As they said in "Men in Black," The FBI has no sense of humor that we are aware of."
The guy is an idiot and deserves what he got.
]]>this guy is quite a catch. his wife must be a top notch gal.
]]>@vladthepaler: I see your point, but, but, but, we're afraid man. I mean real scared here take our liberties but protect us from bad jokes, arabic t-shirts and bottled water.
]]>Though I realize that the TSA and the airlines are separate entities, they have a vested interest in making sure that I, a prospective client, am treated well and with courtesy.
]]>Hi, Jack! the guy says.
Tackling ensues.
]]>@Ash78: Now that's some funny shit!!!
]]>@mgy:
Actually, as I learned in security training for my Federal job, jokes about spying, selling secrets, etc. do correlate with actually doing those things. I'm guessing it's a way of relieving the tension of doing something that could easily cost your job and every serious job you might have afterwards (or life in this case).
I'm not sure what the data would say in this case, but knowing what I do, I'd still pull him aside to be on the safe side. Nobody wants to be the one who missed The Clue.
]]>Homer gets his shirt deep fried.
Homer: And you said they couldn't deep fry my shirt
Marge: I didn't say they couldn't, I said you SHOULDN'T.
Dear First Amendment,
I'm writing this letter as a goodbye. You and I had a lot of great times together. Like when I was in 11th grade and made vagina my answer to every question my English teacher asked*. Or a year ago when I figured out that my wife gets totally uneasy with that word and I started saying it all the time.
I will miss the way I could say what I wanted, I will miss the way I could totally say fuck israel and free palestine without being phone tapped.
What I will miss the most is how you will continue to protect certian peoples and religions while abandoning me. Now all I have is my 'Big Brother".
Well, goodbye first amendment, maybe we'll meet again one day.
Effectionatly Yours,
Wormfather AKA 001547182
@larrymac808: Ugh. Please tell me you punched him in the face later.
]]>@B: Seconed! I want to play the most dangerous game with that man...not to be confused with "the crying game".
Now, while I understand that joking about a bomb is a bad idea, I dont think "are you the one who checks for shoe bombs" should equal three days in jail. Maybe missing your flight.
1st what if she was being a nazi...I've met some flight attendant nazis before.
Second, what if I'm havign a conversation with my wife and the word bomb comes up? Is the content of my conversation going to be judged? The content of my bags, yes, but this is just stupid.
The terrorists have won.
]]>@Hooray4Zoidberg: They did that to me over a pair of nail clippers I'd forgotten about in my purse. I still can't figure out how those are a weapon - they didn't even have the nail file attachment that some do.
]]>@loueloui: What? I can't tell if you're making a racist generalization for sure, because you're incomprehensible.
]]>1. Passenger makes a bomb comment.
2. TSA employee thinks it is a joke and lets it pass.
3. Turns out to be real. Bomb goes off.
4. Someone finds out that said TSA employee knew about the bomb.
5. Media circus.
I think the length of time he spent locked up was excessive. But you have some responsibilities too when you're in a heightened security area.
]]>That sounds like fun for your close friends who can't afford that dreamy trip to jail.
]]>sounded like a valid question. maybe someone forgot to look at his shoes and he thought she was doing a piss-poor job.
]]>@larrymac808: I know of two guys who pulled a bad prank on a third guy:
Cut out the shape of a pistol in aluminum foil and place it in with the mark's work papers or files. He'll never notice. But the 2-dimensional x-ray machines love it.
]]>Ex girlfriend had a friend who made a "joke" about a bomb in an airport, pre-9/11. He went to jail.
]]>This isn't exactly the same as yelling "fire" in a crowded theater. This is closer to making a joke about yelling "fire."
It was a dumbass move, but it doesn't deserve 3 days in jail.
]]>"Jokes" about bombs and weapons have long been prohibited at the airports; years before 9/11/2001. Circa 1993, I nearly got strip-searched in San Jose because a business travelling companion thought it would be funny to say "is that the bag with all the contraband?" as my carry-on went through the x-ray machine.
I hated that guy.
]]>This is just like the old adage about not shouting "fire" in a crowded theater. It's become a cliche, but just because it's not taken seriously anymore, doesn't mean it's a good idea to do it. If you really did yell "FIRE" in a crowded theater and people got hurt, then you really would go to jail. Even if it was a "bad joke."
Likewise, while we may joke about the "shoe bomber" and how his stupid plan managed to inconvenience millions of travels, you should not be "joking" about bombs in an airport or an airplane. When your job involves hurling through the air at hundreds of miles per hour, miles above the ground, you tend to get a little edgy about the idea of an "unscheduled" stop in the side of a mountain.
I don't blame airline personnel for being a bit jumpy when it comes to talk of bombs. Talking about bombs, or even joking about bombs in an airport is serious business these days. Don't do it. You aren't going to get a laugh. You'll be lucky if you don't spend time in jail. Seriously.
]]>@mgy: I saw this reported on CNN yesterday. From all accounts, he ssems like an idiot. Maybe they were just doing the other passengers a favor by not having them endure his lame attempts at humor throughout the flight.
]]>It's missing the point however. This is all security theater. No terrorist is going to walk through airports looking sweaty, nervous and joking about shoe bombs. They're going to attempt to blend in and cause the least amount of problems for themselves as possible. But hey, as long as it looks like we're doing something. Right?
]]>This reminds me of the freedom of speech case where a judge found it legal to give a cop the middle finger.
Though legal, the judge said if you do it, you can expect a response from the cop.
With that said it's still not a good idea to joke around like that.
]]>Not funny.
TSA agents have any remaining shreds of a sense of humor or a sense of proportion surgically removed when hired. Someone who carelessly leaves a 20 oz bottle of water in their bag is just as dangerous as the guy who makes a bad joke in the security line or as the guy smuggling a chainsaw in his carry-on.
They are all breaking the rules.
]]>That is unless they are made by muslims. In that case we are racist against the brown people, and have no say whatsoever because they are oppressed, and we are not. Please pick up your check over there.
]]>Seems like he didn't make a false bomb report, he just made a bad joke. Can you throw people in prison for that now? Bad jokes should be a felony.
]]>