No, that's NOT the time to make a joke

:rolleyes:

:smack:

What was she thinking?

She probably thought she was funny as hell.

A very very very silly thing to do indeed. Was she on Mars for the last few years?

She does not deserve any jail time however IMO and if she gets some it will be a real shame.

And the worst thing is that she said it not once, not twice, but THREE times. You’d think after they pulled her aside and asked her to repeat herself she would have realized that she’d made a big mistake. :rolleyes:

There are times when I despair of ever making sense out of the things people do. This is a good example of that.

Silly bitch. I wouldn’t be sad if she did a little time for that one.

I think doing time is a bit harsh for making a dumb joke.

This coming right on the heels of a German teenager who allegedly left a note on a Frankfurt-US flight saying there was a bomb on board.

I seriously fail to understand how people can be so stupid sometimes.

What in the world was she thinking. Sometimes I just wonder what goes on in peoples heads.

I agree, some time in the pokey to reflect on her insanity might be a good thing.

stupid certainly, but jail time? come on, she obviously didn’t have a clue that it could land her in trouble, otherwise she wouldn’t have done it.

I think a slap on the wrist would be appropriate in this case.

Leaving a note anonymously saying there’s a bomb and joking about having three bombs in your bag that is sitting in front of you and guards are quite different things.

She’s getting that now while her bail is being sorted out. To give the gobshite real prison time would be just silly. It is zero tolerance BS. I agree there are situations that need to be dealt with harshly the note in the toilet being one BTW but this should be a slap on the wrist nothing more.

I know I for one would be proud to have my tax dollars go toward locking up such a dangerous person. Think how much safer we’ll be with her behind bars!

Stupid joke. I understand the temptation, mind you – I have to bite my tongue when going through security sometimes, really keep my Tourette’s humor in check – but I do that. It is astonishing that she didn’t say, “no, just kidding,” when they asked her to repeat herself.

Obviously a real terrorist isn’t going to declare that they have bombs, however. How on earth does it make us safer to make such jokes illegal? At most, we should be looking at a significant fine – maybe $500 – for making a dumb joke like that, inasmuch as it inconveniences people while the matter gets sorted out.

Daniel

I wouldn’t be entirely sure of that. Terrorists aren’t known for being the brightest fish in the pond. But the basic fact of the matter is that the authorities cannot afford to pass up any hint or lead.

You don’t have to be the brightest fish in the pond to know that declaring your bombs is a bad idea. But let’s not disucss theoreticals: instead, why not point to a single occasion, ever, where a terrorist was caught ahead of time because they told a security person that they were carrying weapons with which they intended to carry out a crime?

Daniel

I used to work airport security, back in the 90’s. I sat in that chair, & worked the x-ray machine.

We were always told to take each & every bomb threat like it was real!

Sometimes, a terrorist will lose his or her nerve *just before * reaching the x-ray, & start making threats & demands then & there.

So, to protect others, all bomb threats are treated as real, no foolin’.

And have been for 30 years.

Why don’t people realize this after 30 years? Just dumb, I guess.

The brat may not deserve 15 years, but a few months in a cell, or a fine & a lot of community service work may be in order.

At every airport I have ever been to in the US, there are posted signs telling people literally not to make jokes. That everything they say to security will be taken seriously.

Moreover, people do stupid shit all the time that they KNOW could land them in trouble, but decide that they’re special cases becauwe they’re invincible, cute, young, foreign, whatever. She was an idiot.

Anyway, the reality of it is that she will get nowhere near 15 years in jail, and will likely walk for it. But the possibility of hard time will likely scare the shit out of her.

She says she thought it was an order to repeat exactly what she had said, and didn’t realize she was making things worse.

I was always told, and there are plenty of signs around airports (and even bus terminals) that I’ve been in which confirm it, that making jokes about bombs or hijackings is a serious offense, and that violators WILL be arrested. And this was well before 9/11, as Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor mentioned. Obviously, she had not learned the lesson, had a serious lack of judgement, and should be made an example of. Jail time is probably not warranted, though. Perhaps suspending/denying her visa for a year or so might drive home the point that “WE ARE NOT SCREWING AROUND HERE!” Make that joke, find a lawyer, and find another way home.

What would happen if someone was carrying frozen desserts of icecream with chocolate centers? Could they claim to be carrying three bombes which need to be treated gently by security?

Has anyone ever claimed to be carying a bomb in hand luggage who actually was carying a bomb? (or grenade, or similar explosive item)

15 years is perhaps too long. Maybe a formula could be developed. 1 hour of community service for each person in the Miami airport even slightly delayed or inconvenienced by a “full-scale” terrorist alert".