Twitter airport joke lands Briton in deep trouble

Will they ever learn??
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/aussies-airport-bomb-joke-backfires/story-e6frf7k6-1225828258230

Oh I am fully aware of that. Should we not be debating that, instead of accusing this chap of being immature?

The lad is very immature making a silly unsophisticated statement like that in a public arena..i don’t know what your definition of immature or puerile is but it certainly must differ from mine..it might have been a laugh to him ..but you just can’t go around making threats like that in these times post 9 11

Security has been stepped up at airports worldwide since a Nigerian student allegedly tried to detonate explosives concealed in his underwear on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25.

A British man appeared in court last week charged with making a bomb threat and being drunk on board an Emirates flight to Dubai as it sat on the runway at London’s Heathrow airport

It was a stupid thing to do. But the response, IMO, seems completely ridiculous & a waist of police time & tax payers money:mad:

Oh I am fully aware of that. Should we not be debating that, instead of accusing this chap of being immature?

Well it has already reared its head on a few other threads – it will never go away, whereas this idiot’s folly is now history – until the next time!

I think you are a bit out of touch, my friend. We live in a more restricted society than we ever have since the war. Our freedoms are suppressed, there is a whole raft of words we daren’t say for fear of arrest, we are all assumed to be paedophiles, we are spied on left, right and centre – this is a crap country these days. Paranoia suggests irrational fear – not here, it is only too rational!:mad:

Oh I am fully aware of that. Should we not be debating that, instead of accusing this chap of being immature?

Because it still would have been a stupid comment to make but may not have been picked up.

Why take the risk?

I thought the best thing about this story was the comment, reported in many newspapers, that neither of the two policemen assigned to investigate the errant tweet had ever heard of Twitter. I would have hoped that Mr Plod might keep up with the modern world.

I think you are taking this a little too far Steve.

Have never once, ever, in jest, told someone you were gonna hit them or kill them? You’ve never quipped “I’m gonna kill you for that” or similar in response to a practical joke or funny remark? You have never once joked to someone about strangling their son, daughter, friend, relative or pet for doing something annoying?
By your definition, all the above is immature and puerile.

This chap perhaps should not have made his remark, given the current climate. But 10 years ago, no one would have battered an eyelid at it.
Have we become so paranoid now that we are to curtail freedom of speech and freedom of expression? I thought we fought a world war to protect that. Or am I wrong?

I think you are a bit out of touch, my friend. We live in a more restricted society than we ever have since the war. Our freedoms are suppressed, there is a whole raft of words we daren’t say for fear of arrest, we are all assumed to be paedophiles, we are spied on left, right and centre – this is a crap country these days. Paranoia suggests irrational fear – not here, it is only too rational!:mad:

I think you are taking this a little too far Steve.

Have never once, ever, in jest, told someone you were gonna hit them or kill them? You’ve never quipped “I’m gonna kill you for that” or similar in response to a practical joke or funny remark? You have never once joked to someone about strangling their son, daughter, friend, relative or pet for doing something annoying?
By your definition, all the above is immature and puerile.

This chap perhaps should not have made his remark, given the current climate. But 10 years ago, no one would have battered an eyelid at it.
Have we become so paranoid now that we are to curtail freedom of speech and freedom of expression? I thought we fought a world war to protect that. Or am I wrong?

I’m with Mr Rowell. Some things simply cannot be said in jest and this is one of them.

Let’s face it..only a very very immature and irresponsible person would make such a puerile remark in any situation

Why would that have made a difference? In themsleves the remarks were still irresponsible and stupid.

Because it still would have been a stupid comment to make but may not have been picked up.

I wonder if he would have gotten into the same amount of trouble if he had posted it as his Facebook status?

Why would that have made a difference? In themsleves the remarks were still irresponsible and stupid.

What I am saying is that if this, to me, infantile communication medium did not exist he could not have sent his stupid tweet. I am not condoning the actions of the authorities in any way. In that I agree with you.

I wonder if he would have gotten into the same amount of trouble if he had posted it as his Facebook status?

I think in today’s scenario, it is unwise to make such statements via public media.

On occasion I’d bet we’ve all make occasional jokes that with hindsight might have been in poor taste. This poor sod might lose his job and his livelihood over something that anyone with any degree of common sense (something the Rozzers in this country have seemingly lost, as I said before) would realise was just that – a joke. IMHO, it is a very poor do.

Andy

I took the Airport out the equation to show that people make flippant comments all the time in this way, and security or not, this comment, airport related or otherwise, reflects the type of flippant comment that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows in any other respect.

Precisely – you are making my point for me. In any other respect it would not , but in the respect we are discussing – it does.

There doesn’t seem to be a week go by lately that you don’t read about some brain dead imbecile making some sort of silly threat believing it to be funny

I know which side is brain dead here …
“Security” services hard at work justifying their existance.

But what I don’t understand is why we have to feel superior because we’re interested in aviation?

I think it’s a fair assumption that there’s been enough media coverage of terrorism and flying since 9/11 for the vast majority of people, aviation enthusiasts or otherwise, to be fully aware that bomb jokes and airports do not mix well. I see no ‘elitism’ here whatsoever, just plain stupidity on the part of the guy in question.

Paul

But the fact it wouldn’t raise eyebrows in any other situation is completely and totally irrelevant. It wasn’t another situation, it was this one. We all know people make flippant remarks all the time but there has to be a certain amount of thought as to when and where they’re made.

Paul

But what I don’t understand is why we have to feel superior because we’re interested in aviation? To Joe Bloggs on the street, intelligent or otherwise, a flippant comment is a flippant comment, and whilst aviation is a significant target for terrorism, it is not the only target as incidents in Madrid and on the 7th July in London proved. Has the UK really reached a point where a comment of that nature is not acceptable under ANY circumstances?

Those of you who use twitter, or facebook (I only use the latter) need to put it into the perspective of what you may write in your status’, and where you make comments aimed at people or businesses, or situations, then just assume that Joe Bloggs on the street may make the same comment about aviation, and so they should be able to.

I am fully aware of the security issues and potential impact on aviation, but let’s not be too elitist here and either apply the same standards across the board, or follow my favoured route, take such comments (regardless of aim) with the intent with which they were written.

I took the Airport out the equation to show that people make flippant comments all the time in this way, and security or not, this comment, airport related or otherwise, reflects the type of flippant comment that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows in any other respect.

But the fact it wouldn’t raise eyebrows in any other situation is completely and totally irrelevant. It wasn’t another situation, it was this one. We all know people make flippant remarks all the time but there has to be a certain amount of thought as to when and where they’re made.

Paul