Exercising Common Sense

Apparently that’s something the TSA doesn’t know how to do. Frank Hannibal, being a gourmet peanut butter lover, had a jar of “Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter” in his luggage, and it had a layer of liquid on top, which is normal for that brand). Hannibal joked to his wife: “They want to confiscate my explosives.” A TSA agent overheard him. So they arrested him and held him in a stinking facility under deplorable conditions for 25 hours. Why? Because they say he “falsely reported an incident,” which he did not. He merely joked to his wife, which an officious TSA agent overheard, and to which that agent overreacted. During his incarceration, he was threatened by another prisoner over phone use. After reason finally was restored and he was released with no charges being filed, he filed a $5 million dollar suit. Hannibal’s lawyer, Alan D. Levine of Queens, said all this could have been avoided if airport authorities exercised some common sense: “It’s a sorry state of affairs in this country when sarcasm is considered a felony.” We have come to expect such overreaction and lack of common sense from TSA agents. (Fellowship of the Minds)