For all the wise-cracking most of us do about the TSA and airport security procedures, we also know that when it comes time to actually pass through the checkpoint on our way to the gate, it’s probably not the best time to be a jokester. But, says a Consumerist reader, there is at least one TSA screener who thinks it’s perfectly fine for him to lightheartedly reference Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

B. tells us he was going through security at Logan Airport in Boston recently and when it came time to pass through one of the new full-body scanners, he opted out and chose the pat-down instead:

After I passed the screening with no incident, the TSA screener quipped that “I guess you’re not a member of the Timothy McVeigh Fan Club.”

Now, if I had made a joke about Timothy McVeigh while waiting in the TSA line, I’d end up in a holding room somewhere. Shouldn’t TSA take airline security as seriously as they force us to?

B.’s got a point. So we asked a rep for the TSA about what sort of training is done to try to prevent agents from crossing the line when it comes time to crack a joke:

TSA trains its officers to conduct themselves with professionalism at all times. We regularly remind passengers that inappropriate jokes and comments will be taken seriously and that absolutely holds true for our workforce as well. TSA does not condone such remarks and will take the appropriate steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Do you think the screener’s joke went too far? More importantly, what do you think would have happened to you if you’d made a joke about the Timothy McVeigh Fan Club?

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