The TSA has its own Twitter account—which could be a great way to inform the scared, angry public (and do damage control). Instead, it's filled with idiotic, tasteless, and downright creepy tweets. Funded by your tax money.
For instance, take this selection of silly Thanksgiving themed tweets. They're so silly! And fun! Except, wait, this is the governmental organization tasked with helping make sure that flyers don't murder other plane passengers and commit acts of terrorism. This is an agency ostensibly dedicated to public safety, on the eve of one of the busiest, most anxious travel days possible. They should be issuing travel tips, and safety notices. They should be helpful. And here are the messages they have for you, as if ripped down off of a middle school bulletin board:
Blunderbuss! Ha! Ha... ha.
Get it? Get it? Fowl! Like foul! As in terrorists! Or something! This kind of puerile dreck is coming from the official voice of the TSA, at its public nadir.
Is this really the tone you guys want? Goofy?
Or, just simply creepy:
But it gets more worrying. And much stupider.
Naturally, there are plenty of people among whom the TSA is not in the highest standing right now. Understandably so. And naturally, they're tweeting at the TSA's official account—which is what Twitter is for. Fine. But watch as the TSA replies with all the authority and respectableness of a drunk 9th grader:
A calm, (valid?) complaint against TSA policy.
A goofy, juvenile reply. Constitution LOL!
Or how about this feat of maturity:
So she's angry, like a lot of other people. How best to respond, as a government representative?
So she was like F U, and I was all like Ummmmmmm, r u serious?
This how the TSA is responding to public outcry? Like a scene from a 15 year old's wall-to-wall?
Clearly, the issue extends far behind Twitter, and far beyond public image. But if the TSA ever wants to reclaim a position of trust, it needs to start acting like professionals. Like an agency. And not like a giggling kid at summer camp.