Wanna make a fast 240k?

cameragirl21 wrote: just put on a t shirt that chides the West in Arabic....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090106/ts_al...ts_090106002219
I'm willing to bet that the couple who was thrown off a plane for refusing to cover up while breastfeeding didn't make out with this much green in the form of dead presidents...nuff said.

mckayleesmom replied: who was thrown off a plane?

cameragirl21 replied: he wasn't thrown off a plane, he was told to cover up his t shirt and then sued and got 240k for his "suffering" whereas sometime ago, a couple was thrown off a plane (I think) because the woman was breastfeeding and told to cover up...she refused so as I recall they were removed from the plane.
That incident was discussed here and someone here likely will remember it in better detail than I do.

Kaitlin'smom replied: that makes me sick, I hate how they award money for stupid things. I mean come on 240k? give me a break, a free flight maybe but 240k thats absurd.

CantWait replied: Good!!!!!!!!

It's called discrimination and racial sterotyping. I'd sue for that and anything else I could get based on the fact that it's incredibly embarassing at the least, not to mention it's against my right to free speech.

jcc64 replied: We're on a disagreement streak, Jen. I absolutely think that guy should have been awarded damages. He was blatantly discriminated against, and his right to free speech was violated. He wasn't trying to make a quick buck, he was trying to make a legal point which imo needs to be made very badly. It's not ok to discriminate against someone simply b/c they have Arabic script on a t-shirt. Maybe the airlines will think twice next time.
I'm no fan of frivolous lawsuits, but this is not like the guy who sued the dry cleaners for losing his pants. This was an egregious and racist transgression, and if fear of lawsuits is the only way to fight institutionalized racism, then I say bring on the lawyers...

jcc64 replied: And about the breastfeeding woman, she should be awarded damages as well. Neither situation was handled appropriately.

cameragirl21 replied: I'm not ok with discrimination but I also think that 240k is an awful lot given all he had to do was cover his shirt. I've been discriminated against in far worse ways and it never occurred to me to ask for six figures in damages.
I personally think some people like to play the victim and too often, companies make it way too easy for them.
Just for the record, if he were Jewish flying an Arab airline, like AirEgypt for instance and was asked to cover his Hebrew lettered t shirt because others found it offensive, I wouldn't think he'd be entitled to more than an apology and a free flight. So it's got nothing to do with his ethnicity or beliefs.

cameragirl21 replied: Also, I do have to say that after 911, some people and airlines have a natural fear of middle easterners. I can tell you I look distinctly middle eastern and I am always stopped for inspection by security, everytime I fly. I don't make a big deal of it, it's just life.
I think people also have to realize that when you scream jihad and use commercial airliners filled with innocent people to do it, you are also hurting your ethnic brothers and sisters because they will be regarded with suspicion afterward, and rightfully so.
If Israelis engaged in acts of terror (God forbid) I'd expect to be racially profiled and discriminated against and feared by others. And btw, I don't even hold dual US/Israeli citizenship, I am only a citizen of the US.
Sometimes racial profiling is the price people pay for invoking their rights to various acts of "free speech" if you kwim.

Calimama replied:
Yep.

I'm glad he sued.

jcc64 replied:

Jen, there were a handful of terrorists on 9/11. How many millions of law-abiding, peaceful Muslims are there in comparison, do you know? I want to be judged on my own individual merits as a human being, and I am willing to extend the same courtesy to Middle Eastern people whose paths I cross. The favor may or may not be returned, and I'm acutely aware of that. I have no control over what other people say, do, or think; I can only control my own behavior.
It's what I tell my kids all the time. And there is no justification for racism, period.

cameragirl21 replied: I agree, Jeanne, and I didn't say that all muslims are terrorists, not even close. I do think, however, that they shouldn't be surprised when airlines and some people are suspicious of them. No one wants to die at that hands of a terrorist and in all fairness, I think if they publicly, en masse, spoke out against terror people would be a lot less suspicious. Too many are eager to blame the US for supporting Israel or for supporting the perverse monarchy in saudi arabia, which is an affront to Saudis like bin laden who want to see a taliban style state there. Not to mention, bin laden hates that our troops are there.
The thing is, a few bad apples do tend to spoil the bunch and while we all have to remain open minded and not assume anything about anyone, we also can't be surprised when suspicion arises about certain people following the actions of some bad apples.
I certainly don't think what happened was worth anywhere near 240k, nor do I think it's going to stop airlines from engaging in anything that they consider necessary for the safety of their crew and passengers. Do I think there was any reason for them to make him cover his shirt? Of course not but I also don't think he was mistreated to the tune of 240k. A rape victim wouldn't get that much if she sued her rapist and he was rich...just to put things into perspective.

redchief replied: If I walked into the Baghdad airport sporting a t-shirt that read, "Radical Islam must pay for the atrocities of 9/11," what do you reckon would be my chances of making it through the concourse alive, let alone to my airplane seat?

CantWait replied:
So based on this then,

are all Germans bad now because of the Holacost?
are all White people bad because Black slavery?

We could keep going with racial sterotyping, but where would that get us? We'd be constantly discriminating against everyone.

BAC'sMom replied:
Great point Marie

I guess since I have German decent in me and I am white. I guess I am responsible for both.

PrairieMom replied:
this is true, and I agree with you, however, this was a recent occurrence. the wounds are still fresh, and people are still scared. I can't blame the airlines for being cautious. I do think it was in poor taste for that guy to wear that shirt tho. He should have known when he was putting it on that it could cause an issue.

Also, you have to consider how other generations look at different countries. for example, I have nothing against the Japanese, BUT, my Grandpa, who fought in WW 2, who saw his friends killed does still to this day. Its all a matter of your personal experience.

TheOaf66 replied: He had no right to sue simply for the fact he knew what he was doing. He was intentionally putting himself in that situation and knew there would more than likely be flack from it. A lot of the problems could be avoided if people would stop provoking the issues and not rock the boat.

It goes all ways

1. White guy in a business goes into Harlem...think he won't get looks...sure he
but he also shouldn't be wearing a sign that says "My ancestors were slave
owners"


2. Black guy goes into "small town midwest"...think he won't draw some looks of
course he will but he should not wear a shirt that says "Whitey is the devil" or
"White people are opressive Uncle Toms"


There is going to be tension when you introduce an uncommon element into an environment. But when that uncommon element provokes the environment it is just as much its fault for an incident as the environments.

cameragirl21 replied:
Exactly right. I'm sure after ww2, Germans were the most hated people on Earth and many Russians to this day despise them...there are ww2 victory memorials all over Russia.
As for whites and slavery, I'm sure in the slavery days or shortly thereafter every white was seen as a threat to blacks.
You can't compare villains of the past to today, especially when al quaedas number 2 man just blamed Obama for the recent escalation in the middle east I'm just wondering how in anyone's right mind one can blame Obama for that...?

PrairieMom replied:
Because they know that under Bush Israel would have our support but none is sure what will happen when Obama takes office?

DVFlyer replied: I agree he should have sued- even though I think he knew what he was doing would cause waves - but how you come up with a $240,000 settlement for having to cover up your shirt is beyond me.

cameragirl21 replied:
I agree. In this economy, I bet that will prompt a number of people to seriously entertain boarding airplanes and other commercial transport systems wearing provocative clothing or worse, just to make a buck.

jcc64 replied: Why do people bring lawsuits? Is it to make a buck or is it to make a point? After all is said and done with the lawyers, do you expect him to walk away with much anyway? Jen, you mentioned that you accept the fact that you are routinely searched b/c you look Middle Eastern. Not everyone's as sanguine about being subjected to racial stereotypes or harassment, and I don't think they should be. Only when we stand up and demand better treatment will we get it, and regarding the 240K, sad to say that in the business world, money is the only way to teach a lesson.
And Ed, we don't live in Baghdad, we live here, so what goes on there is of little consequence to how we should be conducting ourselves in an ostensibly free country with a bill of rights guaranteeing the right to free speech.
Tara, you're right about people holding onto old hatreds. My dh is Korean, and when we leave our multicultural community and visit other parts of the country, we are routinely subjected to the sorts of prejudices your grandfather harbors, and the irony is, dh isn't even Japanese. It sucks, dh takes it in stride, but I don't like hearing my kid called a chink or a gook, regardless of what happened sixty years ago.

PrairieMom replied:
I totally get you. And that's why I teach my children differently. And, with the life experience I have had, I will still teach my children tolerance. I hope I never hear a racial slur come out of my child's mouth. I just think it is important to understand where people are coming from on both sides of the fence.

And really, who calls children that?! the thought is appalling.

cameragirl21 replied: Jeanne, how do you want to solve the problem? I don't want racial stereotypes but I also don't want to die at the hands of a terrorist. And if we don't properly screen people who come from backgrounds where terror is most rampant, how can we be sure we are taking all the proper precautions?
He shouldn't have worn that shirt and he knew it, he's no different than if a kkk idiot were to walk into Harlem and demand his right of free speech.
I don't think this sets a good precedent and I think as long as people like him provoke on purpose there is going to be more hatred and distrust.
As for someone mistreating your kids, well, that is just idiotic. I don't think you can compare hatred for the Japanese for what they did in ww2 to what is happening in the world today. There is just no comparison.
you know there is a joke about this btw, it goes like this:
A plane is being flown by 2 pilots, one a Jew, the other Chinese and their conversation goes like this:
The Jew says, "I don't like the Chinese."
The Chinese says, "why not?"
The Jew says, "because of what they did to Pearl Harbor."
And the Chinese says, "That wasn't the Chinese, it was the Japanese."
And the Jew replies, "Chinese, Japanese, same thing."
After a pause, the Chinese says, "I don't like Jews."
And the Jew says, "why not?"
To which the Chinese replies, "because they sunk the Titanic."
And the Jew says, "That wasn't the Jews, it was an iceberg."
And the Chinese replies, "Goldberg, Spielberg, iceberg, same thing."

DVFlyer replied: Not sure if others in this thread are up for a laugh, but that was funny to me.

DVFlyer replied:
Generally speaking, people who read about these types of stories will not change their ways. i.e. You are either the type to wear a shirt that says "we will not be silenced" or you aren't.

Of course there will be exactly 3.445322 people who WILL do something like that after hearing the story, but, in general, it just doesn't happen. How many people spilled McDonald's coffee on their laps after that lady one her award? Seemed like easy money, didn't it?

jcc64 replied: My kids are taunted pretty frequently in areas where there aren't a lot of minorities, and mainly during sporting events. My boys both play very competitive travel baseball, for which we've traveled all over the country. Those are the occasions when my kids have been subjected to racists taunts, and it's not uncommon, believe it or not. I've taught them to let it roll off of their backs as much as possible, but it still infuriates me inside.
I don't think we can solve the terrorism problem by racial profiling, tbh. I think there will always be crazy zealots intent upon killing in the name of religion, and no amount of airport security is going to completely eradicate that. I think one solution is to stop disenfranchising entire ethnic groups based on the behavior of a small destructive minority. Another is to examine the consequences of our own foreign policy in the Middle East over the last several years. But capitulating to racist fears in the name of "security" is not a viable solution and is imo part of the problem it's designed to solve.
That was a pretty funny joke, Jen.