Dumped airline passenger fights for right to call Bush a terrorist

[Kadie]

Dumped airline passenger fights for right to call Bush a terrorist
5 minutes ago


SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian man barred from an international flight for wearing a T-shirt depicting US President George W. Bush as a terrorist has said he would fight the airline's ruling.

Allen Jasson, a 55-year-old IT specialist, was turned away from a Qantas flight from Melbourne to London after refusing to remove the shirt, which carries an image of Bush and the words "World's Number One Terrorist".

Jasson said the airline had denied him freedom of speech and he was taking legal advice on challenging its policy and recovering costs involved in missing his flight.

"To be fair to Qantas, they have said I can take another flight if I don't wear the t-shirt but I am not prepared to go without the t-shirt," he said.

"I might forfeit the fare (about 2,000 US dollars) but I have made up my mind that I would rather stand up for the principle of free speech."

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070122/od_afp/australiausairlinebushoffbeat_070122033853

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Good for him!

This t-shirt dress code stuff is getting ridiculous.

[marmar]

2. What is with all this Gestapo airline bullshit?

Denied boarding because of a political T-Shirt? Am I going to get dragged off a plane for reading "The Nation" on board?

[intheflow]

21. It's like they think calling * a terrorist makes someone a terrorist.

Just their own paranoia reflecting back on them.

[Mind_your_head]

3. *smile* ......thank you Mr. Jasson for your stance.

"ah, the power of free speech"....the whole world stands still/stands up because of a few words on a tee-shirt"

That's why free speech is so important. The powers that 'be' (or don't be) are afraid of it and the ENORMOUS power it wields!

Again, Thank you Mr. Jasson.....for your genuine/courageous stand.

Peace,
M_Y_H

[EFerrari]

4. Allen, thank you. Go get those facist bastards.

[originalpckelly]

5. Why does Qantus care?

I mean, really, who does it hurt for him to wear the shirt? It's a private company, so yes, technically they may deny him service, but I think this may cross a very bright line. Would a landlord be able to deny a tenant housing simply because of his/hers political views? Why should an airline, which is an essential service for those traveling, be able to do it?

This may prove to be an interesting case.

[KurtNYC]

19. I think Quantas would say they were concerned about the word "Terrorist"

They might say that many of their customers are already concerned about terrorism when they fly and having one customer put the word "terrorist" in front of other customers' faces would create more discomfort for them.

I don't think Quantas (or other airlines) would react differently if the guy's shirt had said "bin Laden - World's #1 Terrorist" In other words, I don't think Quantas is taking a position on Bush but rather on lowering the anxiety of their customers. This will be bounced out of Australian courts faster than a roo in the Pedirka.

[liam_laddie]

28. Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (Ltd.)

As an aside, the origin of "Qantas." We airliner geeks like to point out such trivia; it's one of only 10-20 English words w/o a "u" following a "q." Oh, well...g'day! :eyes:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

31. Thanks!

It's an acronym. I didn't know that. I wondered why they had no U after the Q.
I remember the cute commercials with the koala bears.

[Wrinkle_In_Time]

6. An Australian man, with an Australian airline flight from Australia to England...

...gets denied boarding because he is wearing a t-shirt that says something critical of a U.S. President?

:eyes:

Remind me not to say something critical about the Grand Duke of Luxembourg while boarding an Air Canada flight in Toronto en route to France.

To Mr. Jasson: good on ya, cobber!

[truedelphi]

7. Airlines always take all your rights away

For the last decade or more, airolines don't evenoffer thier customer sbreathing air.

FOr whatever rteason, they recycle the air in the cabins, so everyone gets colds and flu even if only travelling for an hour or so.

It is especially dangerous for those of us who have asthma. I have had two asthma attacks on borad, In the first ase the flight crew handled me correctly and helped me find an area of the plane where there were fewer people and thus more osxyegen.

But in the second case, I was treated like a terroist. (This was way backin 1999)

Why didn't I want to stay seated? They asked me repeatedly.(Not having air makes all mammals agitated.)

ANyway I hope the QUantas customer keeps up his stance and holds them accoutable to his inalienable free speech rights.

Just because we occassionally need to travel should not mean we are only cargo.

[oscarmitre]

15. Unfortunately

we aren't deemed to have an inalienable right to free speech in Australia. Our High Court has instead found that there is an inferred right of free speech.

But good for him. Qantas can kiss my arse, I won't fly with the bastards.

[brer cat]

8. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

The alien t-shirt wearers are going to take over the world and ban kool-aid.

[Fridays Child]

9. k/r

[magellan]

10. The Qantas rationale is BS

A Qantas spokesman said: "Whether made verbally or on a T-shirt, comments with the potential to offend other customers or threaten the security of a Qantas group aircraft will not be tolerated".

Could they possibly be less specific? Virtually anything someone says or (more often) wears on a t-shirt could be construed as offensive by someone.

Regulating free speech is the ultimate slippery slope. Qantas went too far.

[DBoon]

11. if they kicked off every passenger who might offend someone

most planes would fly near empty.

A T-shirt I don't care about. Now if they would kick off all the life insurance salesmen who try to pitch you during your flight, I might agree.

[WinkyDink]

18. Loud snorers, too!

[northofdenali]

14. I recommend that future Qantas fliers

of a liberal/Dem bent get really, really vocal about being offended by Christian Right t-shirts. Dude next to you has a "Jesus Saves" shirt on? It offends you badly, and you want your ticket money refunded immediately because the airline allowed him to wear it on board.

Bet the managament would back off really fast.

[NYC Liberal]

23. I wonder if a PRO-Bush shirt would get him kicked off then?

According to them, it's about having "comments with the potential to offend other customers."

So I will bet, these days, that a shirt showing support for King George might just offend a good number of people.

[ktlyon]

25. I once had to ride on a plane with George Stephenopolis

I was truly offended, just glad he was in first class where I didn't have to see him any more. :bounce:

[Aviation Pro]

12. Although several magnitudes lower on the scale of personal danger....

...this action by Jasson reminds me of this:

[hlthe2b]

13. wish we could arrange for an entire flight to show up wearing...

these shirts...What are they going to do, cancel the entire flight? :eyes:

[B Calm]

16. New World Order

[Kadie]

17. Here is a new Yahoo link if you want to rate it...

Qantas boots man for wearing Bush shirt
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070122/ap_on_fe_st/t_shirt_furor_1

[TZ]

20. in Australia?

Kind of funny that crap happened there. I know several Aussie's who are very proud of the fact that their culture is a very direct even to the point of being rude. My former boss, Australian and proud of it, once told me that his suggestions for changes weren't going over well because he was an "arrogant, egotistical, self-centered bastard" according to others. He was very amused by this. When I expressed shock at the idea of being told that to his face, he proudly crowed" I'm Australian. We all do that!" So this is very odd. Must be an import from our freedom loving country. :-)

[NoAmericanTaliban]

22. Reminds of when someone was kicked off a plane for a Meet-the-fuckers

t-shirt - which depicted images bush, cheney, & rice - fucking up the world for 4 more years.

Believe it was United Airlines - last summer. Because of that incident I bought a couple of those shirts - & gave one to a cousin who wears it proudly.

This story also reminds of a t-shirt incident in upstate NY - when someone was thrown out of the mall for wearing a shirt that had something like peace on earth on it. This was around the beginning of the Iraq war. The guy turned out to be a lawyer and ended up on some talk shows - including Bill O'Lielly - who actually agreed with him.

There are a lot of forms of censorship about and one must always be aware of them. A women in Atlanta was given a ticket for having an anti-Bush bumber sticker. They dropped the charges but she is sueing.

[Wizard777]

24. This is nothing. They are setting up a terrorism hotline.

Now you have more reason than ever before to keep your dog from shiting in your neighbors yard. Soon they will be able to pick up the phone and report you or your kids to a terrorism hotline for your radical ideology. I can hear it already. They have Impeach Bush bumper stickers on thier cars. What more proof do you need they are terrorists? Uh huh. Uh huh. With Bush track record on prosecuting domestic terror suspects. That's more than enough to get you a on eway ticket to Gitmo if your lucky. if not you'll end up in Syria being tortured. Apparently Reagan didn't defeat the USSR. He surrendered to them.

[Maraya1969]

26. Some people just can't handle the truth.

[Joe Chi Minh]

27. It takes an Aussie! Mad so-and-sos, every one. Or is it perhaps that the

rest of the world is mad?

[Mrspeeker]

29. YAY

Fight for your rights

[Senator]

30. kick