(no subject)

[theweaselking]

Southwest Airlines considers wearing Bush-mocking clothing to be "lewd, obscene, or patently offensive" - throws woman off plane.

EDIT: Apparently, the "Meet the Fockers" T-shirt the news are reporting actually said "Meet the Fuckers", which makes the issue much less clear-cut.

Comments

[flemco.livejournal.com]

Just a little detail that the news outlets AREN'T reporting on this very well: The shirt had, as part of the design, the word "FUCKERS".

That Bush was on it, I think, had little to do with the story.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

They said it was "Meet the Fockers" - as in, a mockery of the movie poster, making the same stupid movie joke.

If they did, in fact, have "Meet The Fuckers", that's a little different. Still protected speech, but much closer to "patently offensive".

[corruptedjasper.livejournal.com]

Right, and FCUK shirts are just an abbreviation of something unrelated so should totally be all right.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Meet the Fockers. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290002/)

Set them up like the movie poster, and it's rude and stupid but hardley obscene.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

"A phrase similar to". Yeah, okay, you're right.

[unnamed525.livejournal.com]

I doubt that. While I'll grant that the use of "fuckers" definitely had a big part to do with it, I'd argue that it's use of the unholy trinity made things worse.
I mean, it's just a word people. Get a fucking grip.

[flemco.livejournal.com]

Would you feel the same if the shirt said "NIGGERS"?

[unnamed525.livejournal.com]

Why should I care? African-Americans use that term to refer to each other.

[vagabond27.livejournal.com]

Yeah, because if some of them do it, in a completely different tone, that should make it *totally* okay.

[flemco.livejournal.com]

Yeah! I use the term "FUCKERS" all the time in a gentle, ribbing manner, therefore anyone who finds said word offensive is merely being a poncy ninnyhammer!

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I'm perfectly okay with defining people offended by "FUCKERS" as poncing ninnyhammers. I realise, however, that "middle America" doesn't share this opinion of mine.

[unnamed525.livejournal.com]

I'm just arrogant enough to think that "middle America"'s opinion is wrong and mine is right.

[vagabond27.livejournal.com]

+1 use of "ninnyhammer"

Denver misses you, you bastard.

[unnamed525.livejournal.com]

Bill Cosby made an excellent point about it. He asked, basically, "When did it become acceptable to insult each other as a form of greeting?"

[vagabond27.livejournal.com]

I'm confused, did you just refute your own comment?

[flemco.livejournal.com]

You fucker!

[unnamed525.livejournal.com]

No, I didn't. If they're going to insult each other, I'm not going to care as much, if at all, if somebody else insults them.
I don't dislike racists because of the words they use. I dislike racists because they're fucking retards.

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

As John pointed out, the article does make clear that the shirt was offensive. The appropriate action on the airline's part would have been to ask her to either turn it inside out, or wear something to cover it for the remainder of the flight. Landing in mid-flight and ejecting her was totally unnecessary and uncalled for.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

The article also points out that they did ask her to cover it, and after the cover came off and they kept getting complaints they asked her to turn it inside out.

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

Looking over it again, yeah, I see where they chose to leave instead of wearing it inside out. I still think the airline had no grounds to object once they let her on the plane, but she could have avoided the situation easily enough as well.

[culfinriel.livejournal.com]

How come nobody suggested the other people not look at the shirt? I think a shirt that says fuck in whatever form is intended to be offensive but it's free speech. So don't listen. It's free speech as long as nobody complains about it? Besides, didn't the people complaining have anything better to do? If the most offensive thing somebody does in their life is wear a shirt that insults the president, I think civilization will endure. It's a good thing she wasn't in Florida. Somebody might have felt assaulted and shot her.

[flemco.livejournal.com]

Do you have to wear maxi pads taped to your chest all day?

Just curious.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

It's basic customer service. If one customer is pissing off 10 customers, you get rid of the one customer, no matter who is right.

[culfinriel.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Valid point. Mine was merely that this sort of thing has become so frequent that my reaction anymore is to think it's offensive and frankly often stupid and expend no more of my energy on it than that. And yes, I find her shirt offensive and there were many other ways this could have been resolved. I just don't go around complaining every time I don't like the way someone is dressed or the way someone talks.

[harald387.livejournal.com]

I look over the comments here, and I find myself wondering when it became not just acceptable, but something vigorously defended, for someone to walk around wearing offensive crap.

Does she have the right to wear the shirt? Sure, fine, yeah. She's got a right to. That doesn't mean it's a good idea. Or that it does anything but make her look like an idiot.

If you're going to walk around wearing something *patently offensive* to a *large portion of the population*, you have absolutely NO RIGHT to be surprised or angered when people are OFFENDED BY IT.

-K

[corruptedjasper.livejournal.com]

'Course not. But being offended by it and actually diverting to the nearest airport to throw you off the plane is clearly not the same category.