Originally Posted by
ORDflyer
There is no First amendment right to say what one wants to say without being called names or otherwise being criticized for what was said.
Exactly - so many people miss this part.
The First Amendment gives you a right to be an a-hole. It also gives me the right to call you an a-hole.
On a mailing list I run this comes up often. People complain when criticized for saying something stupid. They complain that they can say what they want - and they can. But folks get to say what they want in response.
So if one of the other passengers had told the OP to shut the F up then that would have been totally cool. The FA could have said it as well and while it's against policy it wouldn't have been illegal.