mikeef

Question:

Blonde hair, blue eyes. Does this guy have the same trouble?

Mike

spd476

I was going to ask the same question. I think he would not have had the same problems.

pnoeric

Sadly, I would bet he wouldn't. Wasn't there a story about some Muslims who were held back for no reason last year (ironically, they were flying to a seminar on how to travel in a way that made other passengers comfortable, or something like that)? Does this ring a bell?

wildcatlh

Not a chance.

flyerUSA

there is a longstanding known, and in many places, WRITTEN, rule, about security-related jokes in airports. everybody knows the TSA is incompetent. everybody who travels frequently knows how absurd the rules are. and there are places, in life, to protest, to exercise your 1st amendment rights, to let everyone in power know just how you feel.

but if you actually care about getting from place A to place B, on time, you are a fool to also simultaneously make a stink in the airport about a t-shirt.

i'm sure people may disagree, on principle, but there's a choice you have to make here - principle or pragmatism. yes, our freedoms and rights are important, and so is getting home on the flight of my choice. with the tight timings and uptight travel workforce, you just can't do both in the same day.

i might have a different view if there was ANY chance this guy's t-shirt would actually change someone's mind, change a policy, make any difference whatsoever. instead, it sounds like he simply exacerbated the problem that he complains about - making ignorant strangers on the plane ever more uncomfortable. those other people on the plane will likely not understand his message and find even MORE things to be fearful of, thus counterproductively reinforcing the foundations of our silly security m.o. that he despises.

TheRoadie

You Ever Pick Your Feet In Poughkeepsie? I would guess it was a lame OZ-BDO tactic.

ND Sol

But as a "common carrier", the standard for denial of service is higher. So although DL may remove the passenger, the reason for doing so can't be capricious. If it is, then the passenger has a cause of action against DL.

RadioGirl

Thanks, and I suspect you're right about the second sentence; not quite as quickly but in the same direction.

Wow.

As Darkumbra said, there's a lot of concern over quarantine, more than anywhere else I've traveled. But even so your experience is extreme.

I arrive at Sydney int'l 4 or 5 times a year, and while waiting at baggage claim usually just get a request to let the cute beagle sniff my bag, or a few questions to save me going through the main customs queue. ("Can I see your form? What kind of food? Chocolate from where? Okay, that's fine; when you get your bags you can use that door over there to exit." or occasionally "Can I see your form? What kind of engineer?") The attitude ranges from just-doin'-a-job neutral to polite to downright friendly.

Perhaps there was some particular concern about fishing based the origin of your flight and/or time of year and/or a big fishing competition or something? Beats me.

halls120

We ensure that our freedoms are maintained through our steadfast application of principle. We surrender those freedoms to the government when we place pragmatism before principle.

janetdoe

The thing that really scares me about this thread is that the overwhelming reaction of the DL forum denizens was that someone expressing political speech deserved to be kicked off a common carrier. I think America is in much greater danger than I recognized before reading this thread.

Even worse, I assume these are at least somewhat frequent flyers. I would like to think they would have some antipathy towards TSA and security theater, if not natural sympathy for someone protesting the excesses of the TSA. Clearly that is not the case.

And I have to give kudos to the TSA for eventually coming to the right decision (twice) to allow this man to fly. Looks like someone in BUF understands the First Amendment. ^

Any chance you were wearing one of these shirts? Because they SCREAM fisherman. Dad wears them all the time, and when he travels to Mexico, he is constantly targeted by touts trying to sell him a fishing trip. Ironically, he is serious enough about fishing that he arranged multiple days of fishing charters months ahead of time.

halls120

Sadly, you couldn't be more correct. The large number of people who are mindlessly willing to sacrifice their rights in the vain search for more security are a bigger threat to our country than the terrorists they fear.

GUWonder

Indeed. And it is that terrorized AFS (anything for security) crowd which has been so extensively defeated by terrorism such that this terrorized AFS crowd demonstrates their own self-defeat by still helping terrorists -- even long-dead terrorists -- sow and/or feed on terror. No surprise they (and those increasingly on the airline industry's corporate and partner leashes) try to rationalize why this harmless shirt shouldn't be worn (at airports, on planes and/or who knows where else) -- surrender monkeys, the lot of them.

This incident at BUF is an example of what happens when people are defeated by terrorists: they behave in the manner indicated by the harmless shirt worn by the Indian-American who was hassled there a few days ago.

golfguy714

You are correct that Delta is not the gov't but I would lime to have the opportunity to challenge a couple of things in their COC. While not an attorney, in cases like this if you file a lawsuit, you get anyone and everyone possibly involved. The individual cops, the department, the blue shirted perverts and the DHS, the flight crew and Delta. Let the judge sort it out.

jtodd

Absolutely. The AFS appear to have no bounds for the right's and dignity they will surrender due to their fear.

mulieri

To the Delta apologists out there: what a sad bunch of conformists you are!

Shame to Delta. The pax did nothing wrong.

A higher amount of shame to the police. Even when the halfwits at Delta cried foul, the police should be at least slightly educated about the law.

The pilot should have his diaper changed and relieved of duty immediately.