T-shirts like this are popular for a good reason...I can't believe that this could happen in Australia.
An Australian who lives in Britain has threatened legal action against Qantas for barring him from a Melbourne-to-London flight wearing a T-shirt depicting US President George Bush as a terrorist.
Allen Jasson today said he was defending freedom of speech through his insistence on wearing the T-shirt.
Mr Jasson, 55, an IT specialist living in London, is staying with his daughter in Melbourne after he was refused entry to the flight to London at Melbourne Airport on Friday.
Airline staff argued the T-shirt, which bears an image of the US President with the slogan "World's number 1 terrorist", was a security risk or an item likely to upset passengers.
A security risk? Likely to upset passengers? Bullshit. Most of the world despises George Bush. It's not like Mr Jasson was flying to the US, and besides that, the sort of person who the t-shirt is likely to offend would probably be offended if he didn't read the right newspaper or watched BBC instead of FOX. Idiots like that deserve to be offended.
I bet if someone had boarded the flight with a t-shirt proclaiming "George Bush: Greatest guy ever!" Qantass wouldn't have even blinked. Mind you, I don't think people who despise George Bush would necessarily be offended by such a t-shirt, they'd just assume that the wearer was a redneck moron. But because redneck morons have a greater propensity to throw tanties when someone insults their hero, Qantass feels compelled to act on their behalf.
Virgin Blue apparently also prevented Mr Jasson from taking a domestic flight while wearing the shirt. Shame on them. They're a better airline than Qantass, but their actions in this case are just as reprehensible.
4 comments:
Yet another Attempt by the academic mafia to Enforce their world view on others. Face facts, he's a terrorist. Terrorism can be verbal, just like how I fight the war on Terror by defeating the islamofascist left on the internet.
I guess it's the same logic as 'you can't say bomb on a plane'.
ie dude cruises around in shirt with the word 'terrorist' makes people uncomfortable. Now combine that with a fear of flying...
If it had been Bush with "International Dickhead" I bet they would have let it past.
There's no rule about not being able to use the word 'terrorist' on a plane. There's so many things that other people might get uncomfortable about that you can't really take them all into account or people would have to board the plane naked. Wait... that might make people uncomfortable. Perhaps everyone should wear a burka, that way they can't get uncomfortable if someone looks at them funny because they won't be able to see through the person's eye-mesh... Of course, then there'd be a problem with people who feel 'uncomfortable' around muslims- they might look in the mirror while visiting the tiny onboard toilet and think they're trapped in a room with a terrorist! Imagine the chaos!
I think the guy should probably try wearing a shirt with an identical picture of Bush and 'International Dickhead' printed on it... it would be interesting to see if it passed muster.
I agree. It's a complete over reaction. But it's not the airlines being pro bush. It's the airlines being pro reducing idiots from panicking.
My favourite all time panic story was in October 2001 when a plane landed because a passenger got hysterical over the white powder ... on her bun.
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