British Expatriate Network

Following on from the excellant thread about *banning the flag * another test of fredom of speech PC item here ..

This is a little differant thou .
A Airline is private property they can make what rules thay want ..(provided theyare lawfull ) what say you ???? .



Woman kicked off flight in Reno over offensive shirt

A Washington woman's flight home was stopped short in Reno, all because the message on the T-shirt she was wearing.

32-year-old Lorrie Heasley claims it's a freedom of speech privilege, but airline officials say it was about passenger comfort.

Heasley, "There are bigger problems in the country, I can't believe people can be so petty."

Heasley boarded her flight Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, headed for Portland, Oregon with a stopover in Reno. But when Southwest Airlines employees asked her to cover her shirt, her stop over became a stop off her flight.

"I was told that basically that I had to cover my shirt, or I was told if I cover the shirt I can basically stay on the plane."

So she covered the shirt, but during a nap while passengers were boarding in Reno the cover came off. And Southwest employees insisted, change the shirt, or change flights. "I didn't feel that I should have to change my shirt, because we live in the United States, and it's freedom of speech and it was based on the move "The Fockers", and I didn't think it should have offended anyone."

But it did.

The shirt had pictures of members of the Bush Administration, and a phrase based on the movie "Meet the Fockers," but with one crucial vowel changed.

It was enough to cause complaints from other passengers and it's a problem the airline has had to deal with before.

Beth Harbin, Southwest Airlines, "We do get it occasionally. What someone is wearing, what someone is reading, what someone might be saying and it's very much a judgment call. But when other customers become concerned we do have to become involved in that and see what we can do to make everyone as comfortable as we can."

Heasley says she wore the T-shirt as a gag, and wanted her parents, both Democrats, to see it when they picked her up at the airport.

Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Marilee McInnis says the shirt became an issue after several passengers complained as they boarded.

McInnis says Southwest rules allow the airline to deny boarding to any passenger whose clothing is offensive. But American Civil Liberties Union officials say Heasley's T-shirt is "protected" political speech under the Constitution.

And while Southwest may have kept the peace on it's afternoon hop to Portland, a woman, not afraid to use her freedom of speech will now be using her freedom of choice.

"I most likely wont be flying Southwest Airlines again after this."

Southwest Airlines told Heasley she could take a different flight home if she changed her shirt. She refused and opted to rent a car and drive home.

Heasley says she plans to press a civil-rights complaint against the airline over Tuesday's action at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
A

Who stares at anyone long enough on a plane to read and be offended by their clothing?

Isn't that a whole other problem going on there?

Call the airline a waaaambulance. As long as I'm not naked, does it matter how I'm dressed? Not like she wore a shirt that said "I Love Osama" or something equally stupid.

I'm not offended by anyones clothing.

I am often surprised though.

Sheesh. Yes it's the airline's right. But did they make it clear on the contract she entered with them (i.e. the conditions of the ticket)?

Bloody idiotic. Because they made a big deal out of it, more people noticed it I'm sure.

I find America West airlines offensive but that's just in general and not based upon the uniforms any of their staff wear.

yep, they are within their rights to refuse service, just as any company/store in the US is. As for the t-shirt, yes its offensive, would I do anything about asing the person to change it ? no, I would just question their clothing judgement.

In some ways it is hard to blame the crew. The crew on the plane have to weigh up the problems of several people complaining and it becoming out of hand. Whether the crew agreed or not, it would take a strong character to turn around to the complainers and tell them to 'get over it' or 'just do not look' or maybe 'It is called freedom of speech sir, I believe you will find the details within our constitution'

The issue I have is with the people who complained. How can people get so upset about things like this and then actually go out of your way to complain. I suspect some were Bush supporters who wanted her to feel pain. I am always amazed at how often I hear people state that there were offended by something.

On another issue.. you ever looked at a woman's tee-shirt to read what it says (honestly) only to get a vicious stare back for supposedly staring at her breasts? I saw a tee-shirt recently that would have needed for me to hold the bottom of her tee-shirt and stretch it outwards for me to read.. I decided against doing so..

This is business.
This is private property.
Freedom of speech doesn't apply here.

Many of the posts ahead of this one, imply that anything goes. Does that mean that each of you would never draw the line on something you found objectionable?

If you had a business, how many customers would you turn away to protect one customer's right to be objectionable to them?

Would you ask the woman to leave if she came into your childs 2nd grade class, dressed that way?

As soon as you find that you would draw a line somewhere, you establish everyone else's right to draw a line of their choise

It wouldn't have been hard for her to pop a sweater on instead of whingeing about freedom of speech.

I feel sorry for her parents who I'm sure would have been less than overjoyed to see her at the airport with Meet The Fuckers on her shirt.

Not necessarily M, it's not as cut and dried as that.

Once Southwest accepted her onto the plane at LAX they had interpreted that the lady was acceptable to board under the rules of carriage, To kick her off at Reno and prevent her from continuing her journey was a breach in the rules of carriage that Southwest had already accepted.


Secondly airports and airplanes are still governed by the FAA, and no matter "whose" property they are in at the time, FAA Airspace is still under federal jurisdiction, and Southwest cannot overide the US Constitution.

Was she tacky and stupid, yes. But I will defend her right to be tacky and stupid.

Yes, you're right, once she's been allowed to start her journey, she should be allowed to complete it.

I disagree about Southwest not being able apply censorship rules. As you often cite, you are not allowed to shout "fire" in a crowded theater.

That said, if the crew had so much of an issue, how come they didn't manage to accidentally cover the offending item with ketchup? :roll:

lol This is all a load of BS. How many US people said they would not go to the UK because of the FCUK Tshirts last year. They made me laugh, was thinking about buying a loud and giving a pressies last year, but the fact they cost so much put me off lol.
I have a Dive T shirt that says the Deeper You Go the Better it feels. Everyone says "now thats riskie". I ask why? They say it has sexual overtunes. Said , to your mind maybe but then you would be wrong and showing your ignorance and your observational skills are lacking.

There are 2 divers clearly showing on this Shirt and its a scientific fact that as you dive using oxygen you get more nitrogen buildup in the blood and therefore it makes you feel a little drunk. Is called nitrogen narcoses or the fun name rapture of the deep.

lol

Goose, I don't know if you are fooling yourself but you're not fooling me. You wouldn't wear the shirt if it wasn't for the double meaning, there wouldn't be any point; you only wear it to get that reaction so you can mouth off about it.

You remind me of the women who wear the shortest skirts and the lowest neck lines and then complain that the men look at them.