andrewducker | You and me. We're in this together.

You and me. We're in this together.

John Gilmore: I was ejected from a plane for wearing "Suspected Terrorist" button.

I'm glad that someone has the moral pigheadedness to stand up for themselves. Because I suspect that I wouldn't.

Threaded | Flat

Link doesn't seem to be working....

I don't suppose John plans to sit in a few movie theatres, practicing his free spe(a)ch by shouting "Fire!" on occasion. >_>

Wow what alot of moaning! And 'they called it a "badge"', well damn, and on a British plane too, it was a badge, and presumably airlines are entitled to as much if not more right to refuse admission as a pub.

I posted a longer response in my livejournal (http://www.livejournal.com/users/yonmei/119490.html), but the short version is:

What a dickhead.

Well, now that I've caught up with all this, I have to say that although

yonmei expresses himself rather strongly, I agree with his sentiment.

What this guy did wasn't big, and wasn't clever. Free speech doesn't, never has, and never will give people the right to say whatever they want whenever they want. I can't stand in the street at midnight, and shout insults at my neighbours at the top of my voice. Free speech isn't about being able to act like a moron. It's about being able to express your uncensored views in an approriate forum. A serial rapist has the right to discuss his belief that all women are there for him to sexually pleasure himself - he doesn't have the right to do this in a room full of rape victims. I realise, as usual, I'm being extreme here - but see the point. There's a time and a place.

If this guy has a grievance with the U.S. government's policy, then he should take it up with them. He should decorate his home, his car, and his person, with whatever political statements he'd like to make - that's his right. However, BA did nothing wrong. Effectively, they said "we have a duty to protect our crew and our passengers, and to save any confusion, if you wish to travel with us, we request that you don't wear an inflammatory badge." Because, and let's be honest here, that's what it is.

He had plenty of choices - remove it, don't travel with BA, don't travel at all. Fact is, nobody has the right to do whatever they want wherever they want. He can do what he likes in his own house. BA reserve the right, and I fully support them, to enforce their own rules on thier planes. Just as pubs in the UK ban football shirts for fear of violence, I think BA were right to take precautionary steps. What if there had been a hard-line nutcase on the plane, who thought this guy was dangerous? Or worse, a relative of a victim of 9/11, who wouldn't see the funny side of what is, let's face it, a rather serious issue. This guy showed zero concern, and rather a lot of contempt, for his fellow passengers. Even if it had just started an argument between passengers with strong feelings, that could have been very serious on a passenger flight.

Bottom line - if he wants to make a policital statement, he should choose a more appropriate venue. Personally, I think he's using BA for personal exposure, and exacerbated events to get as much effect out of them as he can. Which, if it's the best he can do, doesn't make him worth anything more than the government's own spin.

I wrote a long post. But I think, given the biting unpleasantness of some of these comments I won't post it.

We don't live in a free society.

It's foolish to think that we do, or act as if we do.

And the person who was right was the captain. Kicking someone off a flight for being in an ethnic group you're worried about -is- wrong.

The air crew weren't wrong in this situation.

And the writer contradicts himself within the article. That says a lot.

How is this meaningfully different from yelling "Fire!" (OK, "Suspected fire!") in a crowded theater, the archetypical example of disallowed speech?

And in any case, isn't that plane the private property of the airline? (Yes, I know that airlines are heavily-regulated, bailed out by tax dollars, etc.) If a restaurant, theater or pub can eject a patron for disturbing other customers with their "free speech", why can't an airplane?

Oh, I would. I am good at morally pigheaded (comes of lots of practice at pigheaded!)

Threaded | Flat

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

on the other hand ...

no subject