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Freedom of expression short of threats to safety and violence trump the "right" to feel secure.
It warrants $240,000 if Jet Blue thinks this a fair amount to make a finding of fault go away. Jet Blue either has no chance to win, or gave up.
WTF is this world coming to? This dude gets near a quarter million dollars because the airline made him cover his t-shirt and sit at the rear of the plane.
Does this really warrant $240,000?
http://industry.bnet.com/travel/1000...shirt-lawsuit/
JetBlue Airways and two U.S. Transportation Security Administration officials paid $240,000 to settle a lawsuit that charged the two groups barred a man from a flight until he covered his T-shirt with an Arabic phrase.
The money was paid Friday to Raed Jarrar, a 30-year-old Iraqi-born U.S. resident who lives in Washington, D.C. and is married to an American citizen. Jarrar alleged that he was prevented from boarding an August 2006 flight to Oakland, Calif. because he was wearing a T-shirt that said, “We Will Not Be Silent” in both English and Arabic. He said he wasn’t allowed to board until he covered the shirt and was seated at the rear of the plane. “I proved my point. And now I think it’s pretty clear what they did to me was very wrong and should not be repeated with anyone,” Jarrar told the Washington Post. Jarrar was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Representatives for JetBlue and the two TSA employees named in the suit, denied any wrongdoing and said they settled because of legal costs. “JetBlue continues to deny, outright, every critical aspect of Mr. Jarrar’s version of events,” airline spokeswoman Alison Croyle said in an e-mailed statement.
Discrimination suits are rare because pilots have so much la ude in choosing who does or doesn’t board the plane, civil rights attorneys said, and it’s difficult to prove discrimination if customers are offered other flights.
The settlement came as AirTran Airways publicly apologized to nine Muslim American passengers removed from a New Year’s Day flight out of Reagan Washington National Airport, and who threatened a lawsuit. The family was removed after a couple of family members began talking about the safest place to sit on the plane which allegedly disturbed other passengers.
The two cases, at least to me, show that there are limits to pilots’ la ude, especially when it appears to be based on discrimination or prejudice. Perhaps a pilot decides it best to have a family removed, or a T-shirt allegedly covered, to keep the majority of his or her passengers calm. But when does that stop becoming a safety concern and becomes more about prejudice and xenophobia? It’s the pilot’s and crew’s duty to be sensitive to different cultures, even if it means discounting other passengers’ outdated beliefs. Perhaps now, with allegations of discrimination showing how costly that behavior can be for airlines, that may happen.
Freedom of expression short of threats to safety and violence trump the "right" to feel secure.
It warrants $240,000 if Jet Blue thinks this a fair amount to make a finding of fault go away. Jet Blue either has no chance to win, or gave up.
You weren't on the jury and don't know all the facts. Your response is simply knee-jerk. Please go into the facts in more depth, then write up a detailed report of the pros & cons, then we might be interested in your complaints.
Yes. So other racist companies know not to do the same.
In fact, I think he should get substantially more. And free air travel for life.
And... why doesn't it surprise me this was Jet Blue? ing mormon airline.
Beautiful post.
I'm just amused that an Iraqi, living in America, after Saddam is no more, decides he has the balls to wear a shirt saying "We will not be silent".
dammit, i shoulda thought of that.
Didn't Jet Blue once make a man sit in a toilet for an entire flight?
You're missing the point. Its not about what the man gets, or why he got it. Its about making the airline pay for blatant ing discrimination. You think anything less than a few million dollars is going to teach a multi-million dollar company that freedom of speech is universal?? If anything Jet Blue got off easy. Plain and simple.
... he got ed!!! if he had been black he wouldve been awarded 240 MILLION!!!
For 240K, I would wear a t-shirt that said "I love Kobe" and would let a flight attendant take a dump on my chest.
My point was not that the airline wasn't at fault, just that the amount awarded was too high, IMO.
These are the kind of rulings that make people want to "slip and fall" at Wallmart and hire one of these local d-bag injury lawyers.
Don't be surprised if someone else copies this man just for financial gain.
By the way, someone in this thread stated that freedom of expression trumps the public's right to safety. I challenge you to walk into your local movie theater and scream "FIRE!".
EDIT> My bad. I see you did qualify that statement
The amount wasn't awarded, it was settled upon.What does that mean?
Iraqis should be silent?
I think people are jumping to conclusions about the meaning of the shirt, and that's what caused all this idiocy in the first place.
Not for Jet Blue. Good thing there was no determination of fault, or it could have been much more expensive for them.
I wouldn't be so surprised if this guy did it for the money. The motive doesn't matter IMO. We're talking 1st amendment. If companies don't want to pay off free speech chiselers, the solution is easy: don't pick on protected expression. Surely it's not so hard to discriminate between some jackass with a con uous t-shirt and an actual terrorist threat.
forget it
The government was involved in this case.
Any lawyer could see that.
That he is living in AMERICA and Sadam is dead...
NOW you have the balls to "not be silent"? Brave man. <---Sarcasm
Again, does anyone even know what the shirt means?
Ah, I thought you meant what did Snakeboy mean.
I have no idea wtf that shirt means
Last edited by Rockhound; 01-08-2009 at 11:03 AM.
C'mon doobs. Silence implies consent. Out with it already, you're the ace pleader around here.
It means that I find it amusing that Iraqi's living in the US, after Saddam is removed from power suddenly find the courage to be outspoken.
If that's the only way they can express their gra ude then yes.
http://thecriticalvoice.org/order/
They're protesting the "illegal" invasion of Iraq because they believe in freedom from oppression. Like I said, it's amusing.
Do you know anything about this man's story? I don't.
So you don't like freedom of speech. Understood.If that's the only way they can express their gra ude then yes.
We're the ones who are supposed to believe in it, but you don't. What does that make you?http://thecriticalvoice.org/order/
They're protesting the "illegal" invasion of Iraq because they believe in freedom from oppression. Like I said, it's amusing.
Well, this little fracas gave their cause more publicity than they ever could have generated by themselves. Congratulations to all of us.
Do you fairies think it is discrimination to search Arab looking people at Airports?
Some Americans are so worried about hurting others feelings that they remain ignorant on their own safety imo.
This isn't about screening. I'm sure they screened the out of him.
do you?
if that's how you feel, why limit searches to airports.Some Americans are so worried about hurting others feelings that they remain ignorant on their own safety imo.
How did you get to the conclusion that I don't believe in it? Do you believe the US is oppressing the Iraqi's?
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