Would you want to fly on a plane with a man wearing an Arabic shirt saying this ?
240,000 dollars awarded to man forced to cover Arab T-shirt saying; "WE WILL NOT BE SILENT!" An airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic … NEW YORK (AFP) – An airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic script has been awarded 240,000 dollars in compensation, campaigners said Monday. Raed Jarrar received the pay out on Friday from two US Transportation Security Authority officials and from JetBlue Airways following the August 2006 incident at New York's JFK Airport, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced. "The outcome of this case is a victory for free speech and a blow to the discriminatory practice of racial profiling," said Aden Fine, a lawyer with ACLU. Jarrar, a US resident, was apprehended as he waited to board a JetBlue flight from New York to Oakland, California, and told to remove his shirt, which had written on it in Arabic: "We will not be silent." He was told other passengers felt uncomfortable because an Arabic-inscribed T-shirt in an airport was like "wearing a T-shirt at a bank stating, I am a robber,'" the ACLU said. Jarrar eventually agreed to cover his shirt with another provided by JetBlue. He was allowed aboard but his seat was changed from the front to the back of the aircraft. Last week, nine Muslims, including three children, were ordered off a domestic US flight after passengers heard what they believed were suspicious remarks about security. Although the passengers, eight of them US citizens, were cleared by the FBI, they were reportedly still barred from the AirTran flight. Security has been at a high level in US airports since the September 11, 2001 hijacked airliner attacks against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. However, rights groups and representatives of the Muslim community say the security measures have led to frequent discrimination and harassment. Maybe someone should wear a tee shirt on a plane saying I LOVE KILLING, or I MAKE BOMBS! would you fly then? it's free speech, but where does the line get drawn that you can't wear a tee shirt in a bank saying " this is a hold up"!
Air Travel - 7 Answers
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1 :
This man is after money, plain and simple. He knew what he was doing. Flying is stressful for everyone. And yes I know its techincally freedom of speech, but flying and security are areas where people have to use good judgement. What he doesnt realize is that he is continuing to make things worse for Arabs overseas though...
2 :
Another victory for the bleeding-heart, liberal pansies at ACLU!! Great, now more Americans will be forced to pay more for airline fees (to compensate for the payout) because the 'rights' of some douchebag were violated. Let's all practice our PC and hold hands while America goes down the toilet.
3 :
I can't read Arabic so would have been non the wiser what it said, so yes, I would have travelled with him.
4 :
It's called freedom of speech, and if we go against that we're not the country we once were. As long as he cleared security it's ok with me.
5 :
Personally, I hate it when somebody speaks another language in front of me when in the US. It makes me feel that someone is talking about me. Once about twenty years ago I returned a tube of Crest toothpaste bought in NJ because it had writing in Arabic on it. I did not trust it! What is the big deal, he was not kicked off the plane and they provided another shirt to place over it. Nothing is wrong in making the paying passengers feel comfortable about being on the plane. Airlines have asked woman dressing too sexy to cover up too. They want to try to make the fellow fliers comfortable. Now the family who got kicked off the plane last week is a different story. That should never have happened. The poor family did nothing wrong.
6 :
The Jews want us to hate Arabs. Sure they have funny diapers on head, but they aren't the terrorist. The Jews are the terrorist. The Jews committed 9/11 and the Jews are the ones who have bombed all planes the past 40 years and each time Arabs are framed by the israeli Mossad. Get the book by Victor Otrovsky, who was in the Israeli Mossad.
7 :
First of all, no body have to speak english just because you are around because, you are either racist or have low self esteem. Just like every nation they have bad people, so you don't have to blame every arab or arab writing you see (racist). And jews should not blame for every thing (Osama bin landen is responsible for 2001 and this mainly because I'm from africa and I saw first hand when he bomb a country in southern africa). To the Question, the man has the right to wear a t-shirt that has arabic writing on it etc. as long as it follows the law (did not hurt any body). What if the writing was in jewish? no one would care; we should know that there is some really bad jews killing inocense people also. Like I said, in any nation they have bad people. We should not try to despise a nation because of some rotton apples. Instead we should try to understand each other and let other's voice be heard without prejudice. That's all this AFRICAN boy got to say. thanks
Title : Would you want to fly on a plane with a man wearing an Arabic shirt saying this
Description : Would you want to fly on a plane with a man wearing an Arabic shirt saying this ? 240,000 dollars awarded to man forced to cover Arab T-shi...