ACLU Sues TSA Official, JetBlue For Discriminating Against Passenger Wearing Arabic T-Shirt

[DeSwiss]

ACLU Sues TSA Official, JetBlue for Discriminating Against Passenger Wearing Arabic T-Shirt

ACLU.Org
(8/9/2007)


U.S. Government Silences "We Will Not Be Silent" T-Shirt

NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit charging that a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official and JetBlue Airways illegally discriminated against an American resident based solely on the Arabic message on his t-shirt and his ethnicity.

JetBlue and the TSA official, identified as "Inspector Harris," would not let Raed Jarrar board his flight at John F. Kennedy Airport until he agreed to cover his t-shirt, which read "We Will Not Be Silent" in English and Arabic script. According to the complaint, Harris told Jarrar that it is impermissible to wear an Arabic shirt to an airport and equated it to a "person wearing a t-shirt at a bank stating, ‘I am a robber.'"

"It is a dangerous and slippery slope when we allow our government to take away a person's rights because of his speech or ethnic background," said Reginald Shuford, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Racial Justice Program. "Racial profiling is illegal and ineffective and has no place in a democratic society."

Jarrar, an architect and political analyst of Arabic descent, has lived in the United States since 2005 with his wife, who is an American citizen. On August 12, 2006, Jarrar attempted to fly on JetBlue from New York to Oakland, California, where he lived at the time. Although Jarrar successfully cleared two security checkpoints, he was approached by Inspector Harris while waiting at the boarding gate. Harris brought Jarrar to the JetBlue counter and told him that he would have to remove his shirt because other passengers were not comfortable with the Arabic script.

http://www.aclu.org/freespeech/gen/31266prs20070809.html

*** - Its pleasing to me to know that the TSA is showng its dedication by carrying out its primary mandate: "insuring passenger comfort." And of course, I know that I'm always most comfortable while having my Constitutional rights stepped upon, mangled and violated beyond all recognition, in order that some yahoo from Bumfuck, Alabama doesn't become agitated and uncomfotable with the exercise of the right of free speech. Maybe they should have asked the passengers what they thought:

"Attention passengers. This is the Captain speaking. Before we push-back from the terminal we have some guy wearing a t-shirt that says he won't shutup. We're not certain what he won't shutup about, but we just wanted to see if its okay with you all that he keeps his t-shirt on and let him fly with us, or have him removed to the cargo hold. Its your call. Please vote by holding up the airsick bag in the seat pocket in front of you. If you're traveling with a small child, then you get to vote twice."

Oh, and about that "bank robbing person wearing a t-shirt analogy," a sure-fire career killer if you ask me.

[karlrschneider]

1. "...have him removed to the cargo hold"??? If that happened, JB has an insane 'captain'.

I don't believe this story.
:eyes:

[DeSwiss]

3. Ummmm....

...the "story" is in the box and the link after the first four paragraphs is to the full ACLU article at their website. Check it out - Its fun! Its free!:D

The blue words are the best translation I could muster. Fluent Snark is my first language....

[RufusTFirefly]

2. I am a white guy of Northern European ancestry

I'll be on a plane on Monday. If I had any guts, I'd wear the same shirt. This Nazi stuff has got to stop!

[DeSwiss]

4. Hey....

.....if you use those exact words on your t-shirt that might get you over:

"I am a white guy of Northern European ancestry, and I will not be silent!"

It could work. But if it doesn't, have someone let me know which concentration camp you're in, so I'll know where to send the cake with the file in it....

[karlrschneider]

5. I have been flying planes for companies since 1969 and I've always refused to wear a uniform.

It was rarely an issue until a few years ago when some of the hotshot CEO types (or more usually their subordinate self-appointed mini-hotshots) started to complain...not about how I flew their planes - totally professionally aviation-wise but not being up to their imagined standards of personal decorum. What a fucking joke. So I'm running low on jobs because they're more interested in having a butler than a good pilot. It's okay, I'm ready to retire anyway...let them
hire kids who wear starched shirts and have no idea how to really fly a plane when something goes wrong.

[DeSwiss]

6. You're living my boyhood dream....

...of flying. Congratulations! :)

I suppose that as we drift toward the fascist state, the uniform becomes a more and more important symbol in society. Those who freely give up their rights like for things to look orderly and a uniform sends the message of "implied control and authority." Of course that only applies to us "regular folks," since those in power tend to exceed all boundaries of decorum unless its part of the show.

More power to you in dealing with the suits. ;)