THE BORE

General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: The Fake Shemp on January 02, 2009, 11:52:01 AM

Title: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: The Fake Shemp on January 02, 2009, 11:52:01 AM: 9 Muslim Passengers Removed From Jet
Others on Flight Say a Remark Was 'Suspicious'

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 2, 2009; Page B01

Officials ordered nine Muslim passengers, including three young children, off an AirTran flight headed to Orlando from Reagan National Airport yesterday afternoon after two other passengers overheard what they thought was a suspicious remark.

Members of the party, all but one of them U.S.-born citizens who were headed to a religious retreat in Florida, were subsequently cleared for travel by FBI agents who characterized the incident as a misunderstanding, an airport official said. But the passengers said AirTran refused to rebook them, and they had to pay for seats on another carrier secured with help from the FBI.

Kashif Irfan, one of the removed passengers, said the incident began about 1 p.m. after his brother, Atif, and his brother's wife wondered aloud about the safest place to sit on an airplane.

"My brother and his wife were discussing some aspect of airport security," Irfan said. "The only thing my brother said was, 'Wow, the jets are right next to my window.' I think they were remarking about safety."

Irfan said he and the others think they were profiled because of their appearance. He said five of the six adults in the party are of South Asian descent, and all six are traditionally Muslim in appearance, with the men wearing beards and the women in headscarves. Irfan, 34, is an anesthesiologist. His brother, 29, is a lawyer. Both live in Alexandria with their families, and both were born in Detroit. They were traveling with their wives, Kashif Irfan's sister-in-law, a friend and Kashif Irfan's three sons, ages 7, 4 and 2.

AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson agreed that the incident amounted to a misunderstanding. But he defended AirTran's handling of the incident, which he said strictly followed federal rules. And he denied any wrongdoing on the airline's part.

"At the end of the day, people got on and made comments they shouldn't have made on the airplane, and other people heard them," Hutcheson said. "Other people heard them, misconstrued them. It just so happened these people were of Muslim faith and appearance. It escalated, it got out of hand and everyone took precautions."

Hutcheson confirmed that it was ultimately the pilot's decision to postpone the flight. But he said the pilot was influenced not only by the complaints from passengers but by the actions of two federal air marshals on board, who had learned of the incident and reported it to airport police.

As a result of that report, federal officials made the decision to order all 104 passengers from the plane and re-screen them and their luggage before allowing the flight to take off for Orlando -- two hours late and without the nine passengers.

Ellen Howe, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, said the pilot acted appropriately.

"For us, it just highlights that security is everybody's responsibility," Howe said. "Someone heard something that was inappropriate, and then the airline decided to act on it. We certainly support [the pilot's] call to do that."

Howe added that the TSA's involvement was limited to conducting a security sweep of the plane after the passengers were removed. Airport police officers' only involvement was to hold the passengers in custody until the FBI arrived, said Tara Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the agency that runs the airport.

Hutcheson said AirTran is not likely to reimburse the passengers for the additional cost of their replacement tickets on USAirways. He said they were given a full refund for their AirTran fares and may fly on the carrier now that the investigation is complete.

The detained passengers said that is not likely.

"It was an ordeal," said Abdur Razack Aziz, the family friend who was also detained. "Nothing came out of it. It was paranoid people. It was very sad."
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: DJ_Tet on January 02, 2009, 11:58:24 AM: bububu you should be able to talk about plane crashes cause stewardesses do! you racist [/gaf]

:yuck
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: Olivia Wilde Homo on January 02, 2009, 12:02:49 PM: Sounds like cloudwalking had your back in that thread.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: DJ_Tet on January 02, 2009, 12:06:53 PM: Yeah a little bit, it was definitely appreciated.

edit: I expected some backlash for what I posted but the sheer amount of people defending his right to talk about plane crashes is a little unnerving. It's just a stupid and unnecessary conversation to have. Of course if you believe the world through GAF eyes apparently every passenger inspects the rivets and comments on the sea safety of every plane before you board.

My point stands that if this family wasn't muslim this wouldn't even be news. People are kicked off planes for stupid shit every day.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: The Fake Shemp on January 02, 2009, 12:39:16 PM: This may or may not have occurred if someone white had made those remarks, but people of all races get in trouble at airports nowadays for stupid remarks, carry-ons, etc. This was just stupid.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: cloudwalking on January 02, 2009, 12:40:23 PM: i stand by what i said in the thread, what happened to the family is bullshit.

but if you are cracking jokes about the plane crashing while inside it (like duckroll mentioned) you are an asshole in my book.

i don't get in a car and make jokes about it rolling into the ditch and exploding.

i don't get in the train and talk about it derailing and going up in flames.

i don't get on the bus and wonder out loud what would happen if it got hit by a semi.

if you make these kind of comments in public people are going to think there's something wrong with you.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: The Fake Shemp on January 02, 2009, 12:47:00 PM: AIRTRAN WHITE PASSENGER TRANSLATOR:

"Wow, the jets are right next to my window!"

Translation: "Excellent area to detonate my shoe bomb for maximum civilian casualties."

"Where is the safest place to sit on the airplane?"

Translation: "We must detonate a secondary device to ensure that the passenger burn in the fiery blaze of Allah!"

... That's a bit much. I think it sucks that we have to be so paranoid in this day in age, but coming on an airplane to discuss safety and the proximity of the jet engines to your window when you fit the racial profile of people who are most likely to blow one up is pretty dumb. I'm white, though, so maybe I'm ignorant. I actually got to fly home from California without any identification at all. It was awesome.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: Van Cruncheon on January 02, 2009, 12:49:31 PM: Quote from: cloudwalking on January 02, 2009, 12:40:23 PM
i stand by what i said in the thread, what happened to the family is bullshit.

but if you are cracking jokes about the plane crashing while inside it (like duckroll mentioned) you are an asshole in my book.

i don't get in a car and make jokes about it rolling into the ditch and exploding.

i don't get in the train and talk about it derailing and going up in flames.

i don't get on the bus and wonder out loud what would happen if it got hit by a semi.

if you make these kind of comments in public people are going to think there's something wrong with you.

this. they could have avoided the whole thing by not opening their mouths. and what was that muslim dad doing, letting a woman speak? himu would have blacked both her eyes and choked her out with his headtowel before mounting her hijab-clad corpse and ululating to allah while he climaxed.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: cloudwalking on January 02, 2009, 12:50:47 PM: Quote from: Jinfash on January 02, 2009, 12:45:44 PM
Granted their comment might not have been as explicit as the ones you mentioned cloud but just like I said, you have to use your head and know your place.

Consider it like traveling to a far country and respecting that country's... ummm... "traditions" (in this story their traditions was being bunch of ignorants/racists/bigots or whatever you wanna call it :lol)

well yeah that's what i mean, according to the news story the family didn't say anything about the plane crashing, they were just wondering aloud about safety. that's why it's bullshit what happened to them. definitely wasn't too smart of them though.

but then there are people in that thread saying "haha i joke about the plane crashing all the time and i never get thrown off the plane" as a way to denounce the whole situation. which is fucking stupid.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: The Fake Shemp on January 02, 2009, 12:56:58 PM: In the end, they got to their vacation courtesy of the FBI after they were cleared from all wrong doing. And the white passengers suffered the most, having to wait hours before they could finally take off! We all learned a valuable lesson about racial tolerance and not to say dumb stuff on airplanes.

By the way, I'm pretty much positive that I'm flagged by whatever database TSA uses to spot individuals they screen for extra protection now. I get screened all the time. And I mean all the time. Plus, on one flight, I had two individuals sitting across from me on the return flight that were the same two individuals (two guys in their mid-thirties, in good shape) that flew with me on my departing flight. This was despite the fact that I had a totally different aisle and seat for their return flight, and I flew back on an rather empty, off-time flight. Damn spooks.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: Van Cruncheon on January 02, 2009, 01:00:24 PM: your mom reported you as a socialist
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: Eel O'Brian on January 02, 2009, 01:03:59 PM: this kind of puts a damper on my plans to light a string of firecrackers right as the plane takes off during my next flight

what kind of upside-down topsy-turvy fascist country are we living in where i would be persecuted for that

it's like that famous book 1984 or something, according to what i hear from people who have read that book
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: The Fake Shemp on January 02, 2009, 01:06:13 PM: All joking aside, Prole, I think my father was a member of the Socialist Labor Party. He has a copy of the Marx's manifesto around from his early days, as well. For a long time, I thought this is why I got extra special treatment at the airport. Even when I was younger - I used to fly cross country a lot, to visit relatives, explore, etc.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: DJ_Tet on January 02, 2009, 01:13:07 PM: Which brings me to my first response in that thread

"Maybe people should watch their mouths regardless"

Glad to see admins/posters tag me as a bigot for a statement like that.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: Human Snorenado on January 02, 2009, 01:24:35 PM: Himu should have just stayed in the park.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: Tauntaun on January 02, 2009, 04:01:15 PM: Quote from: The Card Cheat on January 02, 2009, 01:24:35 PM
Himu should have just stayed in the park.

You got fresh air and green scenery. I'd like to be in the park. :)
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: Diunx on January 02, 2009, 04:22:01 PM: I hope that himu donate the lawsuit money to eb so we can have a party with lots of coke and hookers
spoiler (click to show/hide)
and ff13 trailers in a giant projector.
[close]
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: cloudwalking on January 02, 2009, 07:31:56 PM: that's fucking awesome

i hope the people who joke about that kind of shit on planes get kicked off their flight someday.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: drozmight on January 02, 2009, 08:01:25 PM: WHY SO SERIOUS?
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: Diunx on January 02, 2009, 08:35:22 PM: I make jokes about crash and terrorist attacks in airports all the time, I'm surprise that I don't even get dirty looks since I'm half Lebanese.

I also make car crash jokes while I'm driving.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: drozmight on January 02, 2009, 08:48:11 PM: I've talked about these things before in an airport... like where in the airplane is safest to sit should the plane crash, etc...

I'm latino, but I'm white as hell and have a gringo name, so I never get profiled... ever.

USA!
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: Propagandhim on January 02, 2009, 10:21:27 PM: Wait a second...

It wasn't Himuro at all. It was just several Muslims.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: DJ_Tet on January 02, 2009, 10:47:49 PM: People getting away with these jokes is beside the point. Every airport has signs like what was mentioned above (at least everyone I've been in in the US) and it's a federal offense to make comments like that.

I can assure you I won't be laughing if I hear someone say something about a plane crash, regardless of their visual profile.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: drozmight on January 03, 2009, 12:04:10 AM: Why? Planes don't crash? Why can't we talk about safety?
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: DJ_Tet on January 03, 2009, 12:10:20 AM: Because, unless you are a pilot or an engineer, you have NO CONTROL over whether or not you live or die on that plane. You don't have the right or ability to make one difference about the safety of that plane. Clutch your seat cushion and leave me out of it. You either get on the plane or don't, I don't need to hear about how loose screws could take the wing off causing the engine to fly through the window that I'm sitting beside.

If it bothers you, tell the stewardess, not broadcast your concerns so half the cabin can hear them.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: drozmight on January 03, 2009, 12:20:48 AM: OH I C. So it's OK for pilots and engineers to talk amongst themselves about plane safety, but not others?

spoiler (click to show/hide)
professional bigot
[close]
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: DJ_Tet on January 03, 2009, 12:28:24 AM: Say whatever you want, I don't give a fuck.

I never imagined so many people crave talking about tragic plane events while entering said plane. Of all the civil liberties that have been yanked away from us over the years, who knew that talking about plane crashes while on a plane is the breaking point. Well, when you guys march towards Washington with your flaming pitchforks, I'm going to be with you, even if this is one civil liberty I can do without.

Fight the fight!

I mean, fuck, I don't make the rules. Sorry if I happen to think it's a good one.
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: drozmight on January 03, 2009, 12:36:02 AM: :heart :hump
Title: Re: Himuro kicked off of airplane after making dumb-dumb comments
Post by: DJ_Tet on January 03, 2009, 12:38:55 AM: Truth be known I've flown like 4 times in my life, so you probably don't need to worry about me being on your flight :-*