Southwest Removes Passenger With Politically Offensive T-Shirt

All Headline News ^ | 10/6/05 | Moore

[RockinRight]

I did end up leaving. But it didn't stop me from telling him how I felt.

I am not saying he didn't have the right to say it, it is HIS privately owned business. But it still pissed me off.

[processing please hold]

Why is this stupid story still coming up? The woman is an idiot.

[Paleo Conservative]

If the f-word makes you giggle, come to New York City for a laugh-fest. Your funny bone will be tickled all day long.

[HolgerDansk]

This is a continuation of a 140+ year legal tradition.

I used to teach/train railroad conductors. On a passenger train, the conductor is judge/jury/warden, period, because the courts have always recognized the need for a high degree of civil order in a transportation compartment. Passengers must tolerate those around them for hours on end, and if civil order is broken, things quickly get out of hand in cramped quarters. If someone offends the civil order, the conductor is given the ultimate sanction -- removing someone from the train. Most state Public Utilities Commissions have this spelled out in their railroad rules, rules that have remain untouched by time. For example, in California, you can only put someone off within ten miles of an inhabited dwelling.

As society has become increasingly un-civil, there have been a number of court challenges to these powers. Usually, the challenge dies on summary judgement. However, there was a case just a few years ago on the San Diegan where a passenger had an offensive T-shirt, and other passengers complained. The offending passenger was given the choice of turning the shirt inside-out, or being removed from the train. He chose neither, and was forceably ejected at the next stop. The case made it all the way to the Ninth Circus, which much to our pleasant suprise, held up the centuries-old legal tradition. IIRC they were actually quite unpleased with the lower court for even considering it.

For all the carping that you'll hear about Amtrak on FR, the train is still the last bastion of civil society. What makes it somewhat amusing is that many people no longer know how to act in a civil society, particularly being seated with strangers in the diner. The very idea of eating while talking to strangers is just totally foreign to these folks.

[Hildy]

Absolutely.

[Hildy]

You think it's just New York City????? Now THAT makes me giggle. I was born and raised in New York.

[auntyfemenist]

Southwest was within their rights. Anyone who doesn't want to tolerate vulgarity, shouldn't have to. However, am I to understand she was already somewhere half way through her flight? If so, they should have just let her proceed. The mistake is they shouldn't have let her on to start with and refunded her all of her ticket money at the start.

If they took it, let her make a leg of the journey, then they really have an obligation to bring her to her destination. They shouldn't take her money, let her get halfway, then strand her somewhere. They agreed to take her money and didn't complete their part of the obligation after undertaking part of it.

[joem15]

Midwest Airlines (used to be Midwest Express) is still trying during these troubled times. Two across leather seats, no middle seats, a glass of wine and hot chocolate chip cookies.

[andy58-in-nh]

Two across leather seats, no middle seats, a glass of wine and hot chocolate chip cookies.

That's very nice. Make it a triple scotch and a Macanudo and I'll joyfully fly to Ft. Wayne.