By SN
Friday April 18, 2008
The Interwebitubes is up in arms over the allegation that United Airlines kicked a man off of their plane for praying. What they gloss over is that the plane was ready to take off, he refused to take his seat, and quite obviously, the plane cannot take off until every passenger is sitting. This has nothing to do with praying. It has everything to do with a safe and timely departure. I think they should have thrown his ass in jail for making a plane full of people wait. Below is a story that manages to get it right.
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ABC 7 News – April 18, 2008:
A passenger who left his seat to pray in the back of a plane before it took off, ignoring flight attendants’ orders to return, was removed by an airport security guard, a witness and the airline said.
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Urbanski said flights cannot depart if all passengers are not in their seats, which risks a delay, and it is important that passengers listen to the instructions of the flight crew.
“Even when the doors of the plane are not closed, if the crew says you should take your seat, you have to, so they can proceed with preparing the flight for takeoff,” she said.
Urbanski added that the flight was a few minutes delayed because of the incident.
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Reminds me of that Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where the chick couldn’t be alone with Larry at sundown in the ski lift.
Probably, the man will think he did the lords work and not learn a thing from it.
The article seemed clear enough that he was praying and coudn’t be interupted, which delayed take off, he should have been arrested for delying the flight.
…or hey should be fined $10 per passenger per minute. I could use the 10 spot to pay for the snacks!
SN–whats your evidence “the blogosphere was up in arms?”
I guess any thread anywhere where someone failed to read the article is “the blogosphere?”
But, do you even have “one?”
4. Good point. I updated the post a bit and included a link.
#5–SN==Whew! I came back and thought I had missed that link==I was going to apologize for clicking to fast.
But I looked at the first 10 links for the subject case. They all tell the same story as your leadin.
I don’t see any arms.
He should have prayed he would make the flight.
Assuming that the man must say prayers at a certain time of day – he should have told someone, before boarding the plane, that he could not do so because his religious requirements could conflict with the flight schedule.
Did he not know when the plane was scheduled to take off?
Would it have been impossible for him to remain in his seat and say his prayers?
They should have tossed this nut out of the service door and bounced his dumb ass off the tarmac. Then the police could have delivered a wood shampoo and a taser for good measure.
He was an orthodox jew. They all tend to be a-holes because their version of judaism is so strict and extreme.
Secular israelis tend to think of them as parasites because they live off israeli welfare, refuse to serve in the IDF, and have the arrogance to dictate to others in israel how they should live.
Best to take care of these kinds of problems on the ground, before you fly. I fly for the airlines, and I have regretted it several times giving a passenger a ‘break’ on the ground ie. ‘are you finished drinking sir’ etc. Only to have them be even a bigger pain in the a** enroute. Two unscheduled stops later with the FBI waiting, I error on the side of caution as standard operating procedure.
# 13 bobbo
“anybody know what the orthodox/fundy few rule is about praying as this guy did?”
I think the rules vary because their are more than one group. Hasidic is one but I don’t know the others.
Was he Muslim? If so, it’s well known by Muslims that they can delay their prayers for travel.
It’s done all the time and there is a well-defined way to do it. I kind of forget how it goes, but I think they can just double-up on the next convenient time to pray.
I’ve flown more flight with Muslim-filled planes than I can remember. Never has a single one held up the flight for prayers. Talking on the cell-phone… yes; constantly getting stuff out of the overhead bin… yes; mass switching og sets… yes; showing up late… yes yes and yes; but praying? Never.
The guy delayed the flight for 2 minutes. But I’m sure it delayed the flight at least 30 minutes to get the guy kicked off the plane. If I was a passenger on the flight, I would have been pissed if they called security.
Assuming this man is Muslim, I can tell you that he is in fact at fault and deserved to be thrown out of the plane. Islam provides travelers with some arrangements for prayers and it is widely agreed that it is allowed to pray seated in a plane if there is no other option. But then the person next to him may have freaked and he would have been thrown out of the plane anyway, but that’s beside the point
The linked-to story says he is Orthodox Jewish.
Good, they should have kicked him in the testicles. Srsly.
Wow… a real live example of Matthew 6:5… just add in “backs of airplanes” to “thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.”
Not meaning to proselytize anyone by quoting… I just thought it was a good example and think the comments thus far are right on.
So, just to be an apologist for a second, anyone see “Final Destination”? Maybe he had a vision of the plane blowing up… (tongue planted firmly in cheek, don’t nail me – 😀 )
Even if his religion states he must pray at a certain time, he knew damn well what time the plane was supposed to take off when he bought the ticket, so no excuses whatsoever for this tard.