So I sit down on a recent flight when a commotion erupts and a slew of airport security folks rush into the plane. Some poor black guy is escorted off the plane to reemerge a couple minutes later after retrieving his luggage and finding a shirt to put over his t-shirt which some passenger (or crew member) found offensive. He’s shown above with the offending t-shirt. At least they didn’t shoot him. I found the whole episode to be very entertaining.
The coarsening of the culture and social environment is NOT making for a better America, only an uglier one where the standard of behavior is determined by low-life idiots.
Ditto RSweeney. I saw a massively offensive racial slur of a tshirt on a guy at Walmart yesterday morning. I think there are standards and we sure aren’t living up to them in some cases.
I would have been offended by the above tshirt and asking him to cover it, turn it inside out, or otherwise get it out of public view is appropriate.
My question is, in what place is such a tshirt EVER appropriate?
No, I’m not a prude, I just don’t like having to explain what a tshirt like that means to my 8 year old daughter, who can read quite well these days.
Wait a minute.
DSL makes this guys dick hard?
but cable doesn’t?
Short list. For a guy.
All of you offended by the shirt are prudes. I laughed my ass off when I read it and want one. Lighten up and quit thinking your standards are the right ones. I have my own standards but I don’t expect you to live by them.
Get over yourselves. Maybe you should get that guy something on his shirt and see if he can turn your mood around. You just might enjoy the outcome.
And they didn’t even tase him ? What’s “security” coming to without a good tasering now and then ?
Why does the pigmentation of his skin matter?
Along with offensiveness of that moron’s shirt should be included the offensiveness of some people’s continued obsession with race.
I’ll simply close with a Quote from Mark Twain: “Man is the only animal that blushes – or needs to.”
‘Nuff said.
“the coarsening of society”? What, are we proper royalty now?
I can’t stand the people who think their eyes are so good that they need to have authority protect them from course things. Same goes for your daughter. If you only knew what her and her friends talk about at school.
Oh, btw you are a prude. That’s what it means.
The only one that offends me is “our mom”….that’s just wrong.
Oh, maybe it says “your mom”? That’s cool then.
Midgets?
For those of you who don’t find it offensive, do you have any line that you wouldn’t cross for public free expression?
How would you feel if some skinhead were wearing a shirt that said:
Things that make my stomach turn:
niggers
chinks
kikes
jews
coons
spics
wops
dagos
pollacks
fags
Is “DSL” the way it appears when you’re on the stuff? Or did he make some kind of Pavlovian association between midget porn and the service that delivers it?
The shirt is tasteless, but so what? What I find truly offensive is the iron-fisted response – and the blase attitude of the first few comments.
11 seen many of these on t-shirts and placards/signs at different events (my personal favorite was “fags are queer” I said thank you thank you captain obvious, the guy holding the sign didn’t get it). Tasteless, yes, vulgar, yes, stupid yes, the U.S. Constitution says freedom of speech not freedom from disgust, distaste, or personal offense. On the upside you can call the wearer of the offending garment whatever you want. Freedom of speech.
In the UK a transformers T shirt is a depiction of weapon, therefore is an imitation weapon, therefore is an offensive weapon if you are trying to get on a flight.
http://theregister.co.uk/2008/06/02/transformers_t_shirt/
I am offended by that list. The majority of stuff on that list does not make me hard. It should be: boobs, porn, pussy, girls. done.
#11 asks the question “For those of you who don’t find it offensive, do you have any line that you wouldn’t cross for public free expression?”
I’d like to see answers to this question, especially from #5 and #8.
There is a huge difference between laws/right and common decency/respect. Having the ability to do something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea to do it. Yes, that person had every right to wear that shirt… and to do so in public. Freedom of speech, as it were. But those freedoms/rights do have a boundary and that is where someone else’s rights begin to get trampled. decency/respect means having the social awareness to respect those around you as much as you want them to respect you.
And airlines are private carriers and have the right to refuse service just like a restaurant can enforce a dress code. You can wear the shirt, but not on that plane. I found the shirt entertaining, but I wouldn’t wear it in front of my mother.
#1 RSweeney said it best, it leads to coarsening of our culture and shows an egocentric way of thinking. Most people show some consideration of others feelings.
Everyone has “rights” but no responsibility.
Lesbian midgets, yeah that’s the ticket.
I didn’t think midgets and poker were right. Then I thought for a while, and ok, midgets. Still don’t get poker unless its all the pussy you can get with the money you win. So really, the t-shirt is a thought provoking exercise in liberty but also in mind expansion and causation. A beautiful thing really.
But going to “words having meaning and a context”==just what is a prude? Is being prudish ALWAYS a negative thing or should free speech always be seen as protected?
I don’t think such a shirt should be worn in public. I think the only proper response is to personally shun the guy.
Appeals to the impact on kiddies is totalitarian propaganda in my view and worse than the t-shirt. BOTH may be true, both are offensive.
Amusing what we choose to pay attention to.
Impotent swine!
Sheesh, what’s with all the fuss? Just dump a Big Gulp or toss a Whopper over the guys shirt.
The tee shirt is rather disgusting and agree he should not be allowed in the plane (nor on airport grounds). He is free to wear it on the street as far as I’m concerned.
However, the commotion to remove him was probably over the top.
Actually Dallas==thats a good point. All our rights are mostly with reference to FREEDOM against government action.
If we conclude that Airlines are private entities, they can establish dress codes within the confines of anti-discrimination laws. No law against discriminating against a slur-bag.
So, obviously, the boarding agent let the public/passengers down by allowing this t-shirt onto the flight.
Dallas how can you distinguish between an airport and a street? They are both public places where a whole variety of people mix and wonder around and read tshirts. I do agree that the tshit maybe abit to alot offenssive depending on what you find offenssive. But I also would put money on that thats the point or at least part of it part offend and part humour.
The response the guy got was WAY OTT but was it unnessessary?? Should he have been asked to cover it up. On a plane full of loads of different types of people probably yes. In a night club, a bar probably not. Its a tshirt for the right context.
I live in Scotland and own a bright Orange tshirt with the opening speech from trainspotting on it. When I ware it i normally also have some sort of zippy on so if the needs be I can cover it up. As I descoverd one day that some people find the speech offensive due to its use of lanage. So part of the issue lies with the owner and those around the owner.
I would recomend a tag on it though saying Please engage brain before wearing.
What an idiot this guy is. Completely inappropriate and pathetic.
Wouldn’t it have been simpler to ask the guy to keep his jacket on so that the “offensive” T-shirt would be covered for the most part?
The problem with any form of censorship is where the line is put. This is why at the end of the day, it is always better to err on the side of letting stuff slide unless it is truly hateful.
Wow, that First Amendment sure is a bitch!
#7:
“Why does the pigmentation of his skin matter?”
Because when people are talking about folks who look different than themselves, they usually point it out.
You never heard black people say “white dude” or “chinese guy” or “ay-rab?”
Request for a DU poll:
Is there any difference between a tshirt listing “What makes my Dick Hard” vs “What makes my Dick Limp”
Is it the list, the Dick, or the reaction?