Friday, August 25, 2006
Stupid Security, We're Now Scared of Writing
Get your very own "I am not a terrorist," in Arabic T-shirt. It seems Rae Jarrar was traveling through JFK and was wearing a t-shirt that said "We will not be silent" in both Arabic and English and security officials made him cover it up or not be allowed on the flight. I can almost perhaps vaguely understand why I can't fly with toothpaste (ok, I can't) but needing to cover a t-shirt!??!
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2 comments:
On one hand it does seem like a free speech issue; but on the other hand, there is no joking about terrorist and bombs on airplanes. I seem to remember (but can't footnote) stories where a kids' "joking" about what's in his luggage has delayed or ruined a family vacation. I guess your right to free speech ends where it infringes upon the rights of others. Joking or quips about terrorism and terrorist in an airport or on an airplane...I guess that tends to cause panic and is inappropriate. The old example -- you can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theatre -- I suppose you also can't yell "No Fire!" "Bomb!" "No bomb!" "Terrorist!" or "Not a terrorist!"
But .....if you had a t-shirt that said "Snakes on an airplane"....I guess that t-shirt is allowed...and just means you have bad taste in movies.
I'm fairly certain it's a felony to joke about a bomb with airport security. It was when a friend did so in 1982, (yes I was there). This is not that at all. He wasn't joking and wasn't talking about terrorism. His shirt didn't say anything like "the bomb is in my other bag". In fact, the officials admitted they couldn't read it. Should all Arabic writing be banned from planes?
Yelling fire in theater is illegal because it can cause a panic where people can be injured (in fact I think it's only illegal if that happens). I don't see how wearing a t-shirt is comparable. Maybe some people were uncomfortable? That's not illegal.
The real difference here is there is a law prohibiting joking about a bomb on a plane and officials can enforce it. There is no law banning Arabic t-shirts from planes. The officials made up the rule and enforced it. This is not democracy.
This is like Bush making up or ignoring laws. We are not a nation that allows secret laws. Or at least we'll see if we are.
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