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The T-shirt worn by Jet Blue passenger Raed Jarrar at JFK back in August 2006 sported the slogan of famous anti-Nazi group The White Rose, but the phrase "We Will Not Be Silent" was also written in Arabic, and that freaked everybody out. Well, not everybody, but one TSA official at JFK that day did inform Jarrar that his choice of T-shirt was akin to "wearing a T-shirt at a bank stating, 'I'm a robber.'" They made him put on another shirt before being allowed on the plane, and then seated him all the way in the back. Well, now it's payback time for Jarrar; according to the ACLU, the TSA and JetBlue agreed to settle his lawsuit for $240,000. In a statement, he says he hopes officials "will think twice before practicing illegal discrimination."
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this dude is so lucky he looks like a terrorist. If I wore that shirt I'd get diddly squat, a soft smile and some travel sized honey roasted peanuts. I'm always really envious of all the black dudes in the subways when old white ladies get scared and don't sit next to them even though they've got 2 aisles to themselves but would rather sit next to me when I've got 2 inches of space just cause I've got a non threatening aura. Sometimes racism works for the person being prejudiced against. I call it "Minority skills". It's like when I'm walking with my asian friend and some bum comes up to us and asks us for money and she's all like "me no speaky engly" and I try that shit too but the bum just gives me side-eye.
If I had "minority skills" I'd sue Gothamist first. Dunno for what but why is that important? Then I'd sue my neighbor just for playing his music so loud. Then I'd sue the mailman for coming too late on Fridays. Then I'd sue my landlord for charging me rent.
He was allowed to fly, he doesn't deserve a dime.
perhaps, babyhitler, you should try an eastern european accent
and perhaps, longacre, you should reconsider your entire views on civil rights
When you enter an airport you instantly give up many Constitutionally guaranteed rights, such as the right to bear firearms and the right to say the word "bomb." At minimum, someone wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with political rhetoric that could be construed as encouraging violence deserves extensive scrutiny at security, especially a member of the only demographic group that has attacked airliners in the United States. That's what this guy got, and at the end of the day he was still allowed to fly. The system worked as it should have.
Furthermore, private businesses have the right to refuse service to whomever they wish.
"Furthermore, private businesses have the right to refuse service to whomever they wish."
Um, Not so much. Certain discrimination is outlawed, remember?
Besides, "We Will Not Be Silent" is from an Anti-Nazi group. How ignorant is it to ban that???
I don't doubt that the man was doing it to garner some sort of reaction, but after they determined that he was not a threat (which they must have if they did allow him to fly), they should not have forced him to change either his shirt or his seat.
I can understand why they felt the need to be cautious about this traveler, but they went too far.
I agree that people should be allowed to wear whatever t-shirt they like without being subject to undue scrutiny or ejection from flights. I also can't help but believe that Mr. Jarrar wore this t-shirt with the specific intention of being provocative and eliciting the kind of response he received. And, just as restaurants and bars have dress codes and can ask you to leave if they don't like your t-shirt, don't airlines have the same allowances as a private business?
"I also can't help but believe that Mr. Jarrar wore this t-shirt with the specific intention of being provocative and eliciting the kind of response he received."
of course he did, he's an a-hole & i would have been the 1st person to report him & all you "free speech" people can stfu.
the fire in a crowded theater exclusion exists because some speech is hazardous & an arabic t-shirt on an airplane after 9/11 will create the same kind of reaction.
also he didn't "win" it's a settlement, if this had gone to trial he would have lost.
they didn't go to trial because they knew people who riot over cartoons would probably do worse over a t-shirt.
Rosa Parks also refused to give up her seat with a specific intention of being provocative. Sometimes civil disobedience is the best method of getting things done.
comparing this clown to rosa parks is an insult to rosa parks.
also rosa parks didn't set out that morning to cause trouble the way this guy did when he chose that t-shirt to wear on his flight.
she also didn't set out to sue the bus company the way this guy did.
seriously, read up on this guy. i've provided links.
Could anyone on the plane understand what the writing said? Or did they just assume Arabic writing says something terrorist-related? I have a shirt with a band name written in many languages, some Arabic. Would I be hassled?
The statement was written on the shirt in both Arabic and English.
I can easily think he meant to be provocative in terms of provoking thought and discussion. But intended to be deemed a threat and barred from travel? No way.
And considering that blonde white person would have probably not been barred from travelling, then airlines and businesses can't block this dark-skinned guy from wearing the same message. And for sure they can't discrimate against a whole language.
This comment refers specifically to the TSA person and also to others who are just so ready to be alarmed about everything not familiar.
You are ridiculous.
read it
I read it, and remain unmoved.
well as it turns out the shirt does say something provocative that most people would interpret as connected to politics/war/terrorism. think of an irish person during the troubles riding a bus in london with a tshirt that said "we will not be silent" in gaelic. i have a hard time not viewing both as non-verbal versions of "fire in a crowded theatre"
What kind of shoes was he wearing?
What a dick. But, he's now a fabulously wealthy dick. The people who were alarmed were the retards though -- like an actual terrorist is going to wear a shirt like that onto a plane.
no, but someone looking to start trouble, would. he's lucky he didn't get strip-searched, which is what he deserved.
What a fcking idiot -- who wears a shirt that says "We will not be silent" in Arabic through an airport in a city that was bombed by Arab hijackers and a man who vowed, "American planes will fall from the sky." What a dipshit. Those of us who are actual travelers clocking a couple hundred thousand miles a year will pick up this loser's tab indirectly.
Stupid amateur. Take a bus next time, genius.
It's scary that political speech is considered so threatening to some of the people here (contrablance, everyaframe, etc).
You guys are scared and scary - it's sad that lots of people feel like that.
There are hundreds of thousands of Arabs in the US and tens of millions around the world. But I guess on planes with Americans they'd better not scare anybody by saying or writing anything political, huh?
I thought this was the land of the free and the home of the brave, but I guess not anymore.
It's certainly an interesting case. While the airlines are private companies, their business is interstate travel, something that has long been under the federal government's jurisdiction.
Secondly, a similar case called Cohen v. California dealt with a similar incident, so there is [somewhat] of a legal precedent.
Also, the English translation was right under the Arabic one, so it would not have taken a genious to realize what the Arabic said. Even if they were skeptical, there are no Arabic speaking TSA agents at JFK?
wearing tshirt with arabic writing is not the same as screaming fire in a theater. If he was a white guy with red hair then they wouldn't have cared at all.
Businesses can refuse to serve anyone but they can't do it because of the color of his skin. The airline got screwed because its worker discriminated against this guy and they know it.
I wonder what would happen to guy getting on a plane in Beirut or Teheran wearing a Tshirt with Hebrew lettering on it?
TSA official at JFK that day did inform Jarrar that his choice of T-shirt was akin to "wearing a T-shirt at a bank stating, 'I'm a robber.'"
Or a TSA official wearing a shirts reading "I'm an Idiot"
"And, just as restaurants and bars have dress codes and can ask you to leave if they don't like your t-shirt, don't airlines have the same allowances as a private business?"
No, airlines aren't simply "private businesses," they are common carriers so are subject to regulation of their operating procedures.
You'd have to have serious reading comprehension problems or bigotry to think that the Arabic language is akin to shouting fire in a crowded theater, or that "we will not be silent" is a threat of violence. It's a threat to speak out, which should be a welcome thing.
EdEx - that is very very funny.
Outter Burrougher - well said.
I need to figure out something stupid to do so I can make a quick buck.
because many of you don't travel anywhere that the L train can't take you, read this sign & get a clue about air travel & free speech.
I suppose if a girl has on a "SLUT" tee shirt, then it's open season for victimhood.
good for you sir for sticking to your guns.
Not sure if many of the buffoons posting here know this, but Mr. Jarrar is a widely read blogger (Where is Raed?") who was blogging from Baghdad prior to and after the US invasion of Iraq. His daily writings on the life during wartime Baghdad is essential reading. And good for him and winning this lawsuit and bad on Jet Blue (although I LOVE Terminal 5).
so what you're saying is that he knew exactly what he was doing & the reaction that he would incite?
(again, he didn't "win" a lawsuit)
Heh... hard to say collecting $240,000 is anything but "a win."
Anyone that has a problem with this t-shirt is a moron. There is no indication that the t-shirt was worn to cause trouble, and besides, it was a peaceful message that happened to be in, Ohmigod, Arabic. Yup, lot of tolerant people around here...
"There is no indication that the t-shirt was worn to cause trouble"
you obviously haven't read the trouble-maker's blog.
I've got a shirt that says "Mo Cuishle." Can I get an extra pack of peanuts?
Bottom Line: All the security we are paying for doesn't make us secure. This stupidity is making me very insecure.
We know not everyone with access to the planes is checked out. We know not every checked bag is scanned nor correlated to a passenger on the plane. We know the boarding pass presented at the security gate may not be the one used at the boarding gate. We know nail clippers aren't going to ring down planes.
But, we were protected from t-shirts, until now.
Someone at the airline was monumentally stupid. Did they think the t-shirt would explode? No. This was discrimination, pure and simple.
We're no longer the "home of the brave". This sort of thing, this discrimination is from fear. We're scared. Passengers overhear something that is innocent and people are taken off their flight. That's from fear. I only wonder when this will end.
Jet Blue is run by mormans! *goes away to run and hide*
ugh...Mormons!
'one TSA official at JFK that day did inform Jarrar that his choice of T-shirt was akin to "wearing a T-shirt at a bank stating, 'I'm a robber.'"'
First, I am impressed that TSA training has advanced to the point where they were able to recognize that it was writing in Arabic, not just some squiggles.
But on another point they still have things to learn: bank robbers don't where shirts that say "I'm a robber." In fact, you could almost be certain that anyone wearing that shirt in a bank would not be there to rob it. Similarly, Arabic terrorists don't wear shirts with slogans in Arabic on them.
I think Zodak works for JetBlue.
no, i just recognize when someone is manipulating the system to get a cash pay-out & plays the race card.
the people making jokes about this settlement also recognize this guy for what he is, a grifter pretending to be a victim.
he isn't
$240K just for sitting in the back with a different t-shirt. I think the reward was too high.
"Give me $240,000 and I will be silent."
I am so getting some new Tshirts printed up and booking flights and anything else I can find to some areas of this country...
"He was allowed to fly, he doesn't deserve a dime."
No, it's the fact that he was allowed to fly that makes his strongest case: it proves that they didn't even consider him a security threat and so had no legitimate reason to even interfere with him.
They did so supposedly because of concern that other passengers would be alarmed by his shirt. Which provides more evidence that the TSA has little to offer than "security theater." He wasn't a threat, and they knew it, but for appearances only they took an action that they knew wasn't protecting anyone... just as banning bottled water or tubes of toothpaste is known not to protect anyone, but allows them to proclaim that they're doing something to justify the massive expense which is their most significant impact on any us.
Yes, he shouldn't have had to endure that indignity. It's shameful what certain groups are put through these days, and profiling is no worse than separate lunch counters. But there's no way this jerkbird should step into a windfall like that. Make Jet Blue give him free plane tickets for the next 5 years, I don't know, but I am sick of f-ing windfalls for dummies.
Re #18:
>>But I guess on planes with Americans they'd [Arabs] better not scare anybody by saying or writing anything political, huh?
Correct. Not frightening passengers, not concerning crew, and not disrupting a flight are pretty much the definition of what one should not do, regardless of race, religion, etc.
>>I thought this was the land of the free and the home of the brave, but I guess not anymore.
Absolutely, save for a few folks like Raed who lack social skills and see the nation as an opportunity to sue any company that represents a cash windfall. If that guy is honestly so offended, we better see as much press about him donating that money right back to the ACLU and other equal rights organizations. Something tells me he's buying his smart-ass DC activist blogger friends dinner and a round or ten.
Litigious idiot who will grow up one day, ideally.
Funny, my wife who suffers from Parkinson's disease
was almost stripped searched at RDU, her crime she
had on an ace bandage on her knee.
Did you know Ace bandages ring off alarms from
little metallic threads? We sure didn't.
Apparently being an Arab (or arab-looking, gasp!) is enough to 'frighten' people on airplanes. Oh no, not a shirt with words on it! I bet a red-haired Irish kid with a picture of Bobby Sands on his shirt and a FUCK ENGLAND, UP IRA tattoo stamped on his head would fly easier.
Welp, better throw them all into internment camps! Racism can solve not only this, but all our problems.
Actually longacre, private businesses absolutely DO NOT have the ability to deny service to whomever they wish, go and find out what public accomodation means.
Maybe in another universe an airport is a 'private business', but in this one, they tailor to the PUBLIC and is not a private club and/or religious institution.