American Airlines' Preaching Pilot

"BTR1701" wrote in message
...
In article k.net,
"None" wrote:

"BTR1701" wrote in message
...
In article .net,
"None" wrote:

Great, another xtian freak just chomping at the bit to **** off the
next rag head who's bound and determined to teach a whole plane load
of "infidels"
all about Allah! That little announcement would be all it would
take
to push any hanky head over the edge.

Well, I'm an atheist myself but I think it's ridiculous to suggest we
as Americans should censor ourselves and give up our rights to discuss
matters openly and freely because we might tick off a terrorist.

I'm certainly not going to keep silent because some religious
whack-job
might get worked up over something I say.

This was different. This was a pilot with a captive passenger load, who
was inviting those onboard who WERE xtians to bend the ears of those who
weren't, most likey for the duration of the flight.

And those who weren't Christians can politely say "Can you please shut
the hell up. I'm trying to sleep (or read or whatever)."

You seem to think there's a fundamental right to never have an
unpleasant experience in life.

You are right about one thing: there is no basis for a lawsuit against AA.
However, I hope you are not suggesting that the pilot's actions were
appropriate. Not only were they incredibly rude and disrespectful to _all_
of those who do not share his faith, but they show incredibly poor judgment
on the pilot's part. People with poor judgment should not be piloting
airplanes.

I, for one, am very curious to see how AA handles this incident. I'm not an
AA fan anyway, but I do have to fly them from time to time. If AA tolerates
this kind of behavior from it's pilots, I will make it point to avoid them
at all costs. And I'll be sure to let them know why.



I would have sued if I had been on that flight.

You would have had no more of a cause of action than if the pilot had
asked everyone who had ever been to the Grand Canyon to share their
experience with the person next to them.

Since the airline is not a government entity, the fact that the subject
was religion and not tourism has no bearing on the legalities involved.

If they don't fire his
ass, the fall-out will be a lot more than people would think.

And that's their risk to run, of course. People can decide to spend
their money elsewhere.

"Miguel Cruz" wrote in message
...
Jos Flachs wrote:
(Yaofeng) wrote:
What he did may not be appropriate. But he was not preaching. He
asked Christians on board the flight to share their faith with others.

This is very appropriate. Had the pilot been a Hindu asking the same
thing, he would have been fired upon arrival.

Had the pilot been a Hindu, he would never have asked the same thing.

And that's exactly the point. Off the top of my head, I can think of only
two extant religions that proselytze for converts -- Christianity and
Islaam. The theological "norm" is to regard religion as a private matter.
Fanatics from the convert-seeking religions never seem to understand how
genuinely obnoxious and rude others find their behavior.



miguel
--
Hundreds of travel photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu/

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 21:59:07 GMT, "PTRAVEL"
wrote:

You are right about one thing: there is no basis for a lawsuit against AA.
However, I hope you are not suggesting that the pilot's actions were
appropriate. Not only were they incredibly rude and disrespectful to _all_
of those who do not share his faith, but they show incredibly poor judgment
on the pilot's part. People with poor judgment should not be piloting
airplanes.

I, for one, am very curious to see how AA handles this incident. I'm not an
AA fan anyway, but I do have to fly them from time to time. If AA tolerates
this kind of behavior from it's pilots, I will make it point to avoid them
at all costs. And I'll be sure to let them know why.

The sad thing is that if they take any action, the captain will claim
his first amendment rights are being abridged. It's the sort of thing
Pat Robertson loves.

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 22:05:38 GMT, "PTRAVEL"
wrote:


"Miguel Cruz" wrote in message
.. .
Jos Flachs wrote:
(Yaofeng) wrote:
What he did may not be appropriate. But he was not preaching. He
asked Christians on board the flight to share their faith with others.

This is very appropriate. Had the pilot been a Hindu asking the same
thing, he would have been fired upon arrival.

Had the pilot been a Hindu, he would never have asked the same thing.

And that's exactly the point. Off the top of my head, I can think of only
two extant religions that proselytze for converts -- Christianity and
Islaam. The theological "norm" is to regard religion as a private matter.
Fanatics from the convert-seeking religions never seem to understand how
genuinely obnoxious and rude others find their behavior.

In my experience Hindus, being polytheists, tend to "allow" others to
believe in and worship whichever deity they choose. The cases of
action against Christian missionaries in India tend to be because of
their obnoxiousness, not because they're Christian.

Douglas Berry wrote
When I fly, I'm paying the airline to transport me from point A to
point B in a safe, comfortable manner. Being a captive audience when
the religious nutso pilot pretty much tells the Christians on the
plane to bug the non-Christians for the entire flight would **** me
off.. I'd file a lawsuit against American had I been on that flight.

You'd file a suit for what, receiving a suggestion that you didn't
want to follow? If that works for you, try suing for all the times
you've been offered peanuts when you weren't hungry. If you read the
article you'll notice that he actually suggested to the non-Christians
that they talk to the people who had identified themselves as
Christians. If anyone had a complaint it would be the people (if any)
who had chosen to identify themselves as Christians.

Drew

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X-IM: Encrypted Instant Messaging
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Mark K. Bilbo -amikchi writes:

I see no problem at all. ...I dunno, maybe I happen to be a little
tolerant. Oooh, my.

Tolerant of a pilot who basically encourages big, nasty arguments over a
touchy subject among passengers on a jet?

Forget atheists being on board. What happens when the Baptists, Catholics,
Mormons, and JWs start going after each other?

I'm sure his job description does not include starting religious arguments
among passengers on a flight...

I'd have thought the proper thing to have done was to inform the Sky
Marshal that religious fanatics had taken control of the cockpit.

--
Stuart "We're all gonna die" Bibby

wrote in message
news
On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 19:56:45 +0000, rom wrote:

American Airlines pilot suggests passengers discuss Christianity
Associated Press

NEW YORK - An American Airlines pilot flying passengers to New York asked
Christians on board to identify themselves and suggested the
non-Christians
discuss the faith with them, a spokesman for the Fort Worth, Texas-based
airline
said Saturday.

Flight 34 was headed from Los Angeles to John F. Kennedy Airport on
Friday
afternoon, said spokesman Tim Wagner. The pilot, whose identity was not
released, had been making flight announcements and then asked that the
Christians on board raise their hands, Wagner said.

The pilot told the airline that he then suggested the other passengers
use the
flight time to talk to the identified Christians about their faith,
Wagner said.

The pilot later told passengers he would be available at the end of the
flight
to talk about his first announcement.

Wagner said the airline was investigating the incident, and that the
company had
guidelines about appropriate behavior. He said the pilot had just
returned to
work from a weeklong mission trip to Costa Rica.

"It falls along the lines of a personal level of sharing that may not be
appropriate for one of our employees to do while on the job," Wagner
said.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/...te/7900122.htm


Darn, I was going to post this with the header "Jebus makes pilot lose
job...claims he'll live on the love of the Lard."

And he will lose his job...can't have the mentally unstable in such a
position. I wouldn't fly on his plane, and I will send an email to AA
to that effect.

zamboni

The pilots actions were inappropriate in that setting,
but how do you leap to someone being
mentally unstable for encouraging a discussion about
Christianity?

devil wrote:
That year, the meeting chair was some
brainwashed Christian, who abused of his authority in a similar manner.
By starting the breakfast with a prayer.

This may not be OK with your point of view, but what if it is a normal
practice where the meeting is being held ? If you were in the bible belt,
wouldn't it be normal for the americans to be seen prarying at every
opportunity ?

When in Rome...

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 22:09:09 +0000, Christopher A. Lee wrote:


The sad thing is that if they take any action, the captain will claim
his first amendment rights are being abridged. It's the sort of thing
Pat Robertson loves.

???

That makes no sense. His employer has every right to restrict his speech
while on duty.

It's not like he is a tenured prof.

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 18:14:47 -0500, nobody wrote:

devil wrote:
That year, the meeting chair was some
brainwashed Christian, who abused of his authority in a similar manner.
By starting the breakfast with a prayer.

This may not be OK with your point of view, but what if it is a normal
practice where the meeting is being held ? If you were in the bible belt,
wouldn't it be normal for the americans to be seen prarying at every
opportunity ?

When in Rome...

I had some board members talk to me and thank me aftertward. "We were
going to deal with this at the next board meeting."

Talking about a major international professional organization here.

Half the attendants are probably either Jewish or Muslim to start with.
Plus all the folks who don't really believe in a god or care about
religion. Even most Catholics were unhappy with the stunt.