American Airlines' Preaching Pilot

In article , "PTRAVEL"
wrote:

"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 at all. Personally, I would have been spectacularly annoyed. But my
remedy for that is to stop patronizing their business.

I would have no basis in *law* for filing a suit against them.

Too many people these days think that if something ****es them off, they
should be able to recover money from someone for it.

In article , Christopher A.
Lee wrote:

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.

And the captain won't have any more of a leg to stand on than his
passengers do.

American Airlines is a private business, not the government. It can tell
its employees to shut the hell up whenever they like.

AMENDMENT I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.


Note how it only prohibits Congress (and by extension, the government)
from abridging speech and religion.

Private companies are not covered.

So the airline is free to prosyletize without violating the customers'
rights and it's also free to fire or discipline the captain without
violating his right to free speech.

In article ,
(Miguel Cruz) wrote:

None wrote:
"BTR1701" wrote:
You could file a lawsuit but you'd have no grounds for it. American
Airlines is a private company. They can plaster the inside of their
airplane cabins with bible verses if that's what they want to do.

Sorry, they are a PUBLIC company, publicly traded on the stock exchange,
and HEAVILY regulated by the FAA and the DOT.

I don't think either the FAA or DOT has any regulations about prosletyzing
by airline staff.

And even if they did, the regulations would likely be struck down as a
constitutional violation.

In article ,
wrote:

Let me present this hypothetical situation.You go to a restaurant. You
have been many times and have always had an good time, never anything
unusual. The new manager on duty (not the owner, and someone whom you
have never seen before) decides to lock the doors for the duration of
the meal, asks christians (feel free to substitute any religion) to
identify themselves, and asks all the christians to preach the good
word to you for the next few hours. You are not free to leave, nor do
they tell you when or even if you can leave. You paid for a nice,
quiet, trouble free meal, and that's not what you got and you weren't
sure if you were going to leave alive. You wouldn't have any problem
with that?

Sure I would.

The manager is violating about a half dozen health, safety and fire
codes by locking the doors to a restaurant during business hours. He's
also committing the civil tort of false imprisonment by preventing
people from leaving the restaurant.

How is he doing this? Is he threatening them with physical violence if
they try and leave? If so, that's a terroristic threat. Also a felony.

Personally, as a cop, I'd stand up, order the manager to open the doors
and let anyone who wants to leave, and if he refused, I'd place him
under arrest. And if he tried to stop me, that would only add to his
prison time.

Problem solved.

In article , S Bibby
wrote:

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.

And you know who the sky marshals are on any given flight?

'Cause they stand up and announce "Hi, I'm Bob. I'll be your sky marshal
this morning..."

"BTR1701" wrote in message
...

Too many people these days think that if something ****es them off, they
should be able to recover money from someone for it.

Thats because nine times out of ten, they can . . .and do!
--
***/***/***
When life gives you lemons
Skull**** everyone in sight!
http://wonderofitall.com/

***/***/***

"PTRAVEL" wrote in message
om...

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.

Especially when they come knocking at my door for just such a reason. They
always ask . . ."have you found jesus?"

I quite frankly tell them . . . .if he ain't turned up after over 2000
years, he ain't lost . . . .he doesn't want to be found by his followers!!

"BTR1701" wrote in message
...

And you know who the sky marshals are on any given flight?

'Cause they stand up and announce "Hi, I'm Bob. I'll be your sky marshal
this morning..."

LOL, they are easy to pick out. They'll only fly first class (the best of
course) they usually sit in the exact same seats all the time, they board
ahead of everyone else and are already seated, usually sipping their sodas
or coffee, and they generally look like dorks.

They aren't on every flight, but when they are on one, they're easy to spot.

"Riley The Dog" wrote in message
...

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

Because ALL religious fundies are whackjobs, didn't you know that?
Especially when they openly announce it, try to push it off on everyone
else, and openly recruit which xtians are extremely famous for.

"nobody" wrote in message
...
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 ?

Hell no. You're more likely to see them polishing their pistola than
anything else. The bible belt ain't what it used to be.

--
***/***/***
When life gives you lemons
Skull**** everyone in sight!
http://wonderofitall.com/

***/***/***