Apparently, free speech doesn’t apply to women who are pro-choice, at least that’s what American Airlines says.
An American Airlines captain took a female passenger to task this week for wearing a pro-choice t-shirt that says, ‘If I wanted the government in my womb, I’d fuck a senator!,’ inspired of course by the Oklahoma senator who wore a similar shirt in protest of her Republican senate colleagues support of a personhood amendment. The flight attendant brought the woman, an abortion rights activist, to the front of the plane and the captain publicly humiliated her in front of other passengers. The woman was then forced to miss her connecting flight because of the shirt.
The woman described the incident in an email to RH Reality Check:
“[O]n the plane of the first leg of my flight home, I spent the majority of [time] sleeping, using my shawl as a blanket. Right before we were set to land the flight attendant from first class approaches me and asks if I had a connecting flight? We were running a bit behind schedule, so I figured I was being asked this to be sure I would make my connecting flight. She then proceeded to tell me that I needed to speak with the captain before disembarking the plane and that the shirt I was wearing was offensive.
The shirt was gray with the wording, “If I wanted the government in my womb, I’d fuck a senator.” I must also mention that when I boarded the plane, I was one of the first groups to board (did not pass by many folks). I was wearing my shawl just loosely around my neck and upon sitting down in my seat the lady next to me, who was already seated, praised me for wearing the shirt.
When I was leaving the plane the captain stepped off with me and told me I should not have been allowed to board the plane in DC and needed to change before boarding my next flight. This conversation led to me missing my connecting flight. I assumed that because I was held up by the captain, they would have called ahead to let the connecting flight know I was in route. Well, upon my hastened arrival at the gate of the connecting flight, it was discovered that they did indeed call ahead but not to hold the flight, only to tell them I needed to change my shirt. I was given a seat on the next flight and told to change shirts.
Due to the fact that my luggage was checked, changing shirts without spending money wasn’t an option. I consulted a friend with a law background who told me covering with my shawl would suffice. Upon boarding the now rescheduled flight with shawl covering my shirt, my ticket dinged invalid. I was pulled to the side while the gentleman entered some codes into the computer and then told, “it was all good.” I did finally arrive home to pick up my daughter an hour and a half later than scheduled.”
American Airlines apparently has a policy stating that it can refuse to transport you, or may remove you from your flight for reasons including ‘being clothed in a manner that would cause discomfort or offense to other passengers.” But this t-shirt didn’t bother anyone at all. In fact, according to the woman, she was praised for wearing it. It was the male captain of the plane who had a problem with it, and he wasn’t even in a position to see the shirt considering he’s supposed to be busy flying the damn plane. Instead of simply asking the woman to turn the shirt inside out, the captain berated her for it and caused her to miss her next flight. I’ve been on American Airlines flights before and have seen offensive shirts worn by many people who weren’t stopped or harassed by airline personnel. The profanity on the shirt isn’t anything new. Millions of t-shirts have profanity. The difference between those other shirts and this one is that the others don’t have a pro-choice, pro-contraception, pro-women message.
My question is, if this were an anti-abortion t-shirt, would the captain have acted the same way? It just seems to me that American Airlines harassed this poor woman because she supports abortion rights. They impeded on her right to free speech and expression and they should be forced to issue a public apology to her. So let’s sign this petition and send a message to American Airlines that women deserve free speech too, even on airplanes.
As your readers have already largely pointed out, you’ve screwed this one up on a grand scale.
Who do you think comprise the prime demographic of cabin crews at ANY airline? They are the most progressive bunch in the world, and this horrible tidbit of Fox-style misinforming and issue-dodging is biting the proverbial feeding hand.
As you need to print in your retraction, “We are now fully aware that the incident had nothing at all to do with Pro-Choice, but instead with expressions of obscenity in public.”
Even the woman at the center of this issue said as much.
Now, grow some cajones and back your way out of this mess. You should remain above such a poor journalistic standard. Leave the deception to Fox.
Yes, they created more attention by calling her out on it but NO, she did not have a right to wear whatever she wanted. None of us do when it’s a private company like AA. They have a right to set their policies and all we can ask is that they apply them fairly across the board. But here’s the bigger point. This isn’t about civil liberties. This is about common sense and personal responsibilty. She should have known that wearing a t-shirt with F*** on it was going to be an issue. And on top of that, we need to remember that we are all connected and the things we do impact others. She’s not just sending a message to the “other side”, she’s putting that message out to the world, including lpeople who do not choose to have that kind of vulgarity in their lives and little children whose parents shouldn’t have to explain what the heck that means. Our choices have consequences and she now sees this. I am for choice, I am for women and I am for being consious of the things we do and how they impact others. Someone else here said that there IS a place for a shirt like this and that is true. A plane full of people going about their business or travel is not that place and she should have known that.
Oh please – we all know it’s not because the shirt was “pro-choice”, but because of the obscenity. Let’s at least stay intellectually honest. The woman needs to learn how to dress appropriately
I guess I shouldn’t dig out my old “I ALWAYS Fly United!” Tee.
If you are old enough, you remember it.
Wasn’t that the one that was used for the two ducks copulating later on?
No news here. Wear a t-shirt with obscenities printed on it and you will get treated differently. I’m as liberal as they get and I still have no problem with what happened with this woman. She should be more considerate of others. I can only guess she has no children. At the very least she forgot that part of being a respectful and responsible citizen is not using or displaying obscene language in public, especially around children. Her poor decision to wear this particular t-shirt was worse than any treatment she received from employees of the airline who really have better things to do than have to deal with inconsiderate passengers who can’t even dress themselves properly for a public flight. When she can afford her own private jet she can wear anything she likes.