how to make Australians and Kiwis crap their pants

[dehro]

crocodiles? spiders? snakes? Uruk-Hai?
no.. T-Shirts (http://americanlivewire.com/wynand-mullins/)

[Elemental]

Well, it would be rude of us to offend all the law-abiding and non-murderous Inigo Montoyas out there by allowing such inflammatory attire in the confined space of an aeroplane.

Edit: Just note: I will not stand for this slur against our honour! Our army will be at the walls of your city at sunset, three days hence.
If you're not in, we'll leave our card and raze the place to the ground.

[Gravitron5000]

Incontheivable!

[dehro]

what would they have done if the quote had been "consider me as an alternative to suicide", I wonder?

[Vizzerdrix]

I just love how the shirt is referred to as the "prepare to die" shirt. Way to make it sound more threatening than it really is, Sarah Rasheed :smallannoyed:

[Sholos]

Eh, I can understand the side of those who haven't seen the movie before. Planes being hijacked is a pretty scary thing to think about, and seeing someone with a shirt that says "Prepare to die" and not knowing the context? Now, yes, there is the "you killed my father" part before that, but still... Perhaps not the best shirt to wear onto a plane.

[Kindablue]

This is news. This is a story that people all over the world will stop what they're doing and listen to.

[dehro]

I did :smallsmile:

[Tebryn]

Eh, I can understand the side of those who haven't seen the movie before. Planes being hijacked is a pretty scary thing to think about, and seeing someone with a shirt that says "Prepare to die" and not knowing the context? Now, yes, there is the "you killed my father" part before that, but still... Perhaps not the best shirt to wear onto a plane.

Before today I wouldn't have imagined anyone to take offence to a shirt like that. I like to think people are smarter than to get in umbrage over a t-shirt. I was proven wrong I'm afraid. It's the very height of a whine.

[Mystic Muse]

I have a shirt just like that!

[Traab]

It was a dumb move to wear the shirt, but it was also stupidity to freak out over it. "Yes virginia, terrorists commonly wear clothing that advertises their plans" This reminds me of the story back in the day of a guy on a plane wearing a shirt that had a single line written in arabic on it or something and people freaked the hell out.

I have never understood this stupidity over shirt horror. Seriously? The shirt bothers you and the solution is to make the guy change his shirt. This makes him stop being a potential terrorist somehow? "DAMMIT! Foiled again! I was going to blow up this plane and everyone on it, but then the stewardess made me change out of my tshirt of elmur fudd pointing his shotgun at whoever im looking at. Now the mood is just ruined."

[Winter_Wolf]

Think of all the people who would overreact to someone wearing a shirt like that. I'd be more afraid of what an irrational person would do in the confined space of an airplane than the guy wearing the shirt.

I didn't find the shirt to be all that humorous. An actual name tag with that on it is so-so, but a t-shirt with it on is just kind of lame. Then again I prefer the ol' "Hello! I'm an innocent bystander", or "Hello! I'm an authority figure".

[dehro]

Think of all the people who would overreact to someone wearing a shirt like that. I'd be more afraid of what an irrational person would do in the confined space of an airplane than the guy wearing the shirt.

I didn't find the shirt to be all that humorous. An actual name tag with that on it is so-so, but a t-shirt with it on is just kind of lame. Then again I prefer the ol' "Hello! I'm an innocent bystander", or "Hello! I'm an authority figure".

reminds me of a friend of a friend.. he was a bit of a socially active nut..don't quite know how else to describe him..
he'd go stand outside kings cross station wearing a balaclava and a sign with "don't panic" written on it. he stopped doing this once he got arrested for ..I don't know..disturbing the peace?
people had called the cops on him

[Winter_Wolf]

reminds me of a friend of a friend.. he was a bit of a socially active nut..don't quite know how else to describe him..
he'd go stand outside kings cross station wearing a balaclava and a sign with "don't panic" written on it. he stopped doing this once he got arrested for ..I don't know..disturbing the peace?
people had called the cops on him

At first I read that and thought of a baklava--the Turkish treat. Led to a wildly different interpretation of events. Then google ruined that for me when I checked "balaclava". But it made a lot more sense, I guess.

[pwning doodes]

It was a dumb move to wear the shirt, but it was also stupidity to freak out over it. "Yes virginia, terrorists commonly wear clothing that advertises their plans" This reminds me of the story back in the day of a guy on a plane wearing a shirt that had a single line written in arabic on it or something and people freaked the hell out.

I have never understood this stupidity over shirt horror. Seriously? The shirt bothers you and the solution is to make the guy change his shirt. This makes him stop being a potential terrorist somehow? "DAMMIT! Foiled again! I was going to blow up this plane and everyone on it, but then the stewardess made me change out of my tshirt of elmur fudd pointing his shotgun at whoever im looking at. Now the mood is just ruined."

Frankly, I agree. The arabic, I understand. But I would think that if a guy was wearing a shirt that said, "Prepare to die" on it then he would probably be LESS likely to be a terrorist than other random people. I mean, what kind of dumbass terrorist wears a shirt that says, "I'm from Al Quaeda and I'm going to kill you now"?

[dehro]

there's this much used (in webcomics) thing that if you say words like bomb or similar whilst going through baggage checks in airports, no matter the context in which you say them, you're setting yourself up for all kinds of searches and a serious talk with the local authorities.. aside from the comedic effect in which this is used in said comics, is this an actual thing anywhere in the world? I'm pretty sure it's not in most of Europe..

[comicshorse]

there's this much used (in webcomics) thing that if you say words like bomb or similar whilst going through baggage checks in airports, no matter the context in which you say them, you're setting yourself up for all kinds of searches and a serious talk with the local authorities.. aside from the comedic effect in which this is used in said comics, is this an actual thing anywhere in the world? I'm pretty sure it's not in most of Europe..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19009344

Sadly

[Traab]

Frankly, I agree. The arabic, I understand. But I would think that if a guy was wearing a shirt that said, "Prepare to die" on it then he would probably be LESS likely to be a terrorist than other random people. I mean, what kind of dumbass terrorist wears a shirt that says, "I'm from Al Quaeda and I'm going to kill you now"?

No, thats not even my point, my point of contention is. This guy is wearing a threatening and scary t shirt right? So he changes the shirt and now he is no longer a danger somehow? Thats the part that gets me. I would think it over the top but at least semi coherent if said scary shirt wearing guy got removed from the plane, but to literally treat it as, "Ok, now that he is no longer wearing that scary bad to the bone t shirt implying his evil status, we can trust him."

This whole shirt thing is stupid, and honestly, the only time I would insist on a shirt being changed or covered up is if it was something REALLY distasteful. "Clear air traffic congestion, blow up your plane today!" Or perhaps showing up in a group with your friends wearing a linked set of shirts that says, "This plane will explode in " "5" "4" "3" "2" "1" But even then thats less for threatening, and more because I dont want to share plane space with a disgusting POS with a really bad sense of humor.

[Bulldog Psion]

Well, what it comes down to is that the airline clearly doesn't view someone like this as a threat. They view them as a disruption to other paying customers. It's like someone wandering around playing a kazoo; they don't think the kazoo endangers the plane, they think that the person is disturbing the other patrons. And if they asked them to stop playing it, it's not because of danger, it's to get him to shut up and stop bugging other people.

So, it's logical to ask him to change the shirt if they only view him as an annoyance. Clearly, since they asked him to change the shirt rather than having him hauled off the plane by hairy-knuckled security guards, they view him as a minor annoyance rather than a threat.

So saying "changing the shirt makes him no longer a danger somehow" isn't really addressing what the problem is from the airline's point of view. They don't view him as a danger. They view him as somebody being mildly obnoxious to other people on the flight. And yes, changing the shirt WOULD change that, just like stopping the kazoo, shushing a screaming infant, etc. would make nearby people more comfortable.

I don't see anything illogical in the airline's actions. Only if an exaggerated, weird, ludicrous cause is ascribed as their motivation does it become illogical.

If they thought he was a threat, he'd be tazed and hauled off before you could say "bomb".

[Traab]

But even that is stupid. Its a shirt. Nowhere else do random bystanders have the ability to say, "Hey officer, I find that guys shirt offensive, go make him get rid of it!" I have never seen a guy kicked out of a restaurant, cinema, or public place for wearing a stupid/offensive shirt. So why do they have that power on an airplane? Especially since that offensive shirt will likely be in view for maybe 1% of your flight time. Counting when he gets up to go to the bathroom or something. Unless you sit in front of him and spend the entire time staring over the back of your chair at him, that mean shirt wont be able to hurt you.

[dehro]

one could make a case for the fact that some people approach flying with some apprehension and anything to add to that apprehension might potentially lead to a problem for the crew, which is why they approached them at all.
Anyway, let's also not forget that the crew did ask him to change the shirt, yes, but when he refused (because he couldn't or because he wouldn't, the crew has no way to say which is true) they didn't pursue the matter any further.
They probably felt it necessary to make an attempt at defusing the apprehension of the morons that raised concern, mostly because it's an easy way to remove the issue from wasting more of their time.. but they also saw it clear that it really wasn't a big deal and once they'd done their bit they didn't listen to said morons any further.
asking the passenger to swap shirts was merely for them covering all the bases so that they couldn't be held at fault for uncaring service or some other such baloney.

as for the people who did voice their concern.. meh.. you should have seen the stares 3 middle-eastern men got from everybody on the plane when I flew to Germany less than a week after 9-11. people are people...sometimes there's no helping it.

[Bulldog Psion]

But even that is stupid. Its a shirt. Nowhere else do random bystanders have the ability to say, "Hey officer, I find that guys shirt offensive, go make him get rid of it!" I have never seen a guy kicked out of a restaurant, cinema, or public place for wearing a stupid/offensive shirt. So why do they have that power on an airplane? Especially since that offensive shirt will likely be in view for maybe 1% of your flight time. Counting when he gets up to go to the bathroom or something. Unless you sit in front of him and spend the entire time staring over the back of your chair at him, that mean shirt wont be able to hurt you.

All they did was ask him, once, to change it. I don't think he's scarred for life by the experience. :smallwink: More than likely he's still having a great time telling the story to his buddies.

And they didn't kick him off the plane, so I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that they have the power to kick him off. :smallconfused: Or, if they do have the power, they didn't use it.

[Sholos]

But even that is stupid. Its a shirt. Nowhere else do random bystanders have the ability to say, "Hey officer, I find that guys shirt offensive, go make him get rid of it!" I have never seen a guy kicked out of a restaurant, cinema, or public place for wearing a stupid/offensive shirt. So why do they have that power on an airplane? Especially since that offensive shirt will likely be in view for maybe 1% of your flight time. Counting when he gets up to go to the bathroom or something. Unless you sit in front of him and spend the entire time staring over the back of your chair at him, that mean shirt wont be able to hurt you.

Actually, my local mall has a posted notice that offensive T-shirts can get you removed from the mall. Technically any place would have the right to have you removed from the premises for an offensive shirt or if you were disturbing others. it just very rarely happens because most people are reasonable people and don't go crying to mommy and daddy every time someone briefly offends their sensibilities.

[Traab]

All they did was ask him, once, to change it. I don't think he's scarred for life by the experience. :smallwink: More than likely he's still having a great time telling the story to his buddies.

And they didn't kick him off the plane, so I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that they have the power to kick him off. :smallconfused: Or, if they do have the power, they didn't use it.

This time he didnt get kicked off. But there have been a number of stories over the years since 9-11 where people HAVE been removed from planes just because they look objectionable. Not just for the crime of looking middle eastern, (though that IS a horrific crime, :smallsigh: ) but for clothing they wear. Im sure there are several times as many incidents that were solved by changing shirts on the plane or something. And Sholos, I have honestly never seen that done at my local mall, or seen any signs or ever seen someone kicked out for a stupid shirt. But maybe ive just been lucky, I dunno. Closest thing to clothing related trauma ive seen outside of an airport are school dress code issues. :smalltongue:

[Winter_Wolf]

there's this much used (in webcomics) thing that if you say words like bomb or similar whilst going through baggage checks in airports, no matter the context in which you say them, you're setting yourself up for all kinds of searches and a serious talk with the local authorities.. aside from the comedic effect in which this is used in said comics, is this an actual thing anywhere in the world? I'm pretty sure it's not in most of Europe..

It's a thing. It was a thing before 2001, even. One of my classmates in college got to have a little sit-down chat with airport security because of his flippant commentary regarding how a container of alcohol looked so much like a bomb. This was in the United States on a domestic flight out of California to Washington state.

[Tebryn]

All they did was ask him, once, to change it. I don't think he's scarred for life by the experience. :smallwink: More than likely he's still having a great time telling the story to his buddies.

And they didn't kick him off the plane, so I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that they have the power to kick him off. :smallconfused: Or, if they do have the power, they didn't use it.

I find the idea that there were people scared and offended by the shirt, prompting them to ask him to change his shirt, to be absurd. I'm not, at least, stating that asking the man to change his shirt was the problem. The problem was there were people so sensitive that they got offended and scared over an article of clothing. That's my problem with it.

[dehro]

mind you..if they'd asked me to change Tshirt I'd have probably chosen one that was "even more offensive"

[TheThan]

i once wore this (http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0030/3802/products/curious_george_Plain_Ether_copy_grande.jpg?0) shirt to high school.

The vice principle (formerly a science teacher) stopped me in the hall, and told me he thought it was hilarious, then told me I couldn't wear it because it was potentially drug related and he didn't want me to get in trouble. (some of the teachers at that particular school are/were very uptight about that sort of stuff).
I understood, but I was still crushed.

[Traab]

mind you..if they'd asked me to change Tshirt I'd have probably chosen one that was "even more offensive"

I think I would keep a wadded up DEATH TO THE INFIDELS t shirt on hand just in case this very thing happens. "You dont like my gun wielding yosemite sam tshirt? Ok, ill change. MWAHAHAHAHA! Umm, ignore that mad laughter, it means nothing."

[Sholos]

i once wore this (http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0030/3802/products/curious_george_Plain_Ether_copy_grande.jpg?0) shirt to high school.

The vice principle (formerly a science teacher) stopped me in the hall, and told me he thought it was hilarious, then told me I couldn't wear it because it was potentially drug related and he didn't want me to get in trouble. (some of the teachers at that particular school are/were very uptight about that sort of stuff).
I understood, but I was still crushed.

My brother got in trouble for wearing a shirt with a fighter jet on it and the words "Hunter Killer" (referencing a role said plane flies).

[Tebryn]

i once wore this (http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0030/3802/products/curious_george_Plain_Ether_copy_grande.jpg?0) shirt to high school.

The vice principle (formerly a science teacher) stopped me in the hall, and told me he thought it was hilarious, then told me I couldn't wear it because it was potentially drug related and he didn't want me to get in trouble. (some of the teachers at that particular school are/were very uptight about that sort of stuff).
I understood, but I was still crushed.

See, I feel caving to such things only empowers people like that. Saying your offended is such a whine and we need to let people know that. To bad they're offended, they don't have the right because of it to tell people how to dress. Tell them where they stand that they need to lighten up.

[Killer Angel]

My brother got in trouble for wearing a shirt with a fighter jet on it and the words "Hunter Killer" (referencing a role said plane flies).

and... why? Maybe I'm slow, but i don't see anything worrisome. :smallconfused:

[Sholos]

and... why? Maybe I'm slow, but i don't see anything worrisome. :smallconfused:

Because it had the words "Hunter" and "Killer". Yes, it was ridiculous.

[willpell]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19009344

Sadly

While I agree that this entire incident is rather sad, I can personally sympathize with the people on the plane, because I remember the one time I've flown in my life; it is an extremely nerve-rattling experience, at least to novitiates, and you're more likely to overreact when you're already anxious. Anything that makes people feel more at ease in a situation is welcome, and likewise the inverse.

After all, if you think too hard about the idea of hurtling thousands of feat into the air, at incredible speeds, in a rickety tube of metal which actually has to scream forward at a rocketlike velocity in order to not fall out of the sky...well, how many people would pay airline fares if they had to be fully aware of the inherent dangerousness of that situation every moment the whole trip? You really need something to calm you down, and you don't need things that impair that calm.

It's still pretty silly that the passengers felt threatened over that little, but I can sort of relate.

[Traab]

While I agree that this entire incident is rather sad, I can personally sympathize with the people on the plane, because I remember the one time I've flown in my life; it is an extremely nerve-rattling experience, at least to novitiates, and you're more likely to overreact when you're already anxious. Anything that makes people feel more at ease in a situation is welcome, and likewise the inverse.

After all, if you think too hard about the idea of hurtling thousands of feat into the air, at incredible speeds, in a rickety tube of metal which actually has to scream forward at a rocketlike velocity in order to not fall out of the sky...well, how many people would pay airline fares if they had to be fully aware of the inherent dangerousness of that situation every moment the whole trip? You really need something to calm you down, and you don't need things that impair that calm.

It's still pretty silly that the passengers felt threatened over that little, but I can sort of relate.

I remind myself that since I was far more likely to die on the car ride to the airport and I survived THAT just fine, I will probably be ok on the plane too.

[willpell]

I remind myself that since I was far more likely to die on the car ride to the airport and I survived THAT just fine, I will probably be ok on the plane too.

One out of the four planes I was on, there were literally gaps in the wall of the plane with insulation sticking through them. Statistics would not have sufficed to improve my sense of safety. I pretty much had to meditate my way into an altered state of consciousness (no that's not a euphemism, it's literally what I did, which is admittedly kind of neat) in order to not be on the verge of screaming with terror the entire time the plane was accelerating, or every time it hit turbulence in the air.

Bottom line, flying is scary, and scaring fliers is obnoxious. Though I do think it would have been funny (and humor can be a great way to reduce tension!) if the guy's response would have been to pull the shirt off and then sit there topless the whole flight.

[dehro]

I guess that's hard fro me to relate to, because I've been flying for as long as I can remember.. longer in fact.
apparently my parents took me with them when they went to Germany on a business trip and I fell ill so they decided to send me to my grandparents in Amsterdam..by plane. They handed me over to a stewardess and my mother still tells me she was rather annoyed that I didn't even look back
I was 6 months old at the time.

(the downside to this anecdote is that I had an ear infection which they didn't know about, and you shouldn't fly with one of those.. to this day, my hearing is partially compromised in one ear.)

[Traab]

Ok, I can understand feeling bowel loosening terror when the plane you are in is visibly missing parts. Thats just. . . wrong. I have been lucky, none of my flights have involved me seeing chunks missing, or duct tape holding the wings on, or anything else that would suggest the plane might not be safe.

[Fragenstein]

... duct tape holding the wings on...

I'm trying to figure out when this became a 'thing'. Probably some internet meme or something posted to TVTropes. Who knows.

For the most part, that's not duct tape. It's alumanized 'speed tape (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_tape)', and has about as much in common with duct tape as arc-welding does with Elmer's Glue-All.

It's fine. Don't worry about it unless you're familiar with the actual safety guidelines regarding its use and manage to spot gross violations. But unless you're an FAA inspector, I'm going to guess that won't happen often.

[dehro]

I'm trying to figure out when this became a 'thing'. Probably some internet meme or something posted to TVTropes. Who knows.

For the most part, that's not duct tape. It's alumanized 'speed tape (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_tape)', and has about as much in common with duct tape as arc-welding does with Elmer's Glue-All.

It's fine. Don't worry about it unless you're familiar with the actual safety guidelines regarding its use and manage to spot gross violations. But unless you're an FAA inspector, I'm going to guess that won't happen often.

there was a bit in the news some time ago, about a ryanair (who else?) airplane having a visible patch-up job done on a window of the cockpit, with speed tape rather visibly all over the place.

[Traab]

I'm trying to figure out when this became a 'thing'. Probably some internet meme or something posted to TVTropes. Who knows.

For the most part, that's not duct tape. It's alumanized 'speed tape (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_tape)', and has about as much in common with duct tape as arc-welding does with Elmer's Glue-All.

It's fine. Don't worry about it unless you're familiar with the actual safety guidelines regarding its use and manage to spot gross violations. But unless you're an FAA inspector, I'm going to guess that won't happen often.

Actually, i got that from the movie The Rundown. The Rock is heading out to Brazil or something out in the middle of nowhere and the small plane he is flying in is literally being held together with duct tape as identified by the ridiculously accented irish pilot.

[Bulldog Psion]

I'm a pretty seasoned traveler myself, and thankfully, I've never yet experienced the horror, the horror of seeing my plane literally taped together. I'm sure I'll see it eventually, though. :smallcool:

But, Ryanair ... yeah.

[Winter_Wolf]

Actually, i got that from the movie The Rundown. The Rock is heading out to Brazil or something out in the middle of nowhere and the small plane he is flying in is literally being held together with duct tape as identified by the ridiculously accented irish pilot.

The fact that you're getting this info from The Rundown should be a pretty big tip-off. It's a fun movie, but yeah. Some crazy bush pilots probably do use what they have on hand. You generally don't get a lot of overlap between them and proper commercial flights.

Trivia, you can totally use speed tape to fix a car's leaking gas tank. Okay, so I grew up where crazy bush pilots are basically the only pilots around.

[Traab]

The fact that you're getting this info from The Rundown should be a pretty big tip-off. It's a fun movie, but yeah. Some crazy bush pilots probably do use what they have on hand. You generally don't get a lot of overlap between them and proper commercial flights.

Trivia, you can totally use speed tape to fix a car's leaking gas tank. Okay, so I grew up where crazy bush pilots are basically the only pilots around.

Yeah, I wasnt trying to imply that people actually do that. It was hyperbole as I described things that would make me very stressed out to see on any airplane im flying in.