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[BocoDragon]

As we know, terrorists like to loudly discuss their attack plans on cellphones while waiting for takeoff.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Saying "Islamic State" or "Daesh" on an airplane should be taken seriously by anybody and everybody, no matter what your intention/s were.

Especially when they're doing it in Arabic, huh?

Can I say Allahu Akbar? Or Bismillah? Or Alhamdulillah? Or Insha Allah? Probably not, huh.

 

[cameron]

Southwest Press Release (April 18 2016 - DALLAS, TX): "Statement Regarding Customer Situation on Flight 4620"

A Southwest passenger onboard flight 4620 heard another passenger make comments perceived to be threatening and notified our Crew. Both passengers involved in the situation spoke a shared language, Arabic. Our Crew responded by following protocol, as required by federal law, to investigate and report to law enforcement agencies any potential threat to civil aviation. It was the content of the passenger's conversation, not the language used, that prompted the report leading to our investigation. We provided the passenger an immediate refund of his unused ticket. Federal law enforcement agents became involved and conducted their own investigation.

We regret any less than positive experience a Customer has onboard our aircraft. We welcome onboard more than a hundred million Customers each year; and we aim safely to transport each, while maintaining the comfort of all. Safety is our always first focus, and our Employees are trained to make decisions to safeguard the security of our Crews and Customers on every flight. We would not remove a passenger from a flight without a collaborative decision rooted in established procedures. Southwest neither condones nor tolerates discrimination of any kind. Our Company could not survive if we practiced or believed otherwise. In fact, a cursory view of our workforce, as well as our expansive, multi-cultural Customer base is a reliable indicator that we exalt and appreciate diversity.

 

[squidyj]

we can't be racist, we have black friends arabic customers

 

[Anion]

Saying "Islamic State" or "Daesh" on an airplane should be taken seriously by anybody and everybody, no matter what your intention/s were.

Something tells me that terrorists don't actually use those words in the critical moments before an attack - considering that the current use of them results in an interrogation. They have code words for that

 

[Dead Man]

Saying "Islamic State" or "Daesh" on an airplane should be taken seriously by anybody and everybody, no matter what your intention/s were.

Fucking hell.

 

[Kinitari]

My family is Eritrean and often speak Tigrinya. They're all Catholics. They sometime get looks from people even though they're not speaking Arabic. It's close enough I guess for Islamophobes to get uncomfortable.

My mom jumps from Tigrinya to Oromo to Amharic like it's nothing. And she also speaks Arabic, English and Somali. I think she also speaks passing Swahili. I know it's a tangent, but I don't hear the word "Tigrinya" very often on Gaf.

 

[duckroll]

But if me waiting an extra 20-30 minutes means tens or hundreds of lives can be saved, well that'd be the least of any sane persons worries.

0 lives are saved. Intrusive airport security measures are ineffective and generally fails any proper real life scenario test. They exist only to fuel paranoia and fear.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Big difference between a greeting in Arabic and Daesh. BIG difference, and you know that, so stop being ignorant.

I say whatever I want, as long as it's reasonable, and I won't back down. If this incident occurs to me, you can bet I would sue the crap out of the airline and the lady as well for being such an ignorant asshat and supporting ignorant behaviors.

 

[LumpOfCole]

My dog only knows Arabic commands, so the only Arabic I know are the real basics and words you might use with a dog. "Halas" (stop), "Yella Tai" (come here), "Tai-landeh" (get over here), "Yalla yalla yalla" (go go go), "Bai" (walk), "Shitayeeb (treat)," that kind of thing.

I used "Baddeh Shitayeeb" (I am told this means "I want a treat to eat") at a supermarket in Beirut a couple months ago and the Arabic-only speaking cashier just laughed. I think that means I pronounced it right.

 

[tearsintherain]

A Southwest passenger onboard flight 4620 heard another passenger make comments perceived to be threatening and notified our Crew. Both passengers involved in the situation spoke a shared language, Arabic. Our Crew responded by following protocol, as required by federal law, to investigate and report to law enforcement agencies any potential threat to civil aviation. It was the content of the passenger's conversation, not the language used, that prompted the report leading to our investigation. We provided the passenger an immediate refund of his unused ticket. Federal law enforcement agents became involved and conducted their own investigation.

Not sure what some of you think should have happened, given the above statement by Southwest.

Its dumb but ya know what, when you are flying try to avoid talking about guns, bombs, ISIS, and a few other things.

 

[neshcom]

Southwest Press Release (April 18 2016 - DALLAS, TX): "Statement Regarding Customer Situation on Flight 4620"

So the passenger who reported the conversation speaks Arabic and reported what they said? Because it would definitely be discrimination to take a non-speaker's word on a conversation that they literally do not understand.
Or did the reporting passenger report the conversation solely because it was in Arabic and an Arabic-speaking flight attendant accepted that as suspicious and overheard a dangerous part of the conversation? Because that whole chain of events isn't free of discrimination either.

Not sure what some of you think should have happened, given the above statement by Southwest.

Its dumb but ya know what, when you are flying try to avoid talking about guns, bombs, ISIS, and a few other things.

But you'd expect someone who understood what you were saying to be able to understand the context of the conversation. And yet that didn't happen here.

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

0 lives are saved. Intrusive airport security measures are ineffective and generally fails any proper real life scenario test. They exist only to fuel paranoia and fear.

Yep. Actual terrorists likely love how we have to do all this dumb bullshit that doesn't even matter. And that now there's a growing list of words we can't utter aloud anymore. The more we place all these arcane rules and restrictions on our every day lives the less and less different our country starts to look from the places the bad guys originated from.

 

[TAJ]

I want to know who this other passenger was.
showmethereceipts.gif because I don't believe they speak Arabic.

 

[Syriel]

0 lives are saved. Intrusive airport security measures are ineffective and generally fails any proper real life scenario test. They exist only to fuel paranoia and fear.

TSA continually fails actual penetration testing.

Yes, they stop the general idiot who forgot to take the knife out of his backpack, but they fail miserably any time an agency runs a test to try to get contraband through.

And if they're failing all those tests, you have to wonder how much they are actually missing.

 

[spekkeh]

Really? This is what society has become? The terrorists have won then, if they don't even need to do anything to make you fear. Gimme a fucking break.

"we should take people talking about ISIS on a plane seriously"

"the terrorists have won"

Seems like a bit of an overreaction.

I want to know who this other passenger was.
showmethereceipts.gif because I don't believe they speak Arabic.

I don't see anything worth doubting about. Nobody gets taken aside just for speaking Arabic come on. In this case the guy was talking about bringing up ISIS to the United Nations. You'd have to be able to speak Arabic to get even half of that.

 

[Acerac]

"we should take people talking about ISIS on a plane seriously"

"the terrorists have won"

Seems like a bit of an overreaction.

Howso? Anyone intending to hijack a plane is obviously not going to be talking about ISIS before they do so. Let's be real here.

 

[duckroll]

"we should take people talking about ISIS on a plane seriously"

"the terrorists have won"

Seems like a bit of an overreaction.

Is it more of an overreaction or less of an overreaction than throwing a paying passenger off a plane for taking about ISIS? Why limit this to planes if you're so concerned? What is so special about a plane? Maybe we should be cautious about anyone taking about ISIS anywhere. Or anyone speaking Arabic, period. I would be very concerned if said person also had a beard, looked middle eastern, and had a funny look in his eye. Watch out for people with large backpacks too. You don't know what's in those. Any woman with a headscarf covering her face could be terrorist sympathizer too. We should definitely check before letting them in any public building.

Nobody gets taken aside just for speaking Arabic come on.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Best joke so far? Next you're going to tell me no one gets stopped by cops just because they're black.

 

[spekkeh]

Is it more of an overreaction or less of an overreaction than throwing a paying passenger off a plane for taking about ISIS? Why limit this to planes if you're so concerned? What is so special about a plane? Maybe we should be cautious about anyone taking about ISIS anywhere. Or anyone speaking Arabic, period. I would be very concerned if said person also had a beard, looked middle eastern, and had a funny look in his eye. Watch out for people with large backpacks too. You don't know what's in those. Any woman with a headscarf covering her face could be terrorist sympathizer too. We should definitely check before letting them in any public building.

Yes if there's no cause for concern, let's stop doing security checks altogether, lest we act on any ungrounded fears, this is a path worth taking.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Best joke so far? Next you're going to tell me no one gets stopped by cops just because they're black.

More exaggeration. Not sure when you've last flown, people of Arab descent fly a lot, there's always a few on every single plane. Flight attendants would be having a day job keeping them off. In this case the story was even corroborated by the passenger himself.

 

[duckroll]

Yes if there's no cause for concern, let's stop doing security checks altogether, lest we act on any ungrounded fears, this is a path worth taking.

Yeah, let's. Studies have shown that they are completely useless in stopping actual threats anyway.

More exaggeration. Not sure when you've last flown, people of Arab descent fly a lot, there's always a few on every single plane. Flight attendants would be having a day job keeping them off. In this case the story was even corroborated by the passenger himself.

Exaggeration? What you're saying is akin to claiming that there are black people walking around everywhere, and most of them don't seem to get stopped or harassed, so clearly people don't get targeted just for being black.

 

[spekkeh]

Yeah, let's. Studies have shown that they are completely useless in stopping actual threats anyway.

Okay at least you're consistent. Let's agree to disagree here.

Exaggeration? What you're saying is akin to claiming that there are black people walking around everywhere, and most of them don't seem to get stopped or harassed, so clearly people don't get targeted just for being black.

Clearly most people don't target blacks for being black. Not saying some don't. Not saying it's not a big problem in the US police force. But what do you think is more likely in this case: the passenger going hey miss, don't look now but I heard that passenger behind me speak Arab. And that the flight attendant would go the fuck you say, an Arab on my plane, that I let board the plane myself just then, well I never! Or that it's more akin to miss don't look now, the passenger next to me was on the phone to someone in Iraq, possibly isis controlled territory and I overheard him talk about bombs and taking terrorism to Ban ki moon and I kind of feel you should have someone ask him what it was about because I'm feeling some distress. If it's the former as you seem to imply, then that flight attendant would have a day job, is what I meant.