Muslim chaplain claims discrimination on United flight (1 Viewer)

[AAABatteries]

They don't give you cans so that they can save money.

They were giving everybody cans on our United flight today.

Maybe this was her end game all along. Whole cans for everybody! Thank you Muslim lady!

 

[TPW]

Calls by Muslims to Boycott United Airlines Following Alleged Discrimination

'In related news, statistical projections have revealed that United Airlines has a near zero percent chance of suicidal hijackings.'

 

[parasaurolophus]

Interesting that this is the kind of thing that sets off Andy's outrage meter.

Speaks volumes.

Interesting that you immediately take a reasonable question by someone as 'outrage' just because you disagree with their politics.

It would speak volumes if we didn't already know all about you.

Was going to post this exact same thing, but figured somebody would have beat me to it.

I don't believe this story to be true. So I guess that means I am outraged about it.

 

[Cjw_55106]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

If it didnt happen, United's statement should be simple. We looked into it and found no evidence suggesting the story is true. Saying something along the lines of trying to contact the lady to get more details tells me they acknowledge something happened.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

This whole scenario does change if she was the ONLY one that was given an unopened can.

I know I'm just speculating about a hypothesis here but I'm guessing the air waitress picked the absolute worst time to forget to open a can of beer and everyone else on the plane was handed open cans too.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

If it didnt happen, United's statement should be simple. We looked into it and found no evidence suggesting the story is true. Saying something along the lines of trying to contact the lady to get more details tells me they acknowledge something happened.

It should tell you that they want to determine what happened - if anything.

 

[Cjw_55106]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

If it didnt happen, United's statement should be simple. We looked into it and found no evidence suggesting the story is true. Saying something along the lines of trying to contact the lady to get more details tells me they acknowledge something happened.

It should tell you that they want to determine what happened - if anything.

The first thing you do is go to your employees and ask what happened. You dont first seek out the one who complained. I have to assume United asked their employees and then reached out to the lady. If there was nothing to see, they should/would say that.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

If it didnt happen, United's statement should be simple. We looked into it and found no evidence suggesting the story is true. Saying something along the lines of trying to contact the lady to get more details tells me they acknowledge something happened.

It should tell you that they want to determine what happened - if anything.

The first thing you do is go to your employees and ask what happened. You dont first seek out the one who complained. I have to assume United asked their employees and then reached out to the lady. If there was nothing to see, they should/would say that.

You're changing the story though. It's not that nothing happened. The "something" that happened is that a customer felt like they were slighted. It's the details of the complaint are suspect. So it's not as simple as you say it should be for the airline.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

For hygienic reasons, she asked for an unopened can of soda, she said. The flight attendant told her that she could not give her one but then handed an unopened can of beer to a man seated nearby.

I am trying to recall if I have ever received an unopened can of soft drink or beer on a flight in a long time.... and I really don't recall that. They always open it. The policy of not opening cans makes sense, I believe that's in place. Either she doesn't remember correctly or saw incorrectly or the stewardess gave one guy a can of beer one time and she flew off the handle. The rule would be a good one and I doubt the stewardess violated it with every single passenger on the plane who got a drink.

And UAL has no responsibility for the comments of other passengers.

"It's so you don't use it as a weapon," Ahmad said she was told.

Likely that didn't mean "you"-you, it's you as in you-anyone/everyone, colloquially.

director of interfaith engagement at Northwestern University

Let's guess - this involves campus speech codes?

In 2013, Ahmad sparked outrage among Islamic conservatives when she became the first woman to recite the Quran at the Islamic Society of North America convention in Washington, the nation's largest Muslim gathering, according to Northwestern.

That's pretty cool.

 

[jon_mx]

This whole scenario does change if she was the ONLY one that was given an unopened can.

I know I'm just speculating about a hypothesis here but I'm guessing the air waitress picked the absolute worst time to forget to open a can of beer and everyone else on the plane was handed open cans too.

I assume this was this one person's policy, it is definitely not United's policy as I witnessed one attendant giving open cans and one attendant giving unopened cans just yesterday. It is possible this one attendant got some training which mentioned the possibility of using an unopened can as a weapon and proceeded to implement that practice herself when she hands out cans.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

"It's so you don't use it as a weapon," Ahmad said she was told.

Likely that didn't mean "you"-you, it's you as in you-anyone/everyone, colloquially.

This too.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

This whole scenario does change if she was the ONLY one that was given an unopened can.

I know I'm just speculating about a hypothesis here but I'm guessing the air waitress picked the absolute worst time to forget to open a can of beer and everyone else on the plane was handed open cans too.

I assume this was this one person's policy, it is definitely not United's policy as I witnessed one attendant giving open cans and one attendant giving unopened cans just yesterday. It is possible this one attendant got some training which mentioned the possibility of using an unopened can as a weapon and proceeded to implement that practice herself when she hands out cans.

This is starting to sound more and more like someone looking for a fight encountering someone that's a little unfamiliar with her job responsibilities/not very good at them.

 

[Cjw_55106]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

If it didnt happen, United's statement should be simple. We looked into it and found no evidence suggesting the story is true. Saying something along the lines of trying to contact the lady to get more details tells me they acknowledge something happened.

It should tell you that they want to determine what happened - if anything.

The first thing you do is go to your employees and ask what happened. You dont first seek out the one who complained. I have to assume United asked their employees and then reached out to the lady. If there was nothing to see, they should/would say that.

You're changing the story though. It's not that nothing happened. The "something" that happened is that a customer felt like they were slighted. It's the details of the complaint are suspect. So it's not as simple as you say it should be for the airline.

The details are suspect to whom? Again, if you go to your employee, and they dispute the "facts", your PR says that you are trying to talk to the lady because the stories dont jive. It does the compnay no good to not squash the story if it isnt true IMO. The bottom line to me is simple, I dont know what happened and wont criticize the lady because it "doesnt pass the smell test" when the airline hasnt denied anything at this point.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

If it didnt happen, United's statement should be simple. We looked into it and found no evidence suggesting the story is true. Saying something along the lines of trying to contact the lady to get more details tells me they acknowledge something happened.

It should tell you that they want to determine what happened - if anything.

The first thing you do is go to your employees and ask what happened. You dont first seek out the one who complained. I have to assume United asked their employees and then reached out to the lady. If there was nothing to see, they should/would say that.

You're changing the story though. It's not that nothing happened. The "something" that happened is that a customer felt like they were slighted. It's the details of the complaint are suspect. So it's not as simple as you say it should be for the airline.

The details are suspect to whom? Again, if you go to your employee, and they dispute the "facts", your PR says that you are trying to talk to the lady because the stories dont jive. It does the compnay no good to not squash the story if it isnt true IMO. The bottom line to me is simple, I dont know what happened and wont criticize the lady because it "doesnt pass the smell test" when the airline hasnt denied anything at this point.

Seems to me like that's exactly what they're doing.

The airline has neither denied nor confirmed. You're free to have whatever perspective you want on the lady/airline at this point.

 

[Apple Jack]

Calls by Muslims to Boycott United Airlines Following Alleged Discrimination

'In related news, statistical projections have revealed that United Airlines has a near zero percent chance of suicidal hijackings.'

Good one, Cletus. Maybe next we can get a white meathead boycott of box trucks near daycare centers in federal buildings.

 

[General Tso]

- can we stop with the white privilege bull#### already?

No we can't because it's very real.There are certain people in society who are constantly under suspicion: young black males, young Hispanic males, and Middle Eastern looking people of all types. If you are unfortunate enough to be in one of these 3 groups, you have to deal with constant indignities: by police, at the airport, by officials of all types. If you are fortunate enough not to be one of these, particularly if you are white, you get certain benefits in society. Benefits in terms of not being harassed, in terms of economic and social opportunities. That's the way it is, and if you and others are sick of hearing people complain about it, then it needs to end.

Yeah, well keep complaining about white privilege and see how far that advances a solution. There's a lot of white people out there who are struggling right now and I can assure you it sure doesn't feel like any privilege to them. It's what we call a non-starter, and the only thing it does is piss people off and turn them away from participating in the solution.

How dare anyone point out the fact that discrimination still exists in far more subtle ways. We don't want to piss off white people!

Point it out? We are getting hit over the head with it on a daily basis. they are now calling for a boycott of the airline. And we haven't even heard the airline's side of the story yet. For all we know this lady could be embellishing upon what was a completely nonracist situation. She could have been lying and making the whole thing up. We have seen that before. I saw it in my own family.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Interesting that this is the kind of thing that sets off Andy's outrage meter.

Speaks volumes.

Interesting that you immediately take a reasonable question by someone as 'outrage' just because you disagree with their politics.

It would speak volumes if we didn't already know all about you.

Was going to post this exact same thing, but figured somebody would have beat me to it.I don't believe this story to be true. So I guess that means I am outraged about it.

The OP felt strongly enough about this incident to start a thread about it.

 

[Apple Jack]

- can we stop with the white privilege bull#### already?

No we can't because it's very real.There are certain people in society who are constantly under suspicion: young black males, young Hispanic males, and Middle Eastern looking people of all types. If you are unfortunate enough to be in one of these 3 groups, you have to deal with constant indignities: by police, at the airport, by officials of all types. If you are fortunate enough not to be one of these, particularly if you are white, you get certain benefits in society. Benefits in terms of not being harassed, in terms of economic and social opportunities. That's the way it is, and if you and others are sick of hearing people complain about it, then it needs to end.

Yeah, well keep complaining about white privilege and see how far that advances a solution. There's a lot of white people out there who are struggling right now and I can assure you it sure doesn't feel like any privilege to them. It's what we call a non-starter, and the only thing it does is piss people off and turn them away from participating in the solution.

How dare anyone point out the fact that discrimination still exists in far more subtle ways. We don't want to piss off white people!

Point it out? We are getting hit over the head with it on a daily basis. they are now calling for a boycott of the airline. And we haven't even heard the airline's side of the story yet. For all we know this lady could be embellishing upon what was a completely nonracist situation. She could have been lying and making the whole thing up. We have seen that before. I saw it in my own family.

You seem to make sure you are hit over the head with it on a daily basis. Either way, you have my sympathy, that must be difficult for you.

 

[Apple Jack]

Tso is MOP, right?

 

[Henry Ford]

This whole scenario does change if she was the ONLY one that was given an unopened can.

I know I'm just speculating about a hypothesis here but I'm guessing the air waitress picked the absolute worst time to forget to open a can of beer and everyone else on the plane was handed open cans too.

I assume this was this one person's policy, it is definitely not United's policy as I witnessed one attendant giving open cans and one attendant giving unopened cans just yesterday. It is possible this one attendant got some training which mentioned the possibility of using an unopened can as a weapon and proceeded to implement that practice herself when she hands out cans.

This is starting to sound more and more like someone looking for a fight encountering someone that's a little unfamiliar with her job responsibilities/not very good at them.

It sounds more and more to me like someone who was absolutely certain to open the can she gave to a Muslim, and didn't really care about the white guy having a beer. And that it all would have blown over as a slight, if understandable overreaction to the can incident if some racist #### on the plane hadn't told her to shut up because she's a Muslim and made her cry, with no one coming to her defense.

 

[Apple Jack]

This whole scenario does change if she was the ONLY one that was given an unopened can.

I know I'm just speculating about a hypothesis here but I'm guessing the air waitress picked the absolute worst time to forget to open a can of beer and everyone else on the plane was handed open cans too.

I assume this was this one person's policy, it is definitely not United's policy as I witnessed one attendant giving open cans and one attendant giving unopened cans just yesterday. It is possible this one attendant got some training which mentioned the possibility of using an unopened can as a weapon and proceeded to implement that practice herself when she hands out cans.

This is starting to sound more and more like someone looking for a fight encountering someone that's a little unfamiliar with her job responsibilities/not very good at them.

It sounds more and more to me like someone who was absolutely certain to open the can she gave to a Muslim, and didn't really care about the white guy having a beer. And that it all would have blown over as a slight, if understandable overreaction to the can incident if some racist #### on the plane hadn't told her to shut up because she's a Muslim and made her cry, with no one coming to her defense.

/thread

 

[Andy Dufresne]

It sounds more and more to me like someone who was absolutely certain to open the can she gave to a Muslim, and didn't really care about the white guy having a beer. And that it all would have blown over as a slight, if understandable overreaction to the can incident if some racist #### on the plane hadn't told her to shut up because she's a Muslim and made her cry, with no one coming to her defense.

That's a reasonable interpretation too.

I can see people not saying anything too. Getting into a verbal altercation with another passenger (regardless of who started it) could possibly get you kicked off the plane. Most people just want to get to where they're headed and flying is hassle enough.

 

[Henry Ford]

This is one of those cases that comes in the door and I ask the prospective client "if one other person on that plane had stood up for you, would you be in my office right now?" Generally the answer is "no," they realize they don't really want to sue anyone, and everyone goes their separate ways.

 

[Henry Ford]

It sounds more and more to me like someone who was absolutely certain to open the can she gave to a Muslim, and didn't really care about the white guy having a beer. And that it all would have blown over as a slight, if understandable overreaction to the can incident if some racist #### on the plane hadn't told her to shut up because she's a Muslim and made her cry, with no one coming to her defense.

That's a reasonable interpretation too.

I can see people not saying anything too. Getting into a verbal altercation with another passenger (regardless of who started it) could possibly get you kicked off the plane. Most people just want to get to where they're headed and flying is hassle enough.

Absolutely. Everybody is weighing "I should speak up" with "I really don't want to be put on a no-fly list while I'm at a business conference."

 

[IvanKaramazov]

This is on the front page of CNN as we speak.

 

[Otis]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

Oh, you corporate defense attorneys.

It's true.

The mere fact of a speeding fire truck only tells us at most that someone called the fire department, but doesn't establish a fire.

 

[tommyGunZ]

I don't know if this woman is being truthful or not. I don't see any reason to jump to the conclusion that she's lying, though I will wait until hearing United's story before forming an opinion.

Either way, who really cares? If the woman's story checks out, this seems like simple subtle islamphobia, which we all know exists, and not some systemic United Airlines policy issue. Reprimand the individual and use it as a learning experience. Boycotting the airline because of s single incident by a stewardess seems overboard.

The real silliness is the instant backlash by white males ready to condemn this woman before the facts come out. The persecution complex is unbecoming fellas - stop it.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

This is on the front page of CNN as we speak.

With the Facebook-ish headline of "Muslim woman denied soda can 'weapon' on flight"...

Click to see what shocking thing happened next!

 

[IvanKaramazov]

The persecution complex is unbecoming

Unintentional

 

[Henry Ford]

I also believe that the pilot said something like what she described about white privilege. If that happened in a workplace I was in, I'd definitely try to deescalate the situation by coming over and explaining that I don't agree with the racist #### who was just basically calling her a terrorist for wearing a hijab.

 

[Apple Jack]

Cnn is in the click bait business and has been for years

 

[ShamrockPride]

- can we stop with the white privilege bull#### already?

No we can't because it's very real.There are certain people in society who are constantly under suspicion: young black males, young Hispanic males, and Middle Eastern looking people of all types. If you are unfortunate enough to be in one of these 3 groups, you have to deal with constant indignities: by police, at the airport, by officials of all types. If you are fortunate enough not to be one of these, particularly if you are white, you get certain benefits in society. Benefits in terms of not being harassed, in terms of economic and social opportunities. That's the way it is, and if you and others are sick of hearing people complain about it, then it needs to end.

You're speaking on behalf of majority white societies right? Because you know it's the exact opposite in predominantly black countries. It's a human thing, not a race thing. Humans don't trust unfamiliarity.

 

[jonessed]

The pilot apologizing for his white priviledge threw it for me. If she was willing to make that up then it's hard to believe the rest is not exaggerated. The news stories I have picked up since have left those comments out.

 

[Henry Ford]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

Oh, you corporate defense attorneys.

It's true.

The mere fact of a speeding fire truck only tells us at most that someone called the fire department, but doesn't establish a fire.

Yeah, but when a person is telling a news crew "I called the fire department because there was a fire" and the fire department sent a truck, you start to have that whole "prima facia case" thing we all love to talk about.

 

[avoiding injuries]

It's been a few weeks since I've been in his thread, but when did Tim get his pilot's license?

 

[Henry Ford]

Also, the pilot's comments probably didn't just happen spontaneously. More like:

"Do you know what your flight attendant did to me???"

"No, ma'am."

"She and some racist #### made my flight hell by basically calling me a terrorist."

"I can't imagine what you're going through."

"Of course you can't! You never have to go through it because you're white!"

"Yes, I agree, that's something I don't have to deal with. I bet it happens a lot more than I think about."

"Because of white privilege!"

"Yeah, I agree, I have white privilege that keeps me from having to deal with that kind of blatant racism."

 

[Captain Quinoa]

Interesting that this is the kind of thing that sets off Andy's outrage meter.

Speaks volumes.

Interesting that you immediately take a reasonable question by someone as 'outrage' just because you disagree with their politics.

It would speak volumes if we didn't already know all about you.

Was going to post this exact same thing, but figured somebody would have beat me to it.I don't believe this story to be true. So I guess that means I am outraged about it.

The OP felt strongly enough about this incident to start a thread about it.

Everyone who starts a thread about something in the news is outraged? Or just those you disagree with?

Try for once to have an iota of self awareness, please.

 

[Captain Quinoa]

Also, the pilot's comments probably didn't just happen spontaneously. More like:

"Do you know what your flight attendant did to me???"

"No, ma'am."

"She and some racist #### made my flight hell by basically calling me a terrorist."

"I can't imagine what you're going through."

"Of course you can't! You never have to go through it because you're white!"

"Yes, I agree, that's something I don't have to deal with. I bet it happens a lot more than I think about."

"Because of white privilege!"

"Yeah, I agree, I have white privilege that keeps me from having to deal with that kind of blatant racism."

Objection! Leading.

 

[jonessed]

I also believe that the pilot said something like what she described about white privilege. If that happened in a workplace I was in, I'd definitely try to deescalate the situation by coming over and explaining that I don't agree with the racist #### who was just basically calling her a terrorist for wearing a hijab.

There is zero chance the pilot ever came out of the cockpit mid-flight to de-escalate a situation with a passenger.

 

[jon_mx]

This whole scenario does change if she was the ONLY one that was given an unopened can.

I know I'm just speculating about a hypothesis here but I'm guessing the air waitress picked the absolute worst time to forget to open a can of beer and everyone else on the plane was handed open cans too.

I assume this was this one person's policy, it is definitely not United's policy as I witnessed one attendant giving open cans and one attendant giving unopened cans just yesterday. It is possible this one attendant got some training which mentioned the possibility of using an unopened can as a weapon and proceeded to implement that practice herself when she hands out cans.

This is starting to sound more and more like someone looking for a fight encountering someone that's a little unfamiliar with her job responsibilities/not very good at them.

It sounds more and more to me like someone who was absolutely certain to open the can she gave to a Muslim, and didn't really care about the white guy having a beer. And that it all would have blown over as a slight, if understandable overreaction to the can incident if some racist #### on the plane hadn't told her to shut up because she's a Muslim and made her cry, with no one coming to her defense.

I think the beer was handed out by a different attendant. My guess is United has no official policy on open vs. unopened. Flight attendants tend to throw around 'that is the policy' line whenever they feel the need for a little power.

 

[urbanhack]

The pilot apologizing for his white privilege threw it for me.

sig material

 

[Otis]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

Oh, you corporate defense attorneys.

It's true. The mere fact of a speeding fire truck only tells us at most that someone called the fire department, but doesn't establish a fire.

Yeah, but when a person is telling a news crew "I called the fire department because there was a fire" and the fire department sent a truck, you start to have that whole "prima facia case" thing we all love to talk about.

If only people never called in pranks and other false alarms.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

They don't give you cans so that they can save money.

They were giving everybody cans on our United flight today.

LOOK AT ME I TRAVEL

 

[The General]

Things the pilot says on my next flight: Thanks for joining us today. Expect a little chop as we climb to 35,000 feet. At that point things will smooth out and I'll be turning off the seat belt sign. Please sit back and relax and enjoy this short 2 hour flight. And, as always, United Airlines would like to apologize for white privilege.

 

[jon_mx]

They don't give you cans so that they can save money.

They were giving everybody cans on our United flight today.

LOOK AT ME I TRAVEL

 

[Henry Ford]

I also believe that the pilot said something like what she described about white privilege. If that happened in a workplace I was in, I'd definitely try to deescalate the situation by coming over and explaining that I don't agree with the racist #### who was just basically calling her a terrorist for wearing a hijab.

There is zero chance the pilot ever came out of the cockpit mid-flight to de-escalate a situation with a passenger.

Sorry, I missed it - she said this happened mid-flight?

I read it as "later on, the pilot acknowledged his white privilege." Probably while saying goodbye to the passengers, I'd imagine, when a woman who'd been silently seething for an hour started yelling at him.

 

[General Tso]

Cnn is in the race bait business and has been for years

FTFY

 

[Henry Ford]

FWIW, I see no reason not to believe her story at this time. The statement from United tells me that something certainly did happen.

Yeah it tells you the story was all over social media. And that's about it.

Oh, you corporate defense attorneys.

It's true. The mere fact of a speeding fire truck only tells us at most that someone called the fire department, but doesn't establish a fire.

Yeah, but when a person is telling a news crew "I called the fire department because there was a fire" and the fire department sent a truck, you start to have that whole "prima facia case" thing we all love to talk about.

If only people never called in pranks and other false alarms.

Does that qualify as "something"?

 

[TPW]

Things the pilot says on my next flight: Thanks for joining us today. Expect a little chop as we climb to 35,000 feet. At that point things will smooth out and I'll be turning off the seat belt sign. Please sit back and relax and enjoy this short 2 hour flight. And, as always, United Airlines would like to apologize for white privilege.

As absurd as that reads we're only a few "hate speech" laws away from codifying this kind of thing. Institutionalized dhimmitude.

 

[Buckychudd]

- can we stop with the white privilege bull#### already?

No we can't because it's very real.There are certain people in society who are constantly under suspicion: young black males, young Hispanic males, and Middle Eastern looking people of all types. If you are unfortunate enough to be in one of these 3 groups, you have to deal with constant indignities: by police, at the airport, by officials of all types. If you are fortunate enough not to be one of these, particularly if you are white, you get certain benefits in society. Benefits in terms of not being harassed, in terms of economic and social opportunities. That's the way it is, and if you and others are sick of hearing people complain about it, then it needs to end.

Yeah, well keep complaining about white privilege and see how far that advances a solution. There's a lot of white people out there who are struggling right now and I can assure you it sure doesn't feel like any privilege to them. It's what we call a non-starter, and the only thing it does is piss people off and turn them away from participating in the solution.

How dare anyone point out the fact that discrimination still exists in far more subtle ways. We don't want to piss off white people!

Point it out? We are getting hit over the head with it on a daily basis. they are now calling for a boycott of the airline. And we haven't even heard the airline's side of the story yet. For all we know this lady could be embellishing upon what was a completely nonracist situation. She could have been lying and making the whole thing up. We have seen that before. I saw it in my own family.

If it's an open can it shouldn't be too dangerous.