certainly its inconvenient, absolutely some of the representatives phrased things poorly, but it sounds as though jet blue reps were trying to get him ON the plane, regardless of difficulties. this seems helpful, to me. and not worth $240k.

personally, i'm used to being inconvenienced by flying. i've been searched more than 75% of the time i fly (6 or more times a year for the past 4 years). i'm a skinny white 29 year old female, almost always flying on business, shoes off, no liquids, laptop in separate bin. and if they want to keep searching me, they can. its better than driving.

and next time i'll fly jet blue, maybe that lady will buy me a "no search" t-shirt.

I know that there are different subcultures in America that have to get along, but part of the getting along is being sensitive to part of our own subculture that may frighten others...

He wore a war protest t-shirt. He was not advocating blowing up airplanes. He was not wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed "Death to the infidels and to the Great Satan, America!"

If the first thing that pops into your head when reading that t-shirt is "He must be an islamo-fascist and about to blow up an airplane", then it says more about you than about the man wearing it. Grow up, learn something about the world, and stop always assuming the worst of anyone not white.

Hmmm....

@aguacarbonica: Its not the Arabic language, its what it translated to. So if you don't like American trying to protect themselves, get screwed.

@catastrophegirl: Uhmmm... The shirt was in ENGLISH too, and it read "WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED". Since you've been in airports a lot, you should remember the announcement about 'not joking with the TSA'. Whether its verbal or not, or whatever context it was meant to be defined as, a person should NOT be making statement as such. PERIOD! The TSA failed at their job by letting the guy through.

@noasalira: Most Muslims are not Arabic speakers

yes, but, iirc, farci is also generally written in arabic script. and i don't think they're looking for the malaysian muslims.

and randomly selecting the arab guy for a search makes more sense than randomly selecting whitebread granny for a search. profiling is not inherently evil; it actually makes sense. it's racism if race is the only factor a person is singled out. but race is a criteria. so is age. sex. behaviour. all kinds of things.

in any case, that doesn't seem to be what happened here. it seems that other passengers objected, not the TSA. they just handled the situation. yes, those passengers were idiotic and probably racist. and no, that's not cool.

but the problem isn't whether or not he was planning to do anything wrong. it's that stupid people could get in a panic that he might be. panic + airplane = bad.

i wish people were more open minded. but they're not.

and she's been invited to fly on virgin america next time

This isn't about not knowing how to read the language. This is about a bunch of ignorant people that get bent when someone expresses pride in being Arab by expressing themselves in the Arabic language. Many ignorant people don't believe that there's anything to be proud of in being an Arab.

I'm so disappointed to see so many people ASSUMING that just because he dared where a t-shirt in a language that ignorant people associate with terrorism, then he must have made a conscious decision to offend people at the airport. When I get dressed before going to the airport, I put on something comfortable, and maybe something fairly nice. I do not examine my clothing to make sure that I don't offend ignorant ass people in a public place, and neither do any of you. SOME of us don't associate Arabic with terrorism, so we don't automatically leap to the conclusion that a t-shirt with Arabic on it will get us $240,000.

I can wear t-shirts with Mao Zedong and Che Guevara on them to the airport, and that's okay but Arabic script is not? I'm sorry, but if you're offended by the Arabic language, get screwed.

but this guy's story makes me feel that the officials were indicating that the MESSAGE on the t shirt was the dangerous part.... ok, so maybe ideas are more dangerous than weapons...

the last statement from inspector harris: "He added, 'You can't wear a t-shirt with Arabic script and come to an airport. It is like wearing a t-shirt that reads 'I am a robber' and going to a bank.'" makes me want to go shop for t shirts with arabic script on them.

i wonder how long it will take to get my friend to screen print me a shirt that says 'princess unicorn' in arabic?

@exconsumer9: Uh, no. I have a legal right to call people all sorts of horrible names, but that doesn't make it right.@Ted's Famous Kickin Chicken: @Rectilinear Propagation:

It doesn't need to be "proven" (and certainly doesn't need to be proven "beyond a shadow of a doubt") for people to think it's probably the case.

I think the people assuming he was asking for it are giving him the benefit of the doubt that he's got a functioning brain in his head. Seriously, what what Middle Eastern looking guy wears a "We Will Not Be Silenced" shirt with Arabic script on a plane without contemplating the possibility that people might freak out?

He's obviously aware of anti-Arabic sentiment (I gather that may be the intended meaning of the shirt?).

the text on that t-shirt (1st amendment in arabic) was typed into some kind of online translator...it's not correct. pays to check with a native speaker before putting something on a t-shirt.

@icy_one: If his intent was to incite a reaction, that's his fault. That's pretty simple, dude.

Also, his shirt didn't just have Arabic print on it.

@Superawesomerad: Just wanted to point out that the reason for the First Amendment has nothing to do with what private airlines do or don't allow you to say/do/wear on their airplanes.

@BStu: It may have been intended as an "anti-war message," but unless you know that beforehand it's not obvious on its face. It could just as easily be a pro-war (or terrorism, or resistance, or whatever you choose to call it) message.

I think that's a key difference here. It wasn't just a shirt with Arabic on it. It was a shirt with Arabic and and English message that could reasonably be interpreted as threatening. For that reason, it was stupide to wear it on an airplane (unless you are trying to provoke a reaction).

I agree that his freedom of speech was infringed, but maybe he should also think about what he's wearing and where he was going. Just because you have the right to say whatever you opinion is doesn't mean that you always should.

@Wormfather is Wormfather: Well, as far as Palestine is concerned, Israel is 100% justified in their attack and are in fact showing great restraint. If they were to respond proportionally, they would launch 6,000 rockets indiscriminately at civilian targets. As an interesting aside, that would level Gaza. You don't see them attacking the West Bank, do you? That's because the West Bank didn't elect a terrorist organization as their government looking for war!

@Darklighter: And they aren't great at keeping people safe. We need to take a cue from Israel, they know counter-terrorism and security.

@aikoto:

If he were a terrorist, why would he announce it? Wouldn't that foil his plans? Do you really think the bomb will be deactivated by the removal of his t-shirt? Most bombs are activated by fuses or timers.

You are really brain dead.

Having flown on Arab airlines as a white guy wearing English language shirts, and encountering no problems despite the fact that we've killed a hundred times more of them than vice versa, I hereby declare anyone scared by this T-shirt to be a moron.

Don't get me wrong, TSA blows. But I didn't see anything that indicated it was the TSA's call.

@unobservant: Now I have coffee all over my keyboard. And I can't stop giggling. Thank you.

/off to find some paper towels

No, but they are trying to get Tony Stark to build them some.

Some of us don't agree with the "paranoia" these days. We also don't agree with warrantless wiretapping, being imprisoned without access to a lawyer, illegal torture, and the government monitoring our email, phonecalls and mail. So to say we should be more careful to avoid the "paranoia" isn't really going to work. And who are you to judge what is and isn't offensive? Sorry, thats the thing about free speech. I can wear offensive things and you don't have to like it.

If it will earn me $240K, I think its time for me to drag the ol' "I am a robber" T-Shirt out of the drawer and head to Wachovia.

@JamieSueAustin:

Ooh, a test in the making: First Amendment in Arabic shirt vs. "I am going to bomb you" in Mandarin: Which shirt generates more drama?

Could this be Consumerist's next undercover mission?

Some of the commentators are taking the Words we will not be silent as stating your about to do something violent.

@tbax929:
Yeah, the real terrorists, as I recall, tried their best to look INconspicuous.

I have more patience for the people who thought they overheard people discussing the safest spot to sit on the plane, than for this. Not much more, mind you, those concerns were based on sophistry, but this is ludicrous.

Kudos to him for standing up and being heard.

1. Can't read Arabic so wouldn't even know if the t-shirt said "I love Jesus" (since many arabic speakers are CHRISTIANS, and since many Muslims are named EISA, which means JESUS in Arabic)

2. Can't tell the difference between Arabic script and that of other languages (except Japanese/Chinese because you folks love have that stuff - which you also can't read - tattooed on your bodies to look coooool)

Most Muslims are not Arabic speakers, so do you folks figure on banning t-shirts in any language other than English,or just languages of 'darker' people? Or just non-white people wearing t-shirts in other languages? But wait, many Muslims are "white" -enough that you can't tell, maybe have blonde hair and blue-eyes, so what's the airport rule for that?

What needs to be banned in this country is ignorance, but sadly that is like banning air since a mass of people in this country survive upon it.

If they asked him to change his shirt and he complied, I see no wrong.

If they told him change the shirt or no flight, they were wrong, but not egregiously wrong. (It gave him a choice, and if they offered to provide the remedy free of charge even less egregious)

But airlines and the TSA and the flying public don't get to suspend the constitution because they are uncomfortable. That is simply not a sufficient reason (as decided by the courts, not me). There must be a clear public danger to suspend the 1st amendment.

@kabuk1:

You are really a hillbilly.

From your small picture, one might conclude you are a gothic Columbine-massacre type. Should we ban you from entering schools?

Grab some enlightenment. This is the 21st century.

And guess what, people. If you let them scare you, then the terrorists have done their job.

@JamieSueAustin: That's hilarious - in a face-palming way.

What do they expect people to do when they tell them they can't wear a certain shirt? Not all people have a spare with them.

Yes, yes it does actually, that's the whole point of rights, it means that it's always ok for the person in question to do what they have the right to do. You're asking this person to sacrifice their beliefs so that others may remain ignorant. EVERYONE loses in that instance. It is his right to wear the shirt, as much as it is his right to collect against a debt. No ifs ands or buts.

It's against the law now to try and garner attention? And since when is wearing a tshirt with an unoffensive political message being an attention-whore? We should all just wear multicolored golf shirts now?

"Look at that guy...so smug with his Tenchi Muyo shirt...what's he trying to say? Japanese cartoons are better than American? My uncle just lost his job animating at Disney!" "HEY YOU! THE ANTI-AMERICAN GETTING ON THE PLANE! FU!"

lots and lots of sandpaper.

lol

What attitude is that? Being miffed when someone tells you to take your shirt off for no reason, and trying to abridge your free speech? I'd have an "attitude" as well. I can wear a shirt promoting pot, having tasteless jokes on it, or saying I approve of gay rights, but the minute I wear one saying we will not be silent, I have to take it off?

And I don't see anyone trying to deny the dude his rights. What I see are a handful of people making the very reasonable point that the dude was almost certainly looking to make a statement (which is fine, I love agitators!), and dozens of others screaming IGNORANT AMURKUNS HATE BROWN PEOPLE RACISTS RARRR at those posters. Calm the hell down.

Heh believe me, the world would work just as fine without America running around policing it. Sure, there would be more genocides, etc, but...them things happen.

I don't think that being told to cover a shirt is terribly unreasonable as it sounds like passengers complained. Racial profiling sucks, but the public isn't going to forget what the 9/11 terrorists looked like and its only human nature to be uncomfortable.

@thrid001: If I saw someone who dressed their dog like that, I'd be offended and scared, too.

It's not illegal to wear a t-shirt, it's not illegal to be Iraqi and board a plane. This guy would not have been discriminated against otherwise. He wore the t-shirt knowing it would provoke a response, he got a response and is now suing over it. This is akin to walking over an icy driveway, knowing you'll probably slip, then suing the homeowner because you slipped.

What did he prove? That your average passenger who is already on edge about boarding a plane post 9/11 might get a bit nervous seeing an Iraqi man in an arabic shirt that says "We will not be silenced". I could have told you that without all the fuss.

The type of profiling that is performed in airports is cursory, superficial profiling- skin color, gender, destination, length of trip, etc. What you're referring to would require a much more detailed look into those characteristics.

As far as my comment, ever seen Princess Bride?

@Oranges w/ Cheese: I'm a light skinned black guy or a dark skinned beige guy or brown, whatevs...anyway, I think I've been inspired, might be time to finally buy that "Free Palestine" shirt I've been eyeing.

It'll be nice to know that even when I'm alone the NSA is looking over me.

@ilves:

zing!

@ilves: Whoa, whoa whoa, I wouldnt even give us 100 years of international interest.

WWI - We only got involved because of that telegram telling mexico to invade the US

WWII - Pearl Harbor, the american people were against getting involved 9:1 before that little mishap that the Brits may or may not have known was comming.

And then we decided that we'd defeat communisim anywhere we wernt wanted Korea*, Vietnam...

(*We were actually wanted there)

@cjstephens:

Actually the "We will not be silent" shirts have been made since 2006 by a group called Artists against the war and are available in several languages. Here is their mission statement:

AAW STATEMENT
We deplore the death, destruction and lawlessness that the "coalition of the willing" unleashed with its invasion of Iraq. We are shamed by our government's contempt for other cultures and the silencing of dissent in America. We remain deeply concerned about the threat to human life in the Middle East and to the world's memory and history embedded in Iraq. We dramatize our outrage through ongoing visual actions. Sometimes small movements, a ripple can express the collective indignation of a community.

a href="#c9859716">thrid001:

its worse when they're NOT wearing stretch pants and it spills over...

@loueloui:

200 years ago the US was doing nothing but expanding their country westward by the subjugation of natives and fighting the Mexicans... For the first half of that 200 years, the US was isolationist and didn't give a crap about anyone else. The last 100 years? I'll give you that, but learn your history before spouting off self-righteous misinformation.

WOW, so "I read/speak Arabic" is now the same as "I am a criminal"?

Nah, that's not profiling AT ALL.

I want to see them smacked with a lawsuit every single time something like this happens -- hell, I even want to see people doing it deliberately just to provoke the behavior -- because punishment is the only thing that's going to make them stop. Racism is not okay, m'kay?

What the HELL, dude.

Yes. My arm as I fell.

Darnell is Black.

If I was to beat up a friend of mine, Darnell, I would get Jail Time.

If I was to beat up my friend , Darnell, and I was wearing a shirt that said I hate Black People, Would I get the same amount of Jail time, or more?

people are just so stupid now a days.
Common sense is what people need slapped across their face.

People are mistaking constitutional rights with common sense. Of course, lawsuits are here to help clarify that.

Good luck. I'll bet after the attorney's fees and court costs, he'll be lucky to pocket a couple grand.

Still, +1 for free speech. Now, if the shirt had said "I'm going to blow up this plane," in any language, then there would be cause for concern. In this case? Blatant racism and profiling.

@kabuk1: No, it's nothing like that. "We will not be silent" does not mean "I'm gonna blow something up". It doesn't even imply violence at all; it implies talking. Nor does it imply any kind of approval of terrorist attacks.

Who in their right mind, with the level of paranoia in airports these days, wears a shirt with arabic writing that says "we will not be silent"?

The kind of person who doesn't think they should have to act, look, and sound as "non-Muslim" as possible in public.

jetblue is the run by the scum of the earth. enough said.

@cjstephens: That wasn't the message he was broadcasting. It might have been the message some people decided to read into it but that's their problem.

It's not too difficult to reach any conclusion if you're leaping towards it. Frankly, I don't see how not being silent necessarily means blowing something up.

Oh yeah, I'm "Brown" too.

@banmojo: THIS
I'm SO tired of the "He was obviously trying to incite something" argument. That can't be proven at all, at least not by anyone here.

Let's call this what this is, racial hatred. You don't hate what the shirt says, because you don't know what it stands for. You hate the fact that it's Arabic and is being worn by someone who looks the part. Would you have a problem if the shirt were in a different language? Or being worn by someone of another race? Probably not.

Because of 9/11, the United States has the right to strip away all civil liberties from anyone that resembles a middle eastern.

Let's not punish those that were not responsible.

@tbax929: At what point was this inappropriate? The second that narrow minded, ignorant people trampled over this mans rights. If you let it happen once, there will be nothing to stop it in the future.

I'll tell you who- a SHIT STARTER. It's ridiculous. Constitutional rights or not, he shouldn't have worn it.

Another group of SHIT STARTERS:

Constitutional rights or not, he shouldn't have worn it.

You are what's wrong with America

Like it or not us ignorant idiots have been pretty much keeping the world together for the last 200 or so years

Excuse me while I get my flag out. I know I probably can't wave it nearly as fast or as enthusiastically as you, but spontaneous displays of jingoism always make me want to join in.

Also, you may want to reread the post that has wounded you so - he doesn't say Americans are ignorant, he simply points out that some Americans are ignorant, and jokes that perhaps they should be the ones not allowed to fly. Why on earth would you get so bent about someone saying that some Americans are ignorant?

Or was it the part where he says that "ignorant Americans are afraid of brown people"? Is it simply that you are afraid of brown people, and don't like being called ignorant? Or is it just that your reading comprehension is poor and you didn't actually understand what he wrote?

@MooseOfReason:

I'm sure both a Terrorist and a Robber would be inclined to wear a t-shirt advertising their status. Come on people, where is the commone sense. Clearly this guy was looking for attention and he got what he wanted.

@MsAnthropy:

I (generic looking white guy) have a t-shirt that says "God Bless America" in Arabic. I love it.

@ExGC: "The real irony is that the ACLU's argument in the case was that Homeland Security should have known he was not a real threat because he has lived in the US since 2005 and is married to an American woman."

This means nothing!

Other terroists have lived in America for many years, married, had children, and still committed their violent act. Wake up!

Maybe he was a gay Iraqi! You can get your head chopped off over there for that.

@kabuk1:

I totally agree. Nobody is saying he doesn't have a right to free speech. The point is that there's no reason to wear a shirt like that to an airport and attempt to get on a plane.

Next time he flies he should wear only a speedo.

This guy deserves NOTHING.

Heck, I have MANY T-shirts from other countries that have foreign text proudly emblazoned on them. Should I not be allowed to wear any of them at an airport?

I didn't think so.

I'm glad he won his quite legitimate first amendment point, even though it was probably not his intent to cause a stir - to him it was simply a shirt. He could read the text in either language.

The TSA and the airline industry have to stop acting as if everyone is trying to blow up planes and they need to start using common sense. Otherwise we'll continue to see things get worse and worse without actually improving safety at all.

* That's me humming "God Bless America (Land of the Free)", in case you couldn't tell.

@morganlh85: Oh noes, not the 'ignorant Amercans' again. Like it or not us ignorant idiots have been pretty much keeping the world together for the last 200 or so years. For our troubles, we get insults, and disdain and ingratitude from far lesser countries -So I guess we really are ignorant.

Perhaps you would care to lay it all out for us from your office in somewhere other than here because I'm sure you have got it all figured out and would not care to mix with us peasants.

i-- i'm divided on this one. i'm all in favor of first amendment rights, and what they did sure doesn't seem cool at all.

but, on the other hand, your constitutional liberties are limitted in an airport, for the general safety. this is actually the example cited in almost every case on limitting constitutional rights i've ever read, the airport. for instance, you do not have any second amendment rights at the airport, and your rights to privacy are extremely limitted. the government can search you, legally, at any point.

you also have slightly limitted first amendment rights. you can't say "bomb" for instance. the other example of this is "yelling fire in a crowded theatre." you can't, because it could induce mass panic, and actually create a dangerous situation. sort of similar to the incitement rules.

so, sadly, even though what they did was stupid, and even though the people who were scared or offended by his shirt were stupid and bigotted, they were probably within their rights to do so.

in any case, i'm also glad he won. because TSA is stupid, and the people who were offended or scared are stupid and bigotted. there should be nothing wrong with displaying something written in arabic -- it is a legitimate written language, used by lots of people who AREN'T terrorists.

I told my kids they did not have to learn algebra since its an Arabic plot to cause angst in 8th and 9th graders. No algebra on t-shirts when flying!

.. and being part of the ignorant, xenophobic majority does?

How precious little common sense is required to realize that the t-shirt poses no threat?

I'm gonna print up some "I'm a robber" shirts sell this design to Hot Topic and make a fortune!

Whhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttt!?

"If you have one bucket that holds five gallons, and one bucket that holds two gallons. How many buckets do you have?

Uh two?

Thank you"

Great movie!

"That" shirt?

Though he may have made a conscious choice to wear that shirt, he didn't wear an offensive shirt.

That's like asking why, if he knows he is middle eastern, would he try to fly? Why? Because he has every right to.

In addition to that, I'm certain he didn't go into this thinking that he would some how financially profit from it.

I love people of all races. I wonder though if I would have been scared, for just a second, seeing this shirt on the plane. I hope I would not have.

[www.cafepress.com]

@Ted's Famous Kickin Chicken: Airplane transportation falls under the "provision of a public accomodation" principle, I understand. Means you can't discriminate if you are "open to the public" generally.

@banmojo: I asked around at work, and they don't think they can send me to Dubai and Singapore to hold training classes by ship.

Maybe i won't be the right shade of brown for them to harass...

I don't believe they can refuse just any passenger. After all they are common carriage.

It would have been a god idea to have named the TSA for the big headlines though. Only the TSA would have been a valid target for first amendment violations. Only the government can violate your first amendment rights. JetBlue was just the deep pockets to get the payday.

@Gawd Dammit: Want.

Oh, and the fact they were brown. Lets not forget how scary brown people are. Don't ever let any brown people on my plane.

Sometimes I hate having to constantly feel ashamed that I'm a white American. Can we all work on that and stop slipping more and more below that acceptable stupidity line? We're all stupid, it's human nature, but how is it that us white Americans seem to be in a race towards the bottom of the gene pool lately?

C'mon now, those are the only people keeping AirTran and Spirit in business.

Did he do this knowing he'd be asked to take it off, and then he could sue ('tis the American way after all) Or is JetBlue wrong is asking him to take it off? Would they have asked non-Muslims to change outfits?

@Anathema777:

Uh, this guy and his shirt didn't kill 3000 people either. Nice try, thanks for playing!

we've gone SOOO far in the wrong direction here, what with an endless, godawful expensive war both in $$ and lives, here at home with the bullshit TSA nazi fvckheads, none of this has made a DENT on the overall problem.

There are ways to prevent planes from being turned into weapons of mass destruction, EFFECTIVE ways. There are ways to screen every single item/person/hair that goes onto public transport for bomb materials without making us feel like criminals/jailbirds, and quite frankly, I'd rather take some risk and have a funner time traveling then to put up with this bullshit any longer.

I've boycotted flying for several yrs now, and I wish more people would do this. If enough people stopped flying in protest, the airlines/airports/TSA/government would HAVE to do something to make the system better.

It's my silent protest, I know you don't give a shit, that's fine, I don't have to sit next to you and listen to your mindless drivel or smell your foul breath, cow.

@Squeezer99: The t-shirt wearing also didn't result in 3000 innocent people dying so I don't know what you're getting at.

And neither did Raed Jaer's shirt. It's not a crime to be Middle Eastern, feel strongly about something and want to express it on a shirt. It's a crime to hurt others, which he most definitely was NOT doing.

@speedwell: This was for Gawd Dammit and ShirtNinja... not sure why it did not go under that thread.

Want, too. Send me a private message when you have the design worked out.

It would be so sweet if you could do the design as Arabic calligraphy. Arabic is heartbreakingly beautiful when a really good calligrapher lays it out.

@outsdr:

Rosa, Barbara, and Martin's actions didn't result in 3000 innocent people dying.

@Gawd Dammit:

WANT!

I'm just wondering if there's a parallel to the traditional public space v. private space difference in speech law, such as how someone peaceably protesting on the National Mall could do so without fear of arrest but the same wouldn't go for the same person conducting the very same protest on the main quad of a private university.

In other words, as stupid as it was, within reason if it's JetBlue's plane, can't they do what they want to?

LOVE it! Make those t-shirts, I will buy several! :)

And A-Fucking-Men from me to that, too.

My (utterly non-Arabic, Native American/Irish-Canadian, in fact) husband has a shirt that looks just like that one (it translates as "I am not a terrorist", I think), and he loves it. "Makes people uncomfortable", my arse.

You have a right to fly.
You have a right to wear whatever you want.

You dont have a right to fly, wearing whatever you want.

Isnt it far better to err on the side of caution? What if he really did mean trouble? How is security supposed to distinguish?

If you dont want to undergo the inconvenience of being stopped, use your head and dress a little bit better. I'll bet he chose that shirt out of a whole closet-full. When he put it on, he knew what he was doing.

??? WTF ???

If it was in Hindu? Hebrew? Sanskrit? I seriously doubt most Americans can tell the difference.

If the man looked Asian and was wearing a shirt that had Asian looking characters on it no one would have said a thing. Why? Americans don't hate Asians right now. They don't automatically associate all persons/things with an Asian background with terrorism.

Lets face it. Americans are as bigoted as they've always been. Hating Islam/Muslims/Persons of *SUSPECTED* Middle Eastern Origin/Specific shades of brown is *in* right now just like it use to be acceptable to hate blacks and Jews.

Kudos for this guy! I hope he enjoys every penny!

Barbara Fritchie should have thought of that, and put away her flag.

Martin Luther King, Jr. should have thought of that, and given up his dreams.

There's nothing wrong with profiling people based on how long they've lived in this country and what ties they have here. Far different than OMFG A ARAB!!!!1!

Second, if his sole intent was to incite the reaction, who's fault is that? If you are offended by a shirt, you need to get over yourself. If you're racist enough to think that just because his shirt has Arabic print on it that he's going to blow up a plane, you have no business functioning in society. Anyone offended by that shirt offends me and like you are implying of Mr. Jaer, I would like them removed from my sight.

Now a t-shirt... let's see... I think that a t-shirt bearing the First Amendment in arabic would be very good.

The real irony is that the ACLU's argument in the case was that Homeland Security should have known he was not a real threat because he has lived in the US since 2005 and is married to an American woman. In other words, if they'd just profiled him, this never would have happened.

@morganlh85:

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. Brown people (such as me) shouldn't be allowed to fly.

amen freedom of speach roxors

Or perhaps it would be more effective to ban the ignorant Americans? They seem to the be the ones causing the most problems!

@tc4b:

Not ones that make others uncomfortable. Whatever happened to exercising a little common sense?

It sounds to me like he was looking for trouble. Even if he has a right to wear the T-shirt, why would you wear that T-shirt to an airport?