Muslim woman claims United Airlines flight attendant refused to give unopened can of Diet Coke.

[Warren Stupidity]

Muslim woman claims United Airlines flight attendant refused to give unopened can of Diet Coke, told it could be used as weapon.

Ahmad was presented with one that had already been opened but said she wanted an unopened can for hygienic reasons.

But she was told by the flight attendant: "Well, I'm sorry. I just can't give you an unopened can, so no Diet Coke for you."

Ahmad noted that the man next to her had just been handed an unopened beer and said she was being discriminated against. The flight attendant then quickly opened her neighbor's beer can.

United said they apologized and hoped Ahmad would continue to fly their airline but Ahmad said she is disappointed they did not address the discrimination she said she felt as a Muslim woman.
The employee then told the passenger "We are unauthorized to give unopened cans to people, because they may use it as a weapon on the plane."

Asking other passengers for help, she was then told to "shut the f--k up," claims Ahmad.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/muslim-woman-denied-unopened-diet-coke-plane-article-1.2241678

Ahmad was enroute to an interfaith conference to promote peaceful conversations between Israelis and Palestinians.

[Yorktown]

1. Some people like to play victims.

I've had cans presented to me, opened or unopened.

In either case, did it cross my mind to whine discrimination against my god, the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

No.

[rug]

14. Yuo. Somebody would complain too if she tipped her.

[AlbertCat]

33. As they should!

Replacing a perfectly good, and the original motto of our nation that actually describes what the county was aiming for and one that is true with some superstitious reactionary anti-commie nonsense that isn't true is far more damaging than opening a can of soda.

[rug]

36. Aren't you from the UK?

[AlbertCat]

37. Aren't you from the UK?

If NC is in the UK....

[rug]

38. New Castle is.

[mr blur]

2. "shut the f--k up," because she's a Muslim, or because she's a woman?

Either would qualify for any of the major religions.

[phil89]

3. Because she's creating needless drama.

That's why she should stfu.

[yeoman6987]

6. Because she made an unnecessary scene

Talk about whining.

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. Next time, take a bus.

Do we have to cater to everyone's demands, no matter how trivial?

[Iggo]

11. Those shut-the-fuck-ups come a lot harder and faster on the bus.

Believe it.

[HassleCat]

5. That guy did it!

Her argument is that she should have been allowed to break the same rule in the same way as the guy with the beer. The flight attendant was correct. They are not supposed to give passengers unopened drinks. I know why she was told to shut up, because she's a whiny victim who likes to make trouble, and her fellow passengers weren't in the mood for a big, dramatic episode.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. The flight attendant was wrong; she gave the guy an unopened beer

and I do wonder if that meant the attendant was thinking "Muslim = danger; guy drinking beer = no danger". And the passenger said 'shut the fuck up' because she's a Muslim. They said so.

[HassleCat]

18. Really?

The passenger told her to shut up, and then admitted it was because she's Muslim? I missed that part. Anyway, I worked for TSA and we heard from people every day saying things like, "I wouldn't have to go through all this if I weren't black." "You're singling me out because I'm Muslim." "I see you're only stopping Latinos." Of course, in a large international airport, we have no idea who is Muslim, and it's often difficult to tell if someone is Latino, Black, Asian, etc.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. 'one of her fellow passengers told her: "You (are) Moslem, you need to shut the f--k up."'

That's at the link.

[Yorktown]

20. Look, you and I know that that woman was a drama queen

If you're onboard a Saudi Airways flight to Mecca,

are you going to whine because your neighbor got his Coke opened or closed and yours not?

And are you going to say the difference = discrimination against whatever your beliefs are?

Most probably not. Ergo, that woman was spoiling for a tempest in a teacup.

[HassleCat]

21. She might be right

Yes, I think she's a drama queen and a whiner. Still, this is the United States, and we're not supposed to hassle her because she's Muslim. So, if people were getting down on her because she was wearing a hijab or some other identifiable garment, that's wrong.

[Yorktown]

22. From the story, she initiated the storm in a teacup

She got her Coke.

Who goes crying on a flight because they get a can of Coke opened?

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. A refresher course in logic is needed here

"you and I know that that woman was a drama queen"

No, we don't 'know' that. We may suspect it; and our level of suspicion may also differ.

"If you're onboard a Saudi Airways flight to Mecca, "

OK, you're proposing a hypothetical case ...

"are you going to whine because your neighbor got his Coke opened or closed and yours not? "

'You' as in 'me'? or 'you' as in 'one'? Me, I wouldn't (but, not being Muslim, I don't think I'd be allowed on such a flight anyway; Saudi Arabia wouldn't give me a visa for that). Some people might, though. Unlikely, though, since they're meant to be on their best behaviour if on pilgrimage, and even if they're not, they'd be less likely to play up even if they are 'drama queens'.

"And are you going to say the difference = discrimination against whatever your beliefs are?"

That might depend. If one is an Iranian Shia Muslim, and another an Arabic Sunni Muslim, they might. There has been some bad feeling recently.

"Most probably not."

OK, that's your opinion, on your hypothetical which you haven't specified very well.

"Ergo, that woman was spoiling for a tempest in a teacup."

That's a non sequitur. You've just talked a bit about a scenario in your head, and then decided your opinion on your scenario proves something about a real incident.

[Yorktown]

25. Thanks, but I fear your call to logic boomerangs back at you.

Your casuistry about elements of style in my sentences aside, let me restate my point:

Contrarily to what you appear to believe such flights are open to non muslims.

Would a non muslim be justified to whine discrimination if his can of coke was opened or not?

The average non biased, non confrontational non muslim? Your call.

[muriel_volestrangler]

28. Your hypothetical situation just tells us what *you* *think* people would do

This thread is about whether United Airlines' policy of not giving out unopened cans is unnecessary, and whether the attendant was treating the Muslim passenger badly by not implementing it for one (presumably non-Muslim) man and then insisting on it for this woman. Your hypothetical situation about how unspecified people might behave on a different airline in a different country seems useless for this discussion. If, in your scenario, they'd asked for an unopened one, and the attendant refused, and they'd noticed someone else had got an unopened one, then many people might complain.

Your own opinion about this different situation that you've constructed tells us nothing about whether this woman, in real life, was acting reasonably. Since United's excuse was that an unopened can could be used as a weapon, then, given the atmosphere surrounding Muslims on planes (see, eg, "You (are) Moslem, you need to shut the f--k up&quot , it's quite possible it was discrimination, and it's reasonable for her to bring it up.

Are you saying this woman is 'biased' in some way? That would mean her opinion on it is less worth listening to?



http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/02/tahera-ahmad-united-airlines-soda-can-discrimination

FWIW:

Arguably the most famous pilgrim destination in the world, Mecca is home to sacred sites including The Black Stone, Grand Mosque and Mountain of Light. Sadly, unless you’re Muslim, the visa policy doesn’t allow non-Muslims to visit Mecca and the central part of Saudi Arabia’s other revered city, Medina.

http://www.flightcentre.com.au/world-travel/saudi-arabia

[Yorktown]

29. No, my question is about normal people behaving normally.

There are two parts in the story of Mrs Ahmad. A/ initialisation B/escalation
I have not commented on the B/escalation part where passengers display anti muslim bias.

My only point is about how Mrs Ahmad initiated a situation.

On most of the flights I took, the flight attendant opened my can of drink.
I never gave it a second thought. I was also given unopened cans. I didn't bat an eye over it.

I fail to see any reasonable cause for demanding an unopened can.
Her hygienic reasons are laughable. Does she want the can sterilised?
But whatever the reason, she created a ruckus over a can being opened or not.
And then, she suddenly whines discrimination, and not hygiene anymore.

A drama queen.

[muriel_volestrangler]

30. When the other passenger was given an unopened one, it could have been discrimination

She thought being given an unopened can was the hygenic thing; some people are like that (I wouldn't both on an airplane, but in a restaurant or bar in some countries, hell yes). When she then saw another passenger getting an unopened can, it did look like the 'it might be used as a weapon' excuse only applied to her. So, yes, due to the attendant's sudden breaking of the rule with the other passenger, it became about discrimination. That's the attendant escalating it.

What are you saying about 'bias' for how a passenger should talk about how she was treated? Again, does your opinion of 'bias' affect whether we should listen to this woman?

[Yorktown]

31. Try to see the obvious drama queen element

If I am given a can, opened or not, I personally won't read anything into it.
Even if my neighbor is given a can differently from mine.
And if I decided to take it personally, I wouldn't link it to my beliefs, political or religious.
After all, the flight attendant might not like other things about me, lots of possibilities.

My point is that the fact this lady jumps from a detail to her religion says: drama queen.

[AlbertCat]

35. "Muslim = danger; guy drinking beer = no danger"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

You're kidding....right?

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. It could have been an unconscious thought

It was obviously conscious in the case of the passenger who told her to shut the fuck up because she's a Muslim, and that he 'knew' she would use it as a weapon. But if flight attendants have been given silly rules to follow, and follow them for a Muslim but not a non-Muslim, it is quite possible.

[Igel]

7. If you're not going to take what is offered, don't take what's not offered.

Offense was not offered.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. Oddly my reaction was "a pop top is a weapon?"

What the fuck is wrong with us?

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Same here. If someone wanted a 'weapon' then a blunt object

that is hardly bigger than your hand is not going to help them that much. A shoe would be about as dangerous - especially one with a thin heel.

[skepticscott]

13. Hell yes, I've seen women boarding planes wearing high heeled shoes

that were far deadlier weapons than any soda can ever invented.

[beam me up scottie]

15. No kidding. I've actually used one of my heels as a weapon before.

Very effective if you know what you're doing.

[skepticscott]

12. Hell, they'd let you take a hard plastic liter bottle through security

and you could fill it with water on the other side and have a heavier and more dangerous "weapon" than a can of soda. And what the fuck would you do with it anyway? Beat your way through the locked cabin door with the unopened can, then pop the top and disable the pilot and copilot with the spray? Yes, Americans are the biggest bunch of fraidy-cat wussies the world has even seen.

[AtheistCrusader]

17. Security Theatre.

They do it at the games too, no unopened beverages, because if you huck that thing off the upper deck it could crack someone's skull.

I don't think it's about the pop top. It's about the can's structural integrity. And Alaska Airlines has said the same thing to me, and I'm a white dude.

I don't doubt that if you ask 10 different air stewards you'll get ten versions of the policy.

[PeteSelman]

27. Ask Mick O'Brian.

https://m.

[AlbertCat]

34. What the fuck is wrong with us?

We lie.

They've been opening cans.... and even pouring some beverage into a plastic cup with ice, since I was born. Weapon, schmeapon!

It's the same reason they open all the champagne at a catered reception....


So you will drink it then and there and not take it home with you.

[Leontius]

16. Glad to see all the support for Bigotry and hate here

[cleanhippie]

24. You reap what you sow.

[MADem]

26. I think it is about sparing fingernails, too. No good deed...!

Flight attendants work hard. They are there to respond to emergencies, the drinks are not their raison d'etre.

Doesn't United have cameras in the cabins...?

[Leontius]

32. According to United this flight attendant will no longer be working their flights.

[Yorktown]

40. The religious drama queen won.

[Leontius]

41. When bigotry loses we all win.

Or do you support the bigots?

[Yorktown]

42. I think this lady is a bigot too

Two wrongs don't make a right

Rude passengers don't make a drama queen right

IMHO