TOTALLY GEEKED!

huskerbb · Guru

RE: Parents' outrage after their autistic daughter is kicked off flight because she made the pilot 'feel uncomfortable'

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Lawyerlady wrote:
Tignanello wrote:
I still don't think it was about either the handicap, the food or the potential meltdown. It was because mom threatened violence. On an airplane.
No, she didn't. That was not a threat. I agree with Dona - where has all the common sense and compassion gone. Good grief, people - this is a disabled CHILD.

At 15, she is as large as an ADULT.

flan

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

huskerbb wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
She's not a "normal" 15 year old. She's an autistic 15 year old. There is a world of difference between them.
Again, I know--but again, you wanted the pilot to completely ignore that fact. You JUST SAID THAT he should have left that part out--and now when challenged, you want it to be important. You can't have it both ways.

Plus, your autistic kid isn't my problem. That's the problem with these entitled parents. They think they get to inflict their kid on everyone else.

No. I didn't want him to leave it out. The pilot's issue was he felt uncomfortable around the autistic kid. So that's what he said. He had to know that making a statement like that was going to cause him grief. You cannot publicly say disabled kids make you uncomfortable, especially when you are representing a company, and not expect this ultra PC world not to say something about that. So either he just didn't like the disabled girl or the girl really was a threat. And if she really WAS a threat he was wrong to say he felt uncomfortable having her there. IF she truly was a safety issue he should have had the balls to say, "She is causing a safety concern on the plane and needs to be removed." He was stupid for making it about her disability.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
huskerbb wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
She's not a "normal" 15 year old. She's an autistic 15 year old. There is a world of difference between them.
Again, I know--but again, you wanted the pilot to completely ignore that fact. You JUST SAID THAT he should have left that part out--and now when challenged, you want it to be important. You can't have it both ways.

Plus, your autistic kid isn't my problem. That's the problem with these entitled parents. They think they get to inflict their kid on everyone else.
No. I didn't want him to leave it out. The pilot's issue was he felt uncomfortable around the autistic kid. So that's what he said. He had to know that making a statement like that was going to cause him grief. You cannot publicly say disabled kids make you uncomfortable, especially when you are representing a company, and not expect this ultra PC world not to say something about that. So either he just didn't like the disabled girl or the girl really was a threat. And if she really WAS a threat he was wrong to say he felt uncomfortable having her there. IF she truly was a safety issue he should have had the balls to say, "She is causing a safety concern on the plane and needs to be removed." He was stupid for making it about her disability.

No, he was not stupid for making it about her disability, because, well, it was about her disability.

IMHO, the pilot made the right choice.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

huskerbb wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
huskerbb wrote:
Yes, you can go by what if. If you wait until something happens, it's too late. As far as your disabled child goes, not my problem, nor should it be.
Well, that logic could apply to absolutely ANYONE on the plane.
BS. Her own mother said she might have a melt down and scratch other people. That applied to NO ONE else on that plane.

I agree 100%.

flan

huskerbb · Guru

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
huskerbb wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
She's not a "normal" 15 year old. She's an autistic 15 year old. There is a world of difference between them.
Again, I know--but again, you wanted the pilot to completely ignore that fact. You JUST SAID THAT he should have left that part out--and now when challenged, you want it to be important. You can't have it both ways.

Plus, your autistic kid isn't my problem. That's the problem with these entitled parents. They think they get to inflict their kid on everyone else.
No. I didn't want him to leave it out. The pilot's issue was he felt uncomfortable around the autistic kid. So that's what he said. He had to know that making a statement like that was going to cause him grief. You cannot publicly say disabled kids make you uncomfortable, especially when you are representing a company, and not expect this ultra PC world not to say something about that. So either he just didn't like the disabled girl or the girl really was a threat. And if she really WAS a threat he was wrong to say he felt uncomfortable having her there. IF she truly was a safety issue he should have had the balls to say, "She is causing a safety concern on the plane and needs to be removed." He was stupid for making it about her disability.

LOL!!!! This is EXACTLY what I was talking about. He didn't "make" it about her disability--it WAS about her disability. Again, without the disability there would have been no potential for a melt down. There would have been no need for "hot food" or other such nonsense.

You can't have it both ways. You can't on the one hand say that everyone needs to tiptoe around this kid so as to not make her "melt down", do any damn thing she wants so she won't "melt down"--and then on the other hand say this isn't about her disability.

IT ABSOLUTELY IS.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

I think it's a sad day when we start kicking people off planes not because of safety, not because they are a threat, but because they make us feel "uncomfortable" around them.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

flan327 wrote:
huskerbb wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
huskerbb wrote:
Yes, you can go by what if. If you wait until something happens, it's too late. As far as your disabled child goes, not my problem, nor should it be.
Well, that logic could apply to absolutely ANYONE on the plane.
BS. Her own mother said she might have a melt down and scratch other people. That applied to NO ONE else on that plane.
I agree 100%.
flan

You are scaring me flan....

huskerbb · Guru

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
I think it's a sad day when we start kicking people off planes not because of safety, not because they are a threat, but because they make us feel "uncomfortable" around them.

You don't know that it wasn't a safety issue. The MOTHER even said the kid might "melt down" and scratch someone.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

No one, not one person, used the words safety or threat. Not the pilot, not the crew, and not the passengers.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
No one, not one person, used the words safety or threat. Not the pilot, not the crew, and not the passengers.

In this PC culture, a perceived threat is enough, especially on a plane.

huskerbb · Guru

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
No one, not one person, used the words safety or threat. Not the pilot, not the crew, and not the passengers.

So? The exact verbiage is irrelevant. You seem to be hung up on that.

Someone who could "melt down"--by their parents' own admission--and scratch someone is a safety risk for other passengers. Duh.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

huskerbb wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
No one, not one person, used the words safety or threat. Not the pilot, not the crew, and not the passengers.
So? The exact verbiage is irrelevant. You seem to be hung up on that.

Someone who could "melt down"--by their parents' own admission--and scratch someone is a safety risk for other passengers. Duh.

Again...She could have done a lot of damage.

The mother used those words as a way to get the crew to give her the hot meal.

It backfired.

flan

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Yes, I am hung up on the verbiage. Because by not being direct and saying they felt like the girl was a safety issue they have now opened themselves up to a lawsuit on discrimination. The word uncomfortable and the word afraid are two totally different things. If he felt like she was a threat he should have conveyed that. He did not. No one conveyed that she was a threat. Just that the pilot was uncomfortable. I'm sorry you don't see how that can be perceived as discrimination.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

just Czech wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
No one, not one person, used the words safety or threat. Not the pilot, not the crew, and not the passengers.
In this PC culture, a perceived threat is enough, especially on a plane.

I happen to agree that if he felt it was a threat then he had the right to get her off the plane. What you're not seeing is that he didn't SAY that. He said he felt uncomfortable around her. That says nothing about fear. He should have said he felt she was a threat.

And for the record I still don't believe she was a threat. But anyway, that doesn't matter because people don't seem to understand that it is against the law to discriminate.

huskerbb · Guru

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Yes, I am hung up on the verbiage. Because by not being direct and saying they felt like the girl was a safety issue they have now opened themselves up to a lawsuit on discrimination. The word uncomfortable and the word afraid are two totally different things. If he felt like she was a threat he should have conveyed that. He did not. No one conveyed that she was a threat. Just that the pilot was uncomfortable. I'm sorry you don't see how that can be perceived as discrimination.

I don't care how it is "perceived". The FACT is that without the disability and her mother's ensuing actions due to it--this never would have been an issue.

Again, you can't scream "the disability isn't the issue"--when it most certainly is.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

That's fine that you don't care how it's perceived. But when the family sues for discrimination the courts might care a whole helluva lot.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Or they might supportthe discretion of the Pilot.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
Or they might supportthe discretion of the Pilot.

That's a possibility too but they'd have to prove he had reason to feel threatened. There was footage from several phones so I imagine those people would testify that they didn't feel threatened.

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
Or they might supportthe discretion of the Pilot.
That's a possibility too but they'd have to prove he had reason to feel threatened. There was footage from several phones so I imagine those people would testify that they didn't feel threatened.

But, then the flight crew would also be able to speak freely and not have to use euphamisms. We might also get their side of the story (note the article is entirely mom's perspective) and then we might be having a very different discussion!

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
Or they might supportthe discretion of the Pilot.
That's a possibility too but they'd have to prove he his theird reason tDoesn't eel threatened. There was footage from several phones so I imagine those people would testify that they didn't feel threatened.

They dont have to prove anything. If the policy of 5he airline is that the Pilot has sole discretion to abort the flight when he/she deems it then rthat is their policy.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

So, the pilot can just throw anyone off the plane anytime they make him feel "uncomfortable"?

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Geez, I'm glad so many of you think it's perfectly normal to be scared of a little girl.

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

Lawyerlady wrote:
So, the pilot can just throw anyone off the plane anytime they make him feel "uncomfortable"?

Actually, yes. However, it has to be within reason and defensible. Which makes me think that there is more to this story.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Lawyerlady wrote:
So, the pilot can just throw anyone off the plane anytime they make him feel "uncomfortable"?

Apparently yes. So look out if you're gay, or fat, or god forbid a Republican.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Tignanello wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
So, the pilot can just throw anyone off the plane anytime they make him feel "uncomfortable"?
Actually, yes. However, it has to be within reason and defensible. Which makes me think that there is more to this story.

So, race, religion, disability.....none of those are protected reasons that make the pilot feel uncomfortable?

Dona Worry Be Happy · Vette's SS!!

No, this was NOT okay. This is discrimination against a mentally ill child who was not threatening anyone. No one around her felt afraid, no one around them agreed with the airline for throwing a girl peacefully watching a movie off a plane.
This is insane. I would be appalled if this happened on a plane I was on.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

So, someone with Tourette's syndrome can't fly because they will likely say something disturbing. Someone with a glass eye might look evil. Young black guys look like thugs. Muslims are all terrorists, don't you know. That young girl looks like a meth addict, she might go nuts at any time. evileye

The pilot can kick them all off the plane?

Ridiculous.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Dona Worry Be Happy wrote:
No, this was NOT okay. This is discrimination against a mentally ill child who was not threatening anyone. No one around her felt afraid, no one around them agreed with the airline for throwing a girl peacefully watching a movie off a plane.
This is insane. I would be appalled if this happened on a plane I was on.

So would I.

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

Lawyerlady wrote:
So, someone with Tourette's syndrome can't fly because they will likely say something disturbing. Someone with a glass eye might look evil. Young black guys look like thugs. Muslims are all terrorists, don't you know. That young girl looks like a meth addict, she might go nuts at any time.

The pilot can kick them all off the plane?

Ridiculous.

Did all of their mothers threaten the flight staff with potential violence unless they did what she told them to?

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Lawyerlady wrote:
Tignanello wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
So, the pilot can just throw anyone off the plane anytime they make him feel "uncomfortable"?
Actually, yes. However, it has to be within reason and defensible. Which makes me think that there is more to this story.
So, race, religion, disability.....none of those are protected reasons that make the pilot feel uncomfortable?

They can all go. And if you have the same color hair as his bitch ass ex wife you're off too.

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
Tignanello wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
So, the pilot can just throw anyone off the plane anytime they make him feel "uncomfortable"?
Actually, yes. However, it has to be within reason and defensible. Which makes me think that there is more to this story.
So, race, religion, disability.....none of those are protected reasons that make the pilot feel uncomfortable?

They can all go. And if you have the same color hair as his bitch ass ex wife you're off too.

Only if the ex-wife's mother threatened violence.

Dona Worry Be Happy · Vette's SS!!

Tignanello wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
So, someone with Tourette's syndrome can't fly because they will likely say something disturbing. Someone with a glass eye might look evil. Young black guys look like thugs. Muslims are all terrorists, don't you know. That young girl looks like a meth addict, she might go nuts at any time.

The pilot can kick them all off the plane?

Ridiculous.
Did all of their mothers threaten the flight staff with potential violence unless they did what she told them to?

That rubbish is not reflected in the OP.

Her daughter isn't an attack dog she can sick on people that piss her off, she is a mentally ill child.

If being hungry can trigger a meltdown, then feed her, which is what happened, AND SHE CALMED DOWN.

That should have been the end of it, right there.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Dona Worry Be Happy wrote:

That rubbish is not reflected in the OP.
Her daughter isn't an attack dog she can sick on people that piss her off, she is a mentally ill child.
If being hungry can trigger a meltdown, then feed her, which is what happened, AND SHE CALMED DOWN.
That should have been the end of it, right there.

Rubbish Dona. That makes too much sense and is too easy. Besides. Rules are rules and are not made to be broken. If the rules is she can't have a meal from first class then by god let the girl suffer.

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

Dona Worry Be Happy wrote:
Tignanello wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
So, someone with Tourette's syndrome can't fly because they will likely say something disturbing. Someone with a glass eye might look evil. Young black guys look like thugs. Muslims are all terrorists, don't you know. That young girl looks like a meth addict, she might go nuts at any time.

The pilot can kick them all off the plane?

Ridiculous.
Did all of their mothers threaten the flight staff with potential violence unless they did what she told them to?
That rubbish is not reflected in the OP.
Her daughter isn't an attack dog she can sick on people that piss her off, she is a mentally ill child.
If being hungry can trigger a meltdown, then feed her, which is what happened, AND SHE CALMED DOWN.
That should have been the end of it, right there.

It actually is in the OP. and the OP is from Mom's perspective, so I don't think that we're getting the full story. We're getting the one designed to make her look good and the airline look bad.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

Good grief, they hold drunks and anyone who remotely acts unusually nervous off of planes all the time. Pilots have diverted planes before for unusual or threatening behavior by adults. What makes a 15 year any different?
She is adult size at the age of 15. It's not like she was an 8 year old.
I would rather have my pilot error on the side of safety for all, then endanger anyone.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Dona Worry Be Happy wrote:

That rubbish is not reflected in the OP.
Her daughter isn't an attack dog she can sick on people that piss her off, she is a mentally ill child.
If being hungry can trigger a meltdown, then feed her, which is what happened, AND SHE CALMED DOWN.
That should have been the end of it, right there.

Rubbish Dona. That makes too much sense and is too easy. Besides. Rules are rules and are not made to be broken. If the rules is she can't have a meal from first class then by god let the girl suffer.

I can see lots of kids throwing a tantrum now...

burns07 · Guru

we have a friend who's been flying for a major US airline for years--she's a 747 captain--just for the hell of it called her up and asked her for her opinion--after prefacing her response with " I wasn't present at the time " she laughed lightly and then said: " My airplane, my decision. While the passenger MAY have been just fine for the duration of the flight, she MAY NOT have been. Passenger/crew safety is my first priority. If I decide to divert and put her off then I can be CERTAIN there won't be any subsequent events inflight where she might injure herself / my crew / my passengers. Sure, the rest of the passengers will be ticked. They'll be late, they'll be upset but they'll arrive safe and unharmed. The cost to the company isn't insignificant, true, but it's nothing compared to the cost of a lawsuit from one of my crew or passengers that she might possibly have injured. "

I agree completely

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Lawyerlady wrote:
Geez, I'm glad so many of you think it's perfectly normal to be scared of a little girl.

SHE IS NOT LITTLE.

flan

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Tignanello wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
So, someone with Tourette's syndrome can't fly because they will likely say something disturbing. Someone with a glass eye might look evil. Young black guys look like thugs. Muslims are all terrorists, don't you know. That young girl looks like a meth addict, she might go nuts at any time.

The pilot can kick them all off the plane?

Ridiculous.
Did all of their mothers threaten the flight staff with potential violence unless they did what she told them to?

The pilot has to get approval to land the plane, which he DID.

flan

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Before boarding the Portland-bound flight, however, Beegle said Juliette had refused the food they bought and also would not eat the snacks they brought on board the plane. Juliette, like many people with autism, is clinically picky about the food she eats, and although she is high-functioning she has extreme difficulty communicating verbally. So in an attempt to prevent the situation from escalating, Beegle asked a flight attendant if they could provide any hot food her daughter:

The family ate dinner in Houston, Beegle said, but Juliette refused to eat. Beegle brought some snacks on board for her because “if her blood sugar lets go, she gets frustrated and antsy. We try to anticipate that and prevent that.”

After boarding, Beegle said she asked the flight attendant if she had any hot meals.

“Juliette refuses room-temp food,” Beegle said. “I had no real way to bring hot snacks in my bag.”

The attendant told her they had a hot sandwich, but the sandwich arrived cold, Beegle said, and Juliette refused to eat it.

“I could see [Juliette] getting frustrated,” Beegle said, adding that she asked the flight attendant to check on meals available for purchase in first class.

“I asked if I can purchase something hot for my daughter and [the first class flight attendant] said no” she said. “I called him back over and I said to him, ‘Please, help us out here,'” but he again refused.

“He came back again and I said, ‘I have a child with special needs, I need to get her something.’ And he said, ‘I can’t do that,'” she explained. “I said, ‘How about we wait for her to have a meltdown, she’ll be crying and trying to scratch in frustration. I don’t want her to get to that point.'”

The attendant then brought Juliette rice and jambalaya, Beegle said, and “she ate and she was fine.”

About 25 minutes later, according to Beegle, an announcement over the loudspeaker said the plane was making an emergency landing because of a passenger with “a behavior issue.”

According to Beegle: “Then the police said,’ Well, you know, we’re going to have to ask you to leave the plane.’ And I said, ‘I don’t understand why? There’s no issue. What is the problem?’ And he said, ‘Well, the captain doesn’t feel comfortable flying to Portland with your daughter on the plane,’” Beegle continued.

Another passenger on the flight maintained that officials overreacted to the situation:

Another traveler, Jodi Smith, who was sitting three rows behind Juliette, said she heard the entire conversation with the first-class flight attendant.

“He was being totally ridiculous,” Smith said.

“Then the medics came on, then the police. They went right straight to Dr. Beegle. You could hear them saying their daughter was perceived as a threat,” Smith [said]. “I stood up and said, ‘Absolutely positively not.’

“This was just ridiculous. She was calm, she had done nothing. I’ve been on flights where kids have screamed for 4 hours and they’ve never diverted a flight.”

“This was the epitome of discrimination,” Smith said. “I have never in all my years of flying seen anything like this.”

Beegle said Juliette has traveled often, accompnying her to to London, Paris and 22 states.

“We’ve never experienced anything like that,” she said. “It was horrific.”

Read more at now.snopes.com/2015/05/10/autistic-girl-removed/

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

just Czech wrote:
Good grief, they hold drunks and anyone who remotely acts unusually nervous off of planes all the time. Pilots have diverted planes before for unusual or threatening behavior by adults. What makes a 15 year any different?
She is adult size at the age of 15. It's not like she was an 8 year old.
I would rather have my pilot error on the side of safety for all, then endanger anyone.

It's not rocket science.

flan

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

“Juliette refuses room-temp food,” Beegle said. “I had no real way to bring hot snacks in my bag.”

Mom has never heard of a thermos? In all her years of flying???

flan

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

flan327 wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
Geez, I'm glad so many of you think it's perfectly normal to be scared of a little girl.
SHE IS NOT LITTLE.
flan

Yes - she is.

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Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

flan327 wrote:
“Juliette refuses room-temp food,” Beegle said. “I had no real way to bring hot snacks in my bag.”

Mom has never heard of a thermos? In all her years of flying???

flan

Have you never heard of the new flying requirements that won't allow you to bring that stuff on the plane? Not in all your years of flying?

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Lawyerlady wrote:
flan327 wrote:
“Juliette refuses room-temp food,” Beegle said. “I had no real way to bring hot snacks in my bag.”

Mom has never heard of a thermos? In all her years of flying???

flan
Have you never heard of the new flying requirements that won't allow you to bring that stuff on the plane? Not in all your years of flying?

I've often purchased HOT food and brought it on a plane.

flan

Tinydancer · Guru

flan327 wrote:
“Juliette refuses room-temp food,” Beegle said. “I had no real way to bring hot snacks in my bag.”

Mom has never heard of a thermos? In all her years of flying???

flan

You're not allowed to bring thermoses on. Where have you been since 9/11?

FNW · Guru

She could purchase food once through security, bring it on the plane, and ask the flight attendant to re-heat it.

Dona Worry Be Happy · Vette's SS!!

I have had to throw away food I bought inside the airport before. The flight attendant was in a oissy mood and took it out on a disabled girl and her family-- inconveniencing everyone and costing the company a lawsuit.

huskerbb · Guru

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
Or they might supportthe discretion of the Pilot.
That's a possibility too but they'd have to prove he had reason to feel threatened. There was footage from several phones so I imagine those people would testify that they didn't feel threatened.

No. The person suing would have to prove the pilot was not within his rights.