Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Talk about ridiculous
Sometimes I think airline attendents should strut the aisles naked, present themselves at each row, and demand passengers kiss their aging asses. From MSNBC.com this morning:
Man convicted for mile-high makeout
Jury punishes affectionate passenger for interfering with flight
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A California man was convicted Thursday of interfering with flight attendants and crew members in a case that prosecutors said began when he became too affectionate with his girlfriend on a Raleigh-bound flight.
Carl William Persing, 41, will likely serve jail time for the federal felony conviction, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler said. A jury convicted Persing after a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Wilmington.
Persing and his girlfriend were seen “embracing, kissing and acting in a manner that made other passengers uncomfortable” during the flight, according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors said Persing twice threatened a flight attendant who told the couple to stop and refused to serve them alcohol.
Defense attorney Deb Newton said her client will appeal. Persing, of Long Beach, Calif., could get up to 20 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, she said.
I’d like to know what language he used when he “twice threatened a flight attendant.” But can you think of any language which would warrant a federal felony conviction and a possible 20 year prison term?
While the Air Traveler’s Bill of Rights addresses pricing, comfort, and appropriate care for disabled or sick passengers, it does nothing to address the inequity in the relationship between passengers and airline personnel.
In 2002, a passenger asked an America West flight attendant if the pilot had passed a sobriety test. He was kicked off the plane for asking the question. Last year, a man was arrested for trying to carry on a rubber band ball. And in ’05, a woman who accidentally left a knife in her luggage was fined $500, told she was going to be put on a terrorist watch list, and also told (when she asked for documentation) that she had no constitutional right to ask for it.
Given unlimited time, I could undoubtedly find dozens of examples of this abuse of power. What I can’t seem to find is any indication that folks are fed up and interested in changing the law. I’ll keep looking.
For the time being, y’all be good sheeple, and don’t talk back to the stewardess, y’hear?
D.
My guess is that, if he’s facing federal charges, he threatened the flight attendant with physical harm. And I, personally, don’t have a problem with someone doing hard time for that.
I would reserve judgment until I hear precisely what he said. The trouble is, airport & airline personnel have an awful lot of latitude in determining what is threatening. With the facts as stated in that story, I’m not seeing a lot to justify a Federal felony.
Oh, and get a load of this. Let me get this straight: it’s a Federal offense to threaten a stewardess, but anti-gay hate speech is a prank. Riiight.
I was on a flight in some front seats that faced each other. There was a seeing eye dog and it’s human sitting next to me. During our pre take off, the stewardess trotted by, looked at us, looked at the dog and told us to get “that” luggage under the seats. We laughed. She came back and threated us a few moments later. The dog’s owner was blind. I looked right at the stewardess and asked, “You’re kidding, right? That’s a seeing eye dog, not luggage and the dog definitely won’t fit under the seat.” It was a black lab. The stewardess bent down and stared at the dog, almost like she couldn’t discern the truth of the matter. My mouth fell open before she was finally satisfied and trotted off to her trundle seat.
CD, you were taking some serious chances there 🙂
It’s one of those things that you should just know better than to do. Since 9/11, people have no sense of proportion about these things, true, but it has always been a federal crime to threaten staff on an airline.
Like threatening the president of the United States, it’s one of those things that halfway smart people just don’t do.
This story is also presented with misleading headlines: the guy isn’t facing jail for snogging with his girlfriend. He’s facing jail for threatening a steward on an airline. He reportedly said “You and me are going to have a serious confrontation,” which, if it were said to me, sounds an awful lot like a threat.
On another report, I saw this quote: “I’m going to give you one warning to get out of my face.” Which is even more threatening, I think.
I agree, the guy’s a dumbass. You don’t joke about bombs in the security line, etc. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of sentence he gets from the judge.
What’s not talked about is how the flight attendent approached the man. I’d probably get irate if I were being harrassed by a flight attendent for no reason either.
Though his choice of words seem threatening, he doesn’t deserve the 20 years in prision that he is facing.
Under the PATRIOT ACT, flight attendents are given the license to be judge and jury and to convict people for sneezing the wrong way today. This is just one instance on a flight where people are arrested or kicked off flights to ridiculous reasons.
Maybe flight attendents need to start including in their opening welcome pn every flight that if you do not sit up straight in your seat and act like good little soldiers you will go to federal prision.
We are turning into a police state.
Oh, I agree — 20 years seems extreme. I could see 20 years MAYBE if he smuggled a weapon on board the plane, but “using threatening language”?
Well, we’ll have to wait and see what the sentence is. Hopefully, the judge will show some discretion.
Tammy I could not agree with you more. I read something today that brought almost the same thing home to me…”we scarcely recognize the checks and balances that the founders put in place, even as they are being systematically dismantled. Because we dont learn about much about European history, the setting up of a department of “homeland” security – remember who else was keen a on the word “homeland” – didn’t raise the alarm bells it might have.”—Naomi Wolf.