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Home » American Airlines » Activist Wearing Obscene, Anti-Police Mask Removed From American Airlines Flight
American Airlines

Activist Wearing Obscene, Anti-Police Mask Removed From American Airlines Flight

Matthew KlintPosted onAugust 5, 2020November 14, 202322 Comments

a hand pointing at a black face mask

A Florida woman claims she was removed from an American Airlines flight because she was black. American Airlines claims it was only due to her refusal to remove an obscene face mask.

Woman Removed From American Airlines Flight For Wearing Obscene Mask

Arlinda Johns, a Florida activist who believes that police departments should be defunded and abolished, tried to wear an obscene mask onboard her American Airlines flight from Charlotte to St. Louis, which included the f-word on it. A flight attendant informed her she could not wear the obscene mask and provided her another mask to wear in its place or over it. American claims that after initially complying, Johns put her old mask back on. As a result, the flight returned to the gate (it had not taken off yet) and she was removed. Johns told WPLG that:

“I think I got taken off the plane because I’m black. My mask said ‘[F**k] 12’ and my shirt said, ‘Black Lives Matter.’”

F**k 12 is apparently an anti-police slogan with 12 being a slang term for police officers. The term has links to the television series Adam-12 and has been used by many rappers over the years. Johns yelled, “Bye Karen” as she left the aircraft. She claims she complied with all onboard instructions.

American Airlines said:

“On Wednesday, July 29, flight 1737 from Charlotte (CLT) to St. Louis (STL) returned to the gate before departure after a customer refused to follow crew member instructions to remove or cover a face mask with offensive language and although the passenger initially complied, they later continued to display the inappropriate language. After arriving at the gate, the passenger was asked to deplane.”

Johns insists racial animus was behind her removal. She chose to drive from Charlotte to St. Louis and flew Southwest back. American Airlines has indicated it will offer her a partial refund for the unused portion of her ticket.

“Offensive” Strikes Again

While Johns would enjoy heightened First Amendment protection with such a message in the public square, the First Amendment does not apply to American Airlines. Instead, American Airlines’s dress code does, which simply states:

Dress appropriately; bare feet or offensive clothing aren’t allowed.

Last September an American Airlines passenger was removed for wearing a “F**k Trump” shirt onboard under the same reasoning.

I’ve wrestled with the issue of where the line should be drawn, but do not think fellow passenger should be forced to close their eyes if they wish to avoid obscenities onboard. I do think American Airlines should better convey what will be deemed offensive. It seems like the F-bomb is a consistent no-no.

CONCLUSION

I don’t understand why a mask which said, “Defund the police” would not be just as effective as using an obscenity as part of an opaque term that only insiders are aware of. Johns feels passionate about her cause. But exposing others to obscenities in a confined space crosses an unacceptable line and I simply cannot fault American Airlines for insisting that the mask be removed. However, if she did remove the mask when asked and did not put it back on, her anger at AA is appropriate over her removal.

Was American Airlines right to remove this passenger?

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Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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22 Comments

  1. Paolo Reply
    August 5, 2020 at 10:00 am

    The F-word is just another word; the impact it once had is now gone. It’s ubiquitous. I doubt that many are shocked or offended by it. I would be furious to suffer a delay for something as trivial as that.

    • Robert Reply
      August 5, 2020 at 10:58 am

      @paolo – you clearly aren’t roaming around the majority of people in society. It’s offensive and it bothers me that others think they can say and display what they want while their actions clearly encroach on my rights as well. Similar to mask wearing in general, what right do others have to not wear a mask and thus expose me to a virus? We’ve lost our way, we no longer care about our neighbors but we care more for our own opinions and don’t care at all about others.

    • frannyReply
      August 5, 2020 at 3:39 pm

      You have no common sense wear a T-Shirt with that on when you visit Mom on mothers day.

    • BDAGuy Reply
      August 19, 2020 at 2:01 pm

      So by that logic any word is OK for public display: those that crudely or contemptuously refer to a person’s ethnic, racial, linguistic or national origin or sexual orientations, no matter how “offensive” those words might be to others. The F word continues to resonate as one with a very strong, hostile connotation in the English language, regardless of how “common” its usage may have become and has no place in a common space shared by those who don’t share your view..

  2. PolishKnight Reply
    August 5, 2020 at 10:11 am

    I’ll be the first. In answer to your question, certainly. These issues come up all the time:
    https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2019-10-10/fly-guy-for-october-13

  3. Kenneth Reply
    August 5, 2020 at 10:23 am

    @Paolo

    I disagree that the F-word is “just another word”. As a parent, I wouldn’t want to have to explain to my curious child what “f**k ” means. To many, the F-word is an expletive used in some circumstances, but clearly inappropriate to use in others; such as aboard an airliner, filled with people of different ages and sensibilities.

    • Paolo Reply
      August 5, 2020 at 10:38 am

      I don’t disagree in theory, but in reality children hear, see, know the word…from a very young age, long before they know/comprehend its meaning.
      It could just as easily be FCUK or Calvin Klein.
      For sure, it would be nicer if people didn’t display vulgarities in public. But it’s not obscene ( as in prohibited, at least in my country, as courts have ruled on it).

      • YoniPDX Reply
        August 5, 2020 at 12:32 pm

        Majority of companies “F$ck” verbal or written language usage in the workplace is not tolerated because of hostile/toxic/sexual harrassment lawsuits.

        I’m not even sure that Drill instructor/sergeant can use it with trainees anymore.

      • Gordy Reply
        August 5, 2020 at 4:36 pm

        How did she pass TSA and the gate agent?

  4. Joe Chivas Reply
    August 5, 2020 at 10:55 am

    It’ shocking to me that they would target an African American woman during this time. American Airlines needs to do better. They need to support equality.

    • Shaun Reply
      August 5, 2020 at 11:40 am

      AA didn’t target this passenger because she is black. She was targeted because of her mask that said F$ck. If they were really targeting her because of her race I think they also would have requested she cover up her BLM shirt.

      I am 100% behind the BLM movement but do not think African Americans get some kind of pass on all rules and laws going forward.

      • Dora Reply
        August 5, 2020 at 1:49 pm

        AA did exactly what they should have done. This “African American woman” was violating their dress code. She WANTED to create a problem, else why would she have put the face mask back on after exchanging it for one offered by AA? Should she be an exception because she is black? No. How this can be called racism is beyond me

      • Olive Stemforn Reply
        August 5, 2020 at 11:52 pm

        @ Shaun – You can’t be any percent behind Black Lives Matter if you are a decent person. The group/movement is racist. They are anti-White, anti-cop, disruptive, anti-traditional American family, pro-Marxist, and they are based on the major lie of “hands up, don’t shoot.” They put out
        lists of demands on the Internet, and also do that
        to businesses as extortion.

    • Andy K Reply
      August 5, 2020 at 12:25 pm

      What exactly are you saying – that rules should not be enforced for black people? Or that AA took a huge risk enforcing rules during this tense time politically?

    • Pete Reply
      August 5, 2020 at 1:11 pm

      Why is it shocking? That in your world, we get to assign a period of time where rules don’t apply to certain people?

  5. JerryReply
    August 5, 2020 at 1:23 pm

    They didn’t need to go back to the gate and remove the woman. She wasn’t a threat to any passenger or the safety of the flight. She had a mask on, it just had the F word on it… So what. I agree with @Paolo, obscene and offensive are not the same thing.

  6. JoEllen Reply
    August 5, 2020 at 3:24 pm

    Bet she didn’t wear the mask on Southwest Airlines. As well, plenty of black people work and fly on American Airlines. Was she the only black passenger on board? Was she the only black person on board (ie., black employees) ? Talk about over-using a worn-out race card. Give it up; it is only irritating people more and does not endear anyone to your cause or activism or whatever drama you are using. Bitter, angry, fist-raising, screeching, profane idiot.

  7. Joe Reply
    August 5, 2020 at 3:37 pm

    No class, no brain, good riddance

  8. Brian G. Reply
    August 5, 2020 at 6:41 pm

    I am assuming she was not flying on a full fare ticket. It is funny how when a incident happens the airlines waives the refund rules. I know they are just trying to get rid of a problematic pax, but they are normally strict about refunds to nonrefundable tickets.

  9. Ulysses Reply
    August 5, 2020 at 10:48 pm

    I have mentioned this before, and I feel that it is appropriate to mention it now. Years ago, passengers (men and women), used to dress up in their finest clothes, when they flew. Passengers acted with courtesy and dignity, and there were no cases of airline rage among passengers, that I remember. Then, the airlines appreciated our business, and the gate attendants and ticket agents were all professionals, as were the flight attendants (formerly known as stewardesses). It is a different world today, and as Paolo stated the “F” word has become ubiquitous. However, I don’t agree that word should be displayed in public, especially on a commercial flight, where one can’t help but notice it. It is bad enough that kind of language is sometimes displayed on auto bumper stickers. In any event, that passenger is lucky that the airline chose not to call the cops to have her arrested, for interfering with a flight crew, by acting in that manner, and delaying the flight.

    • Statman Reply
      August 6, 2020 at 12:06 am

      She wasn’t arrested due to her black privilege in 2020. People would be too afraid. Not worth the hassle.

  10. Ali Song Reply
    August 6, 2020 at 2:29 am

    Definition of a entitled c***

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