I agree with RedStateHeretic to a limited extent. Yes, the teenager was being rude by wearing a T-shirt with an offensive slogan in public and, yes, I, too, wouldn't wear such a thing even at home. But, for the passenger in 23D to make such a big deal over it by repeatedly harrassing the flight attendants and calling for the girl to be rejected from the flight is much more offensive -- the point of Mr. Leonard's report. People of a more sensible frame of mind might tsk-tsk the arrogance of youth or, more likely, chuckle over the stupidity of youth. Witnessing a supposed adult making a big show of his wounded self-righteousness is, however, too silly and too weird to let pass without comment.

I simply cannot believe that Mr. Leonard equates this complaints about this offensive Tee-shirt with the other complants.

This shirt is offensive and no business is or should be required to allow someone wearing it to be in their place of business.

I also cannot believe that he equates someone being offended by this shirt and complaining with people who complaining about public breast feeding, among other things. In the other cases it is the complainer who is being rude. In this case the shirt wearer is being rude.

Just because one's kids have heard worse elsewhere, or most likely said worse elsewhere and further their parent (me included) may have said worse, does not give anyone the right to wear this in a public place of business.

It is rude. Perhaps liberals might start getting back some traction with their viewpoints in the red states if they stop defending such behavior. Most liberals I have ever known are far more conservative in child rearing that most conservative republicans. (who tend to think their doo doo doesnt stink and that they have a right to stomp all over others on their way to the top - and encourage the same behavior in their children)

For the record, I am a christian religous conservative, a political liberal (hence my handle). Breast feeding is a necessity, my wife did that in public almost 20 years ago.

There is no right to be rude in public, and these shirts are highly offensive. My kids joked last week about me buying a shirt with this word on it. No way, no how. I wouldn't even wear it in the privacy of my own home.

by W stickers and yellow ribbons on the backs of giant SUV's, I can have the drivers punished?

Because I am, you know. Offended. We all should be. But certainly not by 4-letter words on T-shirts.

Sheesh. Where's all the righteous indignation over the really offensive stuff, like, oh, I don't know, Iraq and poverty and incompetent, corrupt, (and quite possibly evil) leaders?

I've always found the Jet Blue staff extremely helpful and I would have hated to be in their situation in this particular case. By forcing the attendent to make a call to the pilot, the crew would have had to log the incident in the incident report log (i.e. extra paperwork). All these logs are usually sent to HQ afterwards in case someone makes an official complaint. It does lead to an interesting question though. Once you're on board the plane, unless you haven't washed for a few days there is no reason for a pilot to kick somone off a flight for what they were wearing.

However, getting onboard the plane requires going through airport security in which you have to normally remove your jacket. I would not be suprised that if someone had a t-shirt swearing off at airport security they wouldn't be able to get through to the flight (security personnel do not like jokes).

Considering how long you have to give yourself to get through security nowadays, I'm not surprised that the teenager wore such a t-shirt. And if a parent complains about the teenager being a bad role model, well, they obivously haven't seen all the posters and adverts in prime television lately.

Any teenager that acts quiet on a plane to me is a good role model.

Let me get this straight ... the offensive slogan was on the BACK of the girl's T-shirt, so Mr. 23D only caught a glance of it when she swivelled around in her seat as she was removing her sweatshirt, yet he kept up and kept up his tirade? Not unlike those idjits who get bent out of shape when someone has the audacity to wish them "Happy Holidays." Clearly, those who look for things to take offense at will surely be offended. In other words, they get just what they want -- a momentary focus for their permanent state of self-righteous indignation. Having one's nose constantly out of joint (and suffering a lot of stress) is the price one pays for assuming moral superiority. But what an awful way to go through life! Makes me glad I don't have that burden.

Can't thank you enough for your recent Broadside.

I have printed off multiple copies. I am passing them out to at least five friends.

I have tired of their diatribes, their "injured sensibilities", their aggressive reactions to just such

situations as described in the incident of air rage.

Your closing paragraph sums up my attempts to counter my friends' attacks on others in SUCH A

GOOD way. I will quote, and quote you again, as I do what little I can in one of the most "liberal" areas of

the east. ( Imagine that, I once thought this to be a broadly accepting area of the world.)

Mean and lean thinking is sweeping the country. The leadership of our times is simply

so powerful and so arrogant that the majority of us are too tired to think broadly anymore. Too many of

us have given up and are circling our wagons, so to speak, around little sensibilities.

Keep up the good work Mr. Leonard. We must work hard and raise a

wiser generation of kids, getting them ready to straighten things out in the future,

despite all the mean and lean thinkers out there right now.