Re: What are the little things that would give ETs amongst us away?

Mike Van Pelt <mvp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In article <-rGdncCSQserOG3ZnZ2dnUVZ_qCdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Erik Max Francis <max@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
At that point one said to the other (presumably in Arabic)
something about dying in thirty minutes, ...

Making this sort of "joke" falls under the category
of "too stupid to be permitted to reproduce."

People defending their right to make threats this
specific, and denouncing any and all actions taken
on the reasonable assumption that it's not a joke ...
is just astonishing, and approaching that level of
stupidity.

"Dying in thirty minutes" isn't even a threat, much less a specific
threat. Maybe the guy is just afraid of flying. Oh right, but if an Arab
says it, it must be a threat.

Also, I can and have made specific threats against people's lives in a
joking manner in public and never gotten so much as a funny look for it.
But translate the same thing into an airplane, where it is both much
harder to carry out a threat and much safer overall, and suddenly I lose
my right to joke.

No wonder I hate to fly (on airlines) anymore.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: What are the little things that would give ETs amongst us away?
    ... it must be a threat. ... Maybe it's a harmless joke, ... So why is it _stupid_ not to become alarmed by ... Sitting on a passenger airplane is one of the safest places a healthy ...
    (rec.arts.sf.science)
  • Re: What a difference a decade makes...
    ... Yeah, ... It was a fucking joke. ... You seem oddly proud of your previous threat against Richard's ... scaring someone about the safety of their daughter. ...
    (rec.music.gdead)
  • Re: For Azrelle
    ... Sounded like a threat to me. ... I had a handicapped brother who's passed away now. ... the joke was aimed the pointless fighting on the ... There are bigger battles to be fought. ...
    (rec.juggling)
  • Re: What are the little things that would give ETs amongst us away?
    ... Oh right, but if an Arab says it, it must be a threat. ... But translate the same thing into an airplane, where it is both much harder to carry out a threat and much safer overall, and suddenly I lose my right to joke. ... If you're in a situation with heightened security, increased adrenaline and concern from the people around you that people might be trying to blow up the plane and themselves in the process, comments like that are stupid. ... If you're pulled over in a routine traffic stop, there are all manner of things you could say in a joking way that would not be interpreted as a joke and which it would be incredibly stupid for you to say. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.science)
  • Re: For Azrelle
    ... Sounded like a threat to me. ... I had a handicapped brother who's passed away now. ... the joke was aimed the pointless fighting on the ... There are bigger battles to be fought. ...
    (rec.juggling)