Man With Tourette Syndrome Kept Off Flight After Saying "Bomb" (A Lot)
ABC News' David Kerley, Mosheh Gains and Ben Krolowitz report that a man with Tourette syndrome wasn't allowed to board his flight because a Jet Blue pilot heard him say the word "bomb" -- about 100 times.
Right -- like a terrorist is going to say one of the words known to get you yanked out of your travel path. And not just once -- hundreds of times.
No, we don't use actual sense in assessing a situation like this. We don't talk to the person and find out why he might be doing this. As the ABC story reported:
Those with Tourette syndrome often can't control verbal tics. Doyle, who constantly watched coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, said he arrived at the airport worried about what he was going to say.
More from the piece:
After Doyle was not allowed on the flight, his friend stayed with him, missing their 18th century battle reenactment in Puerto Rico, which they had planned for two years....JetBlue said, "After further investigation, the situation was deemed innocuous" and offered Doyle a round trip ticket, but there is no guarantee he will be able to board another flight.
While the situation was frustrating for Petteway and Doyle, it shows a country still at a heightened state of alert two weeks after the twin bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
No, it shows a country at a heightened state of irrational and stupid.
It's funny though.
C'mon.... C'mon.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at April 30, 2013 1:25 PM
The surprising part of the piece is that he got through TSA while saying "Bomb." I guess airline pilots don't recognize TSA's authority.
Fayd at April 30, 2013 3:19 PM
Sue the fuck out of the airlines for denying him passage based on his disability.
Its what the ADA was designed for.
lujlp at April 30, 2013 4:07 PM
Sure.......................
Everyone with disability gets a payday.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at April 30, 2013 5:30 PM
This is so sad. People with Tourette's often say the very thing (repeatedly) that they are focused on Not saying. The more stress, the greater the likelihood of saying the Wrong thing.
I thought that I would use this as an excuse to make a PSA. My son had a spitting tic. When his teacher went ballistic, he simply focused on it and could Not stop. Ignoring it extinguished the behavior.
Jen at April 30, 2013 6:47 PM
crid the capitian of the plan for all intents and purposes said to a blind man that the fact that he was blind was a threat to the airplane
lujlp at April 30, 2013 9:16 PM
I can see how having a passenger say the word "bomb" over and over could panic other passengers. I hope it was Mr. Doyle's own safety that the pilot was concerned about.
Sosij at April 30, 2013 10:59 PM
> the capitian of the plan for all intents and
> purposes said to a blind man that the fact
> that he was blind was a threat to the airplane
There were no blind people involved. "Intents and purposes" were not a factor. "A pilot," not necessarily the "captain" of his flight, heard the word "bomb" and denied boarding.
> I can see how having a passenger say the word
> "bomb" over and over could panic other
> passengers.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at April 30, 2013 11:27 PM
What do they do if the in-flight movie is "Meet the Parents"?
Rex Little at May 1, 2013 9:27 AM
Crid, you are being unusually obtuse here
lujlp at May 1, 2013 11:02 AM
If I board a loaded plane, and repeatedly say "rape", over and over again in front of multiple witnesses, does that mean I was in danger of raping some one? Being raped?
Although, with all the attention focused on terrorists today, you can see why the authorities are hyper paranoid. America demands action. They give it to them.
The terrorists are winning.
wtf at May 1, 2013 5:33 PM
> you are being unusually obtuse here
And yet you can't say how.
Rule #1— No lying.
Rule #2- Be clear.
Rule #0- Be interesting.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at May 6, 2013 4:32 PM
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