Kids and men on planes.

[Hitcher]

What happened to the good old "if you don't like how I do it, you can fuck off"?

They're called Sky Marshalls. And they're armed.

[Wolf]

Here's some more from the PC brigade!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3505358a11,00.html

So Santa's not allowed to do anything that might offend some kid's (or, more accurately, parent's) religious beliefs yet the Baptist Church can put up a sign at Christmas time proclaiming "Santa didn't die for your sins" and members of the religious lunatic fringe can walk up to you on the street and attempt to physically shove a religious pamphlet into your hand or attempt to poke your fucking eye out with it...

And watch out lest the loud sound of booming laughter terrorise the children.

Fuck! My kids wouldn't bat an eyelid if Santa lept out at them and roared like a T-Rex. They'd look him in the eyes and say "Dinosaur" then turn to me and say "Daddy, dinosaur comin'."

Fair enough having police checks, but the rest of the rules are bloody nonsense. If parents don't want their kids' (or their own) religious sensitivities dented, or the kids scared shitless: don't take the little tykes to Santa's Grotto, FFS!

It's a proud tradition to take kids to be terrified by a large red-clad man who towers over them and asks Have you been good?

Those who can't cope with that should fuck off. No one put a gun to their heads and forced them to go down to the Santa display.

[ManDownUnder]

Here's some more from the PC brigade!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3505358a11,00.html

And the politically correct response would be...

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE"

Na - that's not good.

[Swoop]

If approached by flight attendant to be moved simply because you are sitting next to an unaccompanied child... "certainly, if that is your airlines policy - you may move me to 1st class - that is my only option". Stuff them.

[ManDownUnder]

If approached by flight attendant to be moved simply because you are sitting next to an unaccompanied child... "certainly, if that is your airlines policy - you may move me to 1st class - that is my only option". Stuff them.

LIKE IT!

[Lou Girardin]

They're called Sky Marshalls. And they're armed.

AirNZ doesn't have them.

[idb]

So Santa's not allowed to do anything that might offend some kid's (or, more accurately, parent's) religious beliefs yet the Baptist Church can put up a sign at Christmas time proclaiming "Santa didn't die for your sins" and members of the religious lunatic fringe can walk up to you on the street and attempt to physically shove a religious pamphlet into your hand or attempt to poke your fucking eye out with it....

Absolutely right.
When I was a kid religion had nothing to do with Christmas but now there's religious nutters all over the place trying to take it over.
Go out and get yer own f*ckin festival!!!

"Santa is the reason for the season"

[ManDownUnder]

AirNZ doesn't have them.

Really they don't...

Especially on the planes to and from LAX and San Fran they don't...

Oh and on the Sydney LAX flights either - don't you worry..

... then there's the Heathrow to LAX flight, they're not on there either...

[Wolf]

Absolutely right.
When I was a kid religion had nothing to do with Christmas but now there's religious nutters all over the place trying to take it over.
Go out and get yer own f*ckin festival!!!

"Santa is the reason for the season"

Actually, I was referring to all the year around. There are days when it's not safe to walk in Hamihole owing to the pamphlet pushers and the street corner ranters.

[Karma]

I usually just walk straight through them... and I mean that literally..

There was one dude once who tried to stop me to talk about some kinda crap, and wouldn't get outta the way... I just carried on walking into him until he got the point

[Beemer]

There was a great letter in the Dom Post last weekend from a woman after my own heart!

"What about the women flyers? As a young woman without children who enjoys her yearly holiday to Europe, which includes at least eight flights, I am deeply concerned about the airline policy of not seating unaccompanied children next to men.
Where are they going to sit? Next to me?
I feel discriminated agains for being seen as a safe companion. This will massively increase the chance of my having to sit next to a child, in circumstances where I would prefer not to do so. Therefore, any early morning flights that I take (that are mostly full of suited men) will become a potential nightmare.
If I wanted to sit next to children, I would have my own.
As a full-fare paying passenger, my first preference would be to not sit next to children; my second preference would be for such seating to be on a random allocation basis.
What about customer preference?
Casimira Kerr, Wadestown"

I hear you loud and clear and second that motion! Right underneath it was a letter from an Air NZ employee saying he can't believe why people are complaining. It got me thinking - what about male stewards on flights? If the airline's employees are there to protect the children, what if some of them happen to be men? Would the airline consider it unsafe to seat an unaccompanied child next to an airline employee? It would be interesting to hear what their answer to that would be!

[kro]

This may be over simplified, but the way I see it is...

Years ago one bored employee thinks it would be fun to go for a hoon thru the warehouse on a forkhoist, and bowls and injures a workmate. He knew it was a bad idea, but chose to anyway. OSH legislates, and say forhoist licenses for all.

One youngish motorcyclist takes a spill on a 750 bike years ago, but spills due to unaviodable circumstances, not due to lack of rider prowess, Government legislates, and says "graduated licenses for bikers", even though a recently licensed cage driver can drive a 500hp Skyline the day he obtains a license.

One scum bag child molester fiddles with a child, and suddenly all the good guys are suddenly kiddy porn distributing, child molesters. Airline legislates seating to avoid unaccompanied children sitting next to men.

For as long as they legislate to minorities, the bad or stupid people win, because they are the ones given the spotlight, not the sensible decent people.

The world loves spotlighting these people, and the slow creeping blanket of paranoia, and distrust that it sows, slowly undermines the bonds between us, and evetually gets in as deep as our families, and when that happens, its over, the shitheads win.

[/ramble]

[ManDownUnder]

I think I'm in (...or am in a sterling position to cause...) trouble - I have to fly to Queenstown with my son April of next year.

Who do I contact at the airline to get permission to sit next to him?

[Swoop]

Wolf, your email letters are superb and should be sent to all the main and also local newspapers! Well worded and to the point.

Any comments from the airlines regarding anyones "complaints" should be re-directed to the CEOs of the airlines concerned, as this not a complaint but a policy making submission. The complaints department cannot do anything apart from write more reports etc, etc.


A different poster commented on the seating of the unaccompanied kids with the flight attendants... are any of those male???

Or perhaps there will be an Air Noisyland "Creche Class" seating section?

[KATWYN]

This really makes my blood boil! What proportion of men are paedophiles? 1 in a thousand?

Wow.... That many!

Why doesnt the airline ban ANYONE from sitting with the children if they are going to discriminate all men- including not allowing the childrens mother,father,uncle,aunty,older siblings,older cousins & family freinds
to sit near them, because isn't that really where the hidden dangers lie?? - Not some stranger who
most likely doesnt actually give a s*** let alone notice the little person sitting next to them.