There’s an alarming trend of people trying to wear “Let’s Go Brandon” attire on planes, and then being asked to change. Then the people try to act confused, and claim that their freedoms are being violated. I wanted to address this, because it really isn’t that complicated.
Before I do so, let me note that this is the only time I’ll ever write about this topic (and I’d like to point out I’ve never written a “Let’s Go Brandon” travel story, and that trend will continue after this).
Spirit Airlines crew asks passenger to change mask
The latest incident of “Let’s Go Brandon” airplane outrage comes from Spirit Airlines flight 3317 from Cleveland to Tampa on Friday, January 28, 2022. In a video posted to social media, a man is very proud of wearing a mask with colorful, scrolling text that reads “Let’s Go Brandon FJB,” with “FJB” standing for “f*ck Joe Biden.”
Once the man is in his seat, a crew member comes by and hands him a blue surgical mask. The passenger asks why he’s being asked to put that on, and the crew member explains it’s because his mask is offensive. When he asks about that, the flight attendant responds “it can be to some people, so we’re not going to go back and forth, just go ahead and put the blue one on.”
The guy is then shocked, and says “wow, this is not America anymore.” He then continues “of course they make their own rules, it’s not America, it’s not First Amendment.”
Then a second video was posted to social media as the man deplanes, when he confronts the crew once again (in this case he’s back to wearing his old mask). He asks a flight attendant if there’s any way to speak to a supervisor. The passenger then tries to compare the mask to BLM masks being allowed.
At this point the flight attendant briefly engages him:
Flight attendant: “What does that mean?” (pointing at his mask)
Passenger: “Let’s go Brandon.”
Flight attendant: “What does that mean?”
Passenger: “It’s my name.”
At this point another flight attendant approaches, and asks the guy to stop recording, a wish he doesn’t honor. Instead he badgers her, saying “but isn’t it freedom of speech to have this mask on?”
Ironically the man was also wearing a “Let’s Go Brandon” hoodie, which the crew seemed to overlook.
This really isn’t that complicated…
I think most reasonable people don’t need an explanation, but I do find peoples’ faux disbelief and outrage when they’re asked to change out of these masks to be exhausting. So let me explain this as succinctly as possible.
First of all, this isn’t a First Amendment issue. When you book an airline ticket you agree to a contract of carriage. The contract of carriage explicitly states that passengers may be required to leave the aircraft if they wear clothing that is “offensive in nature.”
I don’t understand how people claim that this is a First Amendment issue and that this isn’t America anymore. Should I be allowed to wear a mask that says I’m going to blow the plane up, without suffering any consequences? Should I be allowed to dine at an Olive Garden naked? Are people truly this stupid, or just dense?
Next, I don’t understand why people can’t just own the meaning behind the phrase? The passenger claims that he’s wearing the mask because his name is Brandon, which is a lie. Never mind the fact that he had to put “FJB” behind “Let’s Go Brandon,” because I guess subtlety isn’t his strong suit?
By the way, this guy also Tweets about his love of God, and last I checked, one of the 10 Commandments is to not lie. So rather than being focused on misrepresenting the Constitution, maybe read the Bible a bit more closely?
Let’s be honest for a moment, the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” is quite literally designed to be offensive. That’s the whole point of it. People should be allowed to wear that in public if they’d like, but I’m sure all of us freedom-loving folks can also appreciate that private companies can set their own policies, no?
And let me absolutely clear — if someone wore a shirt that that said “F*ck Donald Trump” (or insert any other politician), they should also be asked to remove that if a business has a policy against clothing with offensive messaging.
Similarly, if there were a phrase that were used on a widespread basis that meant nothing other than “F*ck Donald Trump,” that would be offensive as well, and someone shouldn’t be allowed to wear that on a plane.
It seems that people think they’ve found a loophole here. They think that because they’re not outright telling someone to f*ck themselves, they can get away with it. And maybe that works when something is subtle, but you can’t constantly plaster it all over the place and still play the ignorance card. The “Let’s Go Brandon” thing has become a bit trite, if you ask me.
It’s not that complicated, I swear.
Bottom line
Airlines have contracts of carriage. When you book a ticket, you agree to that contract of carriage, even if you don’t read it. Most airlines prohibit people from wearing clothes that is “offensive in nature.” Wearing clothing that tells a particular person to go f*ck themselves (whether explicitly or implicitly) is… offensive in nature. This has nothing to do with freedom. This has nothing to do with the First Amendment. Why is that so hard to own?
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