world’s #1 terrorist won’t fly

This guy was prevented from flying to London because he was wearing a t-shirt featuring the words “World’s #1 Terrorist” and a picture of George W Bush. Our good friends at Qantas refused to let him fly on the basis that:

Whether made verbally or on a T-shirt, comments with the potential to offend other customers or threaten the security of a Qantas group aircraft will not be tolerated.

Admittedly the man seems like an attention seeker. In fact, he was through security and about to board the plane, and he made a point of going over to a Qantas employee at the check-in desk and pointing out that he was wearing the t-shirt (or rather “thanking” them for letting him through, as he’s had this problem before). It’s all a bit like a teenager getting something pierced to upset the folks, and making damn sure they’re aware of it.

However, some obvious points come to mind.

1. How the hell does a t-shirt “threaten the security of a Qantas group aircraft”? The only scenario I can come up with is that other passengers, whipped into a frenzy of patriotic rage (or pro-Al Qaeda bloodlust due to the immensely clever slogan) storm the cabin and crash the plane into the Sydney Opera House.

2. You’re obviously fair game if you wear something genuinely offensive, like a pornographic image, but where does one draw the line between ‘offensive’ and legitimate political speech? Should Qantas be the arbiter of this? Would they, for example, throw someone off a plane for wearing a t-shirt like this?

3. Does Qantas, as a private commercial entity, have the right to prevent people who hold certain political views from flying on its aircraft? What about expressing those views on its aircraft?

4. How does this compare with the Big Day Out organisers’ decision to request that patrons not display the Australian flag? The two seem hardly distinguishable – in both instances a commercial entity is attempting to control whether or not its customers display their affiliation with a certain ideology. John Howard hasn’t yet condemned Qantas, but nor have any civil liberties groups condemned the BDO.