But the man next to her with an unopened beer can didn’t pose a threat at all…
A passenger on a United Airlines flight has been denied an unopened can of Diet Coke for fear she might use it as a weapon.
On Friday night, Tahera Ahmad boarded her flight from Chicago to Washington D.C., where she was attending a conference.
When she asked for a drink, she was handed a can of Diet Coke that had already been opened by airline staff.
And when she requested an unopened can for hygiene reasons, her request was denied.
The justification? She might use the unopened can of Diet Coke as a weapon.
Now, I don’t mean to downplay the fear that a violently shaken can of soft drink might strike in the hearts of some. But unless you drown your enemy in it, it’s ridiculously a little hard to imagine someone bringing down a plane with a Diet Coke.
What’s more, Ahmad witnessed a man across the aisle receive an unopened beer only minutes before she made the same request. Apparently, the only person United Airlines deemed a Diet-Coke-can-wielding danger to their fellow passengers was Ahmad – who, coincidentally, is a practising Muslim and wears a hijab.
Ahmad asked other passengers on the flight to stand up for her, only to be met with more abuse.
She reported in a post on her Facebook that a man sitting a few seats away said, ‘You Moslem, you need to shut the f**k up…. yes you know you would use it as a WEAPON so shut the f**k up.’
Towards the end of the flight, the flight attendant had a change of heart, and apologised to Ahmad for her ‘utterly rude’ behaviour.
The pilot also apologised and offered to help her lodge a complaint.
A spokesperson from United Airlines told The Daily Mail that the airline was ‘discussing’ the alleged abuse with the company who ran the service in question, Shuttle America.
It’s hard to imagine a more upsetting or humiliating experience than being deemed a threat simply because of an item of clothing you choose to wear or a religion you choose to practice.
Our sympathies are with Tahera Ahmad, and we can only hope that one day, the stigma and discrimination faced by Muslim women will be a thing of the past.
Faith in humanity need restoring? Check out these pictures from ‘Women in Solidarity with Hijabis’, a group that invites Muslim and non-Muslim women to post a picture of themselves in a headscarf to demonstrate solidarity with those who wear them every day.
Want more?
Humiliating and isolating Muslim women won’t make us any safer.
The way this soccer team responded to a ref’s ban on their teammate’s hijab is incredible.
A Sydney commuter just took down a racist woman in the most spectacular way.
Have you ever experienced or witnessed racial discrimination?
Top Comments
2 parts to this story:
1. Tahera sounds like she was being a bit of a princess with the can. Airline staff always pointedly open drinks before giving them to you and yes, sometimes airtlines have procedures or ban stuff because items can be weaponised. On an aircraft, we're all subject to these post-911 impositions evenhandedly.
2. Shameful racist comment from fellow passenger deserves a fine or ban.
Not just hijab wearing women. Everybody. I can't recall getting an unopened can or bottle on a plane after all the extra aviation security.
Tahera states. My experience has been that I always get opened receptacles on planes. Like I said, she was in no way deserving of the racist comment, but sounds like she was being pretty difficult prior to that.
Tahera or yourself would get the same response if you insisted on an unopened bottle in a pub, or a glass when the rules demand plastic cups. You'd look pretty entitled in making the attempt. They're just safety rules.
It is a rule on many airlines that drinks are opened prior to serving. Many drinks are poured from open bottles and cartons either not he trolley or brought from the galley, so no one gets the special treatment this woman was asking for. The reason they are opened is to indicate some sort of service and to prevent the product being taken off the plane which is forbidden on international flights so is probably standard practice on all flights. Yes, an unopened can could easily become a weapon the same way as glass and cutlery could, so again no discrimination just policy and rules. A can of drink could become a missile and also can be turned into a sharp blade by someone intent on doing harm. There is a lot in this woman's story that needs clarification prior to screaming discrimination.
She says he got a beer unopened, but from my experience, nobody gets unopened cans on flights. Seems she is being a bit of a diva for demanding it unopened due to 'hygiene' reasons. Were it a middle aged white bloke doing the same (requesting unopened for hygiene reasons), he would simply be a douche in most peoples eyes. When you are a minority though, you can fall back on being a victim any time you want to win an argument.
I would say more likely the attendant did the wrong thing with him and realised her error..
Your assumption is that she was treated unequally not the man. It could have been an honest mistake by a distracted flight attendant in handing the man an unopened can and not discrimination in not handing the woman one.
This would also explain the reaction of the other passengers seeing someone wanting special treatment that no-one else received.
I agree that comment was uncalled for and not on, but that was by a passenger not the hostess and has not bearing on what she did.
The article states quite clearly that he was handed an un-open beer, it doesn't state at all whether it was a mistake or not. Nor does it state whether any other passengers on the plane were handed un-open containers. As most public places now will not allow un-open containers (sports venues etc...) I lean more towards honest mistake.
The other passenger was a pig but that is not to say the hostess was..