@oldfort re #98 I would have been tempted to applaud the steward LOL
Flying is stressful enough w/o some grown man whining about it being too much sexual temptation for him to be seated next to a cranky woman. I have no doubt that if this guy really wanted it, he could get a rabbi to give him special dispensation for a flight.
Because the issue isn’t really about this guy’s faith. It’s about him making a big public show of piety. Show me the line in the Torah that says that to be a good jew, a man must make a big fuss on a flight, be rude to a woman in public, and inconvenience a plane load of people.
http://www.religionnews.com/2014/12/29/plane-truth-ultra-orthodox-commentary/
Just grow up. Suck it up. And buckle up.
I don’t remember anything about airplane etiquette in the Torah 
Penny lane - I don’t care if they are rooted in sexism or misogyny. The point is, I don’t care. If I’m on a flight, sitting in my assigned seat, properly attired, following all regulations, quiet and minding my own business, and soneone doesn’t want to sit next to me because I’m a woman / have green eyes / am wearing a blue sweater / voted Democratic in the last election / post on College Confidential / am the oldest child in my family / was born in NJ / whatever - it’s simply not my problem and therefore I don’t need to participate in “resolving” it to their satisfaction. It’s of no relevance to me what the roots of their “issue” are, since it’s not my issue.
The worst advice to ever give someone who is being stereotyped is to not act stereotypical.
Too bad. I dislike how behavior like that perpetuates the stereotypes. I bet respectable black people don’t like thug culture either.
I had a very Jewish maiden name. We always cringed when we had to negotiate with people over the purchase price of an item such as a car because we didn’t want to feed into the “cheap Jewish” stereotype.
I’m still bemused over the guy in the plastic bag. I looked to see if that article was published on Apr. 1. (It wasn’t.)
I find it a fascinating and somewhat bizarre element of orthodox Judaism that there are these strict rules, and then increasingly creative ways to generate loopholes for the rules so the people can function in contemporary society. Can’t operate machinery on the Sabbath? Have an elevator that automatically goes up and down and stops on every floor. Etc.
And I DID move once for this reason. On Saudi Arabian Air. While I was still on the ground in SA. Because it’s a backwards culture and I wanted to get out of there without making a fuss. Because I as a woman don’t have rights in SA (I was technically the property of my male sponsor, who could technically have forbidden me to leave the country - and not a darn thing the US govt could have done). I have rights in America and in the western world, which includes using what I paid for.
Hunt - are you familiar with the concept of the eruv? you’ll find that amusing.
Yes, that’s another prime example. (It plays a significant part in Michael Chabon’s book, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union.)
I haven’t read this whole thread, but why don’t the people buy the whole row so they don’t have to worry about who they are sitting next to?
Why should they pay more when they can bully other people instead?
because they think they shouldn’t have to, that other people should just move to accommodate them. Because they can pull a religion card.
All of this feeds into the stereotype of pushy, entitled and cheap, of course.
Because they think they are special and should not have to be inconvenienced, only others.
I’ll be damned if someone thinks I’d move because a man doesn’t want to sit next to me. I clicked on one link. Why are flight crews allowing themselves to be delayed for hours because of this? “Take your seat, sir, or we’ll have to remove you from the flight.” And then get security.
I know for a fact that rabbis can give special dispensation for airplane travel.
GMTspouse had a flight to Tel Aviv which landed late on a Friday evening. He watched as a passenger refused to get up out of his seat because the Shabbat had begun.
It wasn’t until a rabbi was brought onboard to give the observant guy special dispensation that the stubborn guy agreed to get off the plane.
On other trips to Tel Aviv he observed passengers praying in the aisle and generally pi$$ing off the flight attendants by blocking the beverage cart.
Good grief! ^^^^ Why book a flight that was going to land after Shabbat began???
I must now step away from this thread because nothing ticks me off more than the breakdown of simple courtesy to others and the idea that YOUR needs outweigh all others.
Call security and drag the guy off the plane. Why should the cleaning crew, other people charged with resetting the aircraft etc have to accommodate this nonsense?
In this case, it was not scheduled to land that late; it was delayed. Still, if it were an issue for me, I would have taken the potential for delays into account and tried for an earlier flight.