I didn't know if I should laugh or cry.

[RevolutionaryActs]

Last Sunday I was flying home after being in Boston. It was an evening flight and they served dinner, a nice little sandwich, some pasta salad and a cookie.

After eating my food I looked down at the basket it was served in and there was this little card that had a pretty setting sun, and on the bottom was the airlines name, but up at the top were some other words.

It was psalms something a rather. I really wish I could remember what it said. I think it was something like, lifting your voice in praise of God and in thanksgiving.


I was shocked to say the least. Anyway I thought I would share with you all. :P

[onager]

1. Well, you should have...

...replaced it with one of the pix from that Boston meetup! ;-)

People with the same plumbing kissing! That should've been good for at least one or two Fundie heart attacks.

I've heard of the airline that does this, but can't remember which one it is. Dammit. If they're dirt-cheap, I'm sure my employer has booked me on them.

I once had a woman ask if I would pray with her before we took off. When I told her I was an atheist and didn't do praying, she called the flight attendant and asked to change seats! I bit my tongue, but I was dying to say: "Hey bitch, this is an airplane. You better be worrying about physics more than metaphysics."

But some of my really fun airline experiences occurred flying in and out of Saudi Arabia, especially on Air France...which lands in Paris.

Leaving Saudi Arabia, you'd see these pious married couples praying on takeoff. The guy would be wearing the traditional Saudi dress of thobe and ghuttra (the white one-piece male garment and the head-dress with "fan belts"). The woman, of course, would be wearing an abaya which only showed her eyes.

As SOON as that frigging airplane cleared Saudi airspace, they would be lined up to hog the bathrooms. And when they came out, the guy would be wearing an Armani suit or something comparable. The woman would be dolled up in a nice Chanel or Versace number and Full Battle Make-up. Give her an ill-tempered poodle and she could have passed for an expensive Parisian hooker.

Flying back in, I got to watch the opposite. Off came the decadent Western garb, and back came the traditional clothes and dour, weaned-on-a-pickle expression.

I guess what I'm saying here is: religion mostly sucks. Or something.

[RevolutionaryActs]

2. I was flying on Alaska...

I don't know if it's in bad taste to say.. but whatever. I had been flying with American, but my last flight home was shared.


Those are some interesting stories. The thing that keeps flashing in my head is, "religion is all show."

[fshrink]

4. If I were a lawyer,

which I actually considered for a while, years ago, I would look into not only this, but the amazing number of illegal, unlawful, unregulated advertisings (which it is) whose product is faith. Pro bono.

[Az]

5. Not sure how religious advertisement can be illegal

State sponsored would be illegal. But a company is allowed to endorse anything it wants. It might cost it business so most eschew such things. But if they feel it is in their interest they can do what they want.

[fshrink]

16. Granted, but actual advertising is actually regulated

as to its content. Or at least that's the case in Europe. I think there are a few things you're not allowed to do in advertising, such as making false claims about your product, having children directly endorse your product, etc...

[0rganism]

17. There are such things as "captive audience" restrictions

I'm not sure you can get much more captive than being stuck in someone else's plane at 30,000 feet. However, I doubt sticking a little card in someone's meal tray constitutes such a burden on the audience as to warrant intervention by any regulatory body, as such a level of regulation would likely fail the Lemon (sp?) test for entanglement.

However, something like the pilot leading a sectarian prayer over the loudspeaker would likely be seen as overreaching, and IIRC one recent instance of it resulted in the pilot being suspended by the airline (and quite possibly fired, I don't remember all the details).

[progressoid]

9. "called the flight attendant and asked to change seats!"

That's hilarious! That's because atheism is contagious.

[trotsky]

14. "You better be worrying about physics more than metaphysics."

Ha! Great line, onager. :thumbsup: Shoulda used it!

[flamingyouth]

3. Alaska has had those for years

Totally annoying. And more than a little creepy to think ... wow, should I be praying on your airline? (With their safety/maintenance record, actually...)

[RevolutionaryActs]

6. Yeah, really.

It's such a bizarre thing to me, to advertise religion while on an airplane. :wtf:


It was also the nicest plane I had flown on. So damn it, the stupid religious airline has a really nice plane, but American has crappy planes. Bleh.

[flamingyouth]

7. Yeah, American sucks

Alaska has better service, I think. I also like Continental, which seems much more pleasant than American (except you have to change planes in Houston, instead of Dallas).

[politicat]

12. Fly Midwest express whenever possible.

The nicest planes in the biz, and no religion at all. Midwesterners are too practical for that showmanship religious stuff.

[progressoid]

8. I was in South Dakota last summer and purchased a couple bags of

potato chips (unusual flavors like ketchup). Anywho, all of the bags had a bible verse on the back. Odd.

[onager]

10. I have this conflict with..

...the In-N-Out Burger chain (as posted elsewhere).

They do this same thing, except the Buy-Bull verses are printed on their napkins, etc.

OTOH, this is one of the most progressive companies in the West. There's a waiting list of people wanting to work at In-N-Out. They pay well, provide benefits, and promote from within.

The family who owns the chain have resisted huge, multi-million $$$ offers from greedheads who want to turn it into a McDonald's type nationwide franchise.

And the food is so good, they got an endorsement from the author of Fast Food Nation! They only serve burgers, fries, soft drinks and milk shakes. But everything is made fresh, behind glass walls, no less. And the places are always spotlessly clean.

I dunno...

[immoderate]

11. Every piece of In-N-Out paper has a reference to some Bible verse.

Sometimes they are hidden, but every bag and cup has something. I like a "double-triple animal" every once in a while.

--IMM

[politicat]

13. I'm okay with In-n-Out.

Their religion is very much one of practice what you preach -- they are good stewards of the earth in that their product is made responsibly and their packaging is all extremely biodegradable; they treat their employees well, thus fulfilling the beatitudes, and they aren't in it for the money (else they would have sold out by now.) They're in it for the long haul.

I don't mind that sort of Christian-owned business. I do mind the sort that cut corners, fail to get permits and go out of business to avoid paying their debts and honoring the judgments against them (like the company that put in my neighbor's HVAC system.... advertised with a fish and all!!) .

[GOPFighter]

15. Last night I flew from DC to Seattle...

...on Alaska Airlines and I got the same thing with my meal. The insert says "Give Thanks to the Lord/for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1.

When I got my meal I was in the middle of reading "Stations of the Cross" in the Columbia Journalism Review, about the meteoric rise in christian broadcasting (a VERY scary piece!)

I'm going to write or email Alaska Airlines telling them why, as an atheist, I'm offended and that I will not fly Alaska Airlines again (I didn't make the reservations for this trip, I had asked for Delta. I guess Alaska has a reciprocal deal with Delta).