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Kangaroos and koalas may be cute and endearing,
but the Qantas Airways policy of banning men from
sitting next to unaccompanied children on its
flights is ugly beyond words. While such a policy
may "fly" in Australia, it is patently repugnant to
fundamental American principles and values. Rosa
Parks, who recently passed away, became an American
hero precisely because she refused to submit to a
policy dictating where she should sit on a bus
because of her race. Qantas believes, however, that
gender should dictate where passengers are allowed
to sit on its planes, treating adult male
passengers like pariahs. Unless and until Qantas
Airlines abandons its hurtful, egregiously sexist
policy -- with an apology, Qantas does not deserve
the patronage of men (Editor: Or conscious
women, for that matter.)
A news article appearing in the November 29,
2005, edition of the New Zealand Herald,
reported about an incident in which a 37-year-old
man was asked by a Qantas stewardess to change his
seat with a woman based on Qantas's policy of not
allowing men to be seated next to unaccompanied
young children. Qantas has since confirmed that it
does, indeed, have such a policy.
I'm curious. U.S. Government statistics show
that there isn't a great difference between the
number of women involved in molestation of children
versus men. So, why doesn't Qantas develop a policy
that's a bit more targeted - excluding say all
Clergy and all Teachers from sitting next to an
unaccompanied child? If you're going to setup
arbitrary stereotypical policies, target them
towards the groups that seem to be the primary
molesters.
Besides, in checking rates from San Francisco
and Portland, United was cheaper and offered
shorter flights. Other possible airlines to
Australia are Air Canada, Air New Zealand,
American, British, Emirates and United for
starters.
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Related Issues: Qantas
May Be Breaking Federal
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