Another inane lawsuit

[lilcountriegal]

Just when you think it doesnt get any more ridiculous than the last, someone comes up with something else:


A federal jury in Kansas City is hearing a lawsuit by two African-American sisters which claims that a flight attendant’s use of the rhyme “eenie, meenie, minie, moe” was racist and caused them physical and emotional distress, reports the Kansas City Star.

Louise Sawyer and Grace Fuller said they were traumatized when a stewardess on a Southwest Airlines flight said over the intercom, “Eenie, meenie, minie, moe; pick a seat, we gotta go,” in an effort to get passengers to take their seats.

Some say the original child’s rhyme ended with “catch a ****** by his toe,” and the sisters say hearing it on the plane caused one of them to have a seizure later in the day. The flight attendant says she has only ever heard the version that ends “catch a tiger by the toe.”

 

[jimnyc]

They should bring these 2 sisters back up in another plane and toss them out at 30,000 feet.

 

[jon_forward]

some folks carry the racial issue way to far....I do hope that these sisters are spinsters but unless they have different fathers that wont be the case....

 

[Moi]

Originally posted by lilcountriegal

Louise Sawyer and Grace Fuller said they were traumatized when a stewardess on a Southwest Airlines flight said over the intercom, “Eenie, meenie, minie, moe; pick a seat, we gotta go,” in an effort to get passengers to take their seats.

Some say the original child’s rhyme ended with “catch a ****** by his toe,” and the sisters say hearing it on the plane caused one of them to have a seizure later in the day. The flight attendant says she has only ever heard the version that ends “catch a tiger by the toe.”

Even if the original did end that way, and in my 4 decades on earth I've never heard that, so what? Unless the attendant's use of the verse was meant to cause harm or she said it in a way that singled out only black people (which, over an intercom there is no way that's the case), there is no cause for a lawsuit. These two idiots need to find a better hobby.

 

[lilcountriegal]

I'm pretty sure there was a time those words were included in the rhyme. According to my grandmother (78 yo), they used to occasionally replace "******" with "tiger". Had it not been for her mentioning that to me once, years ago, I never even would have heard of it. I'd assume its pretty non-existant today. Regardless, the claim that she was traumatized and had seizures just by hearing the first few words of the verse is ridiculous.

I'm with Jim. Take them up 30,000 and shove them out.

(of course, while chanting "eenie meenie miny moe, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers, let him go, eenie meenie miny moe, out goes Y-O-U)

 

[Mother Moonie]

I remember a bunch of us Bluebirds sang it on the way home from the Buckskin Bill show, where we had just made our TV apperance. Oh, wait, no, that was Jingle Bells... well, it was around Christmas. :clap1:

Hey, I think that if these two sistas can yell mental distress and all, I think that the next time I hear that song, I will call mental distress, remember the version "My mom and your mom were hanging up the clothes... my mom punched your mom right in the nose. What color was the blood?"

Oh, I feel mentally distressed already... think I am going to go call my attorney now, and blame the 2 sistas who had to go make a federal case out of it in the first place... I read about their plea, and it is just more than I can mentally handle..

 

[Isaac Brock]

Originally posted by lilcountriegal
Just when you think it doesnt get any more ridiculous than the last, someone comes up with something else:


A federal jury in Kansas City is hearing a lawsuit by two African-American sisters which claims that a flight attendant’s use of the rhyme “eenie, meenie, minie, moe” was racist and caused them physical and emotional distress, reports the Kansas City Star.

Louise Sawyer and Grace Fuller said they were traumatized when a stewardess on a Southwest Airlines flight said over the intercom, “Eenie, meenie, minie, moe; pick a seat, we gotta go,” in an effort to get passengers to take their seats.

Some say the original child’s rhyme ended with “catch a ****** by his toe,” and the sisters say hearing it on the plane caused one of them to have a seizure later in the day. The flight attendant says she has only ever heard the version that ends “catch a tiger by the toe.”

Are you serious? That's insane! I didn't even know that rhyme had a historical background. Learn something everyday... Still frivalous.

 

[Johnney]

i think we see the race card played alot more now days.

 

[Moi]

Jury sides with Southwest Airlines
on 'eenie, meenie, minie, moe' quip
Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A Southwest Airlines flight attendant's variation on a rhyme with a racist history did not discriminate against two black passengers, a federal jury decided.

The U.S. District Court jury of seven white men and one white woman deliberated less than an hour Wednesday before reaching its verdict.

Grace Fuller, 49, and her sister Louise Sawyer, 46, both of suburban Kansas City, filed the suit over comments flight attendant Jennifer Cundiff made after they boarded a Southwest flight to return from a Las Vegas vacation three years ago next month.

As the two were trying to find seats on the crowded plane, Cundiff said over the intercom, "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe; pick a seat, we gotta go."

Sawyer and Fuller said the rhyme immediately struck them as a reference to an older, racist version in which the first line is followed by the words "catch a n----r by the toe." They testified at the two-day trial that they were embarrassed, humiliated and frustrated. Fuller said she suffered a small seizure on the flight home, which said was triggered by the remark. Later at home, she said she had a grand mal seizure and was bedridden for three days.

Cundiff, 25, of Argyle, Texas, testified that she had never heard the racist version and that she was only trying to inject humor to make the flight more enjoyable and memorable. She wanted passengers to take their seats so the plane could leave.

Cundiff, who had been a flight attendant for eight months at the time, said she had used the rhyme before on other flights. She said that it was not until she showed her mother the letters complaining about what she said that she learned about the racist version of the rhyme.

Fuller said after the verdict that there was enough evidence for jurors to have found she had her sister had been discriminated against.

"If we had jurors of our peers then we would have won the case today, and we should have won the case today, with all the evidence shown," she said.

"It's a shame that the jury pool we had to draw from did not have one black and not one minority," she said. "Something has to be done to make sure there is justice in America for blacks."

Fuller and her sister testified that they first wrote to Southwest complaining that they felt the rhyme was racially offensive, asking that flight attendants stop using it. They said they decided to sue because they felt the airline did not take their complaints seriously.

The lawsuit accused Southwest of violating a 1981 civil rights law that prevents businesses from discriminating against minority customers by treating them differently from white customers for the same service.

Scott A. Wissel, appointed to represent the women after they filed a handwritten complaint, declined comment about the verdict. In his closing argument he said Cundiff's use of the rhyme was tantamount to a racial slur.

John W. Cowden, who represented Southwest Airlines, said he and his client were pleased with the verdict.

"All along, Southwest Airlines has contended that it did not intentionally discriminate against the two ladies," he said. "We are pleased the jury agreed and vindicated Southwest and its flight attendant, Jennifer Cundiff."

In his closing argument, Cowden characterized Cundiff's remarks as an innocent attempt at humor.

"At best, this is an argument that something is not politically correct," Cowden told jurors. "At worst, it is nothing. Certainly, this does not support a violation of a federal statute, because these words were spoken."

Cundiff said she was relieved and thought the verdict was fair and just. She maintained that the rhyme had been directed at several passengers, not just Sawyer and Fuller.

"When I first heard they complained about what I said, I didn't know what they were talking about," she said.

While Cundiff said she probably would never use the rhyme again, "I will not tell anyone not to say it."

 

[lilcountriegal]

Thanks for the update on that, Moi. I'm pleased with the outcome. That was a ridiculous lawsuit, even though the "all-white jury" has appeal written all over it.

Not to turn this into the "100 facts" thread in the General USA forum, (i wont even VENTURE a post in there...)

i think we see the race card played alot more now days.

I dont consider myself a racist.. I believe there are black people and there are n****rs. (on the flip side, there are also the same type of Caucasians/Asians/Hispanics, etc. etc.). I do not see a black person and instantly dislike him due to his color, I wait to judge on personality. HOWEVER, that being said, I am sick to death of the racial card being thrown into absurd arguments such as this thread. I hate the fact that there is a college fund set up for African Americans alone... I hate the fact that there are organizations to cater to minorities alone and when one that caters to Caucasians is formed, its 'racism'. I believe that we should all find some way to live harmoniously (even if its a far reaching goal). I am also a strong beliver that in order to achieve this, race cards being tossed into such ridiculous situations as this thread need to be ended.

.... just my two cents....

 

[Johnney]

It's a shame that the jury pool we had to draw from did not have one black and not one minority," she said. "Something has to be done to make sure there is justice in America for blacks."

maybe their lawyer should have been more on the ball? if this, in their minds, was a big factor you think they would have made sure there was at least one rep from their race on the jury.
but this is jsut another case of the race card that didnt work.

 

[jon_forward]

were there not 12 peers on the jury??? 12 americans??? nuf said:cof:

 

[Johnney]

geez jon get with the times! there are no Americans. its all Native American, German American, African American, and so on. they just didnt have the <i>right</i> Americans on the jury.

 

[jon_forward]

sorry johnney...wont happen again.. [wj and big d rubbin off on ya]

 

[Jackass]

Originally posted by lilcountriegal

I hate the fact that there is a college fund set up for African Americans alone... I hate the fact that there are organizations to cater to minorities alone and when one that caters to Caucasians is formed, its 'racism'.

Can you say Ms. White America???

Geez, can you IMAGINE the uproar to that??

 

[Moi]

Originally posted by lilcountriegal
Thanks for the update on that, Moi. I'm pleased with the outcome. That was a ridiculous lawsuit, even though the "all-white jury" has appeal written all over it.

Not to turn this into the "100 facts" thread in the General USA forum, (i wont even VENTURE a post in there...)



I dont consider myself a racist.. I believe there are black people and there are n****rs. (on the flip side, there are also the same type of Caucasians/Asians/Hispanics, etc. etc.). I do not see a black person and instantly dislike him due to his color, I wait to judge on personality. HOWEVER, that being said, I am sick to death of the racial card being thrown into absurd arguments such as this thread. I hate the fact that there is a college fund set up for African Americans alone... I hate the fact that there are organizations to cater to minorities alone and when one that caters to Caucasians is formed, its 'racism'. I believe that we should all find some way to live harmoniously (even if its a far reaching goal). I am also a strong beliver that in order to achieve this, race cards being tossed into such ridiculous situations as this thread need to be ended.

.... just my two cents....

I agree. Although I am not a racist, I do believe that there's a great deal of racism from all races. It also bothers me that the United Negro College fund is allowed, BET is allowed, all black colleges, schools and fraternities, etc. There's now an all black reality show on tv because, and I quote, the other's only have "the token black" on them.

How in the world can anyone ever just live their lives without race being a factor when both sides toss it in the mix?

By the way, these women are racists themselves. The definition of racism is the belief that race alone determines the outcome of someone's actions. If they really feel that the jurors because they were white didn't follow the law and the case itself, they should be brought up on civil rights violations. The jury did it's job. These women infringed on the jurors' civil rights with clearly racist remarks. I doubt the feds are gonna waste a penny on that case though...wouldn't look good to hold blacks responsible for their speech. Unlike what the feds are doing to martha stewart for merely saying something.