this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2026
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That level of disrespect for the values of a democracy should get you expelled IMO.
This is an extreme level of sexist discrimination, that goes against fundamental values of a modern democracy.
This kind of people is not fit to live in a democracy.
Fining him and maybe even sending him to jail for a few months will not teach such a person anything, but will only radicalize him further against the values of democracy.
Good — now do all the religious zealots — like Christian or Jewish extremists.
“Christian extremists” always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. A real Christian extremist would be giving away everything they owned and responding to all violence with pacifism. I think Christofascism usually fits better.
Supply Side Christofascists.
As I recently learned: there were people like that, for example Waldians. There policy of forgiveness, giving to the poor and supporting each other didn't sit right with the clergy and nobleman, so they terrorised them and persecuted them e.g. via the Spanish inquisition.
Eh, fascists are a kind of extremist. Every religion has good and bad parts and for some reason when you hear about extremists in the news it's always people who go hard on the bad parts.
I wish there were more "extremists" that were like that.
Even Jesus said to sell your cloak for a sword, a good Christian shouldn't seek to start conflict but is entirely allowed to defend themselves.
No, he didn’t — at least not in any Biblically recorded passage. And the one time one of his apostles took his metaphors literally and wielded a sword, he was chastised for it.
There’s nothing by Jesus in the Bible stating that a person should defend themselves. There is, however, a command that if someone demands your cloak, to give them your tunic as well, and as far as you are able, to be at peace with those around you.
All the “fight in the name of Christianity” stuff is from Constantine and later.
So you don't disagree with the ideology of fascism, you only disagree with who is being targeted by it.
Fascist were historically noted for their anti-religious stance.
Fascists use religion (along with everything else available) to gain, increase, and maintain power. Fascists will even use socialist rhetoric if it gains them power. Actions matter more than what people are saying.
You can say you're a socialist or whatever, but if you want to hurt people simply for being different from you, then you're a fascist.
IIRC, an ultra-orthodox Jewish passenger tried something similar on an El Al flight a few years ago, and made the news.
Well that escalated quickly. More seriously, while the man in the OP is definitely entitled, what he wanted was not inherently sexist. Having strict beliefs about cross-gender contact can lead to sexism, but isn't that in and of itself. Most cultures out there put some limit on what unrelated men and women can do or where they can be together, and those limits can be fairly benign as long as they don't lead people to do things like assault flight attendants.
Refusing to be seated next to a woman isn't sexist? Ahah you old prankster!
Not accepting women as equals is NOT COMPATIBLE with democracy. If your believes rule out rights for 50% of the population, you also don't deserve living in one. Physically attacking the female flight attendant shows this isn't something about "beliefs about cross-gender contact", its about seeing women as inferior.
Same tale as with fascism: total tolerance leads to the extinction of tolerance, which means we must be intolerant of people like this disgusting chud.
There must be a mechanism to remove such people from societies where they only inflict damage. Sadly simple removing his citizenship is not legal, but i'd approve of any measured approach to make him realize that living where people regardless of gender have the same rights might come at a cost that is too high to pay.
I tried to make a respond too, but Yours is probably better.
Excellent point. 👍
If he has dual citizenship it is. But IMO it sucks that it has to depend on that.
Or he could just be an entitled asshole. There's no point in making judgements without enough information, and it's not like being entitled justifies punching a flight attendant in the face.
People actively physically harming others aren't "assholes", they are criminals. The combination with his obvious believe in the inferiority of women makes it a fucking hate crime.
Okay? That has nothing to do with anything I said.
Well that's certainly your assumption, but you haven't actually backed it up with anything.
Ok, i'm just gonna tag you as a troll and disengage. Have fun baiting other people who don't value their time.
This is so far out I'm simply at a loss for words on how to respond!? But I will make an effort to try anyway.
The norm in a modern democracy is to treat each other as equals, and respect the personal sphere of individuals.
Of course there are limits on what people can do towards each other, like assault is not allowed, but that rule is equal for all, and is not a "sexist" rule. It does protect women against sexist assault, but it does the same for men, although the problem for women are several magnitudes bigger.
Are you really comparing sitting next to a woman would be akin to sexual assault, in a society where men and women are treated as equals?
I have to downvote you, because I don't see a way you could have made the above comment in good faith. I reeks of apologism towards religious extremism and sexual discrimination.
You're arguing past my point and not really addressing anything I actually said?
No? I'm comparing it to something like hugs, which are acceptable cross-gender greetings in some places but limited to the same gender in others. That doesn't make places where the latter holds anti-democratic. I thought I was clear enough on that, but I'm not justifying what the man in the OP did; I'm just saying jumping from that to "disrespect for democratic values" is reading more into the story than there is to it. Plain entitlement is sufficient to explain everything we see here, and there'd have been no problem had the man been more respectful about what he was trying to do (for example by looking for someone to switch seats with). This is ultimately a problem of how he went about it, not of what he was trying to do.
No it's not, not among strangers in a random situation like sitting besides each other in a plane.
But sure if both parties are OK with it, why should society be involved with a voluntary legal interaction between 2 people that consent?
Not consenting to sit beside a woman however is CLEARLY discriminatory. As is attacking the flight attendant for doing her job! It is not normal or polite behavior. It is prejudiced religious bigotry.
And anyone behaving like that can fuck right off, and live in a paradise of religious bigotry in some religiously fanatic country.
You are trying to compare crazy with normal. Religious law is based on superstition and delusions. Democracy is based on the pursuit of building a better and fairer society for all.
Democracy is the opposite of being based on religion. If you want to live under laws based on religion, you do not belong or deserve to live in a democracy.
Other behavior aside, how?
Following Merriam Webster:
Is this even treating someone else like anything other than yourself in the first place?*
Sitting next to someone wouldn't provide anything. In fact, it's quite negative.
* Well, perhaps in this case that means unfairly treating people of your own gender by increasing possibility of someone sitting next to them in certain scenarios, which would fullfil the definition of discrimination.
In this case, if there were no other seats available, simply not taking the flight would have caused no harm. Actually, it would have made one passenger who'd keep more space happy. While it could be argued the passenger got better experience unfairly, based on her gender, I doubt anyone would give that a serious thought.
(My comment concerns someone voluntarily separating themselves)