The news out of Australia is that on both Virgin Australia and Quantas have asked men whose assigned seating was next to unaccompanied minors to move so that a female passenger could be seated next to the underage passengers. Those are airline policies.

When reporters check with US airlines, American said 'No such policy," US Air did a classic PR fudge (they did, but would not admit to it) and Delta and United would not answer the question.

I was trying to remember back the very few times I was asked to move. I have been on the other end where they juggled passengers so we could sit together and I appreciated that. With that experience, I never paid too much attention to the very few times (you could count them on one hand) where I have been asked to move. But I could see myself in the wrong bad mood under the stress of travelling when the situation developed in such a way that it is obvious the female moving is not related to the young passengers that I might just present my boarding pass to the attendant so they had the luggage stickie and ask them to return it to me back in the airport and I would fly on another airline. I could also see where I might be tired and just wanting to get home or not wanted to make a scene for the kids and just letting it slide. I cannot see myself as Quagmire on Family Guy and simply ask the attendant to let me sniff her shoe and I would move.

How would other people act?

I would want to keep my assigned seat.

Similar story a few months ago about a grandpa in the children's book section of a book store being asked to leave the section as he looked for a book for his grandchild.

Nothing lower then a white, heterosexual man. Gotta keep an eye on them.

Moi, profile? Never!

I hope they try that with me sometime, especially if it's a little girl I'm sitting next to.

I'll just point at the (hopefully male) pilot and tell him I'd be more interested in sucking his dick than doing anything with that little girl, but since I want to get to Peoria I'm not presently interested in either.

--LT

I am not sure.... on one hand, I have been locked in a trans-atlantic flight with a bunch of BRATS, and a mother who just could not or would not control her brood. One of the brats had milk and cold cereal for his in-flight meal, it of course ended up all over the fellow in the next seat. I really don't like most "children," and chances are I would be the one to first contact the flight steward/dess, and say something like "when I accepted this ticket and seat assignment, I was not aware that I would be seated next to this cereal throwing baboon... get me somewhere closer to the booze and the restrooms...."

But then again, I am furious at the way women just automatically assume that all men are sex-obsessed perverts. Yet on the OTHER hand.... I also hate to be put in any situation where any child or woman can later make fantastic accusations against me... "the big bad man touched me!"

I just cannot decide. For now, I just don't fly, I would rather drive myself cross country than deal with all the bullshit the TSA and airlines are forcing on us. And ever since I was 17-18 years old, I knew to always avoid any situation where a woman, and especially a child, could make any accusations (i.e. NEVER allow yourself to be anywhere with an unknown woman or child that you do not have a reliable and trustworthy witness to verify that you did NOT do something).

If the airline is even remotely competent, they would not tell you exactly why you are being asked to move. If someone asked me to move so a young child and woman could sit together, I would happily oblige simply out of general kindness. I can't see a stew coming up and asking you to move because you might be a molester, even if that was the actual reason.

Transward

I would also move to allow family members to sit together as I would like the same consideration. I would resent being asked to move just because a single woman or a woman and a small child happened to be seated next to me. However, I would prefer not to be seated next to most small children.

Mac. I like your suggestion. If I ever become aware of the situation happening to me, I am just going to tell them that I want to keep the seat they assigned. They are free to move other people around as they wish. Not my problem.

Of course, if it is a family I would very readily move.

As an old str8 guy, I have found that the prejudice exists mostly in management and the attitudes of business. They treat people like this because it is economically expedient to do so. Avoidance of litigation is preferable to litigating and winning. It is cheaper. Of course, there IS the angle that some upper management perverts have slobbered over Michael' Crichton's book "Travels" (http://www.amazon.com/Travels-Michael-C ... 0060509058) and perhaps have been to the brothels of Bangkok to gain first-hand experience...

We never know what evil lurks in the hearts of men (or women)... do we?

Bu the way every one is angry with pedophiles, By the way whats wrong with that ??



As Deacon blue said, its better not to sit along a cereal throwing baboon , i actually liked that idea.