United: man in Marvel "Black Panther" hat is a threat to passengers, but man in "Rope. Tree. Journalist" shirt is just sharing his opinion

Not long ago, United demanded a black passenger remove his official Marvel "Black Panther" hat because it made someone uncomfortable. This weekend, United refused to even challenge a white passenger wearing a "Rope. Tree. Journalist" shirt, no matter who it made uncomfortable.

Jessica Sidman:

My brother is on a @united flight from LA to Boston and saw this guy boarding with a shirt that reads Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some assembly required.

He told the flight attendant and she asked what he wanted her to do.

He told her he didnt want one passenger threatening to kill other passengers.

He told her @United should do the right thing. She went to talk to the captain.

Then security pulled my brother off the plane. He talked to a security official.

The security guy said they couldnt do anything just because it was offensive.

My brother said it wasnt offensive, it was THREATENING.

They offered to put my brother on another flight. They didnt say anything to the guy with the shirt.

One reasonable defense is that airlines shouldn't apply security theater to anyone's attire, that neither man should be removed. This would at least be consistent. But the inconsistency here—United's staff making an exception to policy for a racist, fascist message that they don't personally feel threatened by—is worse, because the inconsistency would occur even if the security policies were reasonable. Read the rest