Guy Wears Thong Panties as a Mask on a Flight to Protest the Rules, and the Airline is NOT Amused

It's interesting that at the same time airline executives were testifying to congress that 99.97% of all airborne pathogens get filtered out every two to three minutes on every flight, and that their data on that is compiled by U. of Texas and Stanford, that someone has been launching a one-man crusade against the continuing mask mandates on all commercial flights:

Source - A Florida man was reportedly banned from flying United Airlines after wearing a red thong as a face covering while boarding a flight in protest of the federal mask mandate.

Adam Jenne, of Cape Coral, told NBC 2 that his Wednesday morning antics at Fort Lauderdale Airport got him booted off a plane bound for Washington, DC.

“It’s all nonsense,” Jenne said of the mask requirement aboard planes. ...

Jenne said Wednesday wasn’t the first time he fashioned red panties into a mask aboard a plane.

“Every single flight has been met with different reactions from the flight crew,” he told the news outlet.

“Some with a wild appreciation, others confrontational.” ...

Despite getting kicked off the flight Wednesday, Jenne said he planned to give it another try on Thursday when he was set to fly on a different airline.

“Hopefully, Spirit Airlines has a better sense of humor,” he said.

Let's get this out of the way first. I'm not here arguing about mask mandates. A long time ago I made it my policy not to be an absolutist on any of these Covid rules, for or against. Just because a good year and a half ago I reached my limit of getting fed up with being sick and tired of all the lectures from people who are sick and tired of being fed up. I'm all set with people who never used the word "pathogens" in their lives suddenly talking like they've got their PhD in Virology from Johns Hopkins. On either side of the argument. 

That said, I agree with Adam Jenne that masks on planes are just theater. But so are seat belts. And instructions about what to do in case of a water landing.(With all due respect to Sully Sullenberger, I don't expect my jumbo jet to just gently waft down to the surface of the ocean like a snowflake the way they do in the safety manual illustrations. If I'm going down, it's in a full on barrel roll with the engines on fire while I delete all my texts and kiss my ass goodbye.) Masks are an annoyance. But they're nowhere near Fat Guys Infringing on My Space, Emotional Support Animals, Hair Over the Back of the Seat in Front of Me, and Bare Feet Up on the Arm Rest on my list of complaints about contemporary air travel.

But I'm here not to discuss the validity of Jenne's case. I'll let you remarkable, beautiful, luminous beings in the comments battle that one out. I'm only here to discuss his method of protest, which to me is nuanced and inspired. It strikes just the right tone between compliance and protest. It simultaneously says, "I'll obey your mandates" and "I think they're pointless." It's both silly and sexy at the same time. 

So it's no wonder some flight crews react with "wild appreciation." Those poor intrepid souls have been forced to mask up every working minute of every day. There's no taking theirs off to eat the 0.5 ounce bag of stale mini pretzels they have to give out. Not to mention how the mask rules have turned otherwise frustrating air travel into a war zone, and they are the ones manning the trenches every day. If the FAA isn't going to demand a certain, specific kind of mask, who is a flight attendant to tell a guy he can't strap on some Victoria's Secret and fly in style? 

I hope this guy gets a better reception on Spirit Airlines. And he probably will, since it seems like they have no rules governing passenger behavior of any kind. And maybe he'll start a movement and soon all flights will be filled with other resistance fighters, standing up for their right to crisscross the country freely, with thongs on their faces the way the Founding Fathers would've wanted us to. So travel safe, Florida Man. And Godspeed.