there's a little nuance you are missing i think. it's not just a private industry/public place argument. hear me out:
once you're on the plane they can't force you to wear a mask. that's the violation here of an individual's right. an airline can require them to be worn to be seated but how can they enforce that exactly once the flight takes off? it's not like they can kick you off mid-flight. best they can do is document it and maybe you'll get a fine perhaps if you are in violation of some law or they could ban you from future flights on their airline.
once you're on the plane they can't force you to wear a mask. that's the violation here of an individual's right.
Technically untrue. If it's part of their policy (it is) and you sign that you agree to their policy (which you do or you won't get on a plane) you are under the authority of the captain of the plane. You can be detained and restrained if the plane is in the air and the captain determines you are a risk to the other passenger's safety and the authorities will be waiting for you when they land.
perhaps you are correct, but does that sound reasonable to you though or is that something you support? i mean the whole "risk to others" thing would be a complete judgment call unless you could prove the guy had COVID. if he has no COVID then he is no risk to others not wearing a mask.
also, these mask laws aren't federal and mostly have civil penalties if that, so what law would you be arrested for? I would think being restrained and forcibly made to wear a mask in an environment with restricted oxygen as it is simply based on a company policy would be grounds for a lawsuit.
do you start doing the same for people who aren't wearing the mask properly? what's next a hand-washing monitor? airplanes and airports are complete petri dishes so it's all a feel good "look how safe we are" measure in an industry that is running on empty. if you don't make a scene about it i see no problem with slipping the mask on or off as you please. don't people eat food and drink beverages on the plane or is that not allowed now either?
The risk is indeed a judgment call, but it's not YOUR call to make in this instance. It's the call of the service provider.
If you agreed to comply, and you refuse to, you'll be hard pressed to win a court case saying your rights were violated. You were warned. You accepted. And you refused to comply. The actual level of risk becomes less important in a case when you've already agreed to it.
The wording of the contract probably states that you agree that COVID is a risk and you agree to use a mask to prevent the spread. Their lawyers aren't stupid. Your claim in court will be that you signed an agreement that it's a risk, that you agreed to mitigate it, but then you refused to when asked multiple times. If you agreed that COVID was a risk but later tried to pretend it wasn't, you just committed contract fraud.
I think you are overlooking some major details here for the sake of being technically correct from one specific legal perspective. My point is this:
If a mask can be taken off or adjusted at the discretion of a passenger to drink, eat or breathe more freely at any time than you cannot single out this man just because it appears that he is trying to be a dick about it. that would be the rights violation, singling this man out specifically, and only if they went to some extreme like restraining him, etc. this person could easily have obstructed breathing, sleep apnea, etc. that would make it much more dangerous for him to fall asleep on an airplane (limited oxygen supply as it is) with a mask on. that would seem to be a completely legit reason to adjust his mask or they could just be having anxiety or a panic attack which could also restrict oxygen flow.
The notion that the customer would be committing contract fraud is an incredibly dubious assertion. I know you are trying to be lawyer-y here but c'mon. I get your argument that the airline is in the clear to mandate masks. my point is how do they enforce that? you can't just say "this is our policy" and then bind and gag someone who isn't complying. there would need to be some sort of legitimate threat or law being broken to do that.
the whole idea that they can just subjectively play gestapo due to their own arbitrary rules is absurd. the shot in question shows no social distancing on that plane. so whatever public safety justification they would possibly have for restraining this guy would seem pretty weak to me. maybe not a "rights violation" or even technically criminal activity per se but definitely setting themselves up for a civil lawsuit if they went HAM on this dude and their reason was "public safety" and "he signed his rights away."
there's a little nuance you are missing i think. it's not just a private industry/public place argument. hear me out:
once you're on the plane they can't force you to wear a mask. that's the violation here of an individual's right. an airline can require them to be worn to be seated but how can they enforce that exactly once the flight takes off? it's not like they can kick you off mid-flight. best they can do is document it and maybe you'll get a fine perhaps if you are in violation of some law or they could ban you from future flights on their airline.
Technically untrue. If it's part of their policy (it is) and you sign that you agree to their policy (which you do or you won't get on a plane) you are under the authority of the captain of the plane. You can be detained and restrained if the plane is in the air and the captain determines you are a risk to the other passenger's safety and the authorities will be waiting for you when they land.
perhaps you are correct, but does that sound reasonable to you though or is that something you support? i mean the whole "risk to others" thing would be a complete judgment call unless you could prove the guy had COVID. if he has no COVID then he is no risk to others not wearing a mask.
also, these mask laws aren't federal and mostly have civil penalties if that, so what law would you be arrested for? I would think being restrained and forcibly made to wear a mask in an environment with restricted oxygen as it is simply based on a company policy would be grounds for a lawsuit.
do you start doing the same for people who aren't wearing the mask properly? what's next a hand-washing monitor? airplanes and airports are complete petri dishes so it's all a feel good "look how safe we are" measure in an industry that is running on empty. if you don't make a scene about it i see no problem with slipping the mask on or off as you please. don't people eat food and drink beverages on the plane or is that not allowed now either?
The risk is indeed a judgment call, but it's not YOUR call to make in this instance. It's the call of the service provider.
If you agreed to comply, and you refuse to, you'll be hard pressed to win a court case saying your rights were violated. You were warned. You accepted. And you refused to comply. The actual level of risk becomes less important in a case when you've already agreed to it.
The wording of the contract probably states that you agree that COVID is a risk and you agree to use a mask to prevent the spread. Their lawyers aren't stupid. Your claim in court will be that you signed an agreement that it's a risk, that you agreed to mitigate it, but then you refused to when asked multiple times. If you agreed that COVID was a risk but later tried to pretend it wasn't, you just committed contract fraud.
I think you are overlooking some major details here for the sake of being technically correct from one specific legal perspective. My point is this:
If a mask can be taken off or adjusted at the discretion of a passenger to drink, eat or breathe more freely at any time than you cannot single out this man just because it appears that he is trying to be a dick about it. that would be the rights violation, singling this man out specifically, and only if they went to some extreme like restraining him, etc. this person could easily have obstructed breathing, sleep apnea, etc. that would make it much more dangerous for him to fall asleep on an airplane (limited oxygen supply as it is) with a mask on. that would seem to be a completely legit reason to adjust his mask or they could just be having anxiety or a panic attack which could also restrict oxygen flow.
The notion that the customer would be committing contract fraud is an incredibly dubious assertion. I know you are trying to be lawyer-y here but c'mon. I get your argument that the airline is in the clear to mandate masks. my point is how do they enforce that? you can't just say "this is our policy" and then bind and gag someone who isn't complying. there would need to be some sort of legitimate threat or law being broken to do that.
the whole idea that they can just subjectively play gestapo due to their own arbitrary rules is absurd. the shot in question shows no social distancing on that plane. so whatever public safety justification they would possibly have for restraining this guy would seem pretty weak to me. maybe not a "rights violation" or even technically criminal activity per se but definitely setting themselves up for a civil lawsuit if they went HAM on this dude and their reason was "public safety" and "he signed his rights away."