Police arrest 15 at Playland in dispute over Muslim headwear

A choking concern? Seriously? Plenty of people wear scarves on everything at Cedar Point in late October when temps are in the 40's or less. I've done it myself. I'm pretty sure I wasn't going to get choked by anything.

The ridiculous attitude towards Muslims is ridiculous.

Jeff, the park has to enforce their rules on everyone. Parks follow different rules and they aren't the same. You have to respect the rules if not then you get chaos like this. Muslims want to be treated differently than the rest of us who follow the rules. Yes there is a choking hazard on some rides.

Maybe they intentionally wanted to commit suicide by scarf choking so they could sue the park. Yeah. Think about it!

Majorcut said:
Muslims want to be treated differently than the rest of us who follow the rules. Yes there is a choking hazard on some rides.

Are you out of your mind? Are you really making that kind of stupid generalization? Which rides are a choking hazard? I'll wait. Want to see the photos of me in my scarf at CP? The onride photos? I can't believe thousands of people survived that day.

The choking hazard may be a stretch, but why is following rules such a hard concept? I could see discrimination if they were letting people wear prohibited articles and they (Muslims) weren't allowed to do so. The park was even in the process of refunding peoples money because they weren't happy with the rule. They chose to stick it to the park and leave with their money.

I don't care who you are or where you are from you have no right to strike another human being because you didn't get your way, as in the woman who assaulted the ride operator when wasn't allowed to ride. If you want to act this way then you will most likely find yourself sitting on a real comfortable backseat.

There can never be enough of Police presence at scenes like this. 60 cruisers was not excessive with a crowd of this size. I hope the injured officers recover quickly and get back to duty! God Bless the Boys in Blue!

Were 60 police cars and a helicopter THAT necessary?

-Tina

coasterqueenTRN said:
Were 60 police cars and a helicopter THAT necessary?

-Tina

Yes officer safety is the NUMBER ONE PRIORITY!

Riding with a scarf at CP has nothing to do with Playland's policy.

"Parks officials “painstakingly” told the organizer about the headgear ban, said Tartaglia. But he said that the rules might not have been communicated by the organizer to some attendees.

Three accidents on Playland rides that killed two children and a park worker between 2004 and 2007 were unrelated to clothing the victims were wearing. But the headgear ban was among safety rules that went into effect after those deaths."

If it's Playland's policy, then it's their policy - silly or not.

You can't selectively enforce this sort of thing and you can't start being allowed to skirt rules because it doesn't jive with the way you live.

The angry crowd was certainly out of line in this one.

Smoke329 said:
I don't care who you are or where you are from you have no right to strike another human being because you didn't get your way, as in the woman who assaulted the ride operator when wasn't allowed to ride.

Yeah, this.

I could *theoretically* envision a longer garment getting caught up in machinery on a spinning mouse or something...it's a bit of a stretch, admittedly. On further reflection, their mouse doesn't spin....so maybe (?) the steeplechase?

Jeff, maybe you are by defending them. You seem to forgotten that it was muslims that started the war they wanted on 9-11. Listen, the muslims do want to be treated differently whether you like it or not.

Playland is a stickler for their no headwear, no glasses rules. You go to the park, you play by their rules.

Majorcut said:
You seem to forgotten that it was muslims that started the war they wanted on 9-11. Listen, the muslims do want to be treated differently whether you like it or not.

Unreal.

I will say that I do understand their policy. In working for a Park, I did personally witness situations where things around peoples necks (yes, even scarves) did provide the potential for an incident. We were required to ask people to tuck the scarves into their jackets to prevent the loose ends from becoming an issue. With most traditional head coverings, this isn't possible. That sometimes was a bit of a sticky situation.

I have also witnessed a situation where a loose clothing garment came free and ended up wrapped around a coaster wheel, causing the ride to valley and costing the park a lot of cash.

I won't defend the park in their handling of the situation, nor the police in theirs, however I did want to throw my two cents in about the policy. Something tells me there has been an issue in the past that caused them to put these rules in place.

Sure, one side of this sounds pretty outrageous but lets all remember that there are reasons for policies and two sides to a story before we jump to conclusions.

I went to Playland twice this year...once with my family and once as a chaperone of a day camp group. The day camp was run by an Orthodox Jewish organization.

Special permission was pre-arranged so that the camp / counselors and staff could bring in their own food.

When it came time for the males to remove their hats - the kids did and then put them back on once they got off the ride.

It wasn't a big deal to take them off and to put them back on.

This happened on July 5th and the park was EMPTY that day.

I truly hope this does not have any weight on the decision on wether to close this park or not. It would be a shame to lose Playland.

BullGuy said:

Majorcut said:
You seem to forgotten that it was muslims that started the war they wanted on 9-11. Listen, the muslims do want to be treated differently whether you like it or not.

Unreal.

+1

BullGuy said:

Majorcut said:
You seem to forgotten that it was muslims that started the war they wanted on 9-11. Listen, the muslims do want to be treated differently whether you like it or not.

Unreal.

"the muslims", seriously? That'd be like saying Americans want to be treated differently and be allowed to make stupid and ignorant comments. If one does, then they all must!

Back on topic (and not starting a freedom of speech debate, please no), obviously fighting isn't the best way to prove your point in this situation. And yes, they probably should have checked the park rules before even going there. But, it doesn't mean the rule necessarily makes sense (nor is it the first and only rule to not make sense). I don't really see it as a choking hazard at all, especially given that it's supposed to be secure on your head. If anything, a glasses lanyard in this case might be more of a choking hazard.

jonnytips said:
But, it doesn't mean the rule necessarily makes sense (nor is it the first and only rule to not make sense). I don't really see it as a choking hazard at all, especially given that it's supposed to be secure on your head. If anything, a glasses lanyard in this case might be more of a choking hazard.

Still doesn't make it any less of a park policy.

...obviously fighting isn't the best way to prove your point in this situation. And yes, they probably should have checked the park rules before even going there.

Well there's your solution right there.

You just typed the paragraph in the wrong order. ;)

xanderl said:

I won't defend the park in their handling of the situation, nor the police in theirs

What did the park do wrong other than maybe saying "choking hazard"? as silly as that sounds. They were even refunding peoples money.

As for the Police and security. They are trained to subdue/detain unruly people. If you do not comply or go in a peaceful manner then force can be used and the amount of force is determined by the actions of the suspect. Even if you say with a smile "Please turn around and I am going to put the handcuffs on" people still resist. The group was already out of control when units arrived there. Then they proceeded to assault officers!Hmmm FELONY! Officer safety is number one. Number two is to defuse the situation and it always isn't in a polite please and thank you manner. 60 units might seem like a lot, but if more were available they would have been there too.

The group is at fault here for their actions.. Not the park or the Police