More yoghurt, Mr. Buck?

April 5, 2002 11:33 AM

More yoghurt, Mr. Buck? REM's Peter Buck cleared of air rage attacks. more...
posted by nylon (15 comments total)

...cleared of one charge of being drunk aboard a plane (seattle - london), two charges of common assault involving an air stewardess and the cabin services director, and one of damaging British Airways property.
a seemingly weak defense case was lapped up by the jury, and he's free, without so much as an apology for his antics. somehow i think if i'd done this, i wouldn't be quite so lucky. what's more, the union representing the air stewardesses is looking to take british airways to court for compensation. wtf?!
posted by nylon at 11:37 AM on April 5, 2002

i laughed out loud at the bono thing in there. if there's one person on the planet i wish would shut up and disappear from the press, it's him. pretty funny that anyone actually thought his opinion here was of any relevance.
posted by dobbs at 11:49 AM on April 5, 2002

Actually, for once this seems to be a topic that Bono is qualified to address.
posted by jtripp at 11:53 AM on April 5, 2002

I like REM a lot, but I mean, "non insane automatism"? it's such a lame excuse that we can only laugh about it --
I just hope that some drunken fuck barfs all over mr Buck next time he's on a plane
Buck won't able to complain then -- I mean, other people can have "non insame automatism", it's not a rock-star specific afflicition, right?
Maybe the pilot union can at least have him banned from BA flights, or obtain some sort of an apology
insert lame "Non Insane Automatism for the People" here
posted by matteo at 12:37 PM on April 5, 2002

So in regards to the photo in the linked story (sorry this is off-topic): is Michael Stipe dying or something? He looks like absolute hell.
posted by rocketman at 12:54 PM on April 5, 2002

Just goes to show: you don't have to be innocent to convince a jury, just rich and/or famous. I was going to make a snide comment about American justice, but this happened in the UK....
posted by mrmanley at 12:59 PM on April 5, 2002

I think it's safe to say Mr. Buck will get his comeuppance at some point. Most airlines' computers allow them to enter whatever details they want about a given customer, and it'll flash on the ticket agent's screen every time you step up to the counter from now until the end of time unless they erase it. So you can bet that there are tons of ticket agents and flight attendents out there, particularly at BA, just WAITING for Mr. Buck to make a reservation with them. It won't happen tomorrow; that would be to obvious. Revenge is best served cold, after all.

If REM knows what's good for them, they'll buy a private jet.
posted by aaron at 1:22 PM on April 5, 2002

I think we should judge Peter Buck by his actions, not his celebrity. Has he ever had any disturbance in the past remotely like this? Not that I've ever witnessed or heard about. Were his actions on the plane consistent with his character? Not at all. Does that make it okay to dump yogurt on anyone you want? If only...

The jury believes his story about medication and wine, and they heard it from him. They judged him based on his testimony and his past, not by an article online. I say that's good enough for me, let the man be.

Now does anyone know where I can score some of that prescription sleeping pill? It sounds like a good trip, and may just enhance my listening of Reveal.
posted by daedsiluap at 1:36 PM on April 5, 2002

A quick google of "non-insane automatism" shows it to be a bit like sleepwalking. He says he blacked out on the plane and remembers nothing until waking up in the police station. I'd buy it, especially if he has no prior history of this sort of behavior.
posted by starvingartist at 2:23 PM on April 5, 2002

I've seen the guy lots of times at the Crocodile (which his wife owns) Cafe and he's always seemed quiet, pleasant and maybe even a little shy-but always approachable.
If he'd assed-out as bad as they say, wouldn't there be a whole planeload of passengers to back up the airlines claims?
posted by black8 at 2:43 PM on April 5, 2002

But no, he's a celebrity, and everyone knows that celebrities are always guilty of the crimes they're accused of but that they just buy their way out with their millions and millions and their jewels and riches and because juries are full of dumb idiots who kneel at their feet. Right?

Stop with your kneejerk idiot responses, please.
posted by solistrato at 3:21 PM on April 5, 2002

What is the world coming to when the guitarist from one of the greatest, most influential bands of all time can't get fucked up and run wild on an airliner without getting hauled into some courtroom?! Sheeeesh.
posted by Ty Webb at 5:18 PM on April 5, 2002

without so much as an apology for his antics

Actually, he did issue an apology. See the next to the last paragraph.
posted by raysmj at 9:42 PM on April 5, 2002

rocketman wrote: So in regards to the photo in the linked story (sorry this is off-topic): is Michael Stipe dying or something? He looks like absolute hell.

Yes, he's dying. Eventually. It is called growing older.
posted by prolific at 1:33 AM on April 6, 2002

Prolific: Thanks for that reminder of mortality. I just realized last night that I'll be 51 when my daughter is sixteen years old. And I've been reading about athletes retiring who are younger than me because their knees are going. So I can pretty much feel the hot breath of death on my neck, and looking at these photos of REM doesn't help any.

All three members of REM are lookin' pretty old. Stipes actually looks like he's gained a little weight, which in his case could be a good thing. He's no Keith Richards, in any case.
posted by mecran01 at 6:18 AM on April 6, 2002