[on the Persian Gulf War]
George Carlin:
It's the first war we ever had that was on every channel, plus cable.
George Carlin:
This country has only been around for 200 years, and we've already had 10 major wars. We average a major war every 20 years in this country. So we're good at it.
George Carlin:
Somebody got fucked in the ass. Plbtt. Plbtt.
[on the airport announcements]
George Carlin:
About this time, someone is telling you to get on the plane. "Get on the plane. Get on the plane." I say, "fuck you, I'm getting IN the plane! IN the plane! Let Evil Knievel get ON the plane! I'll be in here with you folks in uniform! There seems to be less WIND in here!"
[on airline announcements]
George Carlin:
"In the unlikely event..." This is a very suspect phrase, especially coming, as it does, from an industry that is willing to lie about arrival and departure times. "In the unlikely event of a sudden change in cabin pressure..." ROOF FLIES OFF! "An oxygen mask will drop down in front of you. Place the mask over your face and breathe normally." Well, I have no problem with that. I always breathe normally when I'm in a 600 mile-an-hour uncontrolled vertical dive. I also SHIT normally! RIGHT IN MY PANTS!
George Carlin:
The next sentence I hear is full of things that piss me off. "Before leaving the aircraft, please check around your immediate seating area for any personal belongings you might have brought on board." Well, let's start with "immediate seating area." SEAT! It's a god damn seat! Check around your seat! "For any personal belongings..." Well, what other kinds of belongings are there besides personal? PUBLIC belongings? Do these people honestly believe I might be traveling with a fountain I stole from the park? "... you might have brought on board." Well... I MIGHT have brought my arrowhead collection! I didn't. SO I'M NOT GOING TO LOOK FOR IT! I'm going to look for things I BROUGHT on board! It would seem to increase the likelihood of my finding something, wouldn't you say?
George Carlin:
Here's one they just made up: "near miss". When two planes almost collide, they call it a near miss. It's a near hit. A collision is a near miss.
George Carlin:
People add words when they want things to sound more important than they really are. "Boarding process." Sounds important; it isn't. It's just a bunch of people getting on an airplane! People like to sound important. Weathermen on television talk about "shower activity". Sounds more important than "showers." I even heard one guy on CNN talk about a "rain event".
[laughter]
George Carlin:
I swear to God, he said, "Louisiana is expecting a rain event." And I thought, "Holy shit, I hope I can get tickets to that!"
George Carlin:
They tell you to locate your nearest emergency exit. I do this immediately!
[mimes looking for the exit]
George Carlin:
I locate my nearest emergency exit, and then I plan my route. You have to plan your route. It's not always a straight line, is it? Sometimes there's a really big fat fuck sitting right in front of you. Well, you know you'll never get over him. I look around for women and children, midgets and dwarves, cripples, war widows, paralyzed veterans, people with broken legs, anybody who looks like they can't move too well; the emotionally disturbed come in VERY handy at a time like this. You might have to go out of your way to find these people, but you'll get out of the plane a lot God damn quicker, believe me. I say, "Let's see... I'll go around the fat fuck... step on the widow's head... push those children out of the way... knock down the paralyzed midget, and get out of the plane where I can help others."
[laughter]
George Carlin:
I can be of no help to anyone if I'm lying unconscious in the aisle with some big cocksucker standing on my head. I must get out of the plane, go to a nearby farmhouse, have a Dr. Pepper, and call the police.
George Carlin:
Have you ever been talking to yourself, and someone else enters the room, and you have to make believe you were singing?
[Laughter]
George Carlin:
And you hope to God the other person REALLY believes there's a song called "What Does She Think I Am, Some Kind of Putz"?
[Laughter]
George Carlin:
As soon as they close the door to the aircraft, that's when they begin the Safety Lecture. I love the safety lecture! This is my favorite part of the airplane ride! I listen very carefully to the safety lecture, especially that part where they teach us how to use the seatbelts! Imagine this: here we are, a plane full of grown human beings... many of us partially educated, and they're actually taking time out to describe the intricate workings of a belt buckle!
George Carlin:
[on flight attendants] Sometimes, they actually refer to these people as "uniformed crewmembers". Ah, uniformed, as opposed to the guy sitting next to me in the Grateful Dead t-shirt and the Fuck You hat... who's working on his ninth little bottle of Kahlua, I might add.
George Carlin:
The planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE! Pack your shit, folks. We're goin' away.
Featured in
George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy (1997) (TV)
- clips