Comment

Another 'Flying While Muslim' Case

751
Charles1/02/2009 12:17:51 pm PST

re: #612 avanti

I suspect a passenger saw a group of folks in Muslim garb and paid more attention to a ill thought out comment and reacted differently then if they looked “normal”. It’s a bit of unconscious racism based on a stereotype of all Muslims being scary. It’s no different the then crossing the street when you see a half dozen black teenagers approaching.

It’s hard to say whether the airline overreacted, without more details. At this point, it seems likely that they did.

However, this is a very different situation than crossing the street to avoid black teenagers, as you put it. When you board an airplane you’re going into an inherently dangerous situation that is a very well-known target of a certain type of terrorist.

I’d rather the airlines overreact on the side of safety myself, unless it’s a case of blatant injustice. If a passenger reports hearing something disturbing, the airline has a responsibility to act the way they did.