Southwest sees speaking Arabic as a threat - kicks man off flight

That he turned out not to be a terrorist is irrelevant. The airline received information indicating that he might pose a threat. It would be irresponsible for them to ignore this simply out of fear of being accused of racial profiling. They need to follow up.

Sorry you feel that way. I didn't say he did it for publicity purposes, or even that I think its likely he did so. Just that its not implausible, and if it turns out that is the case then any sympathy I have for what he went through would obviously goes out the window.

Yes you can be an *******, ruin another person's day, and get away scot-free. There are many aspects of life, unfortunately, where this is the case. Its an imperfect system.

That's not a terrible idea. But I suspect it would dissuade some people from coming forward if they hear something genuinely suspicious. Maybe you think that's a good thing; that people are too paranoid, especially around Muslims. I understand that sentiment, but at the same time you don't want to discourage someone from coming forward if they genuinely hear something troubling.

 

I understand the difference between a link and a perfect relationship.

 

I can see why he'd be insulted when the first question he's asked is why he's speaking in his native language. If that's how it went down, I'm not going to defend the SW attendant.

What I'm saying is that if a passenger tells the flight attendants that another passenger is saying something very suspicious, it is totally reasonable for them to follow up. Does that mean simply calmly engaging in conversation with the passenger and determining whether he actually poses a threat? Well, that would be ideal, but I suppose most flight attendants aren't really trained to make that determination. So, in my view, detaining the passenger to be questioned by actual authorities is a reasonable action to take.

I fully acknowledge that its a terrible situation for any poor passenger wrong suspected and detained (especially if all he was doing was having a conversation in his native language). Maybe the airline could compensate the passenger for his trouble by upgrading him to first class on another flight or something like that. Though if the airline suspected that the passenger might have purposely drawn such attention to himself I could understand them being reluctant to extend such a courtesy.

 

The passenger was not questioned simply because of how someone felt about them on a personal level but because they felt the nature of his conversation in Arabic ("the martyrs") was troublesome.

We also don't seem to know if the individual who made the complaint has been investigated in anyway. I would agree that complaining about someone due to just racial/religious prejudices is somewhat akin to shouting fire in a crowded theater (if this were such the case in this situation).

Using a less sever example, take for instance the rare case of ultra conservative Jews who raise complaints about having to sit next to a "woman". F them. An airline nor its passengers should have to endure such nonsense.

However, j this situation there appears to have been some evidence presented, other than prejudicial preference, as to why this individual may have posed a problem.

 

I agree. I was just pointing out they need to first determine if it was a mere feeling or something more substantial based on specific things the person actually said. Detaining the passenger to make that determination is reasonable to me.

I don't know the answer to that question. It suppose it would depend on how that conversation between the attendant and the passenger goes. If the passenger raises a stink about it or an explanation for what was heard is not convincing enough, then sure it could happen.

 

Why? Do you really think they care about a few people whining? People get kicked off of flights all the time and it doesn't matter. Do you really have delusions of a meaningful boycott over something most people agree with?

 

The only "evidence" is that another passenger says they thought he said the word shahid which in Arabic translates to witness. It is often translated to mean martyr. The passenger said he never said that on the phone call and the only thing he believes would have raised concern would be Inshallah (which any Arabic speaker would know is very common for Arabs to say). That is not evidence but hearsay.

So if we are on the same flight and I tell the flight attendant that I heard you say something troublesome, you would be OK with be kicked off the flight because that is the appropriate action to take?

 

I find it highly unlikely that a white passenger would be kicked off the plane in this same scenario.

 

Was the other passenger who overheard him also Arab? From what I gather the other passenger knew some Arabic. So, if as you say, any Arabic speaker knows that Inshallah is just a common phrase Arabs use in every day conversation, why would simply that have raised suspicion? Honestly, this part of the story is confusing to me. Maybe you can clarify something in there I missed.

 

Alright. In any case, this is an interesting read:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-disruptive-airline-passengers-20160420-story.html

[rquoter]
...

Marian Bruns, a retired flight attendant from United Airlines and secretary-treasurer for the Retiree Assn. of Flight Attendants, said flight attendants take classes on the latest security measures and routinely undergo cultural sensitivity training.

Although flight attendants say they are placed in a difficult position determining which passengers could be a disturbance — or worse, a threat — they say a passenger's attitude often is what determines who gets kicked off a plane. Such a decision frequently is made after conferring with other crew members, including the pilot.

"If a passenger is not cooperating verbally or being rude to a crew members, we take all of that into consideration," said James Allen, a spokesman for the Assn. of Flight Attendants, an organization that represents nearly 60,000 flight attendants.

Bruns agreed that "attitude is one thing we look for."

...
[/rquoter]

 

Would you be attempting to kick me off the plane for a personal prejudice or to report suspicious activity which may result in such expulsion. If the former no, later yes.

Not sure why the apparent victim thinks insh Allah may have been mistaken but I do not recall him saying that insh Allah or any other word may have been mistaken for martyrs.

 

No one knows who the other passenger was or how fluent she was in Arabic. Dialects of Arabic vary greatly from region to region and there's no way for us to tell if that is the case here. It would be no different than an American being on a flight with a Scottish guy and not being able to comprehend their English clearly.

 

this is one more disturbing aspect of your behaviour : when you repeatedly say : who cares about a few whining !

those a few who are locked in solitary confinements for decades + those executed under meh trials +Those a few slaghterd by racial prejudice + unknown cases of a few whining in your mind and it become really a lot .you would be in no time the next Robert Mugabe!!

 

So, how is everyone feeling about what they posted in this thread now? See something suspicious, why not report it?