I like the special searches at the airport. I've gotten them about 5 or 6 times and I must say that it helps when you get to bypass the gigantic lines and go straight to the special area. Plus I love when they tell you at the check in area that you're getting the special search. They act like you've won some sort of prize and that its a great honor to get the bigger search.
You aren't making any argument why its racist. Most serial murderers are white. When a profile is made by the police is it racist to start with the assumption that the suspect is most likely white? I don't think so.
Actually it is irrational to get on a plane and have a fear that middle eastern men might blow it up. It is completely irrational. Planes and midle eastern men fly without incident thousands of time a day. So to fear it is not rational. To be alert isn't irrational, to fear is. Yes the man's judgement of what was suspicious is what was to blame. And when that judgement is clouded because of the man's race then it is racism.
The profile in your example is presumably being made in the wake of specific events having taken place, by people (cops) who have a direct responsibility for catching a serial killer, who are probably operating in the same general area (the same city, county, state or region) as the murders would have happened. Richard Reid was lighting a fuse on his shoe, people saw it and asked him what he was doing, when he gave an unreasonable response they subdued him. This Jewish person with a suntan was listening to his ipod, took a bathroom break, was put in a reverse headlock by either a fake cop or a*shole who happened to be an air marshal (even though I doubt this is protocol for any half-assed law enforcement official). The worst part is that if he tried to defend himself, it would have just made him look worse or put him at risk for greater harm. F*cking unbelievable. And yeah, it's racist.
At the very least, you ask the suspicious man what he's doing. Do they give you a lolipop right after and the test results of your special search a couple weeks later?
you have no proof that he was behaving suspiciously. in fact, all evidence indicates that he was not doing anything out of the ordinary. lets look at what the airline told him... "He has since been told by airline staff he was targeted because he was using an iPod, had used the toilet when he got on the plane and that his tan made him appear "Arab"." he was attacked by a man who claimed he was a cop. impersonating an officer is a big-time no no. i hope he sues the airline for as much as he can and they throw the book at the clown who assaulted him.
what a load of garbage. last time i flew i used the restroom before the plane took off. i also listened to my ipod. i also had a beard. very suspicious, wasnt i? he freaked one person out, who went to the cabin crew, who checked out mr. stein and cleared him and told the fake cop to go back to his seat. Eventually, cabin crew explained that the captain had run a security check on Mr Stein after being alerted by the policeman and that this had cleared him. The passenger had been asked to go back to his seat before he had restrained Mr Stein. When the plane arrived in New York, Mr Stein was met by apologetic police officers who offered to fast-track him out of the airport. jesus, i hope no arabs have to use the bathroom or want to listen to music if they are sitting next to you on a flight. any arab who pees in an airplane must be a terrorist, right? i think most of us would act if we saw a bunch of wires or a guy trying to light his shoe on fire, but only a moron would try to say that arabs going to the bathroom before the plane takes off or arabs listening to ipods constitutes suspicious behavior.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source Main Entry: ir·ra·tio·nal Pronunciation: ir-'ra-sh&-n&l Function: adjective : not rational: as a : not governed by reason, mental clarity, or understanding b : not governed by a fair consideration of facts or evidence; broadly : ARBITRARY <an irrational decision to deny the permit> —ir·ra·tio·nal·i·ty /ir-"ra-sh&-'na-l&-tE/ noun —ir·ra·tio·nal·ly adverb After fair consideration of the facts might one have fear that a middle eastern man might blow up the plane you are on? Well, yes. On 9/11 they flew multiple planes into buildings and the ground. They have since declared that they will strike again. Those are facts. When you consider the facts there is nothing irrational about that fear. Except you are assuming facts you clearly do not have access to - you don't know if his judgement was clouded because of (what he perceived to be) the man's race or because of the man's actions. The profile in this example was presumably made in the wake of specific events having taken place (middle eastern men hijacking multiple planes and killing everyone on board), by people (passengers) who have responsibility (or they can just sit there) for stopping hijackers (since there is nobody else) operating in the same general area (on airplanes) as the hijacking would have happened. Richard Reid is a good example. He was subdued by passengers, not police or an air marshal. That he was doing something MORE suspicious is only relevant to examining whether or not we should criticize the guy who restrained the Jewish person on this flight for his mistaken suspicion. I don't disagree that this Jewish person from the reports didn't do anything I would find suspicious and that his restrainer seemingly overreacted. However none of that goes to prove your assertion at the end that it is racist.
No after fair consideration of the facts that thousands of planes with thousands of middle eastern men fly evey single day of every week and every month all without incident it is irrational to fear a middle eastern man might just happen to blow up the plane you are on. Because something happened five years ago doesn't mean it is a rational fear. Two planes collided over the amazon just last week. That is a fact. Looking at that fact doesn't mean it is logical to fear that your next flight will have a midair collision with another plane. It is an irrational fear. I said that based on the evidence we have at the present time when I responded to New Yorker earlier.
My wifes uncle is serious redneck, and he made the comment that he had nothing to worry about at the airport because he was white bubba. The sad part is that its probably true.
The issue is the jerk on the plane who tackled the guy. I feel safer than ever flying these days......nothing gets through that screening process.... Of course people don't bath because they have no soap or shampoo, but a little BO is a good thing when flying in cramped areas, right? Why not just have video cameras, and lockable controls, where the planes can be taken over by ground control in a case of emergency? Nah...that would be too practical. DD
You don't know what he was doing. Maybe he was fidgety or acting really nervous. Maybe he was making some weird sounds. You just don't know.
you dont know what he was doing either numbskull. again, lets look at what the airline authorities told him - that is the best source we have, isnt it? "He has since been told by airline staff he was targeted because he was using an iPod, had used the toilet when he got on the plane and that his tan made him appear "Arab"." no mention of him being "fidgety or acting really nervous" or "making weird sounds be it in the senator macaca thread or in here, you always seem to be looking to defend stupidity - why is that?
It's like saying we don't know whether you are a serial killer, maybe yes, and maybe not. It should be totally ok with you, that if someone attacks you and claims to be in the law enforcement. Any sound you make could be intepreted as "weird", and any move from you could be intepreted as "suspicious". WE JUST DON'T KNOW. No wonder you were so afraid about revealing any personal information.
Internet experiment, to make a great point, that Political Correctness sucks, and there are larger issues in life, such as Simpsons.
Well since I'm white, pale skinned with light brown hair; I have nothing to worry about. Isn't that the normal arguement of all Bush supporters? If your doing nothing wrong you have nothing to fear, but it helps if you look right?
so i take it next time you fly you will be tackling all brown people who have to take a leak? will you put the next muslim who listens to headphones in a headlock? you arent seriously suggesting that a dark skinned person going to the bathroom or listeining to headphones on an airplane constitutes suspicious behavior, are you?
It seems you are defending the action. Shouldn't we also be safe when it comes to attacking an innocent person. Instead they ended up being sorry. It works both ways. The terrorists don't need to do anything if we end up attacking each other, and then have people defending those actions.
