I feel bad for the people who took up Chrysler on their gas price guarantee of $2.99. Hopefully this offer works out better for consumers.

“The FBI agents actually cleared our names,” Inayet Sahin, one of the family members kicked off the flight, told CNN. “They went on our behalf and spoke to the airlines and said, ‘There is no suspicious activity here. They are clear. Please let them get on a flight so they can go on their vacation,’ and they still refused.”

This was issued yesterday:

WASHINGTON (AP) — AirTran Airways is apologizing to nine Muslim passengers kicked off a New Year’s Day flight to Florida after other passengers reported hearing a suspicious remark about airplane security.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gfsO6SsGJUrRCXhujgS5ycbUIsfQD95F7H401

Personally I think this is a disgusting display of blatant racism. Sure, they can hide behind “saftey” but the truth is this would have never happened to a white, black or asian family. Because the women were dressed in traditional muslim attire (not sure what that’s called) and the men clearly looked Middle Eastern they were targeted and then removed.

Maybe the airlines should just ban all middle eastern people from flying so we can all feel better…

yes, 911 happened, but South Asians were not behind it. Men from Saudi Arabia and Egypt were.

Yet the Saudis and the Egyptians are US’s friends.

This never gets reported regarding 911.

therefore this is not about Muslims. this is a racist incident, and is no differnt from the Sikh man being murdered in cold blood in Phoenix immediately after 911.

So yes, Airtrans is racist as a minority of Americans are.

This is no different from the aftermath of Dec 6, 1941.

Except there won’t be any prison camps, not when you can make America into the gulag it is today.

That means if AirTran is free to offer or refuse its services to anyone they choose without so much as offering an explanation. If you don’t like their way of doing business, you are free to find an airline that you want to patronize with your dollars.

If you cannot find an airline that you are willing to patronize with your dollars, you are (like Herb Kelleher & Co) free to start your own airline and offer service exclusively to the patrons whom you wish to serve.

If your airline, or AirTran, or Delta, or Southwest (etc, ad nauseum) chooses not to allow me to fly because I am wearing a Parrothead T-Shirt (sorry Jimmy), a capitalist T-shirt, a communist T-shirt (etc, ad nauseum). You, and they, are free to do so.

I for one, would be willing to pay a premium to fly on the airline who removed any passenger who even said the word “bomb” in jest.

In short, it’s a non-story.

The other issue is it is unfortunate that people who look a certain way are lumped together BUT…
If there was a report that white dogs were biting people in your town, and a white dog came walking down your street, would you be extra cautious ? Of course. It does not mean you hate all white dogs, or that all white dogs are bad. It simply means you are more vigilant around the dogs that fit the description of prior problems.
You will still be cautious around spotted dogs too…. just not to the extent you are near the white ones.

I agree that there are elements of this that seem prejudiced. I can see and sympathise with how terribly inconvenienced this family was, and agree that a simple refund is no compromise for the hours of planning, other reservations and deposits lost, lost opportunity, work scheduling time off, coordinated family planning, and of course - the actual loss of perhaps badly needed vacation time. The family should be compensated for all that, if indeed the investigation was fruitless, if the FBI cleared them, and the airline therefore had no reason to hold them!

Yes, the public-at-large (and therefore passengers-at-large) are likely to be prejudiced. Yes, Arab families might need to mind their P’s and Q’s a bit more than some other racial groups. But the Arab family themselves even misconstrues the nature of the racism, saying:
“They see one Muslim talking to another Muslim and they automatically assume something wrong is going on.”
I don’t believe anyone “sees” religion. What does religion look like? But this is the crux of what the middle east (and obviously Arab-Americans also) believe the prejudice to be. There’s some ignorance in believing that Americans see “Muslims” rather than “Arabs”. It’s the fuel behind the anti-American sentiment in the middle east, and that’s dangerous. The perception of Americans being Anti-Muslim is unique to Muslims.

Americans are [understandably] frightened of terrorists and terrorism, and [understandably] tune in and maybe develop a little paranoia when they see someone who they believe might fit the visual profile of one…
But that’s not religion, or religious-based on what they see with their eyes, and how they react to their inner fear. An Arab-American might be a Buddhist or a Christian, and I don’t think anyone would treat him differently. It’s the terrorism that breeds fear.

The comfort (and calmness) of the passengers is rightfully a concern of the airline, but the airline needs to manage the expense involved in maintaining that, just as they invest in comfortable seats. The wrongdoing was toppling this family’s domino and not taking responsibility for the domino effect.

TSA is largely a useless organization putting on a show of security while doing little or nothing to actually protect fliers. The evidence of that statement is TSA has failed repeatedly when tested. Ipso facto, it is largely up to the passengers to be vigilant. While I don’t know that I would have reacted exactly the same as the women who voiced concerns to AirTran, a Washington attorney of the Muslim faith surely should have realized it would be imprudent to discuss safety with family members while boarding a plane.

This is less about the airline and the passengers and more about the naivete of the attorney and his family/friends. Or perhaps I should be less circumspect and say the fact that the gentleman is a Muslim does not make him a terrorist but the that he’s an attorney considering a lawsuit does make him an archetype.

http://phdinparenting.com/2008/12/30/breaking-it-down-for-facebook/