The disgrace of religious, ethnic, and racial intolerance
this kind of outrage is only to be expected when the likes of bush and cheney give tacit permission to demonize any and all members of the islamic faith...
so, one paranoid passenger, with no basis other than his or her own media and government-induced fear of muslims, has the power to hold up 141 people to have six innocent people thrown off of the flight that was taking them home...
put yourself in their shoes... you've been attending a business or professional conference... you're eager to return home... but, because of your appearance, you are forcibly removed from your flight, treated as a possible terrorist, forced to stay another night, and then have the airline, to which you paid good money for your ticket, refuse to accommodate you on another flight...
this scenario cuts closer to home than i would like... the flight i was on from santiago, chile, to los angeles on wednesday night had just pushed back from the gate and was taxiing to the runway for takeoff, when it suddenly returned to the gate... i assumed it was due to a mechanical problem, but, instead, a number of security officers came onboard and quickly escorted a woman off of the aircraft, no reasons or explanations given to the passengers... it was disturbing to say the least... Submit To Propeller
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The Council on American-Islamic Relations called Tuesday for an investigation into the behavior of airline staff and airport security in the removal of six Muslim scholars from a US Airways flight a day earlier.
A passenger raised concerns about the imams — three of whom said their normal evening prayers in the airport terminal before boarding the Phoenix-bound plane, according to one — through a note passed to a flight attendant, according to Andrea Rader, a spokeswoman for US Airways.
"We are concerned that crew members, passengers and security personnel may have succumbed to fear and prejudice based on stereotyping of Muslims and Islam," Nihad Awad, the council's executive director, said in a news release.
The six were returning from a conference in Minneapolis of the North American Imams Federation, said Omar Shahin of Phoenix, president of the group.
"They took us off the plane, humiliated us in a very disrespectful way," Shahin said after the incident.
so, one paranoid passenger, with no basis other than his or her own media and government-induced fear of muslims, has the power to hold up 141 people to have six innocent people thrown off of the flight that was taking them home...
The six were among passengers who boarded Flight 300, bound for Phoenix, around 6:30 p.m. Monday, airport spokesman Pat Hogan said.
Police were called after the captain and airport security workers asked the men to leave the plane and the men refused, Rader said.
put yourself in their shoes... you've been attending a business or professional conference... you're eager to return home... but, because of your appearance, you are forcibly removed from your flight, treated as a possible terrorist, forced to stay another night, and then have the airline, to which you paid good money for your ticket, refuse to accommodate you on another flight...
this scenario cuts closer to home than i would like... the flight i was on from santiago, chile, to los angeles on wednesday night had just pushed back from the gate and was taxiing to the runway for takeoff, when it suddenly returned to the gate... i assumed it was due to a mechanical problem, but, instead, a number of security officers came onboard and quickly escorted a woman off of the aircraft, no reasons or explanations given to the passengers... it was disturbing to say the least... Submit To Propeller
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posted by profmarcus at
11/21/2006
