Raymond commented on this story here, but it reminds me of a story of my own: Once I was facing a long flight delay, with hours in the airport. So I started working. As it happened, while I was working on this site, Jihad Watch, someone saw "jihad" on my laptop screen and contacted police. Presently I was surrounded by police, at least one of whom had a large police dog with him, and they told me to come with them. Just at that moment I lost my Internet connection, so I was unable to show them who I was or what I was working on, and had none of my books or anything else with me, even any of my business cards. I had nothing with me except a Qur'an and some jihadist literature.
Ultimately I was able to explain to them what I was doing, and they let me go. Did they apologize? No. I would not have expected them to. I did not become irate or make "inappropriate comments." I did not contact CAIR or MPAC. I did not sue or threaten to sue. On the contrary, I thanked the police officers for their alertness and vigilance.
Why are these nine passengers different? "We felt very disrespected," one of them says. Once again, it is all about their honor, and not about the need to protect innocent civilians from jihad attack. And so now yet another bad precedent is set. These nine passengers may have been completely innocent, but to apologize for questioning them is to make it harder to question the next suspicious passenger. Once again political correctness comes before security concerns.
An update on this story. "AirTran apologizes for removing Muslim passengers," from AP, January 3 (thanks to Marc):
WASHINGTON – AirTran Airways apologized Friday to nine Muslims kicked off a New Year's Day flight to Florida after other passengers reported hearing a suspicious remark about airplane security. One of the passengers said the confusion started at Reagan National Airport just outside Washington, D.C., when he talked about the safest place to sit on an airplane.Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran said in a statement that it refunded the passengers' air fare and planned to reimburse them for replacement tickets they bought on US Airways. AirTran also offered to take the passengers back to Washington free of charge.
"We apologize to all of the passengers — to the nine who had to undergo extensive interviews from the authorities and to the 95 who ultimately made the flight," the statement said. "Nobody on Flight 175 reached their destination on time on New Year's Day, and we regret it."
AirTran said the incident was a misunderstanding, but the steps taken were necessary.
Two U.S. Muslim advocacy groups, however, were critical of the airline's actions. The Muslim Public Affairs Council called on federal officials Friday to open an investigation. And the Council for American-Islamic Relations filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation, saying "It is incumbent on any airline to ensure that members of the traveling public are not singled out or mistreated based on their perceived race, religion or national origin."...
Family members were upset that AirTran didn't allow them to book another flight. The airline said in a news release Friday that one of the passengers became irate, made inappropriate comments and had to be escorted away from a gate podium by local law enforcement.
"We felt very disrespected," Irfan said. He said FBI agents had cleared their names and asked AirTran to put them on another flight, but to no avail....
I wonder what Dougie Hooper is gonna pull out of his bag of tricks...
Just at that moment I lost my Internet connection...
Mr. Spencer-
I would not be surprised to learn that as they approached you, they activated a portable jamming device to keep you from sending any messages such as "I've been caught." These are inexpensive and available to law enforcment.
Ya know what? If people don't want to be treated like terrorist suspects, DON'T LOOK OR ACT LIKE ONE OF 'EM !
Air Tran should not have apologized to these people or offered them anything other than a refund. You don't like being tossed, then sod off. Go to another airline.
I wonder if the new law protecting those who report suspicious activity, passed after the flying imams lawsuit was filed, will shield Air Tran and those who reported the activity from CAIR's legal jihad??
one is for sure l will be flying Air Tran, screw them, if they are so weak minded about our safety l dont need to fly in their planes. would like a link to pass that on to them.
when my friend's son crossed the border back into Canada in his mother's truck, he was searched extensively, and well him mom said too bad, you are the age of kids who bring in drugs. they of course did not find anything, and you can go now. this same happens all time, when you fit a group of people who commit a certain crime you will be searched.. its called life. but it seems muslims are perpetual crybabies.
"Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran..."
OT, but interesting.
Once upon a time, there existed a small airline called ValuJet, which offered inexpensive air fares of the "no frills" variety. It was very popular with passengers, but not so popular with the NTSB, due to an inordinate number of accidents and incidents.
On October 26, 1993, ValuJet 592 crashed in the Florida Everglades, six minutes into its flight from Miami to Atlanta. The airplane was a 27 year-old DC-9, purchased from Delta Airlines.
The plane went down due to a fire onboard, which is believed to have originated with the oxygen tanks, which had been erroneously labeled "empty".
The Florida Everglades is a river, which flows about a half-mile a day. This slow, constant movement, and the 500 mph velocity of the plane when it crashed into the bedrock beneath the swamp, ensured that few large pieces of the wreckage and only 36 of the 110 souls aboard were recovered, and identifiable. An additional problem was that a makeshift road had to be built, in order to reach the craft, which was 1/4 mile from the nearest road.
ValuJet later declared bankruptcy, dissolved as a company, and disappeared about as thoroughly as Flight 592. Or, did it?
The airline's maintenance contractor, Sabre Tech, bore the brunt of the blame for Flight 592. Meanwhile, ValuJet became AirTran after a merger with the Orlando based airline of the same name. It was nothing less than a scandal, at the time, but the public forgets some things in a blink.
I wouldn't fly AirTran, which is still ValuJet, underneath, for any sum of money.
I'm glad you came off this experience unscathed, but how exactly did they let you go, since all you had was jihadi literature, your Driver's License (which could have been forged had you actually been a Jihadi? Did they get to do a background check on you and verify that you were okay, or did they just let you go? How does one with Jihadi literature convince Law Enforcement that he isn't out to cause trouble in a manner that real Jihadis can't?
IP,
Perhaps they Googled Robert? (smile)
Storm,
Interesting allegory, but incorrect "facts".
Please read the NTSB's final report on Valujet 592..
I understand the point you're trying to make, btw.
Boneshack,
I was trying to keep the post brief, as it was somewhat off-topic.
Why did you put "facts" into sneer quotes? Did I lie about something?
I know you were trying to be brief, and yes, I chose poorly by putting the word facts in quotes.
I wasn't trying to be snarky. This accident was in 1996, and the cause of the fire was improperly packaged/label oxygen generators.
I'm sorry if you were offended. I meant no harm.
Boneshack,
No, I'm sorry.
LOL...That's what I get from pulling so much material off Wiki (shame on me!)
When I kept seeing "AirTran" mentioned, the ValuJet thing finally clicked, in my mind. You're right-- some of my facts weren't accurate.
I remember how disgusting I found the name change. A bad airline becoming the same bad airline, with a different name.
No harm, no foul. I apologise for my thin skin.
Friends?
Storm,
Ah, don't sweat it man! I'm an airline pilot and whenever there's some facet of aviation brought up in these threads, I take close notice.
Friends? Certainly!
Being a retiree from TSA, i can tell you that those who complain about delays through airport security and its "useless inconvenience" are unaware of the danger that still exists. TSA intercepts many items which can only be explained as "testing the system!" Human nature being what it is, we prefer to dismiss any distant past threats and pretend that they no longer exist. They do! All one need do is read this site and check out the news articles in confirmation.
Personally, I will accept the muslim's call for respect when they make as much noise about the terrorists sweeping their hate all over the world.