by Cheryl Rofer
Ahhhh....
It's good to see so much indignation expressed at the AirTran/TSA incident in Reagan National Airport. A family in which the men were wearing beards and the women headscarves (and you know what that means!!!) was given the full terrorist treatment for wondering out loud where is the safest place to sit on a plane, the conversation that many travelers have had or played in their heads without having a brush with the law.
AirTran woke up from their "24" stupor and realized that the family just might have grounds for a costly lawsuit when AirTran refused to let them on the plane, which was delayed two hours for the by-the-book TSA drill of putting all its passengers through security again. So it "apologized" in the most bureaucratic language possible, being careful not to admit anything.
"We regret that the issue escalated to the heightened security level it did on New Year's Day, but we trust everyone understands that the security and the safety of our passengers is paramount and cannot be compromised," AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said. "Nobody on Flight 175 reached their destination on time . . . and we regret it."Here's what some commentators had to say about it:
Wajahat Ali: "This, however, does not give a democratic and free country licence to be overwhelmed by fear of its own Muslim and Middle Eastern citizens, many of whom are our own peers and neighbours. If we kill our own freedoms at home, then what exactly are we fighting for abroad?"
Amy Sullivan: "Maybe we'll get some insight into TSA decisions once "Homeland Security" premieres on ABC next week."
Steve Clemons: "Racism towards Muslims in America must stop -- and there is nothing more than ignorance and bigotry that can explain why AirTran would not allow a Muslim family from reboarding its plane after TSA authorities cleared the passengers as a threat of any kind to the aircraft."
Scott Horton: "None dare call it stupidity."
Maybe it's time for a new president to rethink what we're doing to ourselves both economically and spiritually with that TSA security theater?