Boggie Dog

If a person really thinks there is something bad going on wouldn't getting off the plane be the prudent thing to do?

GUWonder

Most minorities subjected to racism probably feel isolated during and after the attack because it seems like no one in the immediate vicinity was willing to get involved and intervene during the incident. Counter-accusations don't happen often enough in these kind of circumstances, not that everyone is in an equal position to risk the consequences for counter-accusation engagement at the time of the incident.

If I were ever deplaned in such circumstance, someone could use FRT to try to name and shame those engaged in character assassination attempts.

chollie

I will cautiously intervene to try to de-escalate if it's still at the pax v. pax stage and I will certainly be forthcoming if anyone asks me what I saw or heard. I would feel free to share the experience online.

FRT?

GUWonder

Facial recognition technology.

mikeef

I remain stunned that some of the accusers are brave enough to get out of bed in the morning, given all the "bad" people in the world, on the roads and, of course, on their planes.

Mike

DaveBlaine

Speaking of the roads... It's only going to get worse in the coming weeks.

Brace yourselves. Winter is coming.

TheTakeOffRush

This seems like the kind of story it'd be nice to have an investigative reporter drum up into a headline: US Carriers allow racists to determine security policy. C'mon airlines...get ahead of this curve!

mikeef

Very, very glad that I am not traveling over Thanksgiving, although I do travel on Christmas day. That should be a blast.

Speaking of roads, I remember my days in MSP. I always thought it was funny that it was more difficult to drive in the summer, when all the construction had to be done in a few months, than in the winter.

Mike

DaveBlaine

Well, then you know we only have two seasons here. Winter and Road Construction.

Bonus Minnesota joke: Our state bird is the mosquito!

WillCAD

I wish you well, Chollie. I hope to see such a spleen venting (not necessarily yours, just someone's) on YouTube very soon.

But I urge you to be cautious. Mr and Mrs Pee-Pants are jittery enough to run screaming to the nearest airport police officer and claim you assaulted them, and while I doubt you'd get arrested in such a situation, it would definitely delay your travel even further as you stood there, showing ID to the cops and explaining the entire situation, then listening to a lecture from the cops about how "You need to mind your own business and not start trouble with strangers" or "Keep your opinions to themselves to avoid stirring up trouble."

Call me Winter, please.

mikeef

Yup, have used both. Also, "land of 10,000 lakes and 500 fish."

Mike

chollie

Not to worry. I am not about to lower myself to their level.

GUWonder

Taking off the valet or gate check bag tag from her cabin bag with a breast pump, an American woman of South Asian ethnic heritage (and occasional contributor to CNN) was hassled over her removal of the tag -- apparently hassled at the urging of a fellow passenger:

https://us.yahoo.com/parenting/mom-o...173507809.html

Not sure what to make of the incident, because her angry male passenger could just be upset at her about: overhead space being taken up by someone who refuses to gate check a bag; or potentially delaying the flight due to possibly full/too small overhead bins.

Delta Air Lines has been supportive according to the passenger, and the flight crew was great according to her.

WillCAD

Incidents like this instantly make me very angry. I hate bigotry. It makes my blood boil.

But sometimes, you read the whole article, and it casts... well, in this case, it's an unwarranted suspicion which makes me feel slightly dirty, as if I'm engaging in bigotry myself.

The woman in question, who claims she was a victim of bigotry, is someone who apparently makes her living reporting on bigotry.

Bigotry comes in many forms, and not all of them where white sheets and burn crosses. Being angry at white bigots may have colored this woman's judgement, and when a passenger behind her saw her do something he thought was against the rules, she may have assumed, based solely on his race, that he was targeting her due to her race. Ditto for the gate agent.

Her tweet includes a lot of righteous indignation and accusations of bigotry, but aside from the fact that the two people in question were of a particular race, it offers no further evidence on their motivations.

So I'm going to call this one "unconfirmed" unless or until someone else comes along to corroborate it.

BSBD

I agree with WillCAD. Given that this happened in a Delta gate at a major Delta hub (ATL?), absent further objective evidence I'm inclined to think that this incident was precipitated by typical Delta Medallion over-entitlement/sense of outrage, rater than fear or bigotry.