Under normal circumstances I will not entertain any thoughts of racial profiling, but I had to ask myself what I would do if a man with the same skin tone and colour as my girlfriend got on a plane. It saddens me, it truly does. One bad apple should not spoil the cart, but I would not want that person near me. I am ashamed of myself, and it fills me with a loathing I find most distasteful, but I don't want my girlfriend, mother or any of my friends to hear I was killed in a terrorist attack. This post feels like acid on my very soul, as it goes against everything I believe in, but political correctness has no place at a time like this. Profiling will be with us for a while, although I am sure it will disappear in time. I hope and pray it does, but until that time, if you do not have a skin thick enough to last a flight, then drive, take a train, or walk. I am truly sorry, but after reading so many posts on various sites over the week, about how people were treated I have to point out that 6000+ people were denied only one thing. FREEDOM. The freedom to see their family, to see their friends and the freedom to enjoy life. More so the freedom to live and love. If you still have those things then the inconveniences you experience at the airport is of no significance. The dirty look means nothing other than someone in a physical proximity is scared, scared that they might die. The earth will continue to orbit the sun, and tomorrow, you can see, touch and speak to someone you love. Man makes a lot if not most of his mistakes out of fear. It is an emotion all of us succumb to. There is no way anyone can change the world overnight to stop this unjustified mistrust. I have one suggestion. Role with it. Be cooperative, present your ID with a smile, and above all please reach a little further into yourself and understand other peoples fear. No one has ever seen an aircrash in the vivid detail we saw last week. As you stand at the gate, remember that those around you tasked with running the plane, checking security and the passengers around you can remember with vivid detail that same image, that you are thinking of now. I pray that this era of profiling that we have entered will last but for a short time.

I am not famous for my sensitivities, but I hope that some of the people who read this will take stock and remember that freedom for me today meant 50 years ago meant the death of my grandfathers friends and his brother on the beaches in France, a man I never knew. A week ago, 6333+ people unwittingly gave their lives, as will others over the next few months and years to ensure that freedom is defended. Freedom is different things to different people. It's the right to live where you want, it's the right to love who you want, and the right to practice the religion you want. For others fighting Parkinson's, or motor neuron disease, its the freedom of choice as to when they die. We deny freedoms to people every day, or we saddle that freedom with safeguards, such as courts and other appointed public bodies to make sure that freedom is not abused, but we have a choice. I hope that recent events will not only promote the virtues of freedom, but teach us tolerance of others. Our colour, our beliefs and ultimately our differences. Ultimately we have to live with our conscience.

Sadly this post goes against my company policy so I will have to remove my email address. An affront to my freedom of speech?? No just my adherence to a policy designed to protect the company and the 18,000+ people who work here and the families they support - oh and the shareholders

[b]Whatever you do today, do something to make you smile.[b/]