se94583
I think you are missing the point. Part of what makes this case special is that some pilots and aircrews have been misusing their status. It becomes harder to defend said action against someone that has special security clearance and status, than you or I being dumped from a plane for an unjustified reason. I do not like the idea that this would go to a lawsuit, as I dislike the idea of the denny's suit. In most types of businesses, racism will harm a company. If it is possible to make a choice we do and stop buying from a company that treats us bad. Unfortunately, as it has been discussed on this board often enough, we generally have limited choices on our air travel decision. Sometimes where you live or travel forces you to travel on an airline you dislike, or pay an unreasonable premium. The airlines like the broadcasters have a special responsibility because they have access to gate slots or flight departures that are government regulated.

I have disliked this kind of bigotry or stupidity since college. I went to LSU and as a ROTC student hung out with black cadets, some foriegn students and mostly non frats. Maybe the second week of school some of us cadets are going out to a student bar and as we pull up a couple of the black cadets don't want to go in. They had heard that blacks get harrassed or attacked there. I did not want to believe that was the case and got them to go in. Before the night went very far a couple of people were not feeling as well as when they walked in and it was not me. I stayed away from that bar for the next four years because there were some other bars around campus. If the government sold slots around campus and the only 2 bars allowed to open were racist, I would expect that their license would be taken back.

I am a white male. I was raised as a gentleman and trained as an officer. I hate lawsuits but if this company can not step up an admit that the pilot made a mistake or that he could not get over his nervousness about an arab being on the plane in the current enviroment then they will deserve this. I have not been flying American for a couple of years and I don't think I will be flying them in the near future. What makes me most sad is that this probably could have happened on any airline. Northwest has had flight crews disallow arabs on its flights and I believe several others have as well. Maybe the reaction from this event will get the attention of some of the other airlines, maybe even the government will see that security has to be logical.

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Robert