se94584,

If you have something valid to say, say it. Don't take my sentences apart. The "...." that you took off contained valid points that contribute to a complete idea.

se94583, thanks for your posts. Valid points, IMHO. Political correctness has to take a back seat to national security, particulary when the country is at war.

Edited to add:

Also, thanks jongar for a very thoughtful post to kick off this thread.

[This message has been edited by cactuspete (edited 09-26-2001).]

Take a long hard look in the Mirror and what you'll see back is not something you will like very much unless you enjoy being a RACIST PIG, you know it , I know it, and i would imagine (yes its speculation on my part but I believe it enough to write it) many of the other posters here know it even if they don't say it

Thankyou cactus pete, senumber thing, F U C you. Dont hijack my considered post with your blind hatred. Appologies for offence caused by swearing, but subtlety seems irrelevenat this morning. Racial Profiling is here, those who fall under the profile need to accept that the additional security is for their saftey as well as anyone else. Its not racist , its freedom to travel securely

Jongar. I can now see why you admitted you removed your email address that links you to your company. I imagine they would be mightily impressed with your rational well argued sentiments here. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

And you accuse OTHERS here of "blind hatred"? Hmm.

I am tolerant of many things, but stupidity s not on of them. fortunatly, europeans are not bound my the PC straight jacket that so many americans are. My earlier comments were subject to jetlag having just stepped of the IAD-LHR redeye

SE94583, please call the Whitehouse, ask to speak to GWB and tell him how to identify this small group. It will save a lot of people a great deal of effort since you clearly have the answer. You have the opportunity to be a world-wide hero here. Don’t blow it.

[This message has been edited by bulkhead (edited 09-26-2001).]

OK. Lets see. I'm a big fan of British Airways and Airbus. The threat I identified was that it only involved Boeing. So lets ban them. Seems a bit harsh? What about Lockerbie? – Boeing again. I think I’m on to something here. Those boys in Seattle have a lot to answer for. Oh wait…they’re all US airlines. Ban them too. Oh, and Air France, as their Concorde crashed.

Am I being prejudiced? Tarring innocents with the same brush? Using a tragic event to push my own agenda? Hell I can’t tell, ‘cos my white pointy hat with the cut-out eye holes obscures my vision.




[This message has been edited by bulkhead (edited 09-26-2001).]

Just two comments. Mainstream Arab Muslims have completely and utterly denounced the attack just as much as anyone else. You just hear on the news the one or two groups/idiots who didn't.

Also, the problem is with some members of two groups -- Arab Americans and those of the Islamic faith. There are over 7 million Arab Americans and probably 20+ million more who look Arab American in the US. That is not a small group. And those of Islamic faith? Many, many more.

And there's no way to tell a citizen from a non-citizen by the way. Domestic air travel does not require a passport.

Please identify the "blind hatred." Everything I posted has been rationally related to security concerns and logically presented. I see no other logical solution that would work with a considerable degree of success. The only "blind hatred" I see is from folks like trojan and possibly you who scream insults when you encounter someone who does not share your same Polyana-esque worldview.

You seem to forget that there is a considerable force out there that:

does not want to convert you
does not want to debate you
does not care if you understand their point of view
does not think twice about using our free society and innate trust against us

They simply want to kill you and everyone you hold dear. If rousting these bad folks out means offending (in a very minimal way) a particular law-abiding segment of our society, so be it. Remember, the resultant safety help all of us regardless of ethnicity or citizenship in the air and on the ground. How naive can you be?

Right now, you are either for doing what is necessary to capture or kill the terrorists, or you are for not doing this. If you are for not doing this, you are in essense supporting the next attack. You are saying, in fact: I believe that it is better to allow more Americans -- perhaps a great many more -- to be murdered than to capture or kill the murderers or to make others (who resemble or otherwise appeaar to be like the terrorists in one way or another) feel uncomfortable for 5-10 minutes in an airport.



[This message has been edited by se94583 (edited 09-26-2001).]

none of the original posts referred to banning people - only the level of discomfort some people now feel around others of a different race/dress etc. I'm not proud of how I feel, but I think it's good to talk about these issues and feelings and try and diffuse them. I certainly woudl not want to ban people from planes becasse they look a certain way - but even here ont he ground, people are jumpy if the bottled water guy is different form the person who' s been doing deliveries for months, or if someone is hanging around our lobby looking nervous. (We've had 2 bomb threats since the 11th). I'm not saying it's good, just that it is happening and I think we should talk about dealing with it.

Being 1/16th Ubangi, a western tribe in Africa, I am not offended by Arabs being racially profiled. I have been profiled with me being a High Yellow (I am not an Octaroon nor a Quadroon- 1/8th and 1/4 black respectively). These Arabs came to my nation and enslaved my people and sold my people to slave traders who sent my people to America. And I'll be ****ed if they are coming after us again!

Couldn't have said it better myself. And I say we take everyone who looks like Timothy McVeigh and throw them into the internment camps.

Look, guys, we're all human. Of course we will feel a little more nervous if we are on a plane with someone who is Arabic.

But we should do our ****dest to beat that prejudice down. Virtually all Arabs deplore the acts of September 11. And as painful as it was for us, imagine how painful it is for them. They are the ones who have to look at their fellow Arabs slaughtering innocents.

As for the profiling, well, I would expect that Arabs will get asked more questions, and they will get scanned with the wand even if they pass through the metal detectors without a problem. But folks, that's not a violation of civil rights -- it's an inconvenience. If you take them away, arrest them, and ask them questions without a lawyer present for hours, that's different.

So, basically, folks, we need to try to reach out to the AMERICANS who are Arabic rather than getting them tossed off our flights.

I just flew SIN-DXB-IST on SQ. Guess what the majority of the passengers looked like? I was in the minority.

I'm happy to say that they treated me well and didn't ask me to leave the plane since I might have wanted to blow up all my enemies!

BTW, I arrived safely!

Bon Voyage to all and Peace!