GUWonder

What the training doesn't state is that the practice is primarily an indicator about the trainer and/or trained believer rather than a behavioral indicator of the the trainer and/or trained believers' targeted individuals.

longwaybackhome

I think the TSA needs tefillin another section of their rule book...

Anyway, I'm an atheist, and this story is making me want to be religious again just to teach people...

SDF_Traveler

First, welcome to FlyerTalk.

Next, there was nothing wrong with what the kid did. It isn't odd with respect to his religious views. This flight was departing from New York City of all places.

I don't know a lot about Muslim customs, but next time I travel to the US from SE Asia on MH, should I alert the crew when a passenger sits in what seems to be a strange direction (say sideways at an angle opposed to forward) on a mat and starts praying or does something that appears strange in his prayer?

I'll have to disagree with you, the kid did not cause trouble. The state of "paranoia gone wild" (tm) in this nation is what caused the problem.

DeaconFlyer

Isn't believing in myths what started this whole mess?

We Will Never Forget

I think it's more of a historical thing; those guys did it, so the next ones probably will.

GUWonder

People are naturally political creatures, whether they know/acknowledge it or not. Organizing based on myths that involve a creation of "us" and "them" and of playing off "the other" is just part of the political nature of mankind. Nothing mythical about that. Atheism and elimination of beliefs in historical superstition wouldn't change the political nature of mankind. People have a great ability to create useful myths so as to perpetuate political organization. People would just rely upon some other myth for the same purpose.

The mess that is the TSA was indeed started by belief in myths.

This incident on the LGA-SDF flight was indeed started by a belief in a myth -- the myth being one that is rooted in the "us" vs "them" mentality, which include a belief that "the other" is a greater threat than "our" actions are to "us".

Yes.

Historical thing, as in historical myths -- and those historical myths are just as appropriately identified as the myths of the hysterical. People are free to believe whatever superstitions they wish, including the belief that it's about historical behavior and of assigning probabilities to future behavior; however, it really comes down to historical bias being packaged for continuity of political organization.

Organizing based on myths that involve a creation of "us" and "them" and of referencing "the other" is just part of the inherent political nature of mankind. Amongst the ways such organizing is done is via bias-rooted selective playing up and down of "historical things" and via playing the role of prophet/oracle.

n4zhg

Sorry, this is no different in principle to a cop denying a gay man CPR because of the perception he has AIDS. And that case was settled for millions.

themicah

On a lighter note:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbCV7QKXk4s

sailman

Priceless!