Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American Airlines flight

If you See Something, you better Say Something. It's your duty for the Safety of Everyone. Especially if it's a man of Italian descent doing math next to you, and you're too ignorant to realize that it's, you know, math, and NOT Arabic he's writing. Oh, and that he's not even Arabic, but Italian (but they they all look alike, right??).

On Thursday evening, a 40-year-old man — with dark, curly hair, olive-skinned and an exotic foreign accent — boarded a plane. It was a regional jet making a short, uneventful hop from Philadelphia to nearby Syracuse.

. . .

The curly-haired man tried to keep to himself, intently if inscrutably scribbling on a notepad he’d brought aboard. His seatmate, a blond-haired, 30-something woman sporting flip-flops and a red tote bag, looked him over. He was wearing navy Diesel jeans and a red Lacoste sweater – a look he would later describe as “simple elegance” – but something about him didn’t seem right to her.

Link

Needless to say, due to her apparent suspicion, she tried to engage in conversation with the man, who wanted none of that. He was hard at work, yes at work, on a differential equation and headed to a speech he was to give in Canada. As the jet headed to the runway the lady passed a note to the Flight Attendant, the jet eventually headed back to the gate, where she was escorted off.

And then *he* was escorted off.

Maybe, he thought, they wanted his help in piecing together what was wrong with her.

And then the big reveal: The woman wasn’t really sick at all! Instead this quick-thinking traveler had Seen Something, and so she had Said Something.

That Something she’d seen had been her seatmate’s cryptic notes, scrawled in a script she didn’t recognize. Maybe it was code, or some foreign lettering, possibly the details of a plot to destroy the dozens of innocent lives aboard American Airlines Flight 3950. She may have felt it her duty to alert the authorities just to be safe. The curly-haired man was, the agent informed him politely, suspected of terrorism.

How ironic. A blonde, white, 30 something female, uneasy at this strange complected man with a foreign accent writing in a strange hand sitting next to her, so of course he must be a terrorist! That's what we've been conditioned to Believe and to Fear. And for the Safety of us all Say Something.

Bottom line: if you look Middle Eastern, you better chat congenially with your white American co-travelers. You must let them know you're not a terrorist (and if you're Italian or look anything close to Arabic make that well known), and you must explain to them what you're doing. Yes, lady this is a graph of commodities, not a sketch of the airplane. Yes, lady, this is math, not a final manifesto written in Arabic.

But this is what we've become: frightened profilers of anyone who looks remotely middle eastern (even if we're too ignorant to know the difference).

Thanks media.

Thanks fear mongers.

Thanks agenda shapers .

We'll become scared little tattletalers, peeking from behind closed curtains and calling the authorities on our neighbors for every trivial little thing we're too ignorant to understand, as we were supposed to do after 9/11.

I'm just shaking my head at this.

Again.

a reply to: Liquesence

Our number system is Arabic.






Just sayin.

a reply to: Liquesence

So differential equations are a good reason to report someone to the authorities now? For that matter, is writing in Arabic or any other language a good reason to report someone?

This is lunacy. The ignorant should be afraid though, because if they keep aggravating the intelligentsia, something is likely to break.

a reply to: Liquesence

Anyone that uses air travel should realize you give up all semblance of sanity when you come under the control off the FAA and TSA. This is about what I expect from these clowns.

a reply to: Liquesence

What a load of race baiting BS!

Good job op, we are all now dumber for having read your thread!

originally posted by: Sargeras
a reply to: Liquesence

What a load of race baiting BS!

Good job op, we are all now dumber for having read your thread!

Thank you for your intelligent contribution to this thread in discussing the problem of racial profiling in America today.

a reply to: Metallicus

You're correct, but this is more about the woman who reported him rather than the TSA. I mean, after the man was escorted off and they interviewed—er, interrogated—him, they allowed him to be on his way...several hours late.

It never should have gotten to that point, imo.

Granted, all semblance of sanity is pretty much out the window when two things meet: middle eastern looking people on planes, and Americans who are conditioned to be suspicious and afraid of all those middle eastern people.

:/

Well they say girl's are not good at math...yikes. This whole thing is full retard..never should go full retard, I feel for any of you in the U.S. who have to air travel on a regular basis. I don't know what else to add, this is ridiculous..hope the woman missed all her connecting flights.

What kind of terrorist would be scripting out terrorist plans in plain view on an airplane?

Yes, this lady is silly, but why did we also point out a million times that the woman is white and blonde? I'm from a long line of blonde people, and am dating a 30 something white blonde woman. I don't think a single one of us would do this.

originally posted by: Liquesence

originally posted by: Sargeras
a reply to: Liquesence

What a load of race baiting BS!

Good job op, we are all now dumber for having read your thread!

Thank you for your intelligent contribution to this thread in discussing the problem of racial profiling in America today.

Lol, the problem with race relations is that certain segments of our society can't wait for a reason to point out racism, real or imagined, it doesn't matter.

we should not at all be surprised.

this is what we've cultivated. fear mongering and profiling.

But aren't we doing the same thing now?

What's the difference between these two scenarios?

1) San Bernardino shooters were of olive skin, curly hair, and probably Muslim. What evil people they are.

2) Woman who falsely accused man of being terrorist was white, with blonde hair, and probably raised as a Christian. What a bad woman she is.

a reply to: TrueBrit

From what I read in the linked article it seems the woman was intimidated by this man so she lied about being sick to get removed from the plane. Perhaps she was worried and wanted another flight, which apparently she got. It appears that she finally confessed to the real reason and this sparked a response from security.

Casey Norton, a spokesman for American Airlines (whose regional partner Air Wisconsin operated the flight), said the woman had indeed initially told the crew she was sick, but when she deplaned she disclosed that the reason she was feeling ill was her concern about the behavior of her seatmate. At that time, she requested to be rebooked on another flight. The crew then called for security personnel,

www.washingtonpost.com...
As much as I dislike TSA I wouldn't blame them for this. They couldn't NOT respond to this one, if for no other reason but to figure out what this woman was going on about.

I would however blame this on the Orwelian, "See something say something" garbage. I guess whatever makes everyone else feel safe.

a reply to: Liquesence

Hopefully, he bought her an espresso and gave her a pinch on her bottom to make her day before he went back to the diff e.

i wonder the ethnicity of the woman who made the claims.... hmmm. i think i know.

originally posted by: pteridine
a reply to: Liquesence

Hopefully, he bought her an espresso and gave her a pinch on her bottom to make her day before he went back to the diff e.

I was hoping that whatever flight she got on next, her seat happened to be next to a Muslim of sorts, specifically one wearing a turban.

I'm sure they thanked her profusely for bringing it to their attention and let her know she was a good little citizen.

And then probably laughed at her.

This is just getting silly now. As someone pointed out, it is Orwellian, and where will it stop?

Next thing will people refuse to fly on a plane with Middle Eastern looking people? As this case shows, how can you tell who is really Middle Eastern/a danger?

The paranoia levels are set to high it seems, and now anythng one does can be seen as suspicious. TPTB must be rubbing their hands with glee at all this insecurity they have planted in people's minds.

Take a look at some examples of this professors math equations.

web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu...

Appears to be planning for the SHTF baby boomer exodus from the workplace.

If you replace race stereotyping with brain hemisphere stereotyping this makes an interesting story.

Reminds of me of a quote from my good friend spock
"The needs of a racist outweigh the needs of a non".

Wise man.

a reply to: Liquesence
A Muslim wearing a turban would scare anyone. Lol.