Rand, I don’t think we can know for sure (since this would require mind reading), but after looking at a picture of the guy, I think it’s certainly reasonable to say it’s likely. Guy that is not doing ANYTHING that a reasonable person could consider as suspicious behavior, but happens to look like he might have middle eastern or north african background, is singled out and questioned? I think it’s very likely that his appearance had something to do with it.
Considering that racial profiling actually exists, there’s no comparison. In order for your comparison to work, gods would have to be a frequent and well known phenomenon and we’d only be arguing over the existence of a particular god. Not “are gods real”, but “is Vurgo the Destroyer real, Zeus hired us yesterday to find out”.
Because there is no other element which would provoke fear. That was easy,
Yes it was racial profiling. A white person reading that book would not have pinged the flight attendant’s terrorist radar. She made an assumption based on looks. He did not look white. He had a beard. That is proof .
It is beyond me how someone can not see what is so blatant and obvious.
Just like there must have been something that created the universe, right9. Without god, there wouldn’t even bve a space for nothingness to exist.
I’m totally fine with you holding faith-based positions, just at least acknowledge that that is what you are doing.
I have a very difficult time believing that if he’d been white he’d have been treated this way.
As for those who ask why a black man would be affected since he wasn’t Arab or Muslim, I’d merely point out that many blacks are Muslims and, also Arabs(Somalia and the Sudan).
Moreover, it’s easy for people to make bad assumptions about people’s ethnic background based on their physical appearance.
I’ve been mistaken for being Hispanic or Arab despite being Iranian and lets not forget that poor Brazilian guy shot to death by London police officers who thought he was Muslim.
No, not like that at all. There does not have to be something that “created” the universe. There does have to be something that caused this incident. The only element in play that would cause fear was his skin color. The book alone would have not drawn any notice if Miranda Cosgrove was reading it.
The comparison is still silly. Are you trying to claim that racial profiling doesn’t exist, that it violates physical laws? And the religious idea itself is stupid, as has often been pointed out; pushing the problems of origin back as step solves nothing, and if the universe required a place to come into begin, so did “god”.
I’m not sure why you have decided to twist my words to say something that I have not said and would not say.
I clearly noted that his skin color might have played a role in the situation. I have simply further noted that it was not a necessary component.
This is as silly a comment as the absolute declarations of Dio and gonzo and Der Trihs. While the the “must” aspect is open to question, Mr. Vane’s appearance could certainly have triggered (or contributed to) the fears of the flight attendant.
I’m sorry, but this is just nonsense.
A passenger carrying an extra bag who makes a point of preventing an attendant from handling it is easily as much a source of fear. Irrational, perhaps, but no more necessary than his appearance.
That being said, it sounds like the cops they called just rolled their eyes at the flight attendant’s claims (insofar as they are allowed to do so). There was stupid, but at least it didn’t spread.
I agree, I think it was the flight attendent freaking out and security just needing to follow protocol.
This happens on every flight. I’m not buying that, without the man’s physical appearance, it would have triggered any fear.
It happens all the time. “Shall I put this in the overhead for you?” “No, I’ll put it under the seat.”
Jesus, it’s not like he freaked out a clutched it to his chest while screaming “Don’t touch my precious!”
Really? On every flight, there is at least one passenger carrying multiple bags who makes a point to refuse to let a fight attendant touch any of them?
I don’t deny the possibility of ethnic prejudice, but your whole claim eliminating any other possibility is nothing more than a feeling you have.
I personally have my doubts that this was a racial issue. It sounds more like a case of security hysteria (“Omigod, he’s gathering information about airplanes!”).
You’re kinda conveniently leaving out the part about how he refused to let a flight attendent touch his bag…
FWIW, it seems that racism (rather than profiling) on the part of the flight attendant may (not definitively did) have played a role in the police being called, but the police seem to have behaved entirely appropriately
Yeah, pretty much, though “refuse,” and “make a point” are a too strong a characterization here. It wasn’t like she was insisting and he was adamantly refusing.
In my opinion, the appearance alone, would not have been enough, but his appearance made the flight attendant read way too much into the other stuff.
I disagree with this characterization. She asked him if she wanted him to stow it overhead, he said he preferred to put it under his seat. he wasn’t saying “don’t touch my bag.”
After seeing his picture, this looks to me like a case of beardal profiling.
Initially I was going to say “no” until I looked at the gentleman in question. Now I’m going to have to enter in a resounding “yes”. That attendant is an idiot and should be fired.