# TSA, Police and FBI handcuff and detain student for possessing arabic flashcards **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 10, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497 "2010-02-10T23:58:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/101 "2010-02-16T02:15:46Z")
OK, you fly with nutjobs if you want, see if I care. And your hand waving on the last part is duly noted. This tread needed a little breeze after that burning rubber smell that happens when you try to think. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/102 "2010-02-16T02:54:16Z")
Everybody who flies already flies with nutjobs. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/103 "2010-02-16T02:57:02Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Well, now–You think those 72 virgins are going to speak English? I keep telling everybody, it’s 72 **Virginians**! ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/104 "2010-02-16T03:22:17Z")
So how is all this bullshit going to catch a terrorist who uses a minimal intellect to NOT bring anything overtly Muslim on an aircraft? Realistically all the current schema is going to do is weed out the idiots with minimal chances of success and do nothing to avert any serious terror plots. Given the number of weapons currently successfully smuggled on aircraft, we ought be worrying about tightening up THERE instead of uselessly profiling. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/105 "2010-02-16T03:44:17Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Everybody who flies already flies with nutjobs. And . . . you moved the goalposts. We were clearly using the term “nutjobs” before to mean “people hell-bent on destroying an airplane or doing something else nefarious,” and you’ve now used the term to mean “anybody not quite totally on their rocker.” Just another example of the kind of stellar debate and argumentation of which you are capable. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/106 "2010-02-16T03:48:06Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > So how is all this bullshit going to catch a terrorist who uses a minimal intellect to NOT bring anything overtly Muslim on an aircraft? > > Realistically all the current schema is going to do is weed out the idiots with minimal chances of success and do nothing to avert any serious terror plots. > > Given the number of weapons currently successfully smuggled on aircraft, we ought be worrying about tightening up THERE instead of uselessly profiling. Right, because this is all the TSA does. They don’t look for weapons or anything like that, they only look for people studying arabic or carrying the Koran or things like that. God, the TSA is so stupid!! Too bad liberal hippie douche messageboard posters aren’t in charge of the world!! ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/107 "2010-02-16T03:51:54Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > And . . . you moved the goalposts. We were clearly using the term “nutjobs” before to mean “people hell-bent on destroying an airplane or doing something else nefarious,” and you’ve now used the term to mean “anybody not quite totally on their rocker.” Just another example of the kind of stellar debate and argumentation of which you are capable. But people hell-bent on destroying an airplane or doing something else nefarious still have to have means to do so, and they’re not going to show their particular brand of nutjobbiness to a $10/hour screener at the metal detector. The fact is, they had no reason to believe that this young man had a weapon or dangerous substances, after an hour of screening that had to be clear. Questioning him about his beliefs, his religion, his studies for another three hours was going to prove what? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/108 "2010-02-16T03:54:53Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > But people hell-bent on destroying an airplane or doing something else nefarious still have to have means to do so, and they’re not going to show their particular brand of nutjobbiness to a $10/hour screener at the metal detector. > > The fact is, they had no reason to believe that this young man had a weapon or dangerous substances, after an hour of screening that had to be clear. Questioning him about his beliefs, his religion, his studies for another three hours was going to prove what? 1. There could have been another terrorist with a weapon. 2. He could use something he finds on the plane as a weapon. 3. He could have secreted a weapon on another passenger. 4. He could have a weapon that is extremely hard to detect. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/109 "2010-02-16T04:50:37Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > And . . . you moved the goalposts. We were clearly using the term “nutjobs” before to mean “people hell-bent on destroying an airplane or doing something else nefarious,” No, we weren’t, but if they have no ability to destroy an airplane, it’s still irrelevant if they want to. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/110 "2010-02-16T04:54:47Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > 1. There could have been another terrorist with a weapon. Not if security is doing it’s job. > [@](#): > > 1. He could use something he finds on the plane as a weapon. No he couldn’t. > [@](#): > > 1. He could have secreted a weapon on another passenger. This is just asinine. > [@](#): > > 1. He could have a weapon that is extremely hard to detect. No he couldn’t. You’re grasping at straws. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/111 "2010-02-16T06:02:31Z")
can someone provide the cite to the legal authority that the TSA has to keep people off of airplanes who are not in possession of weapons and who were not on a no-fly list prior to their arrival at the security checkpoint? this isn’t an a-ha thing - it’s a bona fide question if this cite is going to involve the implementation of a non-judicial, immediate, ad hoc determination of what a “dangerous” passenger is at the time of screening, please make this known. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/112 "2010-02-16T06:02:39Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > 1. There could have been another terrorist with a weapon. > > 2. He could use something he finds on the plane as a weapon. > > 3. He could have secreted a weapon on another passenger. > > 4. He could have a weapon that is extremely hard to detect. If they thought he was in cahoots with someone, then they should’ve been asking him about his affiliations, not stupidity about what religion he practices or what language Osama speaks. There was no amount of questioning to stop him from finding a weapon on a plane. There was no amount of questioning to find a weapon he secreted on another passenger. If he was thoroughly physically searched, which can be done in less than 4 hours, then an “extremely hard to detect” weapon is no longer a problem. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/113 "2010-02-16T06:09:37Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > 1. There could have been another terrorist with a weapon. > > 2. He could use something he finds on the plane as a weapon. > > 3. He could have secreted a weapon on another passenger. > > 4. He could have a weapon that is extremely hard to detect. It’s been pretty clear from your first moment here that you were an asshole, and that’s fine, but i’ve never until now thought that you were actually stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/114 "2010-02-16T14:10:14Z")
No u! ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/115 "2010-02-16T14:11:47Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Right, because this is all the TSA does. They don’t look for weapons or anything like that, they only look for people studying arabic or carrying the Koran or things like that. God, the TSA is so stupid!! Too bad liberal hippie douche messageboard posters aren’t in charge of the world!! Is that what I said? No, asshole, I said “this is wasted time, and they’ve got a proven miss rate”, not “they don’t look for weapons hurr hurr hurr.” Get serious. This might be the pit but sloppy mischaracterizations still make you look like a goddamn fool, even if they’re within the bounds of etiquette. > [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > 1. There could have been another terrorist with a weapon. Look for the weapon. > [@](#): > > 1. He could use something he finds on the plane as a weapon. Have an air marshal on the aircraft–hell, have two. Better use of the budget IMHO than increasingly asinine screenings. > [@](#): > > 1. He could have secreted a weapon on another passenger. Look for the weapon. > [@](#): > > 1. He could have a weapon that is extremely hard to detect. Look. For. The. Weapon. And while you’re at it, explain to me how points 1, 3, and 4 somehow magically don’t apply to every other passenger on the goddamn aircraft. Am I somehow less of a hijack risk because I’m a blue-eyed white guy who’s not carrying any books but the latest paperback thriller? No, no I am not. And explain to me why a smart (read as: more likely to have a coherent plan and therefore succeed) terrorist would carry evidence of his religion on his person KNOWING we screen for it. Did any of the 9/11 hijackers have any Islamic/Arabic materials on their persons when they boarded, do we know? ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/116 "2010-02-16T14:20:18Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > liberal hippie douche messageboard posters I daresay I’m closer to you than to **Dio** (to pick a random relatively liberal name) on an assortment of political issues, by the way. This isn’t a liberal vs. conservative thing, this is a libertarian thing. Innocent until proven guilty, know it and love it. Freedom of religion, know it and love it. Freedom of association (with people who speak Arabic), know it and love it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/117 "2010-02-16T14:24:40Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > 1. There could have been another terrorist with a weapon. > > 2. He could use something he finds on the plane as a weapon. > > 3. He could have secreted a weapon on another passenger. > > 4. He could have a weapon that is extremely hard to detect. How, pray tell, were the flashcards going to assist him in carrying out his diabolical mission? Perhaps he was going to teach his fellow passengers Arabic… _at gunpoint!_ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/118 "2010-02-16T15:20:01Z")
As I fly into Philadelphia on a regular basis, I just want to add that this incident surprises me not at all. The security staff at Philly are petty, nasty little tyrants all around, just looking for excuses to harass passengers. Give me BWI (or, further west, Minneapolis-St Paul) any time. It is entirely possible to be a professional security officer and not be a dick. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/119 "2010-02-16T16:26:53Z")
The TSA is so incompetent. Why not just ask the guy if he was a terrorist and if he planned on blowing up or hijacking the plane? I mean if you are going to ask him questions that the answers make little difference, anyway. Anyway, don’t you realize this guy was decoy!! This whole hullaballoo is to let the real terroriats through at a later day…the real one who wil be carrying flash cards and have gotten a haricut. Sneaky bastids! ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497/120 "2010-02-16T16:48:40Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > The TSA is so incompetent. Why not just ask the guy if he was a terrorist and if he planned on blowing up or hijacking the plane? I mean if you are going to ask him questions that the answers make little difference, anyway. > > Anyway, don’t you realize this guy was decoy!! This whole hullaballoo is to let the real terroriats through at a later day…the real one who wil be carrying flash cards and have gotten a haricut. Sneaky bastids! What I actually expect is one of these days the TSA guys will fixate on four guys boarding with beards, Semetic features, and Korans. Perhaps they’ll even have small pocketknives or something equally innocuous but prohibited. And for once they’ll be actual terrorists. Who are there solely to get security fixated on them, and who never intend to board the aircraft. Meanwhile, the (white, clean-cut) actual terrorists get aboard with very little problem while security is distracted and proceed to garrote their fellow passengers with their belts or whatever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsa-police-and-fbi-handcuff-and-detain-student-for-possessing-arabic-flashcards/528497.md?page=7)