While it is true that single-person protests don't often make the major media scene, occasionally there's a surprise. I just found out today about a disturbing incident at JFK airport a few weeks ago. Nobody died, nobody even got hurt, and there was no cursing involved. But it is indicative of a truly frightening state of affairs where people are increasingly afraid of each other--particularly those who look different, practice a different religion, or (gasp!) actually have the audacity to speak Arabic in public. Last month, Raed Jarrar was scheduled to fly out of JFK on Jet Blue Airlines. He was wearing a t-shirt that said "WE WILL NOT BE SILENT" in both Arabic and English. This shirt is part of a campaign against the current war in Iraq. Raed was approached by airport officials and forced to put on another t-shirt before he could board the plane. According to inspector Harris, one of the people detaining Raed, "You can't wear a t-shirt with Arabic script and come to an airport. It is like wearing a t-shirt that reads 'I am a robber' and going to a bank." Yes, he really said that.
Please read the whole story here and check out Democracy Now while you're at it:
or go directly to Raed's blog here (there is also a link to his blog at right):
the movement that started it all:
Unfortunately, there is more. Amy Goodman, from Democracy Now!, reported three other incidents that were even uglier. She quoted directly from Britain's The Daily Mail: “British holidaymakers staged an unprecedented mutiny -- refusing to allow their flight to take off until two men they feared were terrorists were forcibly removed. The extraordinary scenes happened after some of the 150 passengers on a Malaga-Manchester flight overheard two men of Asian appearance apparently talking Arabic. Passengers told cabin crew they feared for their safety and demanded police action. Some stormed off the Monarch Airlines Airbus […] minutes before it was due to leave the Costa del Sol at 3am. Others waiting for [another flight] in the departure lounge refused to board it [until the men speaking Arabic were taken off the plane].” The other episode reported in the Daily Mail stated that "...two British women with young children on another flight from Spain complained about flying with a bearded Muslim even though he had been security-checked twice before boarding." In yet another incident on an American flight, Canadian doctor Ahmed Farooq was not allowed to complete his flight because he was praying in his seat. Praying! People are just letting their fear and hatred and xenophobia get way out of hand.
You should be angry. I hope you are, even though I used no expletives or hyperbole in my post. Most of my friends and acquaintances are intelligent and caring enough to realize the larger significance of these incidents. Now, what are you going to do about it? At the very least, you can click on the above links and then order a shirt. I did. I am flying next month and I plan on wearing my "We Will Not Be Silent" shirt on the airplane both ways. Proudly. Defiantly. I wish the Arabic script were larger. On a sad and cynical note, I'm sure that I won't be detained or told to cover my shirt because I have pale skin. White people evidently aren't capable of terrorism in the eyes of our government and airline officials. Hmmmmmmmmm... Seems to me that we are committing terrorism every day we continue our misguided wars against Arabic peoples. Ask the people in Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan how they feel lately. Are they safe? Do they feel secure and happy and free to go about a normal life? I am angry. I am vehemently appalled at how far our own government has been able to advance its campaign against true freedom for its own citizens, and citizens of other countries around the world. Speak up!!!!!!!!!
5 comments:
How cool that you will proudly (and defiantly!) wear your "We Will Not be Silent" t-shirt on the plane. I doubt you'll be detained or told to cover up, though, because, like you said, you have fair skin.
Hey, have you checked out Scott Peterson's blog yet? (No, not that Scott Peterson! :-) If you haven't, you should. It's great. He even wrote a post on this very topic.
Glib response, if you go bra-less, they may, at least, have some comments. Ahem... On a more serious note, I travelled by air, less than 2 months after 9/11, dressed as a cowboy bandit, carrying luggage which consisted almost exclusively of firearms and ammunitin. I didn't get a second look. Either I look too tame, or just not Arabic enough, either way, not an eyebrow was raised, except by fellow passengers.
Meanwhile, where can I get one of those T-shirts?
BTW, I did the Glib response, Kathryn knows me as Greywolf.
I wish I could say that things in New Zealand were better, once I would have said that they definitely were. I would have said we were a nation of sensible individuals who think for ourselves. I'm not so sure I could say that now. I'm posting a link to a story about Bob Clarkson, the MP for Tauranga (thank goodness from the opposition party, imagine if they were in government?!). Clarkson made some of the most racist comments ever heard from a New Zealand politician, or a New Zealander for that matter, last week and caused a huge uproar. The thing that turned my stomach is the uproar was tipped slightly in his favour. It seems otherwise intelligent people have lost their minds, we have the US government trying to terrify people enough to keep backing their wars and we have the international media over dramatising everything they possibly can and it's having the desired effect. Terrified people back foolish wars. Terrified people sit glued to their TV sets. Terrified people vote for morons. Terrified people say nothing. This may sound humorous when you read some of it, but trust me, these things weren't said in jest and they were not taken as such by those who read them, on either side. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0608/S00336.htm
Hey folks, thanks so much for taking the time to read something that is definitely not amusing. Thanks Molly for the extra link! And I'd like everybody to know that Mr. Greywolf was not kidding. He does regularly travel as a cowboy bandit. I guess airline security doesn't feel threatened by black powder weaponry. And Wendy, thanks so much for your support and links. I continue to be baffled by what stupidity and violence people will allow themselves to be party to out of fear. Often unwarranted fear, at that!
ps: GET A SHIRT! the link is in the post. It's an email address, actually, not a link, but if you go to the Artists Against War site they have info there.
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