[ASTalumna06]

Question: Was this guy arrested? Was he not allowed to fly? Or was he simply asked to change his shirt? Keep in mind, this doesn’t change my opinion about this matter any, but if he was only asked to change and/or cover his shirt, what’s the point? The guy could have put on a sweatshirt, but still hijacked the plane just as easily as if he was only wearing the original shirt.

Now, another question: What if a homosexual walked on a plane, wearing a shirt that said, “We will not be silent” in rainbow colors. What would you interpret that to mean? Would you expect that person to cover their shirt, also?

People will argue, as they already have, “But 19 homosexuals didn’t try to hijack planes before.” That’s nice. Who cares? Either way you look at it, you’re judging people based on what other people have.. or haven’t done. Who’s to say that particular homosexual doesn’t have 18 of his buddies waiting at other airports, ready to take over some planes? But because you looked at the darker-skinned man next to him and judged only him because of his shirt, thousands of people will still die.

This is racial profiling, no matter how you look at it.

People here keep saying, “Well this Muslim did this, and that Arab did that, and this was bad, and that's why I’m scared.” Yes, bad things happen because of bad people. And there are crazy people in this country who come from the Middle East. And there are crazy people in this country who grew up next door. THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT EVERYONE OF THAT SAME RACE/ETHNICITY/POLITICAL GROUP ETC. ARE BAD PEOPLE. And if you do think this way, I would be led to believe that you think everyone is a bad person.

And yes, racial profiling happens in this country everyday. But that doesn’t make it right.

So, if you want to live your life in fear of every person that you walk by on the street, that’s fine. Go ahead... worry 24 hours a day and think that the person next to you is always out to get you. But don’t interrupt other people’s lives doing it.