Vox Populi - Were Britons unreasonable to refuse to fly with Muslims?

City Journal ^ | 24 August 2006 | Theodore Dalrymple

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This incident is a case in which people voted with their feet because they had no recourse and felt they were in danger.

It indicates a mistrust of anyone looking "Arab" which confirms that the bad Arabs are indistinguishable from the harmless Arabs. People know from news reports that the bad guys are Muslim Arabs. This is not a problem of our making.

This incident also indicates the peoples' mistrust of the airline/government screening process. Political correct failure to profile, sloppy/lazy screening, reports of penalties for airlines who "harass" Arab-looking passengers. People just don't trust the screening process to safeguard their lives.

You would think that both the Muslim/Arab community and the Homeland Security Dept would take a long hard look at this one incident to identify ways to regain the public's confidence. They've obviously lost it.

Until that happens, I hope people walk off planes and refuse to fly more often. It's the only weapon the common traveler has.