Evan Thomas
Inactive
Getting back to the OP for a minute...
As I think about this case, I can't help being struck by its resemblance to other cases in which people were detained based on some form of "profiling," i.e., were targeted because of their membership in a group which was seen as a threat by the people who reported "suspicious activity."
The case of the "flying imams" who were removed from a US Airways plane in Minneapolis in 2006 comes to mind here:
As in the Wahlberg case:
They filed a civil rights lawsuit against the airline and the airport; I think it's due to be heard in August.
In the meantime, the Dept. of Transportation has said that their rights were not violated:
So Mr. Wahlberg was seen as a threat because he was a gun owner who expressed his views; the six imams at the Minneapolis airport were seen as a threat because they were Muslims who expressed theirs. What is the difference here, in terms of the civil rights aspects of the two cases?
As I think about this case, I can't help being struck by its resemblance to other cases in which people were detained based on some form of "profiling," i.e., were targeted because of their membership in a group which was seen as a threat by the people who reported "suspicious activity."
The case of the "flying imams" who were removed from a US Airways plane in Minneapolis in 2006 comes to mind here:
Shahin and the other imams were escorted from the flight in handcuffs after a passenger handed a note to a flight attendant expressing concern over the group's “suspicious activity,” according to the airport police report. The group was taken off the flight in handcuffs, and after several hours of questioning by federal authorities, released. But though the airline refunded their tickets, U.S. Airways—which released a statement Tuesday saying it does "not tolerate discrimination of any kind"—reportedly denied them passage on any of its other flights and refused to help them obtain tickets through another airline.
What was the group’s suspicious activity? According to the report filed by the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport police, the group’s loud chants of “Allah, Allah, Allah,” [They were praying -- V.] initially drew the suspicion of nearby passengers—one of whom said he heard the imams make anti-American comments regarding the war in Iraq.
(Newsweek)
Various other allegations of "suspicious behavior" were made -- where they sat on the plane, and such -- but essentially, these men, five of whom were either US citizens or permanent residents, were detained because of their verbal behavior: "expressing their views," if you will. What was the group’s suspicious activity? According to the report filed by the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport police, the group’s loud chants of “Allah, Allah, Allah,” [They were praying -- V.] initially drew the suspicion of nearby passengers—one of whom said he heard the imams make anti-American comments regarding the war in Iraq.
(Newsweek)
As in the Wahlberg case:
- They were members of a group another citizen felt threatened by.
- That person was made uncomfortable by their behavior and reported it to the authorities.
- They were questioned, determined to pose no threat, and released.
- This occurred in the context of a climate of fear of incidents of mass murder in the venues where the two cases occurred.
They filed a civil rights lawsuit against the airline and the airport; I think it's due to be heard in August.
In the meantime, the Dept. of Transportation has said that their rights were not violated:
The Associated Press, 19 Feb. '09
MINNEAPOLIS — The U.S. Department of Transportation says US Airways didn't discriminate against six imams when it removed them from a Phoenix-bound flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in 2006.
MINNEAPOLIS — The U.S. Department of Transportation says US Airways didn't discriminate against six imams when it removed them from a Phoenix-bound flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in 2006.
So Mr. Wahlberg was seen as a threat because he was a gun owner who expressed his views; the six imams at the Minneapolis airport were seen as a threat because they were Muslims who expressed theirs. What is the difference here, in terms of the civil rights aspects of the two cases?
Last edited: