Philly Passengers Pulled off Flight for Speaking Arabic

[KamaAina]

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/Philly-Pizza-Shop-Owner-Profiled-Southwest-Airlines-351944441.html

A Philadelphia pizza shop owner and his friend had to call 911 in Chicago's Midway airport Wednesday night in order to get on their flight home.

Maher Khalil and Anas Ayyad said they were profiled — asked to step aside during the boarding process because a fellow passenger said he was afraid to fly with them.

"If that person doesn't feel safe, let them take the bus," Khalil said to a Southwest Airlines gate agent. "We're American citizens just like everybody else."

Khalil, 29 and Ayyad, 28, moved to Philadelphia from Palestine 15 years ago. Khalil now owns the Feltonville pizza shop — Pizza Point — that gave him his first job. The friends were in Chicago visiting each other's families and met back at the airport Wednesday night to take the same flight home. The gate agent told them apologetically they wouldn't be allowed to board because a passenger was afraid to fly with them after overhearing the men speaking Arabic.

Got fascism?

edit: Maher Khalil?! Wonder what Bill thinks about that.

[randys1]

1. Oh for FUCK's SAKE

Reminds me of the PUNK who was saying all Muslims are terrorists and they cant build their Mosque

This is the epitome of UNAMERICAN

[RKP5637]

28. Terrorists are wining because so many Americans are so damn paranoid and scared playing right

into the agenda.

[riversedge]

29. I don't know what to say anymore to this vile stupidity.

[hobbit709]

2. "Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep It starts when you're always afraid"

[2naSalit]

3. We have now become, openly, everything

we despised half a century ago. I wish I were far older so I won't be worried about being around to watch as we finally descend into the sewer pipe.

[maxsolomon]

4. why are they accomodating that passenger's irrational fear?

my office is across the street from a language school - there's dudes speaking Arabic and smoking every day. should I be scared? they're all wearing hip hop gear and air jordans.

[Person 2713]

5. What's in the box? What's in the box? Baklava want some ? Fearful idiots

[pangaia]

6. Anybody that stupid wouldn't know Arabic if it smacked them in the face.

[Fred Sanders]

7. If a trillion dollar a year militsry and security apparatus does not help with the fear..what will?

American racists and bigots and the politicians they cheer to feed them more fear are revealing themselves to be very cowardly.

[hobbit709]

8. Fear makes you stupid.

Fear will make you give up your rights.

[Rex]

9. And continued fear will cause you to lose touch with reality, become irrational

and paranoid.

[uppityperson]

10. Rebook the ones who are afraid of their fellow passengers instead.

[BlueJazz]

11. With all fairness, I don't think the majority of people think like that. There's always an idiot..

...when you're flying somewhere.

I could tell you some really weird shit happening on the flights I've took to Australia...and back.

[Cal Carpenter]

17. With all fairness, the bigots with their irrational fear should be the ones asked

not to board.

In both cases in the article at the above link, the Arabs and Muslims were the ones asked not to board. Why do these companies pander to the 'idiots'? Why don't the idiots get inconvenienced rather than everyone else on the plane?

It is so backwards and disgusting and it perpetuates racism by treating bigots as though their bigotry is valid.

I agree with Khalil: "If that person doesn't feel safe, let them take the bus..."

[BlueJazz]

24. "the bigots with their irrational fear should be the ones asked not to board."

Of course.
I hope you don't feel that I think any different.

[Logical]

12. Shit, 5% of the DUers I assume would do the same thing. People get so stupid when they scare easily.

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. For once, I got to be the first commenter on that news story link earlier this a.m.

I love how Mr. "Fear" got knocked down.

[Ace Rothstein]

14. This country has lost it's collective mind.

If I didn't love my family so much I'd relocate somewhere with fewer crazies.

[Blue_Tires]

15. Damn...I was really hoping today was

"Let's post random news stories from 2002" -Day...

Ain't a damn thing changed...

[book_worm]

16. I can't stand the hysteria that the GOP and the media is spewing

What happened to the idea of a responsible media. Truly the 24-hour cable news industry is one of the worse things ever to happen because they feel they need to create news and fill the air with fear.

[FLPanhandle]

19. What is it with airlines trying to accommodate the prejudices of their passengers?

From moving women away from hasidic jews to removing Arabic speaking Americans?

Airlines need to get tough on this shit and tell passengers to STFU or drive.

[valerief]

20. I'd love to see Maher have him on his show tonight. nt

[Javaman]

21. are we that fucking stupid? are we going through this shit again?

are we retreading the fucking stupidity post-9/11 when every moron was a hair on fire fearful bigoted racist jerk?

it appears so.

as I said in another post, we are living in fascism-lite right now (or as I like to say fascism with a happy face) and we are just one crazy ass "terrorist attack" (I put it in quotes, because whatever event happens, it doesn't even have to be a terrorist act) from going full blown fascism.

just you wait, it's coming.

the amazing part will be, many of the fucking living in fear morons, will freak out when they have their own freedoms completely taken away because of their own stupidity.

morons, simpleton morons.

[louis-t]

22. Maher is an Arabic/Middle Eastern name.

Khalil means Charles, I think. There is a Maher car dealership around here somewhere.

[Cyrano]

23. "USA, USA," yadda, yadda, yadda

Americans showed their best on the days following 9/11.

The French have shown their best over the past week.

When you don't want to get on a plane with a person speaking Arabic, the terrorists have won.

[DFW]

25. I wonder if they'll pull my wife and me from a flight at La Guardia for speaking German?

Actually, I already had one clown disrupt a flight I was taking from New York to Zürich because he wouldn't fly if he was seated next to a woman. I hope no woman ever wants to marry him, either, although an obnoxious bastard (he was yelling and berating the flight attendant instead of calmly explaining his beliefs) like that one probably would insist on an arranged marriage and beat his wife when she didn't obey God, or something.

For that matter, I think if the airline pulled two guys for speaking Arabic, all airlines in the United States should pull passengers for speaking a European language like English if it makes speakers of American languages like Navajo and Lakota nervous...............

[KamaAina]

26. Not to mention Hawaiian Airlines

English-speakers make many of the 32,000 fluent speakers of 'olelo Hawai'i nervous.

[DFW]

27. Maybe they'll make haoles fly in the cargo section......