What Really Happened On Airtran Flight 297?

December 8, 2009 / 7:54 pm • By Dr. Melissa Clouthier

So what happened on this flight? Certain accounts are being called into question, but the notion that something happened on that flight is not in dispute. Rusty Shackleford says this:

If after 9/11 native Arabic speakers don’t get why the rest of us get nervous around them on an airplane then they are living in a fantasy world.

Yes, you make us nervous. Especially when you behave in ways normally considered rude. We tend to overlook rudeness to varying degrees depending on the context of the situation.

And the language you speak does add an extra layer of context.

I certainly don’t approve of racism. But I’m also quite aware that hijackers are thousands of times more likely to be Muslims than of any other religious identity. And that a great number of Muslim hijackers are also Arabs. Like, all 19 on Sept. 11th.

So, note to readers: Arabs speaking loudly and ignoring the requests of stewardesses are probably not hijackers, just assholes.

But note to native Arabic speakers: show a little self control and sensitivity. You make a lot of people very nervous when you behave rudely. Some might call this fear irrational and they may have a point. But no more irrational than, say, instructing passengers how to use the airplane cushions as a flotation device. The odds of being hijacked and surviving a crash long enough to need them probably being similar.

Yes this sucks. We don’t live in an ideal world. It could be much worse. Embrace the suck.

From the witness I spoke to, Dr. Keith Robinson, the only people comfortable on the flight were the Arabic speaking men. They engaged in questionable behavior on the flight. They yucked it up at the baggage claim, as if the whole experience was humorous. The people on the flight seemed traumatized, according to him, and his job is to intervene in crisis situations.

Certainly, airlines want to avoid lawsuits. The TSA wants to avoid hijacking situations. And Americans don’t want to be perceived as being intolerant, even when they’re nervous (which is rational).

This seems like a cocktail for disaster.

Posted in Islamofascism • Terrorism
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  • http://blahgwrite.blogspot.com Mat

    “Certainly, airlines want to avoid lawsuits.”

    Unfortunately, we’ve legalized ourselves to death.

    “The TSA wants to avoid hijacking situations.”

    As do I. Impossible to do in a PC society.

    “And Americans don’t want to be perceived as being intolerant, even when they’re nervous (which is rational).”

    Read above comment regarding PC. You know something? I’m getting sick and tired of trying to be “tolerant” to everyone’s simple, stupid needs. My answer? Grow thicker skin and EFFING deal with it (BTW, this can be applied to any group that’s out there…).

    Sorry, but until Muslims get serious about policing their own, I’ll be extremely wary of being around them and I don’t give a rat’s ass how they feel. How’s that for being intolerant?

    “This seems like a cocktail for disaster.”

    Melissa, the disaster’s already here. It’s just a question of when.