August 27, 2006
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T-Shirt
An article was linked by fark.com about a man who said he was stopped in an airport for the t-shirt he was wearing.
His name is Raed Jarrar. He was wearing a t-shirt written in Arabic that said “we will not be silent.” Apparently a couple of other passengers complained that they were uncomfortable with his shirt. So he was asked to change his shirt. He resisted but finally was concerned he would miss his flight.
I looked at his website and he had some stuff about nonviolent resistance. He had a news conference afterward. I am not sure that should make a difference. I wonder if there were other subtle clues he was sending out.
Should a person wearing a t-shirt with Arabic writing be pulled aside and questioned?
Comments (225)
Yep.
…and all you people against racial profiling need to realize that a vast majority of terrorists are Arabic. How many Canadian terrorists have you seen running around lately? None, of course. Why? Because Canadians (generally) aren’t terrorists. Terrorists in today’s world are mostly from the middle east. It’s perfectly find to pull aside middle eastern people and question them — especially middle eastern people clearly interested in politics that are potentially dangerous to human life — more than we would pull aside scotch-irish people for questioning.
Wow, apparently no one gets on here on Sunday mornings or something. Haha.
yes
4th comment, yippee
This is a difficult issue. But I question this man’s thinking, knowing how the airport’s security are on alert, knowing how his shirt will make people nervous. My thinking is that what he wanted to happen in fact did. He got the publicity he sought out, in my opinion……..
I just hate that we are in a position to have to profile, but I do believe we have to and it is a sad time in our history that we do.
Depending on what it says.
And I think you meant that he was “concerned he would miss his ‘flight’”. Not ‘site’.
What was the point in having him change his shirt??? If he was planning on doing anything, asking to change his shirt is just gonna piss him off and make him all the more likely to go through with it.
If they were pulling him aside and questioning him as away to address the safety of the passengers then I could maybe see it. But in this case it sounds like all they were trying to do was appease a couple of customers. Having him change his shirt just to appease a couple of uptight customers is definitely not justified.
I’d like to say no but it seems that we catagorise people now, if they are arabic they must be a terrorist. I have a really wonderful friend who is muslim and he hates all that the radicals do in the ‘name of islam’
I hate to feel this way but I know that I myself, would feel very uncomfortable if this man wearing the t shirt you spoke of was on a flight with me.
Was it Arabics who were uncomfortable with it? How did they know what it said?
I’m still half asleep Dan, but miss his “site”. I’m confused. Flight, I suppose.
Interesting comment/question from daizysueb above ^^^.
absolutely
Profiling makes sense, but I do not think this meets the profile.
13th Woo!
“miss his site” I take it you meant flight
People should not be made to worry when they’re flying. His t-shirt made a political statement, save that for his site or protests or rallies.
It’s bad enough when I sit in front of or next to loud obnoxious bores or babies or bratty kids on a plane. Or the stinking airline movie is Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell in that god-awful “Bewitched”
Honestly, there have been too many Muslim terrorists and attempted terrorists to trust any of them. Profiling may not be politically correct and everybody gets searched, but to pay special attention to the group that has the highest percentage of people who actually are a threat is only wise. Not every person with Arabic on their shirt is a terrorist, but most terrorists have been muslim and so if they were wearing a t-shirt it would probably be in Arabic.
Unfortunately, the nature of the danger means profiling has to be undertaken. It’s unfortunate. It can be done carefully so as not to harm the innocent, but it needs to be done.
yes cause i would be scared as hell myself!
I wonder what would happen if I as a blonde hair blue/green eyed white person wore an Arabic t-shirt?
Definantly not. I don’t understand shirts written in Chineese, but I don’t ask people wearing them to take them off, and it is to make an ass of one’s self to make the assumption that all middle easterners should be viewed as a potential threat.
I agree with Pyro589……Yes I think so
it’s a t-shirt people…a piece of cloth with an item silkscreened on it…who freakin cares…if we are going after people for their clothing, i would like to round up all the fat people that wear shorty-shorts with the word “SEXY” stamped on their butt…
As long as it doesn’t say, “I’m a terrorist” or “I like to blow up planes, ” then NO. That’s fucking ridiculous. I’d feel much more uncomfortable on a plane with the idiots who requested that shirt to be taken off than being on the plane with the Arabic guy. That’s so twisted, ignorant and stupid that it makes my head hurt.
Then what about Chinese or Spanish? Personally I don’t give a shit about what’s on the damn shirt as much as who wears it. There are probably more armchair Islamic fundamentalist radicals than actual terrorist.
That being said, if the guy translated the Arabic an insisted he intend no harm, I’ll let him fly. But for extra safty I’ll still have him change.
No. Shame on the airline, and shame on the other passengers. It was a shirt. If that was the only thing he was doing that was suspicious, then they have misjudged. Plenty of Americans wear offensive clothing or t-shirts with offensive slogans on them. Look around at the last line of t-shirts American Eagle put out. Should the police question everyone with a “Pop’s Lounge” shirt for fear he is some sort of sexual pervert? Or should they ask the guy who wears the “Kill ‘em all/Let God sort ‘em out” shirt to change? If this were one of those situations, nothing would have been done. This was not about his t-shirt, it was about the fact that he looked Arabic. Americans, in some ways, are repeating post-Pearl Harbor behavior. They were suspicious of every Japanese person then, and they are suspicious of every person of Middle East decent now.
I think it depends on what the shirt said. I mean “We Will Not Be Silent” isn’t that bad…..but if it said “Kill USA” or something like that, then maybe they should!
I think if it doesn’t pose a threat then it shouldn’t matter
idk i think thats pretty bad!
depending on if it was threatening
I agree with RevSteve224 and daizysueb.
I’m with it.
Love.
heck yes first page!!
with all the stuff going on, you should expect to be pulled aside and questioned. they do it for attention anyways(then act all offended when its given to them by the “undesired” crowd. i.e. people who dress slutty get upset when theyre called sluts!)
well, if you look at it one way, this guy could just love the shirt. Also, if he was a terrorist, why would he be so stupid? but from another viewpoint, he could know that we would think it stpuid for him to wear that shirt, therefore tricking us into thinking there was nothing wrong. Then he could get on the plane and KABOOM! Tough case.
SEAznDragon said
“But for extra safty I’ll still have him change.”
How is that making anyone any safer?? Having him change his t-shirt does nothing but appease a couple of uptight customers. What do you bet the couple that complained were a an upper-income white couple sitting in first class?? To me it seems like the airline was more concerned about the bottom line than they were anyone’s safety.
Krissy Cole makes a good point. If someone was wearing a shirt that said “Kill em all/Let God sort em out” t-shirt, would they have been asked to change?? Nope. I’ll take it one step further, what if an Irish person was on the plane and they were wearing a shirt with IRA propaganda printed on it?? Would they have been asked to take it off?? I am guessing no.
SEAznDragon said
“But for extra safty I’ll still have him change.”
How is that making anyone any safer?? Having him change his t-shirt does nothing but appease a couple of uptight customers. What do you bet the couple that complained were a an upper-income white couple sitting in first class?? To me it seems like the airline was more concerned about the bottom line than they were anyone’s safety.
Krissy Cole makes a good point. If someone was wearing a shirt that said “Kill em all/Let God sort em out” t-shirt, would they have been asked to change?? Nope. I’ll take it one step further, what if an Irish person was on the plane and they were wearing a shirt with IRA propaganda printed on it?? Would they have been asked to take it off?? I am guessing no.
They always do it for attention, right…I’m sure they all love being pulled aside so they can be interrogated and harrassed, almost missing their flight. Every time you wear a shirt that has writing in English on it, are you just dying for negative attention and harrassment? Wearing a shirt with writing on it in your native language is probably not something everyone gives a lot of thought to.
kellenlewis1, I think you wearing an arabic tshirt would not have the same effect. you don’t look like the newly established steriotypical terrorist.
Not to mention, there was both english AND arabic on the shirt. It had “we will not be silent” in Arabic with the English translation beneath it -.-
Yes
Only if he/she is ugly.
Wow… of course. And they shouldn’t get mad because we do that… we are protecting ourselves here. Plus its not our fault that the Arabic have a bad name. We didnt ask them to do all the crazy stuff they are doing. They did it. Now the rest of the race have to take their consequences like a man!
<3Jack!e
No. Freedom of Speech.
a lot of people are saying how they would not ask people w/ chinese characters on their shirts to change, or how they would feel uncomfortable with a fat person on the plane, but it’s not those people who are the threats to the country. These people who felt, as they say, “uncomfortable” with him fear for their lives. Everything about him matched up w/ the new stereotype for terrorists.
If I were about to board a plane in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia while wearing a T-Shirt with Hebrew writing on it, do you think they would just let get right on board? This “double standard” is not so double as people think. I’m glad they stopped the guy.
yes, If he was getting ready to board an aircraft. We in the U. S. would be stopped in another country if wearing something discriminates or leans toward a terrorist attack.
if my shirt said “heil hitler” on it. I would hope they’d stop me
ethically & morally, no. however, anybody who is shocked by this is a fool. i don’t consider it half as bad as what we did to the japanese during WW2.
It’s a sad day when we categorize our fellow men so much that we can’t wear shirts written in Arabic.
That being said, I believe that, if the shirt is making someone uncomfortable, he should change. People are nervous enough about flying.
-Guru on the Hill
Honestly, if I was in an airport and saw a hundred different people all wearing the same shirt in a language I couldn’t read and they were scattered through out the airport… I’d probably wonder. Not one person wearing a shirt with an english translation. That is just ridiculous.
My favorite shirt says, “Someone should stab you in the eye with a really hot french fry.” I don’t see people at McDonalds calling the cops so they can question my intentions as to the fries in my son’s happy meal…
Its not that different than the case not long ago when passengers complained about a young woman who was wearing a t-shirt that criticized President Bush. They asked her to change her shirt, she refused, and they kicked her off the plane. Had passengers not complained she or the young man above would have been just fine.
Is this a freedom of speech issue? Perhaps. What is happening to us as a people when we are trying to control T-Shirts, for God sake. Without the T-shirts, the passengers were fine with either of these people. (If there was a problem, it would be with the person, not the T-shirt.) If I want to wear a shirt protesting anything, I should have that freedom. We are not (quite yet) a totalitarian state.
No. It is not a threat.
No, no, no. It’s a sad day for the U.S that anybody is insular enough to believe otherwise.
Sorry, but that is paranoia. No good terrorist will be obvious enough as to wear a shirt saying “I HATE AMERICA!” in Arabic. Terrorists are near geniuses.
Americans need to get over it already. In truth, there is little humanity can do to prevent terrorism and unfair death. Had it not been for 9-11, Americans would probably not even know about terrorism, and would probably have ignored all terrorism alltogether (and they do ignore a good part of it anyways).
And like Krissy_Cole said, there are way more offensive t-shirts out there that people buy and proudly wear and we take it as a joke. At least this guy was wearing a meaningful shirt.
As to all terrorists being from the Middle East, apparently no one has heard about Chechen terrorists or the ETA from Spain. But no, because we’ve been programmed to assume that if you’re Arabic, you are 80% more likely to be a terrorist.
it all depends on what the shirt says…I mean this is the world we live in today..as long as if for safety I don’t mind
T-Shirts don’t kill people. People kill people.
Once he’d gone through check-in and been shown to be a safe passenger, what he was wearing didn’t matter. That T-Shirt could just as easily said Jesus is Lord. The other passengers couldn’t read Arabic. Their protests were out of place. The airline should have assured them that he was a safe passenger and let it go.
As long as his t-shrit doesn’t say, “I’m gonna blow you up” I don’t think they can ask him to change his shirt. They should pull him aside the same way they would any one else who looked suspicious and make sure he checks out, of course, because he’s obviously politically active, but if he’s not a threat he’s just being picked on.
I yearn for the day white people are exterminated. Tomorrow, God? Please?
Oh, and spiders, too. Ick. White people and spiders. Just drop them all out in the middle of the ocean and let the sharks and various predatory fish tear at their flesh until nothing remains.
*Drool*
Yes. I’m sorry, but if he wore that shirt, he should have expected to be a little more suspicious than everyone else. We’re still at war remember? If we were at war with China and some Chinese guy tried to get on a plane wearing a shirt like that, we’d search him too. I’m sorry if it isn’t politically correct, and yes, we do have freedom of speech. However, if you make yourself look a little more suspicious than everyone else, in a situation where there have been a lot of threats, you can expect to not just walk on through. It’s just the way it is. As far as changing his shirt goes… I don’t see the point in that. The issue is not him wearing the shirt, but his motives behind it. We have freedom of speech, but not the freedom to act however we want. If your free speech makes your actions suspicious, then deal with it. He should not have expected less, not after how tight we all know airport security has become.
No, it’s not right.
nope…
what exactly happened to freedom of speech? you have to draw the line somewhere, but that would clearly not be offensive had a white person been wearing it and the words written in English.
Do you actually read your comments?
I don’t think terrorists will be wearing a t-shirt with Arabic writing on it. They will be trying to blend in and not call attention to themselves.
No. This is ridiculous. The same thing is happening now to Middle Eastern people that happened to Japanese during the second world war. What, are we going to start putting them in internment camps? With the Patriot Act, it wouldn’t be that hard.
Oh yes. And I think they should tackle the black guy with a back pack to the ground because he MUST be a member of a gang and want to shoot the airport up… and there is also that hispanic guy who just walked in- he must be an illegal!!! And there is something spanish written on his shirt! I bet it says “I’m an illegal alien and I’m in the airport showing it on a t-shirt for all to see!”. WTF people….
As someone else said. Terrorists, are unfortunately, much smarter than that. They are not going to wear something that would bring attention to themselves. And us reacting to a silly t-shirt, well, draw your own conclusions. Obviously this man was trying to make a point. And he pretty obviously succeeded.
no acually because there just the same as us just different culture
peace out
sam
no. that makes no sense. no body stops anyone for wearing shirts in english that say vulgar things. so why should they stop a guy for wearing a shirt that says something completly okay, but in a different language. no sense being made.
Ever wonder what happened to the Hells Angels, Black Panthers or the Mafia? – Soon enough we will do the same w/ Islamic terrorists cells and there will be NO one wearing t-shirts with msgs, no matter how moronic the msg is…
It’s not ‘just a T-Shirt’ and that kind of feel-good liberal crap will be the downfall of this nation. Consider carefully the following on racial profiling:
To ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly insane fanatics intent on killing us, airport screeners will not be allowed to profile people. They will continue random searches of 80-year-old nuns, four-year-old children, airline pilots with proper identification, Secret Service agents who are members of the President’s security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal Of Honor winning former Governors.
Pause a moment and take the following test, which will show you why racial profiling is discriminatory and evil:
In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by:
(a) Olga Korbutt
(b) Sitting Bull
(c) Michael Jackson in the name of NAMBLA
(d) Arab-Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 1979, the U.S. embassy in Iran was taken over by:
(a) Lost Norwegians
(b) Elvis
(c) A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
(d) Arab-Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
During the 1980′s a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
(a) The Village People
(b) The King of Sweden
(c) The Boy Scouts
(d) Arab-Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In April 1983, the American Embassy in Beirut was blown up killing 63 people, by:
(a) Carl Sagan
(b) A beach volleyball team gone bad
(c) Apaches
(d) Arab-Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In October 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up killing 242 soldiers, by:
(a) A pizza delivery boy
(b) The Backstreet Boys
(c) Geraldo Rivera making up for a slow news day
(d) Arab-Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.
In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked, and a 70 year old American passenger in a wheelchair was murdered and thrown overboard by:
(a) The Smurfs
(b) Maxine Waters and a gang of Marxists
(c) Jimmy Carter
(d) Arab-Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.
I think that’s pushing the over-protection just a little.
Do people get stopped for wearing shirts with japanese symbols on them?
I don’t think teenagers with “anarchy” written on their shirts don’t get stopped either. hmmm…
Yes. Some posters comments make me wonder if when the fighting comes to our streets, will they care, or perhaps will they join up with the enemy. They seem either to not understand the danger or just don’t give a damn. So it would not matter to them if the tee shirt said….”Death to Americans…We are going to chop off your heads” as long as it says that in Arabic. I guess what you can’t read can’t hurt you huh?
BTW I don’t like any foreign langage written or spoken in the USA. Speak and write and print English here so we all will know what you are saying! I want to know if the couple in the headscarves ahead of me in the grocery store line are saying, “One day we will kill that infidel in line behind us”.
No
Honestly, yes
It’s not that all people of arab descent are terrorists/extremists, obviously the vast majority aren’t. But because some are, it’s just an unfortunate precaution to take.
Just you white bitches being stupid.
None of you who seem to support the decision to ask this person to take his sihirt off have given any explanation as to how that would have made anyone safer. Had the guy been a terrorist, (as if he’d wear if a shirt with Arabic writing if he were) they still let him on the plane. All they accommplish by asking him to take his shirt off is to piss him off. If he’s a terrorist, that puts the people in even more danger if anything.
If this couple was so uncomfortable with this guy’s shirt then why were they not simply told they could take a later flight? It seems the airline never really considered not allowing him on the plane so why should he have to modify his behavior because of one uptight, paranoid couple??
Wake up, this was never a safety issue for the airline. I am glad airlines are cranking up steps to make flights safer, but having someone change their shirt because a couple of paranoid, racists aren’t comfortable with the shirt does nothing to increase safety.
I’m all for them fuckin’ with other people…they do it to me whenever I go, so I think it only fair. If he/she was wearing the shirt to Walmart then nobody would care…but if your ass is wearing it on a plane, shortly after planes being hijacked by Arabs…hmm…duh! That’s like wearing a “Fuck the police” shirt to a law enforcement picnic…It’s just not too cool.
I dont think he should of been told to change, if he really planned on doing something i doubt he would try to drawl attention to himself that way.
It’s sad that we have turn to profiling to all Muslims or Middle Easterns or those who look rather odd in an airport.
Atleast the guy didn’t pull out an AK and started shooting everyone.
I know people are saying he can wear whatever shirt he wants, but come on, you can’t even take water or hairgel on board now. I think you’re almost asking for trouble with someone on the plane if you’re wearing a shirt with arab written on it. I’m not saying it’s fair, but it’s a reality right now.
I completely agree with RevSteve224. The man shouldn’t have been asked to take the shirt off, because it would have changed nothing. It is a sad thing for the US to resort to racial profiling.
no terrorist would go into an airpost wearing something drawing negative attention to him.
ok i dont think he should have had to change his shirt, i mean does his shirt really have to do with security, how many of those passengers honestly knew that it was arabic, most of them probably just took a guess based on his appearance and that it was foreign to them! and another thing, how do we know what he was not going to be silent to? it could have been a number of things! this is what happens when people assume things! and how would you feel if you wore a shirt into iraq that said will not be silent and they made you change it? hmm? exactly not very happy! luv ya and god bless
lol
This is a totally retarded situation. They asked him to CHANGE. They didn’t pull him aside and question him as if he was a terrorist. How stupid is that? It’s one thing to assess a potential threat. It’s another to ease the comfort of racists passengers.
Eh idk im back and forth on that one. cause would a terrorist really brodcast it on a tshirt? i mean they know theyre going to stick out for being arabic so why would they put it on a shirt? I dont think terrorists are that stupid.
I bet lead_mare lynches minorities as a hobby.
Yes. If he has a website, this was a cheap shot at promoting it. (And, obviously, it worked wonderfully.) Mike has a shirt with a stripper siloette on the front of it. It says, “I support single moms.” underneath it. He doesn’t wear it to children’s birthday parties. It’s call “couth” and knowing when something is not appropriate.
Further more “nonviolent resistance” against what, exactly? The country that no one’s forcing him to live in? Feel free to leave any time, buddy.
Everything’s a threat today.
hahaha youaintjam! I was thinking the same thing (re: lead_mare)! Some people’s Kids!
HaHA!! 85th!! Woot!!
(Yes…it looks just as stupid when you do it.)
God No. It is absurd. All this bullshit is ridiculous…
YES
duh
MUSLIMS ARE NOT ALL ARABS. Holy shit! Haven’t you ever seen 24, people?
But really. Muslims are not all Arab. There’s a stong terrorist group in the LA area that’s Muslim and black. Wait, holy shit, that’s possible?? Fuck yes it’s possible!! Racial profiling won’t work against that black woman able to slip by virtually unnoticed because everyone was trying to convince that one Arab guy to take off his shirt because obviously– even though he got passed security– he’s a terrorist. People are retarded, ignorant, and racist. Fuck ‘em, let ‘em be uncomfortable.
Another thing: terrorists more likely than not, if they’re hardcore and actually connected, not just acting on their own, aren’t going to be in line with you as you wait 4 hours to go through the detector. They’ve got plans. They’re intricate and in no way do they involve something as flimsy as “well, hopefully you’ll make it past the metal detector.” They might be suicidal American-hatin’ terrorists, but they’re not stupid (unlike the Americans on the plane…). They were actually probably educated in the west!
Sorry, it’s too early for my censor to be on.
no thats a bit dumb what would taking the shirt off do? solve all the problems in the world? i dont think so
NO! That’s fucking racist bullshit.
A t-shirt is a t-shirt. Does that mean a cop should give a breathalyzer test to someone wearing a beer logo t-shirt, even if all they did was fail to signal?
Fuck no! But if they must, it better have to say “I’m gonna blow up your plane” to cause anyone to make him/her take it off. “We will not be silent”, personally regarding all the shit that’s going on in the Middle East, could mean a lot of things. And personally, as long as it doesn’t mean killing anyone, I think I’m behind it. I am not silent about all the anti-Arab shit going on, and I don’t think anyone should be. Oh sorry about that rant there. Anyway, those people that were uncomfortable need to stop being fucking racist and get over it.
If he is an amaerican citizen then it borderlines his constitional rights to freely express himself.
Not too long ago I was reading about a woman who was stopped by the police for her bumper sticker.
“I’m Tired Of All The BUSHIT.”
Wrong in so many ways.
at this point in time, yes. it should be translated, and if its something iffy, the person should be questioned further
Questioned? Maybe. Made to change the shirt? No! How does the shirt make someone uncomfortable? Will making him change the shirt make him any less likely to kill people? No. If he did have evil intent, it would just make him MORE likely to hurt someone. If you think he’s dangerous search him and his luggage and get on with it. But don’t make him change his shirt. That’s just silly.
No, not unless you know what is says or it’s just being prejudiced because of the Arabic writing.
Yes…
I can see that with the current wave of “problems”, it is a bit disconcerting for the other passengers. I hoped the guy would have had more sense. I guess he was trying to get this type of attention on purpose, just to be heard. Idiot!
If a group of Dutch radicals would have the same history and issues, blowing up planes and all that jazz, I would expect to be profiled when I fly, being Dutch and having a Dutch passport. I would feel like they didn’t do there job if they did not.
All a matter of common sense.
I question the man’s thinking about doing this in the heightened security at airports. People do stupid things like the American boy of Iraqi descent who travelled through the Middle East by himself not knowing any Arabic or Farsi.
People will say shame on the passengers, but is it really their fault? It’s a vicious cycle where we further alienate ourselves from people of the Middle East and thus give rise to the basic feeling of discrimination that could become terrorism. For people associating this with racial profiling, eh? His shirt was the issue, not him himself from the passengers’ actions.
We get the hindsight of knowing what the t-shirt meant, did the passengers? No, they reacted on faulty claims, but it’s all they had. They were agitated and worried, give it a break.
yeah, and that would be “their”..not there.
idk.
I don’t think he needs to change his shirt. But I think it would be good to pull him aside and at least ask what his shirts says.
Just because a person is wearing a shirt with Arabic, that doesn’t mean they are terrorists hell-bent on mass killings. Amazing thought, isn’t it? Someone being Arabic… And not a terrorist. WOW. WOOOOOW! *Rolls eyes*
If the shirt said ‘Death to americans, you f’ers’ than yeah, might wanna check into that. Other wise, just let him catch his flight like any other person. I need to buy a shirt with Arabic writing now. Me and my white skin.
i think everyone should be searched and if after the search they are still suspicious of the shirt then they are just racists.
No of course not, and anyone who would be uncomfortable with that is small-minded.
No! Unless it says something clearly threatening.
Onceuponalime is a genius. I agree.
Yes. There is a thin line between safety and freedom, and our freedom is limited if we don’t feel safe. Think that one over. (;
not necessarily
people are silly
If he was a terrorist, wearing an arabic shirt would have brought attention to himself,
therefore if they are wearing an arabic shirt, they probably ae not a terrorist.
And anyway, ppl are discriminating against arabs so badly, just because of a handful of terrorists doesnt mean the country is full of them.
maybe if we stopped being such pricks and tried to do something about it other than piss them off.
Well, if it said something like “I’m going to blow you up” I might be a bit worried, but usually terrorists are more discreet than that, I think.
nope, who cares? its just a teeshirt
I guess I agree with Pyro589, but it is a difficult issue.
No because if you look at the majority of the tee shirts young people wear, they all make some kind of statement, whether it be outlandish, violent, random, silly, etc etc. Now, if you had a probable cause to stop someone and they happened to be wearing a violent t-shirt but also had some sort of weapon on them, then yes.
No. The fact that our national fears have us so bound that we fear writing that we don’t even understand on a t-shirt because of a stereotype just shows how backward our country is right now.
Racial profiling sucks. Today’s scapegoat is anyone that looks Arabic. But the government can easily change it to anyone of Hispanic descent, or anyone of Asian descent. Hitler used Jews as a racial scapegoat too…
I don’t think anyone planning to blow up an airplane would attract attention to themselves by wearing a shirt like that. So I think it was wrong to question him about it.
No. No way at all.
I am dark and have a beard and I am a relatively large guy. I am racially profiled at every airport I go to. I am not Muslim and I am not a terrorist. Just because my looks makes somebody uncomfortable, does not make me any worse or more dangerous of a person.
No, just because some Arabs are agressive twords Americans, dosen’t mean that they all are. .
no way
Did you ever see crash, with the bitchy white woman, has everything in the world, but wants to get angry?
WANTS TO GET ANGRY.
At a dishwasher being full of clean dishes.
This guy, and the private joke that is terror alert level whatever it is, it all makes my cynically grin and shake my head. This guy, excersizing his right to, to wear a T-shirt I guess, and the jittery Americans on a plane, willing to get together and express “concern” about a stupid T-shirt, and also willing to sacrifice a great deal of liberty in exchange for the ILLUSION of safety.
They are both kind of idiots together in the wrong place at the right time. What was this whole hullaballoo about? What have we accomplished? Are we safer? Is anyone safer? This shit makes the news and I get even more bitter than I already am. How about the endless death toll of Americans, which we are alerted to daily, but we dont hear about 120,000 dead… “enemy combatants, insurgents and foreign fighters” generic words to depersonalize “fathers, mothers, sons and daughters” who are now dead, 120,000 in Iraq since we invaded to “plant the seeeds of FREEDOM in the middle east”
This whole thing leaves a bitter bitter taste in my uneducated mouth.
no of course not. so ridiculous…
XOXO,
cG.
i hate to say this but we americans are SO STUPIDLY MUNDANE when it comes to figuring out wrong from right.
No, they shouldn’t. Asking that man to change his T-shirt because the Arabic on it frightened passengers is just an act of narrow minded people. Absolutely disgusting.
no, never, thts just plain racism, maybe keep and eye on him at most but no, not pulled over, heck if i was arabic i know i would wear tht shirt everywhere. this whole rasicm against muslims and arabics in general PISSES ME OFF!!!!!!!!!! i seriously want some from like europe or even here tht isnt muslim or arabic to do something terroristic just to show tht world its not just them, and u cant blame or suspect every1 of a certain race just becasue one group within tht race did something like tht……………… its like lookin at the worst of a society and classifying the entire society under tht one things, oh ppl here in america do drugs so all of america are pot heads now? I THINK NOT!!!!!!!! oh the kkk used to kill ppl and dont like blacks, now we all hate blacks, NEVER!!!!!!!!! stupid americans, im ashamed to say i live here……..
I dont think so. If it was a white person wearing that shirt people would turn their head side ways trying to read the funny script that is wirrten in pretend arabic.
No way. What they gonna do with a shirt!?
GET DOWN EVERYONE OR MY SHIRT WILL TURN YOU ARIBIC!!! *zap* MWHAHAHAHA
xX-Nicole-Xx
What was that word again? Hmmm…Oh yes, it’s called prejudice. It appears the world’s greatest democracy is very good at that.
Can you say: “People are stupid”?
I’m not quite sure. This is really a hard issue.
Americans are allowed to go around in areas highly populated with Muslim Americans and wear shits that have anitMuslim things on them, even to the point where it’s very apparent they want to ‘Blow those fuckers up.’ If a man got on a plane with that shirt, would he be asked to change it?
I think my problem is that America is a free country, and all citizens have the right to express themselves and their opinions. If he wasn’t doing anything wrong, and he is talking about nonviolent ways of handling situations, than I don’t think he should have been made to change.
By the way, Pyro, we’ve found white Americans who were terrorists for Middle Eastern groups as well, so no, you can’t profile terrorists as much as you think you can.
No. Freedom of Speech, anyone ever heard of that?
its better to be safe then sorry..
yes……..
no.
ahh i dunno
Should he pulled to the side? No. He should be able to wear what he wants. Now, if a group of ppl wore the same shirt, then yes. It may look suspicious.
No they shouldn’t.
That’s dumb.
No, I don’t think that’s very fair. That’s stereotyping people. And I don’t think his t-shirt is offensive because it’s not really saying anything bad, people just interpret it in the worst possible way. People need to get over the fact that not all terrorists are Arabian!
Yes! This is the US not the Middle East.
Are you freaking kidding me??!!! There a white suburban kids running around with tshirts that are SO OFFENSIVE!!! Are they stopped in the streets, at airports or anywhere and asked to change???? Is it okay to make rules for one set of racial different people and not for others?? Whats that called again??!!! ‘Til The Next
BTW….if it’s in Arabic HOW could it offend people?? Could they read it?? Or is it just because its in Arabic?? Still angry
He was pretty much asking for this to happen. However, it’s pretty obvious that he couldn’t have been a terrorist because a terrorist wouldn’t have been dumb enough to be so obvious about his agenda . . .
I think this guy just wanted some publicity.
Sure
why do you ask?
Yes, It was the Arabs who attacked us in the USA on 9/11. They are more likely to be questioned since the terrorists still run their own country there in the Middle East.
Only if someone can verify that the translation of the shirt means “Bombs Away!”
Ignore my comment. I didn’t read the whole post…just the question part. If I had read the entire post, I wouldn’t have commented at all.
Yeah. Just to find out what the shirt says. “We Will Not Be Silent” doesn’t seem too bad. But as itsnotezbeingGreen has pointed out, if it ends up saying, you know, Doom to the USA or something, that’s a problem.
I think it’s important to note that the English translation was ALREADY ON THE SHIRT, so there’s no reason to pull him over just to “ask him what it means.”
I don’t think so. I was about to say if it said something violent, but even shirts written in english say violent things…so I don’t think it should matter.
Eva.
This is not a matter of ignorance. It isn’t ignorant to be more suspicious of an Arab man with a shirt displaying an Arabic phrase than any other person, it’s logical. This isn’t racism, in fact the only ignorance would be found in the people who thought it was. Terrorists tend not to be races other than Arabs (of course there are exceptions) and why shouldn’t it make sense to be more suspicious of people who are more likely to be terrorists. It isn’t racism, it’s logic, and the world situation is what it is.
-Jared
So let me get this straight. He was wearing a shirt that said “We will not be silent” in Arabic. How did people even know what it said unless they could read Arabic themselves? In that case, they should also be questioned.
Personally, I think being questioned because of the kind of t-shirt one is wearing is just a little bit on the ridiculous side…
This day and age, a arab walking onto a plane with a “we will not be silent” t-shirt would freak alot of people out, so it’s a question, as a company do you allienate the one person? or the plane full of people?
nope- let’s be realistic here- a terrorist is going to try to fit in, not get noticed!
I dunno. To me, wearing a shirt that says, “I will not be silent” makes me less suspicious that one might be a terrorist. I mean, if you really want to blow up a plane, you try to be as inconspicuous as possible. It’s not that profiling isn’t valuable, but that this man doesn’t seem to fit the profile.
no. just because someone who hijacks a plane is arabic doesn’t mean all arabics are terrorists.
It would be like someone from another country having a family member that was a part of the Branch Dividian compound in Waco Texas or a part of the Jim Jones fiasco, or a part of that mass-suicide hale-bob commet cult and figuring that all Americans are a part of a cult!!!
This has got perposterous!
No. It could say anything. My Jewish grandparents have shirts that say “Sabba” (grandpa) and “Imma” (grandma). If we should be that tight with our security, we should require all airport security guards to learn Arabic so they know which ones are signals for terrorists and which ones aren’t. If they don’t think we’re in that much danger that our security guards should learn Arabic, they should let the poor guy keep his shirt.
Considering what the shirt said, he should not be allowed on the plane with it on. It is disrespectful. The more we tolerate, the more they will hand us our butt on a platter.
dan… the readership on your site makes me sad
i wonder if anyone even researches things before they comment on them? *le sigh* does anyone even realise what this man’s agenda is? what he represents? that HE IS an american citizen?!
http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/
how is “we will not be silent” disrespectful? why is it your right to understand what other people are talking about in their own private conversations? why is it wrong to speak a different language in another country? i suppose all the westerners in taiwan should just shut up now because they cannot speak chinese.
sad. sad. sad.
Ok, I never heard of there being any such public “dress code” laws. I can’t believe this guy was even asked to do this.
I’m really ashamed to be an American after reading this
As long as it doesn’t have a bad phrase, no.
Absolutely not. I realize that the majority of terrorists are Arabs, but that’s no reason to ask someone to change their shirt. Put yourself in his position: you’re wearing your shirt, and you’ve got no intentions of violence.
People need to chill.
argh… i also can’t get over the first commenter who asked how many canadians are terrorists? and how that justified racial profiling because it was ony arabs who were terrorists… maybe there are some valid reasons for racial profiling, but WHAT DOES A CANADIAN LOOK LIKE?!?!?! like WTF?@! i want to excuse his comment because he’s young, but i know that he’s just going to grow up to be an ignoramus.
AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Also, I agree with smeeta.
Maybe.
You know, those London terrorists speak English.
Although many terrorists may be of any nationality, most are, unfortunately, Arabic. We all want to racially sensitive, but we must consider the safety of America more important. Arabics in airports are probably all ready closely monitored, but when they wear shirts suggesting they are passionate about a cause (such as terrorists are passionate about their cause) they are asking for trouble. I doubt a terrorist would blatantly wear such a shirt, but anyone who does should expect to be under a close watch. I don’t want to be mean, but this is the sad truth as I see it.
I think we definatly have a reason to be suspicious of the Arabs. If a Middle-eastern looking man was on a plane with me and had a shirt on with Arabic writing, yeah I’d be scared and suspicious of him. We have every right to be. It’s not like Islam is a “peaceful” religion like they keep saying.
Should an maerican wearing a tshirt in English while in a foreign country be pulled aside and be made to change?
I’m sorry, but that story is ridiculous. There is no reason why he should have had to take off his shirt. No one makes us take off our shirts thst have the american flag on them or anything like that. Yes, we want to be careful about terrorism but that doesn’t mean stripping a whole group of people from any sort of pride in their culture.
ps- whatever happened to freedom of speech? “we will not be silent” is far from fighting words.
as long as only ARABS get pulled out of line for wearing death to the US shirts than obviously it isn’t a problem. Lord forbid those damn minorities express themselves. Well, it is OK for black people to be angry because it might be unPC to say anything bad about them. ssshh! sshhhhhhh!
Let’s pull aside people who look like they might be white sumpremisist, gee we don’t need another Timothy McVey, just imagine what he could have done with a plane. All white people with no style, you can’t get on a plane without being searched (especially if it looks like you shop at JcPenney’s, Kohl’s, Sears or any of those type places). Those damn hispanic people, they are all drug lords wanting to hook our poor innocent children with thier cocaine. Asians are up to something, you can’t trust them either, they may be the ideal minority, but still they are a minority, don’t trust the fuckers. Black people, well enough said. When in doubt blame the black person.
In fact since everybody may be guilty of something, just stop everybody, strip search them, gloved hands examining bodily orfices, and if you are wearing something ugly that may offend people you have to change it.
Being an Arab is not a crime. Using the Arabic language is not a crime. I don’t see why a person wearing a T-shirt with Arabic writing should be treated like a criminal.
hell no… that’s whats wrong with the countrys that breed terrorism… no freedom of speech
Um, Seriously?
Making him change is stupid because a tshirt isn’t going to do shit to save or kill anybody in a terrorist attack. What they did was stereotyping and very wrong.
Shame on them.
Someone said.. “Terrorists tend not to be races other than Arabs “
I’m not sure if that’s a statistic or not, but that still doesn’t mean anything. People who use the logic “all terrorists are arabic” don’t seem to understand that the reverse statement isn’t true… “all arabs are terrorists”.
What they did was horrible.
It’s not like he was, I don’t know, causing a scene or something.. he was wearing a damn t-shirt!
I agree, shame on the people who stopped him.
depends you know a shirt?
no he shouldn’t have to change his shirt. no matter what it ment it’s his shirt. just because it’s arabic doesn’t mean he’s a terrorist. so tell me if a jew was wearing a shirt that said something in hebrew would you think he’s a terrorist?
Pulled aside and questioned, perhaps because of terrorism. Made to remove his shirt, NO! I like to think we still have our first amendment rights.
yo pyro589, r u saying that all canadians are white? that there aren’t any arabic canadians? is canadian a race now?
and i think he just needs a translation (in english and espanol perhaps?). just b/c some morons r afraid of some scribbles on a shirt
pending on what the shirt means.
if he was a terrorist, do you really think he’d be walking around trying to ATTRACT attention by wearing arabic?
No, but I can’t count how many stories there are of schools forcing kids to change if they think a particular shirt endorses drugs or is a gang symbol. From time to time, they’ll enforce the rule on shirts with Christian messages or other offensive designs.
it depends on what the shirt says. if the shirt says “i’m going to blow up this plane” or something, then stop them, but if the airline have no idea what it says, it’s completely ridiculous to stop someone based on what they’re wearing.
This is an interesting topic. I’m for the most part very shocked to see the responses that a good number of people have put down that SUPPORT racial profiling in this day and age. For some people to even suggest that ALL people of Arab descent are potential terrorists is. . . I have no words. I’m SICKENED by the outright bigotry that I’m seeing here!!!
With that said, I would have to say ABSOLUTELY NOT! If the guy translated the phrase and said it was non-threatening in nature, why was he forced to change anyway? Just to appease a few ignorant customers who didn’t understand the “scribble” on his shirt and therefore viewed him as an “inconvenience”? Please. . . this ridiculous. This is a tiny example of where our country has gone since 9/11- a nation of ignorant, blind people who are not using common sense to determine what’s REALLY a threat and what’s not. Take for example the recent list of “potential targets” released by Homeland Security. A popcorn factory in Indiana??!! That made me laugh my ass off.
In short, I have to repeat what other people have stated before; SHAME ON THE CUSTOMERS AND SHAME ON THE AIRLINE! That kind of treatment and disrespect is absurd!!
absolutely not! the people who think that all terrorists are Arabic or all Arabs are terrorists have seriously missed a history lesson or two. Can you say Timothy McVey? We have Just as much reason to profile white people with buzz cuts as we do people of Arab decent.
Probably not because if they were actually going to commit some kind of terroristic act, they would probably attempt to conceal themselves as well as possible and blend in so as not to encounter anything that might douse their intentions. Didn’t anyone watch that Flight 93 movie?
No. I think they have got to have at least one security guard on duty that can read Aramaic…perhaps just ask him what it says. And, last time I checked, writing on a t-shirt never killed anyone. If he was getting on with no explosives, etc. then what do we care if his t-shirt said, “Long Live Saddam!” He’s entitled to his freedom of SPEECH, just not his “freedom” to blow up planes. If anything, why don’t they just silently double check his bags for exploding breastmilk or something.
No, of course not! Oh, we should make these passengers feel ignorant that there aren’t arabics living successful lives in this country? I don’t think a terrorist will put “Kill USA!” on their t-shirt. Besides, we already have very good security right now, so there’s really nothing said terrorist could do! I think airlines should be much more respectful of their customer, and although I think it’s wrong that this guy was looking for trouble (he sounded like he wanted it) I’m glad people put this stuff out in the open.
i think that even if the shirt said i hate americans and i want them all to die… it is a shirt… a shirt is not a threat… i can wear a shirt that says i worship penguins and it doesnt mean i worship penguins… nor should anyone believe that i have created my own religion dedicated to doing so… even though there are other weird cults and such out there… so freakin what… there are many americans that would probably adore the idea… but just because they are american… and i am american… and i wear a shirt that looks like i am like them… gives nobody reason or just cause to question me… there are security methods that airports practice that are very secure… i find it extremely alright to make that person go through intensive searching… just as i have had to go through intensive searching… just as many random ppl have had to do… i dont care what a shirt says… its only a threat once its verbal or physical… a shirt is nothing but a shirt… as an american… the other passengers have the right to feel uncomfortable… but the man wearing the shirt also has the freedom of speech when in this country… he has the right to wear what he wants… when he wants… (unless of course hes working and has agreed to a certain dress code that i know he didnt sign for when he walked into the airport) …so yeah the ppl have the right to be offended… but he also has the right to wear whatever the hell he wants
and that is the beauty of america
No.
And I want that shirt!
*scampers to Amazon.com*
I just thought of an example.
If they were a Hispanic person here with a shirt on that said something in Spanish would you pull them aside and be like, “Amigo. Where is your Green Card? Donde esta el CARDO DE GREEN CARD OF VERDE!??”
I say that to make a radical illustration but even as I type I feel dismayed that more than likely something of the sort has happened here.
I am wondering if you will comment on Survivor splitting teams into 4 racial groups… it seems the appropriate topic after this one.
Hell no. It’s the same thing If I’m wearing a T-shirt with their words in Spanish… The government is spreading the terror against the Arabic community and badly this has to stop one way or the other. Remember Oklahoma? I’m really agree 100% on Krissy Cole, there’s a lot of people with anti racism t-shirt and they left them go, why the hell they stop an innocent man because of her heritage? Not all arabs are terrorist! Bush is the Terrorist!
I think at this point, racial profiling is necessary.
and if you saw the interview this moron did with CNN, he should be spanked like a little bitch. he said that he wore that shirt because he didn’t have any other clean shirts to wear, and that he didn’t even think about it when he put it on. BULLSHIT! He’s a fucking liar.
Not at all.
I’m sure terrorists know not to go into airports wearing anything that might get them stopped because that’s the last thing they want to happen.
YES
I think in this country with all of the recent problems he brought it on himself. Yes, if the shirt causes people to fear him because they don’t know what it means then I say make him take it off. It is better to have one screaming idiot than several people creating a witch trial.
No…not unless is said something offensive…
profiling only makes sense to people who havent been profiled before.
Sure, why not? They should think a little bit about what they are wearing on a plane. Stupid people.
I’d say no, unless it says something like “yay terrorism” on it. then you might be concerned.
Maybe the other passengers should have found out what the shirt said before flipping out.
But I think its ridiculous he had to change his shirt because it was written in another language.
And besides, just because he changed his shirt, it doesn’t change anything but his physical appereance, so whats the point in that?
AHH!
raed jarrar is such a pro peace activist, he would’nt hijack a plain and blow it up!
funny coming across him here…and no airlines shouldnt be able to make people change just cuz its in arabic, and they do have ppl in airports who know arabic and can translate and they’d realize its not a terror threat he’s parading around.
i was in cali for a while and the so called ‘news’ over there is SO frustrating and barely informative. but this one piece on msnbc caught my attention, they were debating whether or not it’da be right to put aside all arab/muslims and run background checks on them before boarding their flights…what?!
People are just people, and God loves them all. I know that some of them don’t love Him in return, and some absolutely hate me. I was a teacher too many years and in charge of the behavior of others enough that there is no way I could fail to have enemies. Yes! Dress codes and restrictions are necessary to protect us all. I want airlines to worry even about that old white guy who looks stressed-out and crazy and happens to be me. I’m not dangerous, but someone needs to care enough to find that out. Submitting to airport security checks meekly and good-naturedly (is that a word?) is a way of showing love for others.
I think it depends on the message… but my first reaction is no.
absolutely. why not?
No. I don’t think it’s right. I have a ‘Echo en Mexico’ t-shirt and another shirt that has stuff written in Italian. I don’t think anyone should Be stopped for that type of stuff, if you do then arrest everyone else that has a shirt with a message in a foreign language too. It doesn’t matter what race you are.
no. just because someone’s arabic doesn’t mean there a terrorist.
and people say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover? stop being hypocritical.
sure, the majority of terrorists are arabic. not everyone. it’s not like 89% of all arabic’s are terrorists.
just like saying “american’s are all fat” “irish people are alcoholics”……etc. know what i mean?
racist, hypocritical people are annoying.
o would say yes. its not 2 afend anyone but just as a percaution of our nations saftey, i mean a few questions shouldint hurt anything, but i dont think they should make a huge deal out of it unless it iz a huge deal like he acctualy iz a terrorist, in this case he wasint so it shouldint have been made into such a big deal
If that was the only thing of suspicion then hell no.
I don’t know. I really think this is crossing the line. I know the whole thing with racial profiling is needed sometimes, but this isn’t like that. He was just wearing a shirt. This seems to be taking away his freedom somewhat.
[ariana]
Yes. He was asking for attention. He got it.
No. Depending on what it said.
GAH. That irritates me.
well i dont know…why does it only have to be in arabic?What if i feel uncomfortable with someone with a shirt in japanese or italian???HUH???Spanish dont matter cuz i could prolly figure out what it meant.
If this happen to me i would take it off but put it back on.No one tells me how to dress.
That’s ridiculous. I don’t think that anybody should have to go through with that if they’re from the middle-east. If I were someone from the middle east and I were treated like that everywhere I went, I would probably end up taking out my frustration on a tall building in New York, too, lol. No, I’m totally kidding, but anyways, the way people act around people like that after 9-11 is ridiculous.
-KrIsTiN-
…If it said something along the lines of “I’m going to [insert threat here].”
No, I seriously thing that’s really dumb. First off, it says in our Bill of Rights that everyone is entitled to freedom of speech and expression. Hello? Does that ring a bell? It’s unnecessary to ask someone to take off their shirt because of assuming it’s ‘terrorist’ related. Actually, that’s completely retarded. And I also want to point out that Pyro589 is an idiot. =] NOT all MIDDLE EASTERN people are terrorists. Did this guy even go to school and take history lessons? Obviously not, because if he did; he would of realized that terrorism takes place EVERYWHERE in the world. Not just the US. It shows complete ignorance that people would think that terrorism takes place ONLY in the Middle East. That’s bullshit. =]
Oh I forgot to add, people that were curious could of asked the guy what the shirt said, no big deal
I saw the t-shirt, and I know squat what it means. It could say absolutely anything, for all I know. I can only read and understand english, and I’m sure most of the passengers could as well, yet to believe that it’s classing you as a terroist is rediculous!
Ok, if that’s the case, I’m gonna war ‘death to (insert political idiot here)’ and go on a plane, and see where it gets me. If I get caught, fine, but if I get on the plane and get off, then I’m posting about it!!
’nuff said….
Just so you know- not all arabic people are Muslim. So the writing on his shirt, although Arabic, does not represent his religious beliefs. As most of you guys said, MOST TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIMS; how do you know if someones Muslim or not just by the Arabic?
Comon, its a shirt, not a bomb. We have the right to free speech, and once we lose that right, the terrorists have won. When we take away the rights of the muslims in america, we are just adding to our enemies. By taking away a certain people’s rights because of fear, we lose out very being, the very thing that the terrorists want to happen: foolish choices as a result of fear.
Maybe… But then again, I know someone on the Terrorist watch list because he took a one way flight somewhere with no baggage with him. It was to pick up a tow truck and he just drove it back home when he got there, but now they won’t let him fly. *shrug*
slacker.