October 03, 2006
All brownz must speak English in this airportNews
Via BoingBoing comes news of a guy who was detained and missed his flight for “acting suspiciously” by speaking a mixture Tamil and English on his cell at Seattle’s cosmopolitan SeaTac airport:He told officials that he would not speak in a foreign language on his cell phone at an airport in the future
A 32-year-old man speaking Tamil and some English about a sporting rivalry was questioned at Sea-Tac Airport and missed his flight Saturday because at least one person thought he was suspicious.
The Port of Seattle dispatched its police officers to investigate the case, which occurred Saturday around noon, said Bob Parker, airport spokesman. The Chicago man was preparing to board an American Airlines flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
The man was speaking Tamil, a language largely used in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore, on his cell phone at the departure gate and on the aircraft. An off-duty airline employee heard the conversation and informed the flight crew. [Link]
The whole thing was cleared up once he promised to become monolingual at airports!
Parker said the man was cooperative and boarded a later flight to Texas. He told officials that he would not speak in a foreign language on his cell phone at an airport in the future. [Link]
This is hardly the first time this something of this sort has happened. A man was detained for several hours for speaking Arabic on the phone at a bus station. Two britasians were kept off a flight for speaking Urdu (although there is some evidence that they may have been trying to provoke an incident). A flight was even diverted because passengers felt threatened by two orthodox jews praying in Hebrew! There are many more cases like this involving Sikhs immediately after 9/11, I’m just showcasing some non-Sikh examples so that the rest of you can relate.
You don’t even have to open your mouth to have an incident. This Lt. Colonel in the US Army (formerly active service, now reserves) was detained for hours because US Air Marshals didn’t like the “way he looked” [He won a court case based on this incident]
So yeah, even 5 years after 9/11, I still only speak on my cell phone in English at airports, I always call or text somebody to tell them where I am in my journey, and I make extra sure to grin broadly and shuffle my feet while boarding. Nossah massah, I only speaks the english! You gots watermellon on this heah flight? I just love me some watahmellons!
ennis on October 3, 2006 11:49 AM in News · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
There was an instance of a Spanish professor who hadnt shaved for a few days being arrested the other day too.
Boy, I'm really in trouble with that no-shaving thing!
Yeah, he must have looked dark skinned and with a beard, you know what these moorish Spaniards are like.
Seriously man, I know excatly what you mean, in the aftermath of the London bombings last year, things were really bad. Especially after the Brazilian guy was shot, you had all slightly brown looking white dudes, Greeks, Italians etc, and mixed race black guys, who were on edge, and looked at with fear, and you even absorbed some of that paranoia yourself. It was horrible, and I was on the end of abuse and suspicion. This I suppose is all part of what the terrorists want, and is a partial victory for them.
i appreciate you using the word "brownz." wikipedia keeps deleting my article cuz it is a neologism.
"A flight was even diverted because passengers felt threatened by two orthodox jews praying in Hebrew!"
Both Hebrew and Arabic are semetic languages, link and sound similar. Maybe a blind guy was the one who thought he was amongst "suspicious" characters?
Hahahahahahahah.
I'm really disturbed by this. Can this be true? And these "inconveniences" need to start having consequences when Marshall John Smith is too stupid and ignorant and jumps the gun because he can't tell the difference between terroristic behavior and normal behavior. WTF.
Loquacious Desi: Ille ma, ellam nalla poite iruke. (No mom, everything's fine)
Vigilant crimefighter: Dude, did he just say Allah a couple of times?
Vigilant sidekick: Let's roll...
holy beans...
there goes my spanlishgujarahindi masala mix that i jabber in..
must be monolingual must be monolingual...and obviously english at that.
pretty messed up.
a lot of brown people work at sea-tac btw. i know some 'em through my fam.
Like David Chappelle's character from his show? The blind black KKK dude.
The guy was investigated and allowed to board the next flight which means authorities did not consider the guy a threat. However, when [person x] comes to the authorities and says something is suspicious, you almost have to investigate by default.
Investigation proceeded and the guy got on the next flight, which meant authorities did their jobs as per direction. Air Marshalls weren't even involved, the SeaTac police were the responders.
They respond differently to different incidents, however. The way that they responded, and the fact that he promised only to speak english at airports in the future, shows that they viewed his actions as inherently suspicious. They could have just shown up and said, oh, you're talking in Tamil and English about last night's game? OK, you can go.
You are making assumptions here. Someone else, not airport security, flagged the guy down for supicious behavior. Now, put your self in Police shoes. A person comes up to you, informs you that he/she as observed something suspicious.
When talking about the English-Tamil thing, what you say is kosher, but authorities almost HAVE to check up other things, too because a person, not trained in the techniques of observation is feeding you info. Which means you're getting very vague data. Doing what you said above sounds great, but even a routine police stop for speeding involves more than simply stopping you and giving you a ticket (Car registration is checked, insurance, plates are checked to see if vehicle is hot or not, etc.)
With regards to the man promising NOT to speak Tamil at airports, well, he probably got scared, understandably so. There is no legal precedent from prohibiting him from speaking Tamil. If he wanted to push it, he could have allowed authorities to check up (which he did), and move along without promising anything.
NOW, if was let go on the condition he spoke ONLY English, his legal rights were violated because authorities cannot do that.
having been through a similar situation in the past when i was made to msis my flight - i believe the official policy is to disrupt flight patterns of the suspicious person - it isnt hard to do - but there is so much potential for abuse here - the person who files frivolous or unfounded complaints should be held accountable. you have these air marshalls who got rajcoomar because he looked funny!!! or the german guys who nailed the spanish prof because of his beard!!! or the bigot (!!!) who claimed to be speaking arabic and called the police on an arab guy... I just wish there was an organizational framework to penalize these guys.
i was once in a situation in which a person i was boarding with called the police on me on something like i am playing with the water supply... because i told him to clean up the place!! at moments like this - one feels so drained, one doesnt have the energy to argue or contest. police officers arent exactly thinking people. the best way is to answer the questions promptly and without indecision. another what aclu, what charter of rights... one just wants to get it out of the way - which pretty much explains why our man promised never to speak tamil at an airport. I just wish they would nail the sons of bitches who abuse the system out of malice or ignorance.
This has positive and negative consequences because in most cases ignorant folk aren't consciously filing frivolous complaints. They actually belive what they are saying is true. Educating the person when complaint has no merit would provide better long term results. As in, Sir, person X was speaking Tamil. It's a language from India.... Next time around hopefully he/she knows more than they did before.
Again, if there is malicious intent involved, one should be penalized. But in most cases people are dumb and stupid. Educating them would provide longer term benefits. Penalty? You stay back, miss your flight, receive an 'education' and move along. Next time around you'll think twice whether you really believe if a threat exists (at the cost of not boarding the flight if you're wrong). If you're belief is strong enough that you still choose to risk your own flight, good for you, atleast you're willing to take the responsibility and consequences that come along if you're wrong.
No argument here. The best way is cooperation. There should be a pranoid meter before boarding a flight. If anyone is that parnoid, they shouldn't board a flight. Most people lack the situation awareness and emotional stability to sort through a threat assessment logically. It sucks, but like I said, the penalty can be not boarding your flight. It is a simple, yet effective way of filtering poeple just complaining because their panties are bunched up or if they have a real concern.
Because you've been directly observed breaking the law. However, when "suspicious behavior" is called in, the first thing they do is assess whether the behavior is suspicious. If a white woman speaking swedish is called in, I'll bet they wont bother to detain her, make her miss her flight, and check her. Nor will she ever (on her own or to resolve the situation) agree to not speak Swedish in an airport again. As a matter of fact, the police might even go to the person making the report and warn them about making spurious claims.
On a related note, I once reported to the gate officials that there was some unacompanied baggage left behind by an asian woman. They couldn't even be bothered to call security.
In this case an airline employee told the flight crew who called the police. When I saw unaccompanied baggage left behind for more than 10 minutes, they yawned.
Those people should be fired ASAP. I'm not out to defend incompetance. I would except the same treatment when suspicious activity is flagged, regardless of what the reason was. Unaccompanied baggage is one of the biggest no-nos.
Its funny -> After Sep 11 2001 I used to always get "randomly" (the random distribution they used had a 100% probability) checked by TSA at the boarding gate. Nowdays (since the transatlantic scare), I do still get selected for "random" search (they started doing random search at the boarding gate at smaller airports). But now, I use my airline badge to get away with it.
The system seems to be vulnerable to abuse by people with malicious intent. False complaints like the ones cited in the comments including the case in discussion could be used to divert attention! I hope the authorities do consider such scenarios and have a solution for it.
As far as detained person in the above case I wonder what would have happened if he had insisted on his right to speak in his language of choice. The system is sure getting fragile.
Which is why if the claim is false, said person should board the next flight available while trained personnel show where the person went wrong. A simple deterrant of missing the flight (which will prevent frivolous complaints) if they're wrong will go a long way, too. Again, if someone, knowing that they'll miss their flight but are still willing to go ahead and register their complaint, wishes to do so good for them. They're willing to take some responsibility for their words/actions.
IMO that would be half of JFK & LGA airport staff. I don't know what's worse. That the ignorant baboons who are running the airport include the lady who's checking my baggage being worried more about breaking her "inappropriate for the job" longass nails or the 3 TSA guys standing around and flirting with the female TSA neither paying attention to their jobs or the lady at the counter who barks at you to get in line if you attempt to go up and tell her about unattended luggage. Except for the K9 unit I find most of the airport employees completely incompetent. And this incompetence seems heightened if it's a flight going to India.
Well, I was transitting through London Heathrow and the airport staff (cleaner and her manager, I guess) were talking in a 'brown' language (i can't figure out if it's punjabi/hindi/urdu).. I don't think you'll run into these kinds of problems in European airports.. It is better to stick to English in American airports..
I am going to speak in tamil next time i am in the airport. I would like to know what happens to me.
Don't even get me started on the incompetance of TSA. As a quality assurance dude, it astounds me how poorly people train their own personnel for tasks they are given. This is across the board and shows poor leadership, IMHO.
Working in a military envirnoment, the one thing the military, overall as an instutution, does well is a good flow down of training. You have procedures for every and anything. When people lack the appropriate training or demeanor, it is leadership's fault for not providing enough trainers (an analogy from the military would be a strong Non-Commisioned Officer's corp) to make sure you personnel that do the heavy lifting, grunt work, have the right tools to do the job.
TSA is a joke. Give someone a shiny badge and tell them,"YOU"RE KING OF THIS HILL, NO ONE SHALL CHALLENGE YOUR AUTHORITY HERE, YOU HAVE THE SHINY GUBMENT BADGE, LOLZ!!!"
If being pulled over and brown feels bad, think about Marines as a part of an honor guard (for someone killed in action) being pulled over, seperately frisked, being held back from their flight, etc. by TSA. Brown, white, black, whatever. I think everyone agrees the TSA hasn't done much of a good job.
I won't defend incompetance because there is nothing to defend. I'm just sayin in this case, malicious intent from authorties or gross incompetance doesn't seem to be the case. Misunderstanding, sure. Lack of good information. Maybe. Does that mean abuse does not occur? No. It does, but more often than not its some old grandma, some dude with his family who got scurred by them foreign looking folks, or some person out looking to be a hero or cool that gives shitty intel. It is biased.
Regarding aiport screeing, a 100% manual/visual inspection (xray) is at best 80% effective. Adding a high sampling rate after the 100% inspection (one in four) would help validate how poorly the 100% screening is, but won't add much value. Two 100% inspections are also not 100% effective. That is why I agreed with one of Manish's earlier posts that more technology (automated systems) is the only reliable way of reducing error and removing human incompetance out of the equation.
Sad to say, but I'd take a well trained K9 dog for sniffin out trouble over any current system in place ANY DAY. Man's best friend can be trained well and they are damn consistent at doing it, too.
This is infuriating, naturally, but also extremely funny and ironic given the conversation I had a few hours ago with a white American who's visiting India for the first time. He told me that Tamil is very beautiful, and sounds to him a lot like a Romance language.
To both I say, wtf?
sidg - i wouldnt go out and prodding people - it isnt the secrity personnel but the average dude in the corner who's going to get his/her hackles up. dont get me wrong. my dad or mum calls me on the phone at an airport, i would be so embarassed talking to them in english (it'd feel like i've sold them out).
one can be proud - but doesnt mean that you need to stand in the aisles mumbling, gesticulating and mouthing obscenities in tamil - not that you implied that... just making sure :-)
As long as they're banning non-English languages at airports, can they go ahead and do that on the train too? I'm getting really annoyed with the daily banter in everything from Hindi to Tamil on the train every morning, especially when it can be heard on the opposite end of the train car.
@ hairy_d. Agreed. All this time I have always been a strong proponent of speaking in English whenever a non-Tamil speaker is present near me. But that guy going to the extent of promising to speak only in english whenever in the airport is kind of insulting.
I sometimes speak to my parents in tamil from airports, but usually lower my voice (couple that with crappy phone cards to India, and its a recipe for disaster).....because it's often uncomfortable not speaking in english at a public place.
sucks, doesn't it?
GujuDude - I completely agree with your comments in #14. In this day and age, security officials have to respond to each and every complaint that they receive. There should however be some checks and balances to keep out frivolous complaints.
I'm always singled out for the "random" baggage check just before boarding the flight. I usually don't have any problems with this..other than the fact that they label it "random"!!
Every time you hear somebody talking loudly in a brown language, go up and offer to sell them Amway. They'll quiet down when they see you in the car alright ....
I strongly disagree. I am Tamil and in the words of Russell Peters, I think Tamil speakers sound like auctioneers and pinball machines.
my dad works for the port of seattle @ seatac (focused on their $1B renovation project). i'll see if i can get any more details from him....
I usually don't get pulled over and I travel for work. A lot. Funny thing is my boss, who has the most anglo name ever, has his name on the 'watch list' so he gets flak.
I do make sure the shoes I wear when working onsite are cleaned and packed away. If they ever swab those things, they may flag everything from gun powder, plastic explosive, to TNT residue. It would make for an interesting scenario.
TSA: Sir, you have residue from, uh, every explosive known to man.
Me: Yea, I know. I work ammo.
TSA: [Silence]
Me: Here are my travel orders and my gubment ID
TSA: [Silence]
Me: Great. Ok, just be gentle.
TSA: Sir, please put your hand where we can see them and lay flat on the ground. The FBI is on its way.
In all seriousness, some collegues did get flagged, but when presented with the right documentation, they were allowed to go through. Personally, I'm prepared and accept the risk that I may undergo a more extensive search. I just gotta keep my cool and a nice smile. Patience is a virtue of the wise, I guess.
i've flown about 10 times since 9/11. the main issue i've had is that people looked really closely at my baggage in small airports.
:-) my thoughts precisely. i like kohnondacob myself.
hey vivek - that sounded like a thinking man's pick-up line to me. he was totally Romancing you machang. ;-)
I wonder how many people have been told to stop speaking German or French? Oh wait, Germans and French are mostly white. Just absolutely ridiculous.
Actually Spanish grates more to me no the train than anything else. Along with Hebrew. And while we are requesting bans on the train I'd prefer that they just ban all loudass people period. I don't care what language you speak including English.
Were they white? From the incidents I've read - Arab Secret Service Agent, Desi Officer, etc - having a government ID didn't help at all, given that they were travelling alone and didn't have a white person by their side to vouch for them.
BTW, I disagree about the TSA - I find them a substantial improvement over their predecessors, even if they are still far short of what they should be. I'd write more but I have a meeting in 40 minutes :)
amen to that...
ban not only on the train..but on a plane...automobiles.. :)
and a very special request to all manicurists to please keep their jabbering to a minimum with their fellow co-workers while with a client..maybe it's only the place i go to..where they chatter it up in LOUD vietnamese
I prefer to go against the predefined "rule" of not speaking in anything but English when in a public place. My mom will yell at me about this often and then I remind her that the Hispanics are doing this so why can't we? It's too hard for me to not speak in Bengali when on the phone with my parents especially if I get angry about something. So due to this incident of speaking monolingual I await the day when my flight will be delayed due to arguing with my parents in Bengali. Perhaps I will even sport a t-shirt in Arabic writing (would put a link but too lazy to)
I'm not that ballsy =)
haha .. this can ruin an entire appointment! I rarely treat myself to a pedicure, but when I do, I usualy regret not bringing headphones.
JOAT ~ Nice article in ABCD Lady by the way!
White and latino. For the instances you mention is the reason why I'm prepared and accept the risk that I may undergo more stringet evaluations. The more calm and collected I present myself, the more ease it puts folks screeing at (and faster I get out). It may not help, but I'll get on the next flight. Since it's a govt. fare, I have no issues on getting on flights I need and I'm not paying for it. Makes a big difference in how peeved off I get. After all, I am guju.
It's not that improvements haven't come around (better X-Ray equipment, standardized procedures, new magnetometers, etc), its the fact that the exectations are higher and they don't meet the mark. With shiny badges, uniforms, and federal government dollar, I expect more - better training, more compentant personnel from being pleasant, not jumpy, no a 'king of the hill' complex, etc.
Two months ago, I was flying back from Chicago and the TSA lady freaked out as I was placing my laptop and carryon the x-ray belt, but was first in line to walk through the mangetometer. "SIR, WHERE IS YOUR BOARDING CARD????". Jesus lady, if you give me a chance to free my hands, I can present one before walking through since its in my pocket.
I now make sure I wear a shirt/polo with a pocket so they can see it sticking out.
Because Latinos have already established that they aren't the "real terrorists." Desis, however, have yet to parade themselves in the streets with similar signs. Hence the security threat for desi languages.
does this 'no foreign language' statute apply to us kannada peeps? i mean, no one really knows who we are or what we speak anyway. can i just drop a 'ayyooo raama, sumne iri" on some airlines executives??
and on a random note, i'm 25 today so i feel like i should be allowed to speak freely at an airport in my more-than-adorable mother tongue.
anyone else out there a mysore magu/magalu born in the u-s-of-a??
OMG I thought I was the only one. Hahahahaha. I go to these Russian ladies in midtown. And they talk the entire time and continuously. Here you are paying a shit load of money trying to find a half hour of relaxation during a mani-pedi and the verbal diarrhea is insane.
Thanx but dude I'm a little embarrassed especially by the animal print picture used.
Well Happy Birthday. How does it feel to be a quarter of a century old?
word dawg.
anyone else out there a mysore magu/magalu born in the u-s-of-a??
surveys are so much more scientific than shout outz :)
while we're on the subject of profiling.
on my way back from the bank - this person spotted me - i understood what he said in english - calls to brother, muhammad etc, maybe even something about the holy time etc - he was in need and he was very assertive in asking me for help - not in an aggressive way - but in the knowing way that i would help - told me about his psych problem - i saw a lot of anguish in his eyes - i was compelled to answer because i felt i'd break his faith in the muslim brotherhood or whatever secret handshake there is out there. what does it mean? i think it is a net positive - not necessarily in my favor - but in the faith that guy had. I kept it up and i responded in the way he saw me. do people respond to their expectations?
ok. so there it is. hmmm... let's ruminate.
hairy, are you talking about giving money to a homeless dude? i'm confused.
when homeless people look in need and i give 'em some change and they say "god bless you" i'll tell i don't believe in god. not to disrespect them, but to show them that the godless have hearts too. if someone assumed i was muslim, and i gave them money, i'd tell i'm not muslim, so that they know that non-muslims are good people who are moved to compassion, even across religious or ethnic chasms.
surveys are so much more scientific than shout outz :)
wuzzup dawg! is much cooler than conf intervals and z-tests and $hit.
Majority of the brown people I know have been on the receiving end of 'racial profiling'. Surprisingly enough, most of them have had no problems with racial profiling as long as it is not misused.
I guess it has something to do with the fact that most of them are foreign-borns.
it was about his faith which i wanted to see bolstered
well, yes, perhaps you did bolster his faith, his faith in the fellowship of muslims. i think it would have been OK to bolster, or create, a faith in the fellows of humans.
and then who is to say our faith is different - words have no meaning.
perhaps he would have thought that too if you had disabused him of the notion that your generosity was precipitated by faith in islam, as opposed to faith in some broader religious sensibility.
enough about this. i'm subverting the thread.
my other point is that (and i speak as a person who studied math, stats at the doctorate level) a scientist can only go so far with facts and data. shoutoutz may work better than surveys because they come from the heart. but what do i know. :-) . enough subversion. siddharth is probably staring holes in the screen right now.
Just to nitpik ;-) some of us aren't in need of redemption.
While we're on the track of loud people, I have one major beef with my fellow airline passengers.
I have a problem with people passing gas, particularly in small CRJ/ERJ jets with leather seats at 30K feet in the air. Pass it loud, its ok, but pleaaassseee don't rip SBDs. Think folks, you don't have foam seats to absorb any bowel yawns. Leather seats will not buffer the sensory onslaught. Recycled air make's it difficult to whisk airborne fecal matter away.
Beware of the geriatric atomic grannies. In between complaints of their daughter in laws, how lovely their grandkids are, and how confusing everything seems, the SBDs powered by healthy doeses of ensure will test the faith of even staunchest of believers, even athiests.
Incidents like this just makes me want to be more brazen about my brownness; I wear a headscarf and the next time I'm in an airport, I'll probably just say "Salam" more loudly to my ammi when I call her from my cell. I mean, seriously, you can't speak another language in an airport?
However, I must say that I have been very fortunate; I have traveled a lot since (and before) 9/11 (both domestically and internationally), and I have never had a problem--despite the fact that I make no bones about the fact that I am Muslim (and pretty obviously look it).
Then again, maybe it's just a matter of time until I'm shipped off to Gitmo for saying Namaz in an airplane seat...
"So yeah, even 5 years after 9/11, I still only speak on my cell phone in English at airports, I always call or text somebody to tell them where I am in my journey, and I make extra sure to grin broadly and shuffle my feet while boarding."
Aren't you giving in by modifying your behavior to fit people's stereotypes? Why not continue to challenge the system until your rights are asserted? I.e., the victim at Seatac could've called a commuinty organization to do an information/cultural training for the employees. I take about 4 flights per month, and regularly talk in Punjabi on my cellphone, with my turban on. Luckily, I have yet to be searched or stopped in anyway, but I know that it can happen because of the increased discrimination post 9-11 adn the frequency with which I fly. At least you're assured basic physical safety here. When I used to travel to Punjab in the 1990s, I was stopped several times leaving the airport and searched because of my identity as a Sikh, with guns pointing at me!
GujuDude - try SBD's and a Tuna sandwich on a completely full plane - probably the worst flight I've been on.
Precisely, Singh! I refuse to give into this kind of pressure, though some would argue that you and I are just inviting trouble. Still, I do find that a warm smile can often go a long way in making others feel foolish when they're staring at you suspiciously.
Thought test:
I am this ignoramus white American dude/dudess in an airport waiting to board a flight. In a post-911 world, I know that evil people (with brown skin, beards and funny accents) are trying to do bad things using planes (This impression comes straight from President, tv, newspapers, blogs everywhere). I see a brown person doing one or more of the following
a) Talking in a accent/language on the phone
b) Confabulating with another similar person
c) Tensed/Anxious/Nervous
d) Random suspicious thing
And moreover assume that I had seen this alarming report on CNN/FOX/MSNBC showing such people doing or thinking of doing or threatening of doing bad things to Americans. I am not sophisticated enough to know the difference between Indians and Middle Eastners and between Hindus and Muslims and between Arabic and Tamil.
I can decide to do two things, report it to the police and trust them to handle situation or do nothing. If I report this to cops, the worst case is that he is innocent and cops will send him on next flight and the best case is stopping a terrorist attack. If I don't report this to cops, the worst case is that a terrorist incident will happen and the best is that nothing happens.
So if you compare the worst in each scenario, I would choose to report the said suspicous person to the cops.
End of experiment.
It is okay to be reported and questioned for sometime before letting go. The problem comes is when this vigilante actions goes to extreme. Recently, one vigilante passenger attacked and pinned a jewish architect on a plane even after the captain told the passenger that the jewish guy is cleared.
But there is nothing wrong in the said Seattle scenario. It is not the best case scenario but in post911 wishing better would be wishful thinking. It is not always easy to figure out who is suspicious and who is not by just looking even for trained cop. There are people going through much worse than just getting delayed.
This is what I do when I go through screening and while I am on the plane:
1) Look non-chalant
2) Look and smile at other passengers and screeners if they look at you
3) Make small conversation if possible
4) Order a drink in the plane (excuse to drink :))
5) Don't go to bathroom before ordering a drink
6) Answer clearly and keep all docs with you
As long it is just a polite questioning and delayed flight, we shouldn't complain. Anything worse is breakdown in the system and should be protested.
OK you are off the hook. :-) You bring god into betterment it can get all twisted.
Amen to that. I don't think you are inviting trouble Ismat. I support your choice and those that make it everyday. You are being you. And if someone has a problem with who you are then you'll cross that bridge when you get there.
My question is this: what does it take to become a suspicious person at an airport? Is it just speaking a foreign language while looking brown? Did this guy do something else that got some random passerby's attention? I mean, calling a cop or security or a TSA person is kind of a big deal. I wouldn't do it lightly, myself. I'm just wondering if we've gotten to the point that enough jittery / freaked out / stupid / do-gooder type people are now roving the airports looking for signs of terrorists that this is going to become a real problem.
I suspect it will.
It would be nice if the finger-pointer had to undergo at least some consequences for stopping everything and going, "j'accuse!" I mean, if he or she had to wait around until the detainee was allowed to board his or her flight, that might help. I would consciously miss my flight if I felt I was witnessing a potential terrorist threat shaping up. I might think twice about reporting some random guy for speaking a language I don't understand if I knew I wasn't going to make my connection in Chicago, though.
As long as you're not doing it purposefully...just to 'rub it in', I don't see any reason for changing the way you walk, talk, or dress.
Not sure what that means, but I wouldn't do something I wouldn't normally do. The point is, why should I feel afraid to behave in a way (ie speak in Urdu, cover my head) that is typical and usual for me, as long as I am not breaking any laws?
why should I feel afraid to behave in a way
of course you shouldn't. but, there is a distinction between how the world should be, and how it is, and until one can make the world how it should be, one must keep in mind how it is. no one here would think anyone should have to behave anyway, though i suspect some might offer that the constraints of the world as they are now imply particular courses of action if one is willing to concede on principles in the interests of short term considerations (e.g., prioritize having to get to the business meeting and sacrifice pride & self-respect).
money isnt that important to me....d@mn. I would never sacrifice those things for all the money in the world...
Try the three year-old in the row ahead sticking his head between the seats and spraying the couple sitting next to you with projectile vomit, in the first hour of a jam-packed Houston to London flight...
Speaking of profiling... I'm not especially dark, but I get a fair amount of airport aggro, presumably for my long beard. OH NOES!!!AMERICAN TALIBAN!!1!!11! There have been several incidents... when cancelled flights left me stuck with a one-way ticket... or when I braincramped and stuck a battery-powered talking doll in my carry-on bag... where I ended up getting groped like a prom queen at a biker rally. I was especially popular during my last trip to Europe. By the time I got back home I was convinced that I looked like a terrorist... not just any terrorist but a specific, notorious bad guy. I still wonder at times what became of my evil twin... if he's still roaming the wilds of Afghanistan, Chechnya or wherever...
Far safer than Punjab was, but still unsafe enough that I don't want to make a point out of being my usual brash and surly self. I don't feel that the point I make by speaking into my cell in Punjabi is worth the risk of 4 hours of detention.
On the other hand, I only restrict my behavior in that way in certain places. I also do my share in general to try to make social change, in part by blogging such incidents and keeping awareness of them up. I have a post that never got written on how I spent the first few months after 9/11 lobbying and advocating ...
In short, I'm not about to compromise on the rehat, but I do act extra friendly, when I fly. And yes, I do restrict my behavior in small but meaningful ways because of the risks.
Ismat:
Some people wrote comments that next time they'll make it a point to talk loudly in their native lang..so as to attract attention. Personally I would never do such a thing. This does not mean that I won't talk in Hindi...or that I would whisper while talking on the phone. I plan to be 'my own self' at the airport...nothing artificial.
I hear you, Razib, but the point is that if I modify my behavior (behavor that is perfectly legal, btw, and something I'm entitled to), then I'm only perpetuating the problem. I guess I have to put my money where my mouth is, but so far, I haven't compromised myself because I'm afraid someone will think I'm a terrorist. I think those who do are actually doing us brownz a collective disservice. Like I said, I've been fortunate in that I haven't faced any major obstacles thus far when I'm traveling (and I don't consider having to take my shoes off or get an extra security screening an obstacle), but if and when I do, I'd like to think I'll stand for my rights.
brown_fob:
I suppose you were referring to my comment:
I was just trying to be sarcastic; I didn't literally mean I'd do what I could to attract attention. Heh. That's just me being obnoxious.
Yet, why should you have to do that? My normal pre-9/11 behavior was if somebody stared at me suspiciously, I would stare back. Right now, if a white person is surly, he's just having a bad day, but if a brown person doesn't smile and glares at you, that is a suspicious sign (I've seen this discussed). You could uphold your rights to act as you normally would, or you can go out of your way to assuage their paranoia by smiling back at their rudeness. You're chosing the later, and that's one of the small ways I also modify my behavior. Honestly, to me, smiling when I'm pissed off is a lot harder than speaking in English for the brief conversations I have when I'm flying ...
I would argue that Tamil is a language that hasn't been heard in about 50 years. The only form of Tamil that is spoken today is a bizarre Tamlish that varies depending upon the location in which it is spoken. I can barely understand a conversation in pure Tamil (for examples, see old Sivaji Ganeshan movies where he plays a king of old or a character from Hindu mythology).
I have lived in Seattle for the past couple of years and flown out of Sea-Tac many times, nothing like this ever happened. I chatted on the cell to pass time waiting for the flight, speaking Hinglish (Hindi+English). Really, weird to see something like this happen in Seattle.
No spoken language can be dubbed as "real"-- only colloquial forms of a proto-language are spoken. more "proto" or "pure" forms of language are usually unspoken as they contain the original grammar that has gone unspoken since the inception of a language. the old movies may have a more classic dialect, but it would still be a dialect. that's my little linguistics tip!!
hi sriram!!
Growing up, my neighbours were Tamil, and I'm embarrased that I didn't learn any words. I haven't heard Tamil for a long time, so I did a search on YouTube and came across this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tbgif4keOtM . It sounds awfully interesting, could someone please translate?
Translation of that song-
Man: Why the 1 inch /2 inch/ 3 gap ? ("why don't you let me get closer" is my interpretation)
Woman: Will the (measuring) tape show 4 inch/5 inch/ 6 inch ?
I'm not quite sure what the second line means. The rest is all blah blah. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to look for my mind and take it out of the gutter.
The man promised he would only speak English in airports of his own accord. He was over-compensating, which is not unusual for people under suspicion.
"Man: Why the 1 inch /2 inch/ 3 gap ? ("why don't you let me get closer" is my interpretation)
Woman: Will the (measuring) tape show 4 inch/5 inch/ 6 inch ?
I'm not quite sure what the second line means"...........
Ask any woman here, we'll tell you EXACTLY what it means...... hee hee hee!
didn't someone tell this dude that Tamil is language of the LTTE - the LTTE are acknowledged worldwide to be terrorists - so................................
Your point being?. Acknowledged worldwide? It is also acknowledged that the Sri Lankan government does bad things to minorities.
Finally! A use for all that duct tape!
I can use it to tape my mouth shut at airports.
Sadly, Tamil have no way of saying something like that about Telugu. Telugu (at least when spoken in style of the movie Sankarabharanam) is India's sweetest language.
Are you kidding. Of course there is. Tamilians call telugu as goluti. No offence.
Thanks Kurma. That would be in Delhi.
I think it's safe to assume that the in-gutter mind is right. I've heard that Tamil movies have a lot of slapstick in them.
Although I'm no fan of English infiltrating all our Indian languages (Tamlish, Hinglish, etc), I do think this concept of 'pure' language that so many in India have, has fossilized and to some extent killed our languages, as well as put them in ever weaker positions as far as resisting the onslaught of English. I don't know much about Tamil but from what I've read, a really fossilised version is used as the literary tongue, which stopped evolving centuries ago, meanwhile the various spoken versions (which differ by caste as well as region) are largely unwritten and generally looked down upon. Telugu is another example, where it has to be extremely Sanskritised in order to be seen as pure. Hindi is another blatant example... a rather limited set of people (mostly Brahmins) from Uttar Pradesh had extremely disproportionate power to mold Hindi in ways that suited their ideology back in the 1800s. They took Urdu, removed all the Persian/Aracbic vocabulary, artificially introduced Sanskrit terms in their place, and voila! Hindi! Meanwhile the spoken form (at least in urban areas) continues to have many Perso-Arabic words, which to me is a far more natural reflection of the history of the language as well as the region. Doordarshan 'shuddh' Hindi is a fake, pompous, ridiculous creation that never even existed in times past. Whereas Hindi as a language actually has very deep roots, much variety, and enormous native vocabulary (including various regional dialects as well as Persian/Arabic borrowings). I wish people had a more educated and mature view of language in general.
amitabh can you back your assertion up. my understanding of hindi is limited but there seem to be some obvious gaps here.
not so. the publishing industry in india is very backward and is unable to promote literature to the masses. however, the sahitya akademi spreads the honors across various north indian languages. again. anecdotal evidence on my part. but one of the leaders in the tamil political arena is a person by the name of karunanidhi who used to be a screenwriter. he is (so i've heard) known for writing extremely dense, but technically beautiful, screenplays. i do know people who speak in "doordarshan hindi", and i dont know what is ridiculous about it. and then you say hindi has deep roots and is derived from urdu - which seems a bit odd - because i would gauge that sanskrit predates either language by several hundred years at least. i am scratching my head here trying to see your point but it is really hard to cut through.I think that the kind of mob-mentality driven behavior, demonstrated in these recent airport events, marks an alarming trend in contemporary society. When other passengers use their intuition to "identify" behaviour that is "suspicious," they participate in furthering the practice of racial and ethnic profiling. We are supposed to be inclusive of all colors and all faiths, but the general public is stubbornly failing to remember that people who committ terrorist acts are not representative of entire continents, countries or faiths; they are only representative of very specific groups. In addition the average non-brown person usually cannot tell the difference between a person of Indian descent, Arabic descent, Persian descent or even Latino origins (and apparently Hasidic Jews are now perceived as a threat). They see a brown person, hear an unfamiliar language and allow their paranoia to carry them away. Even worse, the TSA wastes time investigating regular travellers. If our security system is so faulty that we rely on random passengers to indentify threats, then we have some serious revamping to do. The thing that is supposed to be beautiful about contemporary America is that its residents and citizens can celebrate their roots. I can't imagine that anyone would be thrown off a plane for mixing Gaelic in with English. If the general population took a little bit of time to learn about South Asia, they may not be so judgmental.
One more thing, I don't remember where I read this, but I saw a recent article (maybe it was here on SM) that noted that most people's prejudices arise out of fear of the unknown and that of the people questioned, those that had a friend who practiced Islam did not categorically apply the terrorist label to every person who practices Islam. In contrast, those that had no Islamic friends, applied the terrorist label to everyone. My point is this, if these extremely fearful people let a little diversity into their lives, then maybe they would not be so alarmed at hearing one of the Indian languages or Arabic or the totally benign act of praying. (and maybe some of those situations would not repeat themselves)
I think that this is a situation where ignorance is only bliss for the ignorant. It is hell for everyone else.
One more thing, I don't mean to minimize the pain that has been caused by the terrorist attacks and I understand that people are afraid. I certainly would not want to be in a position where I could have averted a terrorist attack and failed to do so. But I think that too much reliance on the observation of regular passangers can lead to a disproportionate amount of investigations of innocent people. And I think that it also creates a false sense of security. Detaining innocent people who pose no threat is not progress, it is a diversion of resources. If the risk of terrorist attacks is extremely high, then we need a security system that is much better than an overhead announcement asking that all suspicious behaviour be reported to TSA. I don't know what that would be, I just know that a divisive world rife with discrimination does not feel like progress at all.
I agree Amitabh, language planning really sucks, though I dont agree with what you say is the origin of Hindi. Urdu has more Persian/Arabic as well as some Southern (Telugu, Tamil) influence whereas Hindi has more Sanskrit influence. The language spoken by any person claiming to speak Hindi or Urdu can be placed on a continuum between the two extremes and is largely based on geographical and socioeconomic factors. Linguists refer to the language as Hindi/Urdu because the two share the same grammar and are mutually intelligible. Sadly, some people, on both sides, have successfully popularized the historically false view that Urdu was used solely by Muslims and Hindi was used solely by Hindus.
Doordarshan and PTV, and their respective language polices, are spreading unnatural and engineered versions of their languages to obliterate past commonalities and to foster new pure identities. The language used in Bombay films (I hate the term Bollywood) and on private channels is closer to what majority of Hindi/Urdu speakers in both India and Pakistan speak. For this reason, I dont have a problem with English infiltration in Indian languages. Id rather be like the French French who let language change be rather the Quebec French who do odd language gymnastics to keep their French in the sixteenth century.
I have an idea for a true Sepia Mutiny. We buy tickets on the same flight. After a small conference at the airport, we decide on two-three very normal looking people (preferably suits) and separately report something about them that can be construed as suspicious. We then sit and let hilarity ensue. How about it brownies?
Meanwhile 200 million guns are afloat in the land.
Are you sure about this, PGW? I'd take your (or anyone's on SM) word straight usually but in this case I'm finding it hard to believe because I've heard the same description (stones in bottle/jar) from various people in India. I've met Bengalis who said exactly the same thing about Malayalam, UP people who said it about Tamil, Mallus about Telugu etc. Someone very close to me is a Telugu and rural members of her family say aravam without any negativity. They simply don't know any other word for Tamil. Their city cousins make fun of them for being "ignorant" and using the word aravam.
... and not enough dildos.
Buchoo, Hawa nikal gayi
Jai, Jai TSA wallah, Jai, Jai.
Amitabh,
I agree that the concept of "pure" language is ridiculous, but it seems to me that apart from a few Hindi-mein-Bindi-Kyun types the Hindi establishment has largely celebrated the non-pure Hindustani language that most Hindi writers have written in (post-independence). I'm thinking of folks from Manto to Bachchan to Nirmal Verma (whose Hindi novels, set in Europe, have tons of English, too) to Bhisham Sahani to Qurratulain Hy