One Tuesday morning, a flight from Baltimore to Chicago faced an unexpected delay when a passenger, a woman named Sarah, became alarmed upon seeing a man of Middle Eastern descent watching a news report on his phone. Fearing for her safety, she quickly gathered her child and rushed to alert the crew about what she perceived as “suspicious behavior.” The captain decided to return to the gate, resulting in the removal of not only the man but also two passengers who were seated near him.
Eyewitness accounts detail that after the crew’s investigation, they asked the “suspicious” man to disembark, along with several others who appeared to be of Middle Eastern and African descent. The incident left the entire plane grounded for over three hours.
Sgt. Jonathan Green, a spokesperson for the Maryland Transportation Authority, later confirmed that no criminal activity had been found and that the individuals were free to leave. He acknowledged the woman’s fears but suggested that her reaction stemmed from the current climate of fear surrounding terrorism.
In her Facebook post about the incident, the eyewitness emphasized the man’s race, stating, “ISIS is a real threat today.” Even though she claimed to not be racist, she felt justified in appreciating the security measures taken that day. However, it’s crucial to recognize that her panic—and the ensuing chaos—was rooted in the man’s ethnicity.
Can we be honest? The only reason Sarah felt compelled to race to the back of the plane was due to her fear of a Middle Eastern man. The claim that the same response would have occurred regardless of ethnicity is simply untrue. If the man had been of another background, it’s doubtful there would have been any alarm.
This incident serves as a reminder that racial profiling does not enhance our safety. If it did, we should be more cautious around white men, who statistically commit a significant portion of mass shootings in the U.S. Yet, we don’t carry that same fear. It’s a troubling reflection of our society that we often fear those who are different from us, and this mindset is not only unjustifiable but also harmful.
While it’s natural to feel fear after witnessing a series of tragic events, we must strive to teach our children that skin color, language, or origin should not define our perception of safety. The world we live in shouldn’t be one where fear dictates our interactions with others.
We need to avoid the trap of generalizing an entire group based on the actions of a few. Just like how our current attitudes toward refugees—predominantly women and children—are troubling, we must remember that fear-driven racism is a slippery slope. The unjust treatment of individuals based on their ethnicity echoes dark chapters of history, like the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, which came from paranoia and not actual threats.
Fear cannot and should not justify racism. When my children are old enough, I will show them the many Facebook posts that advocate for such beliefs. These posts come from a place of fear, not reason.
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In summary, we must teach our children to recognize that fear should not lead to prejudice. Embracing diversity and learning from one another strengthens society, rather than creating divisions based on unfounded fears.