Graduate student Irum Abassi was wearing a head scarf when she was ordered to leave a flight on Sunday before it took off from San Diego International Airport.
Abassi told reporters at a news conference that a Southwest crew member thought Abassi said, "It's a go" -- or something to that effect -- in a conversation on her cell phone. "They weren't even sure what I said," Abassi said.
She added that what she actually said was "I've got to go," because she could not talk on the phone during take-off.
19 March 2011
Americans still do not trust people wearing head scarves
As reported by Reuters:
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Wow. Just wow. On the bus ride to work, women in head scarves and long skirts are a regular sight. I once wondered if I'm seeing so many Muslim women, where are all the Muslim men? Then I realized, they're on the bus too, I just can't tell by the way they look! OMG! Panic! Actually, not so much...
ReplyDeleteI've generally found that women in head scarves are more polite than the rest of the population. I'm more comfortable around them, not less. It's amusing sometimes to see them tuck their cell phones into their scarf and use it as a hands-free holder. Religion and technology intersect FTW.
Also, according to the article, "Abassi was given a ticket for the next flight to her destination of San Jose, California and a travel voucher as a gesture of goodwill, the airline said." They thought she might be a security risk... but they have no problem putting her on the next plane? I do not understand their logic.
I would presume that only one rather parochial-minded flight attendant thought she might be a security risk, not the airline as a whole, and a properly-educated person issued the apology and compensation.
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