Two men kept from boarding U.S. plane after speaking Arabic

I understand being vigilant and why there's tight security at airports and major facilities, but it's a sad statement when innocent people are humiliated for speaking a foreign language. The US does NOT have an official language.

Shame on Spirit Airlines.

Shame on those bent on keeping fear alive and justifying hideous forms of discrimination in the name of their skewed beliefs.

The fear mongers like the Trump followers among many other reactionary groups are making the US a very scary place for everyone.

Jeeze people if you are so damn paranoid what foreigners are saying learn their damn language then you will truly know heck its actually a good weapon against terrorism put some average Joe shmo on a plane that knows all languages then just eavesdrop

SW Airlines has a long history of questionable decisions regarding passengers and "security." Looks like other discount airlines have similar problems. Notice that its not the major carriers that are kicking off people for the crime of appearing Muslim. (At least not yet...)

Good.

See? Nothing bad can come from bombastic rhetoric from our politicians.

This is disgusting.

“So I shared my baklava with them,” he was quoted as saying.

Great reaction. The best weapon against hate is love and tolerance. Throw their hate back in their face by not reacting the same as they acted.

StrangerlandNOV. 21, 2015 - 02:55PM JST The best weapon against hate is love and tolerance. Throw their hate back in their face by not reacting the same as they acted.

Yeah. With psychos who saw other peoples heads off with dull knives and burn people to death in cages this is gonna work great!

"...because a fellow passenger had overheard them speaking Arabic—and was afraid to fly with them. "

Ridiculous! If that person is afraid to fly with them, ban THAT person from flying; don't ask the people who are just going about their business in their native tongue -- the tongue (in one dialect or another) of a quarter of the world's population!).

Americans are diseased if they think this way.

@ohara,

I think Strangerland was thinking more of bigots than terrorists, but in a sense he's right. The more accepting we are of peaceful, moderate Muslims, the less power the terrorists have. A huge part of the problem - at least the European part of it - has been marginalization and ghetto-ization. Fewer disaffected Muslims means less recruits for ISIS and their ilk. Treating Muslims and Arabs like second class citizens, on the other hand...

extra vigilante

Oh, good lord. Yes, that's exactly what we need, everyone getting "extra vigilante."

Better conceal my health and vaccination booklet next time I fly, it has Arabic writing on the cover...

Haha! Good catch.

One might... dare I say it... call such a comment "reckless."

I agree with Reckless. One can't be so careful as not to discriminate based on "I've got a bad feeling about this." Suggestion: Allow Arabic speakers and Muslims (and those often mistaken for them, like Sikhs) to fly in limited numbers but only after personal guarantees are given by the heads of the CIA, FBI, and NSA. That doesn't sound too cumbersome, does it?

Allow Arabic speakers and Muslims (and those often mistaken for them, like Sikhs) to fly in limited numbers but only after personal guarantees are given by the heads of the CIA, FBI, and NSA.

Why not just charter them private jets at their expense? If nothing happens we never have to hear about it or see it. If something does happen, the snarky comments will write themselves.

Once on board, Khalil told NBC 5 that some passengers made him open a white box he was carrying—filled, it turns out, with sweets. “So I shared my baklava with them,” he was quoted as saying.

I don't know if I'd be that accommodating if a group of passengers demanded I open my carry-on bag.

TriumvereNOV. 21, 2015 - 05:59PM JST Funny, America has over 3 million Muslim residents, yet they seem to be considerably better integrated then those in Europe.

Well, they were better integrated than those in Europe. One has to wonder how long we can let troglodytes abuse Muslims for being Muslims before we lose that status.

I would expect one million dollars compensation if it were me. God bless America.

Its easy to stand on moral high ground to denounce this, but under that circumstance, I wouldn't want to fly with them

Following your line of reasoning, I guess I would expect them not plant a bomb in the crowd at the Boston Marathon, or go on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood.

Following your line of reasoning, I guess I would expect all of them to plant a bombs in the crowd at the Boston Marathon, and go on a shooting rampages at Fort Hood.

If they had decided to speak English instead, I have no doubt that someone would have reported two suspicious Middle Eastern men using broken English with Arabic accents in a possible attempt to 'blend in with other travellers'. Or if they just kept their mouths shut and said nothing, somebody would have reported that as suspicious.

Deal with it, that is the world we live in. And the prevalent PC BS can go to hell.

Hey moderator, eat my f*rt.

Moderator: Mature adults should never use such language.

Stimulus response:

Bell = food = salivate.

People speaking Arabic = Terrorists = Bomb!

Duh!

PTownsend and other protected people,

The US does have an official language. It's called English. Shame on Spirit Airlines? People have a right to be concerned.

The US does have an official language. It's called English.

Factually incorrect. English is the default language of the US. It is not "official" however.

Deal with it, that's the world we live in now.

I remember after 9/11 and many of the terrorists were of Middle Eastern origin, Some Americans were attacking Indians because they think Indians and people from the Middle East are all the same. These are the type of low life people I am ashamed to call fellow countrymen.

It's not a big deal. But if you hear, "God is Great" - Run to the hills!!

Hmm, airport security didn't get their stuff straight. I thought they were supposed to go by a no-fly list and the long checks they had? Not every Arabian is Muslim and these men even went through security clean that's a hint that they should be let through. But remember one passenger was frightened... not a good excuse.

Land of the ...what was it, now? Home of the...remind me?

Land of the ...what was it, now? Home of the...remind me?

Land of the free, home of the brave.

Also at Chicago’s Midway Wednesday, six men identified by fellow passengers as being of Middle Eastern descent were removed from a Southwest flight bound for Houston after they asked people around them to switch seats, causing a commotion

Those 6 men were Wrong for causing the commotion. Those 6 men were Wrong for asking other passengers to switch seats. Seems to me, those 6 men acted with suspicion.

Any reasonable, prudent passenger(s)- taking into account the active global terror threat- would be reacting reasonable under those circumstances.

DaDude, I remember after 9/11 and many of the terrorists were of Saudi origin, your president and his neocon associates attacked Afghanistan and Iraq. Perhap, they are the type of people you should be ashamed to call fellow countrymen.

Gaijintraveller makes a pretty good point. I think it's time for the US to drop Saudi Arabia like a "hot potato" and throw them on the list of state sponsored terror.

Black & White islam. We shake hands with one and war with the other. Meanwhile, the clergy preaches and spreads radical islam because these conditions exist. Worse, the west lets them get away with it.

I am all for intelligent profiling, but "speaking Arabic" in itself should not be a reason to single someone out, That is just stupid.

On the other hand, this is not "racial profiling" as the Muslim front organization "CAIR" claims. I don´t understand why the media continue to pay so much attention that vile propaganda outfit.

Land of the ...what was it, now? Home of the...remind me?

WarwickNchuaa

How about land of litigation and home to a society where everyone feels they have rights, especially the right to sue.

This is just an example of liability anxiety on the part of the airlines.

This is just an example of liability anxiety on the part of the airlines

Only, the airlines are more likely to be sued for discrimination by the people they kicked off, so I'm not sure I'm buying your theory.

Triumvere,

American and United Airlines were sued for $3.5 billion dollars because their planes were involved in the 911 attacks, United was still in court as of 2013. The airlines needed to be bailed out by the taxpayer, in part because their liability insurance premiums skyrocketed. Guaranteed, over a decade of legal fees surely made somebody rich but not the airlines. Somebody suing because they felt discriminated against is small potatoes when compared to what the airlines have been through.