A Lovers’ Quarrel with Airport Profiling

Re: # 83

T Saab.. I wasn’t trying to be funny.

Atif, you can say whatever you want, but that’s not what you really mean, or even if you mean what you think you meant, it still means that there is more to it than that. The point is that your sophomoric effort at writing this essay aside, the issue of “profiling” is very hot and requires a thorough examination, and if those who are affected by it do not speak up (for why they are target of such a stupid practice) no one will speak up for them. The way to achieve that end (in my humble opinion) is to speak up against the morons who are the cause of such a system, rather than those who use it.

#83 i meant when you mean to be funny. hijackings and terrorism and what this is doing to the muslims (in terms of reduced chances of immigration to get better jobs and life styles in the west e.g.) is not something to be trivialized by focussing on the trivial impact it has on our personal lives.

#82 - ``but please write on something other than politics next time ``

taubo karo chacha...when we have pundits like you around, why should atif (of all people!), write about politics?

#79 atif: i agree that this article was written tongue in cheek (Kulharee, no tongue-puns please) and maybe i am making a bigger deal than it is.

but please write on something other than politics next time since i know you can do better. at least you made arjun`s day...... :-)

Scout # 77 - As usual, you are late in the game. Lobby, lawsuits, campaigns...all are underway. Inshallah, not just muslims, but my hindoo friends on this board - who are cheering profiling, will benefit too from this useless profiling too. Remember my hindoo friends, when germany burned in 1930s, it were not just the jews that burned with it, gypsies did too.

kulharee: you can be truly funny, but this time it fell flat. even jay leno has his bad days i guess. but thanks for the effort. :-)

#73 ``did we really need to know the kind of junk you carry with you? and why are you making such a fuss over the fact that the security people become alert when they see a young man of middle eastern/desi type looks?``

What junk? Condoms? Dont you use them? As for the ``fuss`` you allude to, let me do a tahmed on you: please cut and paste for me from the article where I have made a fuss of profiling. I even went ahead and called it a ``lovers` quarrel``. Its never too late in life to start making sense, Sultan of circular logic :)

Avkrishna # 69 - please dont take each one of my comment seriously. some are meant in jest. regards.

atif: i have not read the indians` posts here, but have no doubt they are having a great time at the expense not just of your article but stretching it to apply to all ``pakis``.

so if you get mad at me for pointing these things out to you - realize that you and urstruly can sometimes be a total embarrassment for any pakistani. you fit the caricature that pokershark (the hindu man pretending to be a muslim male fool as well as a muslim female fool) works so hard to put across on chowk.

but seriously, if you`re on some kind of list and feel that you shouldn`t be on the list, can`t you hire a lawyer and try to get yourself off the list instead of moping about it... actually DO something about it, lobby in DC whatever...

Re: # 73

T Saab.. Atif is the only condom carrying Desi frequent flyer (talk about cheap) . Others buy that at the hotel shop. Sure you pay more at the Hotel shop but it saves you embarrassment at the checkin. But there should be nothing to be embarrassed about wanting to practice safe sex. Atif was lucky that the security inspector was not a Mullah type, with long flowing beard, as I have seen a couple of those at JFK.

#69 by avkrishna on January 9, 2007 11:01am PT


is probably read only by FBI (I am sure even they would have delegated this site and it`s interactors to trash can by now)...


Why? chowk is a target rich environment for the agents hunting jihadis in America..

#36 atif/urstruly: as for arab airlines having the prettiest airhostesses, give me a break. from what i recall (and i used to travel a lot a few years back) most of them were european women with their hair bleached blonde, no doubt to cater to the cheap tastes and fantasies of arab men.

#54 atif: that was a question for saminasha. you ignored the questions i had for you which would have helped me remove my puzzlement on what exactly to make of your article. :-)

but more seriously - why is everything about your royal highness in this article? did we really need to know the kind of junk you carry with you? and why are you making such a fuss over the fact that the security people become alert when they see a young man of middle eastern/desi type looks? you should be glad they are alert, and appreciate that terrorists have had a special fascination with planes (not just 9/11, but also the shoe-bomber who was caught by an alert airhostess).

as for the question to saminasha - granted i was just trying to give saminasha a hard time since i know she means well. but nevertheless - the point i made is valid: she commented on the ethnicity of the security staff (Latinos) and on their poor command of english (!!). What does that have to do with their functions??

There is no circular logic here. Just plain common sense.

#70 by saminasha2 on January 9, 2007 11:04am PT

it doesn`t bother Indians because they know they`re not carrying box cutters and the search is just an additional step..

pakis OTOH...

Every suspected Pakistani to Jeddah when lands for Haj is x-rayed (for drugs), but not every Indian. Every flight from Columbia into the US goes thru the toughest scrutiny including x-ray searches of the passengers. Every inbound flight from the Islands into the US goes thru the same search. So profiling is alive and well. Wish Pakistan used profiling to single out Taliban supporters in the northern areas.

Re: # 64

chalta,

good for you! logically does that mean that all Indian men dont get special searches?