[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

How are you on racial profiling at airport security? Just because someone is Muslim doesn't mean they want to blow up the plane.

Ok, I was going to just let this slide but you continued on with some more remarks like this.

Are you really trying to compare this policy of not allowing children to sit near a male to that of the current issue of Islamic Terrorists trying to blow up planes?

The first thing we have to ask ourselves, like some already have in this thread, is there really a problem with men molesting children on airplanes? Without actually looking into the matter I would venture to guess no, and if I were a betting man (which I am) I would also bet that there is no problem with men molesting children on airplanes.

The second thing we have to ask ourselves is, is there a problem with Muslim men trying to highjack, blow up and or crash planes into large urban centres? The answer is yes there is. It is true that the majority of Muslim men who fly DO NOT want to blow up the plane, but there has been several recent and ongoing attempts to do just that.

Thus, if a policy of profiling was in place, there would be justification to conduct such a program. Lets face it, there hasn't been an attempt by old white women to blow up planes, yet, as it stands now, they are subject to the same security procedures as a young adult muslim male who is traveling from Yemen on a one way ticket purchased last minute with cash. Does that make sense? No.

Even if we forget the above. If we just base this arguement on the current system. Everyone goes through some kind of security screening. Thus, before anyone even sets foot on a plane, everyone is in someway considered a possible threat. Does the BA policy do the same? No, women and children are automatically considered not a threat where as the man is.

This just seems like the typical nonsense in todays society where we MUST treat everyone exactly the same no matter the circumstances because heaven forbid someone gets offended.

If there was a large problem with men molesting children on airplanes, I would have no problem with a higher level of scrutiny, but that just isn't the case.

You also talk about how a Kurdish family you know had a hard time going through security. So what, I travel a lot and some times I have the same hassle. My wife and I missed a flight one time and had to rebook through a different city with the same day departure. Every connecting city we went through we had the full meal deal with security. Pulled into private areas, full pat down and complete search of all belonging because we fit a target of last minute booking, no lead time, and paid cash. Was it annoying, sure. Did I complain? Not at all. Why because I know that there are real threats in this world that want to kill people and the only way to stop them is by being proactive.

Hell, when I fly for work my ticket is coded LEO (Law Enforcement Officer). Usually I have zero problems, but on one occasion myself and my partner where given the full meal deal when we got back to Canada because we fit the profile. Tickets purchased last minute. Transiting several source countries, tickets purchased by the same credit card yet myself and my partner were not sitting together on the plane. Did I bitch about it? No, that is how the real world works. We all have to sacrifice a bit to ensure all of our safety. I wish it wasn't like that but unfortunately there are some really bad people in this world that do not value human life.