When Heather Higgins went to Reagan National Airport, Delta Airlines selected 15 passengers for complete searches. Though all terrorists involved in Sept. 11 were young Middle Eastern males, Delta picked three elderly men (one an Asian), six Caucasian women, including one with two children, and two Hispanic women. Yet in the line of 70 or so passengers, there were six individuals who were not only Middle Eastern but young, male and traveling alone. Not one of them was checked. When asked, Delta said the only searches they would do were at random.
So what happens when fighting terrorism meets racial equality? Jesse Jackson vs. my safety? Can I sue an airline if they don't screen those statistically most likely to commit a crime? When I've flown in Israel I always get stopped. I'm a middle aged single male traveling alone. If I happened to speak Arabic I'd be as close to the "statistical model" of a terrorist as you can get. Shouldn't they be obligated to check me a little closer? The article is titled It Isn't Easy Being Screened and it's on WSJ.com.