THE AGENT'S CASE: Because of his presumed willingness to take a bullet for the President, I have been heretofore reluctant to scowl at the claims of the Secret Service agent who was denied boarding on an American Airlines flight Christmas Day. I've seen three of his lawyers on the shows, and they told a pretty convincing story of racial discrimination. Why didn't American just call the Secret Service and verify his identity? Plus, who hasn't experienced ill-treatment at the hands of airline staff? I was prepared, like the President, to be "mad as heck."
Still, the agent's suit for "education" of airline pilots gave me pause. Were they to be sent to cultural re-education camps? Or was he simply asking that they be taught how to tell a surly Secret Service agent from a terrorist? Yet why reserve the right to ask for monetary damages, if he's not attempting a shakedown for some of that bailout money Mrs. Daschle successfully won for American?
National Review Online has now provided us with the other side of the story, and already his case seems harder to prove. If what the Captain and the SOC Manager claim is correct, the agent failed to correctly fill out the forms for carrying his weapon three times in a row. Nobody likes to fill out forms, but a security officer of all people should understand their importance. And apparently he was rude to airline staff in front of other passengers, so there will be witnesses to what really occurred.
It now seems just as likely to me that the agent was being hypersensitive. It may be that, since the 9-11 attacks, he had been expecting to have his presence as an armed Arab American questioned sooner or later when he flew, and he was all too willing to see a pattern of discrimination.
I don't have a problem with giving special scrutiny to Arab-American men on airlines. I would hope the agent, himself, steps a little closer to the Prez when in the presence of an unknown Arab. Of course, Arab-looking people should be allowed to fly like anyone else, but it does seem prudent to look closely at their gun permits. With a Secret Service agent and the captain of an airplane, you also have two men butting heads who are both used to running things. The Captain won Round One and the agent may be out for Round Two. I'm now glad to see that American is stepping up to the fight. Better that a jury decide this one, than that they immediately capitulate.
Posted by shilohbucher at January 08, 2002 02:33 PM