November 5, 2005
Civil rights?
The head of Civil Rights for the US Department of Homeland Security is urging Muslim air travellers to register with the Federal government before flying to reduce the chances they might be stopped at an airport because their name is on or similar to names on an anti-terrorism watch list.
Daniel Sutherland says that registering will not eliminate the risk of Muslims being stopped for extra security checks, but thinks it will improve the US Department of Homeland Security's relations with Muslims and Arab-Americans.
"We need to listen to their concerns," he said at the seminar on homeland Security sponsored by the Knight Centre for Specialized Journalism.
"We need to build a level of commitment and trust that's unprecedented in our nation's history, not an 'us-versus-them' perception in the community. One way to do that is by having Muslim and Arab-American travellers complete the form on the web page of the transportation security administration, a division of Homeland Security responsible for protecting mass transit systems including airports.”
Personally, I don't see how this is going increase trust.
Posted by James Trotta at November 5, 2005 5:31 PM
Sounds as if the Department of Homeland Security is trying to create a database of Muslims and Arab/Americans.
Sometimes I wonder if this is still the land of the free.
Posted by: Lisa Healey at November 8, 2005 3:56 AMIf this were to happen to Americans abroad, we would quickly cry foul; and with good reason. This is not a smart proposal; and it won't succeed. It's also unwise, in part because there is far too much room for abuse with information like this at someone's fingertips. I think it would only make travelers ~ esp. foreign travelers to the U.S. ~ even more paranoid/concerned for their welfare, than they already are ... & could you blame them?
It appears, in some ways, to give more discretionary-type powers to TSA officials, which is also concerning ~ because of the high potential for "human error" in trying to spot terrorists based on file info., or to curtail terrorist activities based on data that could be false, incomplete, or mishandled by an airport worker who simply doesn't like the 'look' of someone.
Thumbs down on this idea!
Posted by: Lydia at November 14, 2005 7:09 AMThat suggestion to register Muslims is so cute. I'm a light-skinned, curly-haired, intelligent African-American female in the US. What am I supposed to do when I get stopped going on any flight I take? The guard (who manages to not laugh as s/he says this) tells me that these selections are random. At the Newburgh, NY airport, I'm thinking that it's kind of weird that the only random searches are of people as light or darker than me. Maybe it's just me. I can be a little sensitive at times. One of my brothers has the same features and had the nerve to grow a beard. He always shows up on every "similar" list and, believe me, we do NOT have Muslim names.
We live in a racist country that talks like it cares about integration, but we have a president who actively pursues segration. As long as I look questionable and my nationality is questionable--or not--to some, all this civil rights rhetoric is just that--rhetoric.
By the way, I've been mistaken for an Hispanic, Pakistanian, and Carribean person. At least the confusion is multi-cultural!
Posted by: Heather at November 15, 2005 7:20 AM