Sunday, January 4, 2009

Atif Irfan Family kicked off Flight...what do you think??

I hate to fly. I have always hated to fly. People tell me I am silly, but I can't help it, I get nervous and have just never been a good flier. I used to have to fly for my job, between Dallas and Phoenix. Sometimes it got very interesting.

This week the Atif Irfan family were boarding an Air Tran plane and said they were having an innocent conversation about where was the safest place to sit. Now, I don't care WHO you are. If I had been on that plane, or close enough to hear them. I would have freaked out.

Like I said, I hate to fly. Since 9-11, it has gotten worse. Back when I drank, I used to get a little drunk before I would get on the plane. Then I would drink while I was flying. And of course then you could smoke. So that always helped. Now, I don't drink, you can't smoke on the plane, (and I have quit smoking anyway) so all those things I used to distract myself with are gone.

We have a long record of bad things happening with planes. We have had hijackings, remember when Flight 847 was hijacked and held for 16 days by 2 Lebanese men. And that was just one of many. Of course the greatest hijacking of all was 9-11. And who could forget the legend of DB Cooper? One of the most famous "One who got away". Every once in a while, that story rears it's head, if some hiker in Washington or Oregon finds some old money in the mountains.

Yet, this family, American citizens, gets on an airplane, with our checkered history of tragic airplanes and loss. With the uncertainty in the Middle East, with the recent, fair or unfair, attack on President Bush by a shoe thrower, and yes, he laughed it off and yes we all chuckled a little at it, but it was still an attack.

This family, gets on an airplane and starts talking about where was the safest place to sit??? Well, my alarm bells would be ringing too. The airlines and the airports ask you to report anything suspicious. They ask you the stupid question about someone giving you something you don't know about to carry on the plane.

So, they get reported for talking about sitting in the safest place, they get asked to get off the plane. Then everyone is off the plane so they can check it. Then they are refunded their money and told to fly on another airline. I don't have a problem with that. I don't care what their religion is. Besides how would I know what their religion is. So throwing that into the mixture is just wrong. Now saying they looked to be of Middle Eastern culture...ok...but to say they were Muslim... that has nothing to do with the story.

What do you think?? Fair..unfair... I am really interested..

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