Just as jetBlue Airways and two TSA screeners settle a discrimination lawsuit for $240,000, discrimination bears its ugly face again as nine passengers of Muslim faith were booted from an AirTran flight.

A family of eight and a friend of the family were passengers on AirTran 175 from Washington National Airport to Orlando. This family was similar to other families on the plane. Mother, Father, brothers and sisters – some older, some still children. They were off to Orlando, Florida, on vacation to escape the cold weather of the Washington D.C. area.

During the boarding process, a couple members of the family discussed where the safest place to sit is, not an unusual conversation, especially in light of Continental 1404, which had crashed in Denver a couple weeks ago.

This frightening and chilling verbal exchange among the family about safety, the nearest exists, and the best place to sit landed them in hot water. This exchange scared another passenger who alerted a flight attendant.

The flight attendant then alerted the two Federal Air Marshall’s on-board, as well as the pilot, about what this passenger witnessed. As you might have guessed, things went downhill from here.

The nine Muslim passengers were pulled off the plane and turned over to the FBI for questioning. All other passengers were deplaned for another security screening as the TSA searched the Boeing 717.

The FBI cleared the nine passengers, but the aircraft departed without them. Once the FBI notified AirTran the passengers were clear to fly, AirTran refunded their tickets and refused to provide them passage to Orlando. It is not clear why this happened, but AirTran summed it up as a “misunderstanding”, but defended their actions.

The FBI assisted the nine in obtaining tickets on US Airways.

In a later statement, AirTran eventually did apologize, offered to reimburse the nine for the new (walk-up price) tickets they purchased on US Airways, and also offered to transport the group back to Washington free of charge.

Once the FBI had cleared the passengers, AirTran should have stepped up to the plate and allowed these passengers to fly to Orlando.

[b]Unfortunately stories such as this are becoming too common here in the United States and it’s time discrimination comes to an end. Since 9/11 it seems many people become irrational and are glazed over in a state of paranoia once inside an airport. Too much conservative talk radio? Too much Faux News? Perhaps it is the culture of fear the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA has created. [/b]

As one case of discrimination starts, another one has a somewhat happy ending with an out of court settlement of $240,000 from jetBlue, Garfield Harris, and Franco Trotta. Harris and Trotta are TSA Officers who were personally named, along with jetBlue in a lawsuit the ACLU filed on behalf of Raed Jarrar.

Jarrar is an Iraqi immigrant to the United States who was flying jetBlue flight 101 from New York’s JFK Airport to Oakland, California. The problem, aside from his skin color: Jarrar wore a t-shirt with Arabic print. The t-shirt read, “We will not be silent” – but according to Jarrar both jetBlue and two TSA officers had a problem with his shirt.

According to Jarrar, he was approached by the two TSA officers and told he could not wear the t-shirt because of the Arabic print. When Jarrar questioned this, he was told, “Coming into an airport while wearing a t-shirt with Arabic letters on it was equivalent to going into a bank while wearing a shirt saying, ‘I am a robber.’”

According to Jarrar, he was forced to wear another shirt that said New York, purchased at an airport shop with the two TSA officers in tow.

Despite the settlement, jetBlue and the TSA screeners deny any wrongdoing and dispute Jarrar’s version of the events. The ACLU filed the suit on Jarrar’s behalf.

[b]Again, this seems to be a case of discrimination and the result of paranoia gone wild. Had the two TSA officers gone over to Terminal 4, where Emirates and Qatar Airways operates, perhaps their eyes would be opened. [/b]

[b]Unfortunately, the two TSA officers are still employed with the agency. If they still work at JFK, I believe it would be appropriate for them to spend time in JFK’s Terminal 4 where flights from the Middle East operate non-stop here to the United States. [/b]

[b]In fact, I’m actually a bit shocked this happened at JFK airport, a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities with flights departing/arriving from around the globe. Then again, the jetBlue terminal is primarily comprised of US domestic departures and passengers are isolated from the diversity of air carriers and destinations served from the terminals around them. [/b]

[b]Some air carriers operating into the United States are even outfitted with in-flight entertainment systems which provide a map with the direction to Mecca to help Muslim passengers with their prayers. Malaysia Airlines even provides a small prayer area for its Muslim passengers and operates into both Los Angeles and Newark here in the United States. [/b]

[b]It’s time for these acts of discrimination to end here in the United States. Just take a look at our recent elections here in the United States – sadly, there are Americans who believe President-Elect Obama is a Muslim and they’re afraid of him. Setting aside the fact he isn’t Muslim, why the fear of Muslims? [/b]

[b]To close, I find it particularly alarming so many of my fellow Americans are easily terrified and become paralyzed with fear in cases such as these, which are only the tip of the iceberg. [/b]