September 11, 2011, - 4:01 pm
10 Years Later: 9/11 Ticket Agent Let Hijackers Board b/c “I’m Not Prejudiced”
One of real lessons of the 9/11 Islamic attacks on America continues to go unheeded because so many Americans would rather die or sacrifice their fellow Americans’ lives, rather than be accused of prejudice. That’s the reason one of the ticket agents gave who let two of the hijackers board planes in Washington, DC, despite many red flags raised–red flags that would have stopped the rest of us from flying. The agent didn’t want to be accused of prejudice . . . and therefore, people died. Ten years later, we still won’t do the right thing and profile Muslims and Arabs. Instead, we have government authorities lining up to kiss their asses, while you and your grandmother from Pasadena are harassed and molested. And while the ACLU files lawsuit after lawsuit every time a Muslim gets a paper cut or breaks a nail.
Dorothy Rabinowitz, Wall Street Journal editorial page member and TV critic, summarized an important part of a CNN program (which aired Tuesday night) that reminds us how our desire not to be labeled as bigots helped cost 3,000 Americans their lives. And, yet, CNN continues to pander to this group.
A note about CNN’s “Footnotes of 9/11,” which takes up the subject of people who are mentioned in the “9/11 Commission Report.” They were part of the history of the day, if peripheral figures, though in one or two instances they emerge as more. One of the more memorable of the eight subjects here is the Dulles Airport ticket agent who checked in two of the hijackers—Middle Eastern men whose look and demeanor immediately raised his suspicions. The agent followed the men, he reports, then stopped himself from alerting anyone. He didn’t want to be accused of prejudice, of harboring suspicions because of racial feelings. A vignette from a footnote—but one that has much to tell about some of the underlying reasons for the ease with which the hijackers were able to board the planes and fulfill their murderous mission.
The terrorists knew this. And so do most American Muslims. They know that playing the “Islamophobia” card works every time (even though a phobia is an unreasonable fear or hatred, and we have very good reason to face facts about Islam and the threat it poses). Too many people are so wimpy and limp that they would rather look the other way and bend over, rather than do the right thing and be called a “bigot.”
Remember, political correctness–especially PC pandering to Muslims–kills. It didn’t just kill 3,000 Americans on 9/11. It killed plenty before and plenty since, including the 13 murder victims of Islam at Fort Hood.
Sadly, the U.S. Government contradicts itself in its absurd message. On the one hand, it tells us, “if you see something, say something.” But, then, it tells you that if you say something, you are prejudiced against “innocent, peaceful Muslims.” Don’t believe it.
Americans: Know Your Enemies. And Don’t Be Afraid to Identify Them. Have the courage to speak out.
I hate to say I agree that more profiling may be necessary. But don’t count on it to be the end-all be-all to ending terrorism; or even coming close to stopping it. I was flying not long ago; and looking around the airport; saw a few dressed in Moslem garb but the majority of people (at this American airport) looked like me, or my wife, or even Norway’s Anders Behring Breivik. So if we focus totally on profiling from our own prejudices that grew larger after 9/11, how do we stop the Behring-Breiviks of the world? You write a good message, Debbie, but your timing is impeccably horrid. There are many grieving and don’t want to know on the anniversary-after-the-fact that our tolerant society may have been complicit with the Arab Al Queda madmen who conducted this insane act. Next time, why not wait a few days after the anniversary so that those who are still reeling with pain, don’t have to be exposed to this type opinion. Very good message, very wrong day to purvey it. Thank you.
Rick London on September 11, 2011 at 4:37 pm