posted by Sam Richards
US Airways Express Flight 3079, bound for Kentucky, landed in Philadelphia after an attendant reported a passenger who was praying and wearing tefillin.
Strange how there is so much going on in the world that is boringly normal for one group and totally off-the-hook bizzare for another. While I am undoubtedly in the group of people in the U.S. that could be labelled “more aware” of others and their cultures, I would be quick to admit that there are things going on around me, cultural practices if you will, that I don’t understand and cannot make sense of.
So here is this quirky story about a young Jewish man who made the “mistake” of praying and wearing tefillin while flying on an airplane. Most of you don’t know what “teffilin” is–and why would you if you’re not Jewish? Hmm… Actually, why would you if you’re not Jewish and familiar with a wide range of Jewish religious practices?
What’s interesting about this misadventure in flying and cultural interpretation is how the Jewish families (and other Jews who were interviewed) reacted to it–they were very nonchalant and understanding. “Are you kidding,” you can almost hear them say. “Have you seen someone praying with tefillin?” It’s a very rational response to what could otherwise be seen as a mistake made by a rather provincial and unworldly airline employee.
Read the article from the New York Times: “A Flight Is Diverted By a Prayer Seen As Ominous”
Although this is a bizarre story, I actually agree with what the flight attendant did by telling the pilots. If I was a person on that plane and saw this act being performed, I may have been uptight as well because I do now know what tefellin is or what it’s used for. If in fact it was something that could have caused harm, then we would all be talking about how the people did nothing and just watched rather than discussing our lack of knowledge of cultural rituals. What happened was a waste of time, but it is much better than the alternative.
[Reply]
I feel like what the flight attendant and pilots did in this case was probably not too far over the top. If I were on that flight, I may have been annoyed that I was delayed, but that is better than if it had actually been explosives and the plane was blown up. It is a cautious time, especially with flights. I think the fact that many Jewish people, including his rabbi, were understanding that these actions called attention speaks to the fact that this may not have been taken to far and that to ere on the side of caution may have been the correct move.
[Reply]
Although I feel bad for the Jewish boy who had to deal with being handcuffed and questioned for simply praying, if I had seen anything that looked like a box with wires coming out I would have freaked out as well. I guess this mostly has to do with the fact that most Americans are slightly paranoid when it comes to airline travel, especially after 9/11. It is unfortunate that most of us have never heard or seen such a common practice in the Jewish religion, however, no one is to fault in this situation. The boy was doing something he found normal, and the airline attendant was simply following procedure to what she thought was suspicious behavior. Hopefully everyone can learn from this situation and we can all be more understanding of practices that we do not find "normal".
[Reply]
Honestly, I understand how the fight crew felt, because had I been on the plane the same thought would have been going through my head considering the nation’s previous incidents with terrorism. I also believe that as Americans we should become familiar with other people cultural practices, because its ignorance that makes people fear one another. We can live right next door to someone, speak to him or her, but not know a thing about who they are or their cultural practices. We want to be the mighty nation land of the free, but in this case being free to practice who you are could cause suspicion or land you in jail. We always speak about the cultures we know nothing of I think it’s time we learn, so we will no longer be afraid of people who are different than we are.
[Reply]
This story is very interesting to me for the reason that I do not know exactly how I would have reacted if I was on that plane. Usually, I am able to form an opinion rather quickly, and stick with that opinion, but this is a tough one. First off, I am all for people being open about their religion. Some people have to pray at certain times of the day, that's just the norm for them. In America, I feel that there is almost no way that anyone can outlaw or prohibit certain forms of prayer on airplanes, because in America we value our rights so much. I would like to see them try to say that someone cannot pray, the ACLU would be on that in a second. Let's imagine, however, that we had been on board this flight. Everybody is always extra observant when they're on a plane, because that's how we have been taught to act in the post September 11 world. Now lets say that the passenger sitting in the row across from us takes out what looks to be some form of long black electrical tape. This definitely has to rouse some suspicion. While it's not exactly lighting your shoe or underwear on fire, it is still something unfamiliar, possibly something terrifying to some people. Now the person that is handling this tape begins to start to pray. You don't know if that person is praying because it is a religious obligation, or if they are praying because they are about to blow themselves up. I feel that I would have brought this situation to the attention of someone, not because I am narrow-minded or because I am stereotyping. I would have brought this to the attention of someone purely for the reason that it is outside my comfort zone. When you are 30,000 feet in the air, some worst case scenarios pop into your mind, none of which you want to happen. So, then I guess I would have made the same decision that the passengers on that flight made. What I am surprised about, however, is the Jewish person's response to the entire ordeal. I think that I personally would be just a little bit pissed off if everyone around me was freaking out about something that I do on a daily basis. I would also be a little offended that my fellow passengers thought that I was actually going to blow up the plane. One thing is certain though, in the future we are going to have to look at how we can handle these situations better.
[Reply]
After reading this article, I have a great deal of respect for the way all parties involved handled the situation. I am from a town where Judaism is not largely practiced – in fact I made my first Jewish friend upon coming to Penn State. Because of my lack of familiarity with Jewish Orthodox practices, I can certainly understand the way that US Airways staff responded. In fact, I think that the flight attendant, while ignorant to the practices that were being performed on the aircraft, did a fantastic job. It is frightening to fly in times like these where the safety of the passengers onboard is uncertain, and to consider the way that the custom and practice must have looked, it is certainly within reason to say I would have been unsettled by it. It is good to know that our airway employees are following protocol as closely as they are and doing the best job that they can to keep us safe from threats and potential threats alike. As someone who travels via airplanes frequently, it reassures me that traveling on airplanes is still safe. As for the Philadelphia police, I am pleased with their reaction to this situation as well. They responded in an appropriate manor by being suspicious of everyone onboard the aircraft, and not blindly charging in and harassing the Jewish boy and his sister. However, I do think that placing them in handcuffs may have been a little extreme, but I think it is always better to err on the side of caution than to let a dangerous situation persist when it could be snuffed immediately. On to the way the boy and his surrounding Jewish community handled the situation. I am very impressed with the level of calm and rational that they responded with. I would have assumed there would have been a large outcry after the precautions that the flight staff took, but instead they understood the mistake that was made and were at ease with the situation. I applaud their understanding and the fact that they were not enraged by the lack of familiarity towards their customs. I liked the Rabbi’s suggestion of using the time for prayer, which is by all means within anyone’s rights, but saving the ritual for later. While I am sure the ritual has a deep meaning for them, and the value of those meanings should not be diminished, it does make sense to practice things like that where others will understand and not be alarmed as they were on the plane. While the overall ignorance of our public and airline staff is a little unsettling, it is out of the realm of possibility to expect everyone to understand every practice. The way all sides reacted in this situation was a perfect example of how to deal with undesirable circumstances that can come from misunderstandings. I hope that this article will act as a lesson that we need to be safe and work with those around us to learn more about our different cultures.
[Reply]
After reading this article, I researched just exactly what a tefillin is. Even after reading the description the article gave and looking at the picture, a tefillin still seemed like somewhat of a mystery to me. Being Catholic, I too had never heard of it, just like the majority of the people on that flight. I think it is normal for a person to question something they have never seen or heard of before. So naturally, the people on the flight probably started questioning the Jewish teen and got alarmed when they saw this foreign object. With all the terrorism going on today, especially on planes, I completely understand the cause for concern on behalf of the passengers and crew. Another thing worth noting is that we learned from the plane scare this past Christmas that stereotypical Middle Eastern men aren't the only ones that could be a possible threat to flight safety. We have to be on the lookout for anyone or anything that could be remotely dangerous to others on board the plane. The people on this flight were just looking out for their own safety and the safety of others.
[Reply]
One interesting aspect about this article is it’s questionable existence in our news mainstream today. As I read about a boy who halted a flight from New York with a simple prayer I wondered if the flight would have ever stopped had it not been for the events of 9/11. Since that dreary day in September airports, flight attendants, and passengers have all taken extra measures and have been increasingly more on edge when boarding an airplane. Before 9/11 if we saw a nice looking white jewish boy start to pray, we might have sat back and not looked at it as a threat, or we may have talked to him about the ritual before landing the plane in Philadelphia. However, this was not the case in today’s world and it makes you wonder if it ever will be again. Now and days we’re so worried that we’re convinced that just about anything can have a bomb attached to it. You probably wouldn’t even be able to bring a twinkie into an airport without them opening it in half to make sure that the filling isn’t some type of explosive substance when in fact its’ the fatty, delicious treat we love. As a society we worry, and it has become increasingly unbearable and pretty ridiculous. You can’t watch a comedic act without them joking about airplane or travel security. How many people have complained about the amount of crap they go through at an airport just to board the flight. The worst part about it is that all of these actions that airlines take are completely necessary. We learned our lesson once and have stepped up to take precautionary measures to instill safety within our society. I think it’s absolutely terrible that we are hated that much as a country that people would willingly lay down their lives to put a small dent in our society. As for the boy, I couldn’t even imagine what was going through his mind through this entire process. Imagine being 17 again and taking a flight on your own, already scared about all the dangers that flying now presents and then this happens. When he boarded the plane I’m sure he was looking out too and hoping that he has a safe trip without any threats or issues. When he got on all he wanted was a smooth ride, but only found that everyone looked at him as the threat because of a religious practice of his. Our society is so diverse that no matter where you’re at you’re subject to numerous of cultures and situations that will always be deemed as different or strange. How many of us eat dinner in front of the TV, or in our room. In some families that is seen as a norm, but to others we can be looked at as rude. This whole situation has to make you wonder if airports should learn more about other cultures so that way when they are again presented with something out of the norm from our society, then they don’t have to pull off again.
[Reply]
This Jewish ritual was unbeknownst to me and I can completely understand why a flight attendant may become anxious in witnessing a young boy wrapping himself in tefillin for the first time on a commercial flight and why the pilot would feel it necessary to divert the flight in order to keep protocol and keep passengers safe. However, this incident was blown out of proportion by fear and does affirm that as a nation we have become quite skittish. It also reveals our lack of familiarity with many common religious traditions present in the United States. Be that as it may, this article sheds a favorable light on Jewish people.
The boy, his grandmother, his rabbi, and the other observant Jews who were interviewed were all very cooperative, understanding, and forgiving. They were not angered and they did not accuse anyone of being ignorant to their culture or profiling. He was performing a harmless prayer and he informed the flight attendant of this when she asked. Nonetheless, he still had a gun pointed in his direction and was handcuffed and questioned by police when they detoured and landed in Philadelphia. He did not fight, argue, cause problems, or appear mad. His grandmother reacted similarly. She understood that people in the United States have become more cautious in situations where they recognize something as unfamiliar, especially on commercial flights. She did not criticize any of the officials for the actions that they took. When the rabbi and some other observant Jews were questioned they were just as reasonable and agreed that they would have done the same thing if they were in the flight attendants position. The rabbi does not expect anyone to know of the ritual and is not surprised of the fear that it ensued. The rabbi even goes so far as to remove the blame for the misunderstanding from the officials entirely. He stated, “I would suggest, pray on the plane and put the tefillin on later on. Pray, and fulfill the ritual later.” All of their actions reflect back on their religion and culture positively.
The emphasis of this article is justifying the actions taken by the flight attendant and pilots on the flight destined for Louisville after witnessing the 17-year-old boy performing a Jewish ritual. They may have overreacted in this case but it is better to take precautions in events like this than take a risk on 50 passengers lives. The Jewish people that were interviewed after this incident appeared to completely understand this mindset and were insistent that it did not offend them. After reading this article I feel a great respect for the Jewish culture. I would be happy to have these people represent me.
[Reply]
It is impossible to be aware of all the cultural practices in the world, and in this situation, the jewish ritual would clearly arouse suspicion, especially in the current environment. For this reason I can full understand the actions of the flight attendants. I believe there are two obvious ways in which such events can be prevented in future. Firstly, if you are paracticing a ritual that is most likely unknown to the majority, then care should be taken not to arouse suspicion, and compromise if this could be the case. As the rabbi stated in the article, in this case the boy could have prayed on the plane, and put on the teffilin later on. Secondly, more should be done to educate poeple who work in a job that deals with large groups of people. Although it is impossible for everyone to understand every cultural ritual, it is only beneficial to educate poeple of other cultures besides their own, to enhance cultural understanding.
[Reply]
This article is one of the most interesting recent 'airplane mixups' (and there seem to be quite a few these days) that I have heard! It is funny to think that a simple prayer is what forced an airplane to land. Imagine how many prayers are said each and every single time an airplane takes off. I must admit I have been guilty of such a disturbance, as I clench the arm rests during a flight takeoff.
I am not surprised that this incident caused such a great misunderstanding among those on the flight. In fact, I would even go so far to say that I think the misunderstanding was handled FAIRLY well, for what knowledge the flight crew had available. Of course, landing a plane for no real reason is a complete waste of time and utilities. On the other hand, seeing something you do not understand and feel nervous about and then reporting it to the pilot is exactly what Americans have been encouraged to do on flights.
You cannot expect everybody in the world (or even the United States, for that matter) to know every bit about the cultures of others. For the most part, people do not even know every bit of their own culture. I am part Jewish and had never seen Tefillin before, though I have heard the term maybe once or twice in the past. Regardless of this, I wonder if this act is bordering on disrespect towards a culture different than the norm.
It is most interesting to me that we live in a society today where people do not even expect cultural understanding of others. As great as it is that this boy and his family were so calm and collected about the matter (both during and after), it almost seems unfair that they must live their lives with the expectation of ignorance from their peers. It is incomprehensible that a simple and innocent act like prayer can be so misunderstood as to cause a disturbance on an airplane.
Just because the act was not an attempt at disrespect does not mean that it is not disrespect. It makes me sad that we have so little appreciation for one another as to not understand cultural and religious variances. On the other hand, I can completely see and understand why such an unusual and confusing sight would make somebody nervous, and how easily this misunderstanding can come about. It is especially easy to comprehend when I think about how there is so much fear and doubt connected to flying these days. I do not think there is somebody to be faulted in this case, but I do think it is a case we can all learn from. Perhaps a little more education and understanding of the differences of our peers would go a very long way.
[Reply]
atb169 part two
I think everything unfolded the way it did with this flight because of the saying, "I'd rather be safe than sorry." Looking back on the situation now, it seems ridiculous that the plane made an early landing because a Jewish person was praying, but at the time, many passengers and the crew probably weren't totally sure what the tefillin was all about.
At the same time, I definitely sympathize with the Jewish teen on that flight. I'm sure if he knew that his Jewish ritual would cause such a big scare, he wouldn't have brought his tefillin in the first place. He was simply just trying to pray, and that is a right that everyone should have, regardless of what religion you are. Essentially, he had to go through all of this undeserved ordeal simply because others were uneducated when it came to his religious practices.
[Reply]
I think that it is completely understandable that seeing a young boy wrapping himself in teffilin would unnerve someone. If I did not know what teffilin was, I would surely be unnerved. However, I am slightly upset over the fact that a flight attendant is unaware of what teffilin is; especially a flight attendant who is flying out of La Guardia Airport. I, myself, have flown out of La Guardia Airport on several occasions, and almost every time I’ve flown, I’ve seen a male praying and wrapping himself in teffilin. This practice is certainly not an uncommon practice in the New York area.
Although I am upset by the circumstances, I admire the pilot’s instincts to follow protocol and land the plane. It is understandable that the pilot and flight attendant felt in necessary to land in plane for the safety of the other passengers. However, when I read the article, I was wondering to myself, were the passengers on the plane aware of what this teenager was doing, and were they uncomfortable with it? Had the flight attendant on the plane asked someone else about what she saw, would she have been notified of the teenager’s practices? It baffles me that people, especially people who work with other people on a daily basis, are unaware of certain practices.
I believe that to solve this problem, airline employees should be obligated to take a class that teaches them about different customs they will see on a plane. However, quite unfortunately, while reading this article, the thought went through my mind that the flight attendant was aware of the teenager’s custom of wrapping himself in teffilin. Could it be possible that the flight attendant purposefully told the pilot about what she saw because she wanted the pilot to land the plane simply because there was a Jew on the plane?
I think that the teenager and his family dealt with the situation very well. It was very mature of the teenager and his sister to have remained calm while on the plane and being investigated. Ultimately, I do not believe that this family should have to have dealt with this situation. It is a shame that people are unaware of certain rituals and practices. If people were more aware of their surroundings, I think that there would be less fear in the world.
This article brought me closer to the realization of terrorism and being sought out for looking or acting differently than the status quo. It’s a shame that people should be looked down upon or feared for doing something that people are unfamiliar with. Although understandable, safety precautions need to be definite. Planes can’t be landing for something as simple as a religious practice.
[Reply]
I found the article humorous in ways how someone praying can be miss interpreted. I understand that many people would be looking at the passenger in strange ways because even I didn’t know Jews use tefillin when they pray. But I do not understand how when the passenger said he was praying; they still landed the plane in Philadelphia to still investigate the reason for the tefillin. The reason this article caught my eyes was Philadelphia since I am from there, it was good to see the cops do something properly and calmly handle the issue in a professional manner.
[Reply]
atb169 part 3
I guess the main thing I got out of this article is how ignorant we are of other cultures and religions, myself included. I have several friends who are Jewish. Despite this, I have never heard of a tefillin. Maybe it's not ignorance at all. Maybe there are just so many cultures and religious practices out there that it is asking too much for the common person to be aware of all of them. Being a Catholic, I couldn't even tell you all of the Catholic traditions that exist, let alone all the Christian traditions that exist. Unfortunately, I could have seen myself acting similarly to the majority of the passengers if I was on that flight.
[Reply]
When I heard this story about this young Jewish boy on the plane with his Teffilin causing the plane to land before reaching its final destination, the first thought that came to my mind was "wow, people are way too quick to judge". I guess being Jewish I understand what this boy was doing and how this religious practice is important to him but on the other hand I can see how people might not understand. Even if I didn't understand what he was doing, I don't think I would jump to the conclusion of terrorism. If his teffilin was such a security risk, why was he allowed to bring it onto the plane?
This issue may have not been directly linked to racism but more to terrorism, but obviously people think that if another person is different from them, they are automatically subjected to racism and discrimination.
I am not going to lie and say I have never had terrorist thoughts while on a plane, but that is solely due to the fact of 9/11 and the threats against our country. Anybody can be a terrorist, but people are more quick to judge some specific people than others.
[Reply]
I thought this article was very interesting because I had an experience exactly like this several years ago. I was waiting in the terminal before the flight listening to music and reading a book. A man wearing a suit came into the terminal with a few small bags and wore a hat and had long ear locks. After a few minutes I noticed him wrapping these same straps around his arms. I wasn’t sure what he was doing but I assumed it had something to do with prayer or some other kind of spiritual ritual. After a few more minutes I noticed him rocking back and forth fairly violently with his hands together. I hadn’t ever seen this before so I was a little frightened by it unfortunately. Looking back I really wish I hadn’t been scared because it was obviously just a part of his culture, and while I didn’t understand exactly why he was doing these things, I should have been more understanding. I totally sympathize with the flight attendant because I had a very similar feeling. I know people in America have become especially scared of actions like this but I really hope someday we are at least familiar with many of these rituals so we can be more comfortable while other perform religious ceremonies.
I really liked the way the Jewish community reacted to the situation. Instead of being angry about this treatment, they kind of laughed it off saying they think it is a somewhat strange ritual as well. This in my opinion is the best way to react from something like this happening. The police seemed to act appropriately and everyone viewed it as a big misunderstanding. Had the same thing happened to someone of a different culture I’m not sure everything would have happened so smoothly. While I’m not sure whether or not everyone and every group/race would have the same reaction, I would hope that this situation would serve as the way something like this should be handled. Everyone recognized that it was a misunderstanding, no one made a big deal out of it, and everyone seemed to learn something.
I was very excited to see this was one of the topics this week because not only do I love flying and traveling, but like a said, I had an experience almost identical to this and it is nice to finally know exactly what he was doing. In the future I will try to know more about other cultures so that I can recognize what others are doing, and also to be more open to rituals I’m not familiar with. There are so many interesting cultures in the world, it would be a shame not to try to learn about many.
[Reply]
It is always interesting to hear stories like this one. As a person with a fear of flying, any little thing going on inside or outside of the plane can freak me out. I can definitely see how the flight attendant became a little uneasy. If I were on that flight, I too would probably have been a little scared about what I saw. I do not feel as if the flight attendant made the wrong decision though. When she sees suspicious looking activity going on it is her job to contact the cockpit to let them know. I probably would have done the same thing. In my opinion and after actually reading over this article, I do not think this should be that big of a deal. Not everyone is of the Jewish faith and know their practices and rituals. I don’t think anyone should be surprised of this situation either. I think that the young Jewish man should be more mindful of the rest of the society also. Not that he shouldn’t practice his faith, but he should have thought about what it was going to look like to other people who do not know about his religion. He probably should have prayed at a different time and place, not on the plane. He should have thought about the fact that a lot of people do not know anything about the Jewish religion, including myself. If I were him, I would have probably waited until I was off the plane and away from the airport before I brought out my teffilin and started praying. I do not think it was necessary for the police to use the precautions they did. I think they should have removed him from the plane and checked him out. I do not think that handcuffs were necessary in this situation at all. I believe that this was most likely to happen in the United State though then in any other part of the world. My belief is due to not only what happened on September 11, 2001 but also I think that the United States is foreign to other religions and cultures. This story has made me want to become more aware of the different cultures and religions that there are in the world. Becoming educated about these things will help society from having situations like this one occur. Part of me thinks that maybe bits and pieces of religion should be taught in schools. Just knowing about a little bit of each different culture would make more people aware of their surroundings. Hopefully our society will learn from this situation and nothing like this will happen again on or off a plane.
[Reply]
This article made me think about how little we know about traditions in our society. I am a white female from Virginia. I was born and raised Catholic and attended Catholic grade school. I have blonde hair blue eyes. And as someone once joked with me I wear UGGS a black north face and carry a Vera Bradley bag like every other girl at Penn State. I grew up in Northern Virginia (outside DC) and my high school was fairly diverse. While I had been in class with people of different faiths and ethnicities all my friends were just like me. Last year I experienced major culture shock when my roommate was Jewish and from long island New York. She fit every long island stereotype perfectly. I quickly learned about some religious practices and regional practices that were almost barbaric to me. Yon Kippur was one of crazies to me, I did not understand not eating or drinking for an entire day.
[Reply]
I found this story very interesting when I first read it. I don’t really see what the big deal is with this issue. When I first heard about it I thought it was ridiculous that the plane landed in a different location on emergency because someone was praying. After I really thought about it and put myself in the position of the fellow passengers I would probably feel the same way and want it on the ground as soon as possible. Ever since 9-11 (when everybody got so damn sensitive, thanks a lot Bin Laden) we are more cautious about our surroundings and our awareness’s of things out of the “norm” are keen and alert. Was it right for this man to be praying like he was on the plane? Yea, there really isn’t a problem with what he was doing, but given the times we are in right now, it is no longer socially acceptable for that. There is no way to tell someone that they are not allowed to pray or practice their own religion, but this man should have been more aware of his surroundings and thought about the reaction he would receive before he actually went through with this.
Pre-9-11 this would most likely have not been a big issue; I think everyone would have just stared at him in an awkward manor and went about their own business shortly after. I do wonder what happened to this man after the plane landed, I’m sure he was brought in for investigation and called a terrorist at first. Is it fair to assume someone is a terrorist anymore just because they do not practice the same beliefs and ideas as us? What if there was a Muslim man on that plane praying to Allah? How would people react then? Should the airline staff have been more aware of what they were dealing with before they decided to land the plane or was the precautionary measure okay? I personally think it was an over-reaction, but then again as I said before, it is easy for me to say that speaking from the ground where my life is not on the line…
Which brings me to my next case, are we ever going to recover from 9-11? I mean as far as the security at airports and the panicking over travel and safety? I’m all for safety at airports and I think that the extra delays are just fine, but now we are getting full body scanners that show every part of the human body and random bag checks are more prevalent than ever. I think a line has to be drawn somewhere because all that is happening is people are panicking more and more and they are even more afraid to fly.
[Reply]
After reading this article, it proves how the world is still racial ignorant. With all that has happened with terrorist attacks on airplanes, people across the nation are very skittish when they see any unfamiliar acts on planes. As a Catholic, his religious ritual would confuse me as they differ from my own. It is hard to judge the airline’s reaction because they did not understand this young Jewish man. They were concerned with the safety of all the other passengers because he looked different. Would they have had the same reaction if a Christian man was praying with a Rosary? The airline would not have thought twice. Although the young man was not doing anything wrong, flight attendants on today’s commercial flights have protocols to follow and that’s exactly what they were doing. To the young Jewish man he was just killing time on the flight to pass time, but in today’s world everyone needs to think twice of what there doing on a airplane do to all the recent bad activities that have occurred in the past few years. There is no possible way for anyone to know everything about every religion. It is hard to be open-minded in the world we live in today because every unusual behavior has to be seen as a threat. It is sad that the world has to be this way. Even with high tech security systems and extra security on flights and in airports people still feel unsafe. Know matter how many years go by the world will still be very biased towards different cultures, races, and religions. The best any individual can do is try to broaden their own knowledge of people that are different from them. Instead of being afraid of something new, just ask what they are doing and why. Most people will be willing to share their culture with others. Also within each religion, people have different ways of keeping their faith. Some people are more religious than others. This man was seen as a threat because his acts looked suspicious. In today’s society we are becoming more and more diverse. As a result, people judge one another on there views of religion, faith, and even the way people look and dress. People of different religions also become victims of hate crimes due to all the social racism we face in the modern era. This young Jewish man was a victim of racial discrimination. Will there ever be a solution to racism? No, because no matter what we say or do; people will always be afraid of what they do not understand. By judging and not getting to know about other cultures, people are missing out. They live in a small world that will keep getting smaller by their unwillingness to learn about others.
[Reply]
I am very unaware of a lot of cultural differences around the world. I am not proud of that fact, but at least I know where I stand. And I know why as well. Although I've interacted with a plethora of varying people in my relatively short life, I've still only lived in the United States of America. I've only traveled out of this country once and the furthest west I've gone in the United States is probably State College. So I just have not been exposed to certain things. But I reiterate, I am not proud of those facts but I'm aware of them. Therefore I ask a lot of questions. This one article didn't make sense to me because although they did take the first step in asking the young man what he was doing, it didn't seem like they asked for any further explanation. He said he was praying. The article never mentions that he explained what the tefillin was or why he wore it. Now, maybe it's rude to interrupt someone's prayers and ask questions, but I believe if that were me, I'd rather be interrupted in my prayer and given an opportunity to explain an aspect of my faith rather than having my flight diverted, me myself being put in handcuffs, and then becoming a spectacle for a few hours. What he was doing may have seemed weird, but the term "ominous" just cracks me up inside. Like Lt. Frank Vanore, the spokesman for the Philadelphia police said, “It was unfamiliarity that caused this." The only way to stop ignorance is to inform. That is just my thought anyways.
I really like the way in which the Jewish people involved with and interviewed in this article responded.
I think it's easier for me to like what they said because I agree. I especially like the response the boy's rabbi gave. “He didn’t think of the ramifications, I guess,” Rabbi Greenberg said. “You can’t expect the whole world to know what this ritual is all about.” Like Sam wrote, "they were very nonchalant and understanding" In the end I think that is the only way to respond. Sam also went on to write this, "It’s a very rational response to what could otherwise be seen as a mistake made by a rather provincial and unworldly airline employee." Just that sentence alone makes the very uninformed flight crew seem almost simple and the people who clearly could have become irate and upset at the delay and miscommunication thoughtful and wise. And that's probably what the young man needs to develop his sense of wisdom. It seems as if he is in a environment where he can do that as well. The first sound words of advice. “I would suggest, pray on the plane and put the tefillin on later on,” he said. “Pray, and fulfill the ritual later.” Although it isn't likely that that sequence of action will encourage understanding of another culture, it will help him to assuage some of the fears that a lot of people have nowadays.
[Reply]
There are many different religions in the world today. Whether it is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or anything else, religion comes with a great deal of different practices and rituals. Even those who are not religious will benefit from understanding these practices. That is definitely one of my reasons for taking the Sociology 119 class. I myself am a religious Orthodox Christian. I pray before I go to sleep and when I wake up. I go to church and pray for 12 hours straight on holidays like Christmas and Easter. My house is filled with portraits of Jesus and other saints. I understand why the boy started to pray on board of that plane. Every time I board a plane I also pray that god helps me and my family get home safe. I don't use teffilin of any sort since I am Christian, however I hold my bible and say my prayers. Some religious practices are just better known than others. When people see a bible most are aware that it is a book of religion. However when the people of the plane saw the boy wrapping himself in teffilin they did not know what to think. That is why I feel it is very important for people to educate themselves regarding religion. This would help them better understand the beliefs of others and decrease the stress of unfamiliarity. I however understand where they were coming from. We live in a time of constant terrorist attacks all around us. September 11th was just around the corner and many tragedies take place everyday. This has caused us to become very concerned with our safety. I am also from New York just like the boy. I am very familiar with the teffilin ritual because I constantly see people participating in it on the streets of New York. For people who are not from such a diverse area this may seem very bizarre and threatening. At a time like this the slightest bit of doubt in an individual's mind can cause a big commotion. In this case it was just a boy engaging in a prayer, however what if it was something more? What if there really was a threat to the lives of innocent people? The flight attendant did the right thing when she reported the boy. When the plane landed everything was straightened out without any problems. The boy will now be more aware of the feelings of other individuals and therefore avoid problems in the long run. The passengers also learned about a different aspect of the Jewish religion and will not be worried next tome they see it performed. Overall I believe that everyone has the right to pray on board of an aircraft. It just needs to be done in a more discrete manner of saying prayers. The ritual of the prayer can always follow when one gets off the plane and gets home.
[Reply]
First of, by me reading this article I learned something new. I knew that Jews prayed at certain times and for certain reasons, but I never knew that wrapping themselves in tefillin was a part of the ritual, and I find this to be rather interesting.Also this article nor the reaction of the flight attendant didn’t come as a surprise to me because in the world that we are in today we always seem to fear the unknown. Whatever is unfamiliar to us and cannot be recognized in a matter of minutes we fear it and then go into a state of panic.
[Reply]
In most cases its not even the lack of knowledge that makes us act this way, but its that mere fact that some people just prefer not to open up to new things or ideas and not saying that it is the flight attendants fault that she has never seen that ritual being practiced, because I haven’t either and I probably would have gotten a little nervous myself, but in most cases there are a lot of people in the US that are very closed minded even though you would think that it wouldn’t be that way since America is such a melting pot with people of all races, nationality’s and ethnic backgrounds, it very much so is. Since often times actions or words of a person get twisted and misconstrued because someone didn’t take the time out to listen or to even try to understand what was truly being said or going on.
[Reply]
In my personal life I try to be as open to everything as possible, because there is always so much you can learn from another person and if I just shut down and refuse to listen to based off of the fact that they are not like me or because I am not used to their way of going about things, I would probably miss out on so much that life has to offer me. I am in no way shunning or putting down close minded people in any way, but I just feel that it’s a shame that they choose to live their lives that way, since the world has so much to offer and the differences of each and every person is what makes the world a joy to live in. if everyone was the same or if no one was open to new ideas or ways of life then I think that the world would be a rather boring place and then we would be much worse off.
[Reply]
I think that what happened was a learning experience for all that were involved, as well as people all over the world.
[Reply]
This article was very eye opening to what society we live in today. Not only has this become a United States issue, but all over the world. Yes, it is necessary to check what people are bringing on airplanes for safety precautions, but it is just shocking that a 17-year-old boy and his 13-year-old sister were handcuffed and had guns pointing at them due to a misunderstanding. It isn’t only sad that this is the way the US has become, but it is aggravating. What happened on 9-11 still is present in our minds, and the fact that other people have attempted to bring down planes in the time since. Obviously it is going to be something that one should think about when going onto an airplane, but maybe instead of pinpointing a specific person due to their outside features, we should look at everyone.
Why is it so easy for American’s to be completely terrified of the threat of terrorists from Middle Eastern countries, and not terrorists from the US? Why don’t we fear “terrorists” from Russia, China, or Africa? Yes, a large part of it has to do with the fear of Al Qaeda and the after-math of 9-11, but I believe a lot of it is just prejudice. Instead of characterizing the acts of the people who did those horrible things, we characterized them by their looks. And all of America was afraid of Middle Eastern people. All I am trying to say is that there are mass murders in our own country, but if some 18-year-old white man tried to plant a bomb on a airplane and got through all the protocols prior to the flight, he probably would succeed.
It is just astounding to me that even though this Jewish boy explained what he was doing, the flight attendant still was afraid and felt it was necessary to tell the cockpit. Plus, Sam is right, people need to be more cultured. I personally did not know that Jewish people did a type of morning prayer like that. Many religions have separate worship rituals that they practice, and maybe if people understood them, and weren’t so closed minded to other people, maybe this wouldn’t be a problem.
Instead of stereotyping a person because of what they look like, maybe flights should do thorough background checks on their passengers before they board the plane. For example, that man who hid the bomb in his pants. He had a history of crime, plus his father called and warned the police about his suspicious behavior. If that isn’t a red flag, than I don’t know what is.
It would be nice if in grade school we could learn about people all over the world, instead of only inside the states. If we all understood religions from around the world, and cultures, than we wouldn’t be so afraid. Fear is the unknown. It is obvious that this flight attendant wasn’t in the reality loop.
[Reply]
This article demonstrates the overall feelings of most Americans when it relates to airports as well as traveling on airplanes. That feeling is being scared and constantly on edge and aware of their surroundings. In any other situation Americans just live their lives and do not take in their surroundings like they do when there on an airplane. However, once on an airplane everything changes and most Americans are on tilt and look for anything suspicious or any activity out of the norm. This particular instance was a simple prayer session that apparently a few had never seen and felt like it was threatening to the safety of the plane. In this day and age it pays to lean on the side of caution but sometimes people just need to take a deep breath and relax. It easy to say but hard to do in this post 9/11 era we all live in. I guess all we can do is continue to learn about each other’s cultures so these mistakes do not happen.
[Reply]
I really was interested in this article because I am Jewish and I am also from Philadelphia. So the whole time reading the article my attention was really occupied because it had to do with my religion and where I was from. Now since I am Jewish I have heard of tefillin before but I would bet that all of my friends that are Jewish have never heard of it. The only reason that I have heard of it is because my parents forced me to go to Hebrew school my whole life. I mean my whole life after I was done with Hebrew school and had my bar mitzvah they made me go to Hebrew high school. Yea so I went to Hebrew school for a really long time and I didn’t learn much but something I did learn was what tefillin was and when people use it. When I first heard about tefillin and heard how people wore it I thought it was crazy. But it is something that Jewish people, my people believe in so I follow it. I will probably never wear it because I am not religious. In fact I have never even seen somebody wear it, so if I a person who went to Hebrew school for over 10 years never saw somebody wear it I cant expect non Jewish people on a plane knowing what it is.
Since I don’t believe a lot of people in the world know what tefillin is or why people where it I am completely fine with what the flight attendant and the pilots of the plane did. Their job is to make sure that the people on the plane get to their destination safely so they can’t take any chances when it comes to safety. They saw a person stand up and begin to wrap himself in stuff that looked like wires and he had a box attached to his head. If I had never seen tiffllin before then I would assume that it was a bomb or something of the sort that can’t be good. So I would have followed protocol to just be on the safe side and make sure nobody gets hurt. The only thing that I myself have a problem with is that they handcuff the person once he told him what he was doing. Wants they found out that it was something of Jewish prayer there was no reason to handcuff him or his little sister. Yes they should verify the story and bring the plane down but they can do it without putting handcuffs on two innocent people. So my conclusion is that the flight attendant and the pilots did the right thing at first but I am upset that they treated the people with so much disrespect it’s suppose to be innocent to proven guilty.
[Reply]
As I am reading the details of this article, I slowly get irritated by the people and actions that took place. At first it sounded like the flight attendant reported what she saw right away without asking the teenager questions, which would have been unfair to him, but clearly she did. I would have been mad if I were the teenager or anyone else on the plane. But after I thought about it, I don't know how I would have reacted if I were in the flight attendant's shoes. I, like many non Jewish people, didn't know what tefillin was and would have been scared or worried too, so I personally might not have even asked questions and would have reported it right away. But it's all relative.. you don't know how you would react til the situation happens.
It's really a shame though that so many people are ignorant. But ignorance is not necessarily a fault. Granted, some people blatantly choose not to care about other religions or cultures which is true ignorance, but for most, ignorance occurs because we are just not surrounded with differences that directly affect our lives. Ignorance is such a bad sounding word that some people don't associate it with simply innocence. You can't help where others around you live, so if non Jewish people live around you, how are you to know what Jewish culture and religion is like?
I feel bad for the teenager and his younger sister. The fact that they were handcuffed is crazy. Luckily, they weren't outraged and caused a commotion because of the fact. If they did, that would have caused more news. I don't know how I would react if I had to be handcuffed for some unknown reason. There's a part of me that would possibly be outraged, but I'm not the type of person that would cause a scene, so I probably would have been patient and cooperative too. Deep down though, I would be burning up inside. Therefore, I respect these kids. Not only were they proper and non aggressive, they are so religious enough to pray biding by ritual. I'm not religious, but there's a part of me that wants to be. To believe in something so strong without doubt in the religion is intriguing to me.
To answer the question from Mr_Martian, it's sad but I don't think people, especially those in my generation, will be able to fully recover from 9/11. There is a fear of terrorism and it's unfortunate. Granted, it's not as bad as it was before, especially with all the new security measures, but psychology the effects will carry on for awhile. It's so sad because I can picture the thoughts that go through people's head when they see an Arab person on the same plane.. "Could he be a terrorist? Something can happen to this plane. Am I going to die?" It's sad because those thoughts could quite possibly cross my mind and it's so unfortunate.
[Reply]
I can see why the flight attended was nervous but when she asked the boy what he was doing and he said that she was praying I think she should have researched it a bit more than she did. Also the police could have reacted differently too…without pointing guns at all the passengers. I guess flying has become risky business though and she was just trying to protect the rest of the people on board. Also I have never heard of this sort of practice either so the fact that it is less common to people who don't share the same beliefs can get her off the hook a bit. Maybe next time she could google what hes doing instead of having and emergency landing:)
[Reply]
I had no idea what tefellin was and so i didn't really understand the extent of the situation that took place. I can see why now the passengers did feel a little award and uneasy. however it is his choice to practice his religion as he chooses as long as it doesn't harm other people. Also i think it was more serious since it was on a plane. People tend to be more suspicious on planes as it is. I think people need to start being more open minded about different cultures and religions. You don't have to believe in them but you should respect others and their views
[Reply]
People are very sensitive and quick to react to things that seem foreign to them since 9/11 occurred. People take things in from the media and are now paranoid at the sight of someone in a turban or people praying with teliffin. Obviously if people knew about the practice, they wouldn’t have reacted as such, but times are different and people are looking out for the safety and security of the American people. If people had been educated, it would have been a different story, but you can’t really put all the blame on the airline. It no secret what happened on 9/11, the whole world knows about it. I think the man needs to assimilate to American culture and either wait until he is out of the public realm, or talk to the airline and let them know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Educate people about it. You can’t expect them NOT to react how they did when the see things of that nature.
[Reply]
In this day and age, I can completely understand why seeing a young man on a plane strap things around his body could cause such alarm to other passengers. I felt bad for the boy though. He was just innocently practicing his religious beliefs.
I myself am not familiar with many religious practices. I actually only really know a small amount about Christianity, and I was a Christian for a good majority of my life. I think it's sad that I don't understand much about other people's cultures and religions. I know that the way he was praying or what he was praying with was a very rare way to pray, but the confusion on the plane caused unnecessary precautions to be taken on the plane. If the time was taken to understand how different religions function and the different ways they work are, perhaps we could avoid silly mishaps like this one in the future.
[Reply]
I'm usually pretty gung-ho when it comes to discriminating against individuals based on their religious or cultural beliefs, but I agree with the actions taken by the flight staff. Half of my family is Jewish and, as ignorant as this may make me sound, I have never heard of tefillin… So i don't necessarily expect a flight staff and a small crowd of people on a flight to know what it is either. The actions taken were not ill-intentioned or out of malice, but they were done as safety precautions. I'm sure even the boy on the flight would rather the flight staff be a little overly cautious than oblivious to questionable behavior, especially in this day and age when terrorists are coming up with more innovative ways to cause an attack.
[Reply]
I would have to admit that I too would make the same mistake. Flying these days is one of the most tense situations and the fact that they went through all the correct protocols to protect the passengers is very good for this country. With everything that has occurred over the past couple of years these kinds of things should not be taken lightly. I feel for the Jewish boy though because he had no idea that something like this would happen because of his praying. He took the situation greatly and understanding why this all happened shows great maturity. It taught everyone a lesson in that there is more to the world than our own lives.
[Reply]
After reading that article it seems as though all the parties involved were very understanding of the miscommunication. It is not to be punished that the flight attendant did not know what a teffilin is. I think there are many people out there that do not know what it is, and with what this country has been through involving terrorism on airplanes, it is safe to be cautious. The grandmother of the boy admitted that the boy maybe should have thought it through a little more before praying with a teffilin on an airplane, but in his defense that is something he prays with everyday so how is he to know that other are very unfamiliar with this practice. It was a misunderstanding, and it would be nice for everyone to be familiar with other cultures but that is a lot to ask.
[Reply]
i can definitely see both sides to the story. On the side of the Jewish people, it has to be degreating to be treated as a common criminal or terrorist when all your trying to do is pray. but on the other hand i can see how the passenger would be freaked out, because i have to admit, i probably would have been a bit nervous, because i don't know whats going on, so that would make me nervous. i understand that might seem mean, but i just dont see how you can judge someone for being scared for whats going on. i just think that it was taken to far out of context and something like this shouldn't happen.
[Reply]
Unfortunately the reaction the flight attendant had to this young man's was not entirely surprising. Because of recent political activity within the US and other nations there is a general heightened fear of anything "not of the norm". The flight attendant probably thought that she was protecting other passengers and doing her job… its quite sad that our society has come to fear our differences. I'm not sure what i would have done if i was put in this situation. I hesitate to admit it but i probably would have done the same thing if i had been the flight attendant myself.
[Reply]
This article was very interesting I thought. Some of my extended family is Jewish, and I have been to my fair share of Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. Although I do not know much about the religion, I have actually heard about tefillin before and how it is used. Despite me knowing this, if I were in the same situation as the flight attendant, I would undoubtedly act the same way. She was not being disrespectful at all, but rather thinking about the safety of everyone on board. You know what they say, it is better to be safe than sorry.
[Reply]
Airport security walks a thin line between racism and safety. Airport and airplane personnel must keep an eye out for suspicious people, but what is suspicious? Terrorist attacks are almost all inspired by religious beliefs, and the sight of man praying and dressed in the attire seen in the picture shown on the blog could cause some concern. I think that understanding other peoples cultures would have definitely helped in this situation but it is still hard to distinguish between a devout religious man praying on a airplane and a religious fanatic gearing up for a terrorist attack. With the recent attempted terrorist attack on Christmas I think that anyone dressed in overly religious and unfamiliar clothing will prompt a search, but grounding an airplane mid flight without any other evidence of foul play is unnecessary.
[Reply]
In this day and age one word could describe air travel. This word would be precautionary. Ever since the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 our nation and countries across the globe have escalated security on airplanes and in airports. This event devastated our land and will be looked back upon for centuries to come as one of the worst days in America’s history. Although the success of another attempted attack is unlikely, the thought of possible devastation is always in the back of people’s minds. Recently, the failed underwear bomb that was attempted has resurfaced these thoughts and did not help the situation. Security in airports and airplanes has risen so much as to not allowing passenger’s access to their carry-on luggage an hour before the flight lands.
I myself did not know what a teffilin was the first time I read the post. I was confused on what had happened until further reading of the full article. I agree that the airline assistant did overreact to the situation because the boy was only trying to pray and carry out his daily rituals. After reading the article I see nothing wrong with what the young man was doing on the plane. If I was put into this scenario, and had no knowledge of this ritual, I too, would think it was suspicious behavior. In my opinion, the airplane assistant should have checked into the situation before throwing up the red flags and calling in the entire department of defense. What I understood from the article is she approached the man and asked “what are you doing” and he responded with “praying”. She should have furthered the conversation into asking about the bands on his arms. Most likely, the boy would have answered in detail about what he was doing causing less commotion. Our country is built around sticking to the “code.” This code is following and maintaining strict guideline procedures when the thought of possible danger arises. The airline attendant saw something suspicious, and took the situation further than needed before prying for more information. Though when putting myself in her place and being put into a quick unusual circumstance, I may have gotten suspicious and acted quickly as well. The airline stuck to the code, landed the flight quickly and checked everything out.
I do not see this emergency landing and inspection as an act of racism. However, what I do notice is a protective airplane stewardess and a vast culture gap. Simply understanding and inquiring on what these prayer materials were would have saved everyone a lot of grief. The culture gap that exists in today’s society is why I think the Jewish people that were interviewed were laid-back about the topic. Americans are blinded by our own culture and do not take the initiative to find out about other cultures and rituals that happen throughout the world. The people that practice using teffilin understand this. Americans need to broaden their horizons and not jump to conclusions right away. Just because a few people out of a whole race did something seriously upsetting, by hijacking a plane, does not mean that every person, that practices their same culture or other unfamiliar cultures, are terrible and intending harm. This unanticipated event was based off a young man trying to pray and practice ritual. He, as well as others, had to go through an entire ordeal because of a lack of cultural and religious awareness. Instead of dwelling on possible situations, people of all cultures, races, and religion need to familiarize themselves on communities foreign to their own lives.
[Reply]
Ahh, the ignorance of our people. As bad as I feel for the boy and his sister, I cannot say that I witnessed the ritual before. On one hand, with so much going on with airports and airline safety it is hard to blame the flight attendant for being cautious. On the other hand… they handcuffed him? …Ok so they HANDCUFFED HIM (just in case you didn’t catch that). And the little sister, like what did she do? That’s almost humorous. Really, we need to open our eyes and become more aware of these types of things, keeping in mind, we will probably never be completely familiar with EVERYTHING that looks suspicious, but the more common rituals would be a start. I think that the rabbi’s advice was best; pray your prayers but save the arguably suspicious for later, for the sake of the passengers.
I would also like to say that I commend the boy, his family, and even other Jewish people that responded for their patience and understanding of the entire situation. There was no evidence that he flipped out or bashed any of the airline people for what they had done. It sounds like everyone was calm and collected. He could have easily told them “All I’m trying to do is pray and I can’t even do THAT, damn!” Or maybe that’s just me that would have said that. But kudos to that kid nonetheless. Pray on kid, pray on!
[Reply]
As a person who had no idea what a "teffilin” is and is not Jewish if I saw one on a plane I would get a little freaked out too, but I would not assume the boy had a bomb or any kind of weapon on him. Especially if he was just sitting there quietly with, going from the picture, reading from some type of paper. Thinking from the flight attendants point of view, she would have to be concerned because this now part of her job, protecting the passengers and reporting things they seem to be suspicious behavior. Since some of the passengers knew what was going on you would think one of the passengers would say something to the flight attendant, like explain what the boy was doing, so she would not freak out. Or the flight attendant would ask why the boy was wearing, what looked like to her, cables or wires when she asked him what he was doing. I would ask why the boy would not explain why he was wearing the "teffilin", but this is a normal, daily, thing for him, so I would not expect him to think of explaining what he was wearing to her.
It is a little comforting to know that our airplane security system is reacting so harshly to things that look and appear to be "suspicious behavior", but at the same time it is sad to know people are not as aware of other cultures practices as I think we should be. It would be unfair to think that everyone could and would learn about other people’s cultures since there are such a variety of other cultures in the world. Especially since there are a large amount of the population in the world that would just not care enough to learn about other cultures and their practices. It is also sad it know that anything out of the ordinary, whatever that actually is, is deemed to being thought of as strange and causes people to panic and freak out. It very much proves the point that is it hard to trust other people, especially the things others have never seen before. This is even more true when see something of another religious culture that they have never seen before, but because of events such as September 11th it can give people a good reason to panic and freak out. It is unfortunate to know that people, like this 17 year-old Jewish boy could not carry out a religious ritual, something of his everyday life, because others are unfamiliar with it. This event could end up causing airport security to ban people from carrying out their religious rituals.
[Reply]
This article proves that Americans are truly ignorant to other cultures. Are we in wrong doing for being ignorant? We are partly because as Americans we expect every culture to know about our traditions, but we know little to nothing of other cultures. This mean we can be more aware of other cultures. Still it is impossible for every American to know about every culture.
This incident on the plane could have easily been avoided on two ends. The first is the young Jewish teenager. He could have waiting to put on his teffilin. He could have just prayed without it but then, isn’t he in America, the land of the free. He has just as much privileges to pull out his teffilin as a CEO has to pull out his laptop or briefcase. The problem should have been ceased at the officials. Flight attendants, pilots, and security/law enforcement should be more educated on religious rituals and cultural customs.
[Reply]
This article was very interesting and I agree with Sam that I had no idea of such religious practices that go on around the world. I was not in the least aware of the Jewish ritual with the tefillin. I completely understand why the flight attendant would panic, because by the looks of it, I would defiantly have panicked as well. I know that if I were sitting next to a person that was strapping rope-like things around them, I would go into panic. Clearly , this is because the unfamiliarity we have with rituals like these. In addition, not only is the actual ritual itself strange but where it was being held at, an airplane! After September 11th, I think people pretty much got the message to be extremely cautious when it comes to flying. Therefore, seeing this kind of behavior happen on an airplane should have made everyone uneasy. I think making the plane go down with no warning was not the best action to take however. I understand that people were very scared and unaware of what this young man was doing but flying down the plane before it even half an hour in the air would have caused even more alarm. I am not saying that the pilot should have warned everyone that a young man was performing an unsual behavior on the plane, but a mild excuse to land would have helped. Since I don’t fly that much, I know that whenever the plane does the tiniest shake I get alarmed so if my plane suddenly landed after half an hour of being in the air, I would assume that the there is seriously something wrong with the plane. In addition, I do not agree with the handcuffing of the two individuals because if they saw that they meant no harm why handcuff them? I think a kind approach and legit source to confirm the acts of the ritual would have been enough to solve false alarm. I think that handcuffing them in front of other people not only caused them to become self-conscious and of course a lot of humility. In a way this event helped prevent future mistakes like these because now people with unfamiliar rituals like these can see that an airplane is not the best place to perform them. And I think that people have the right to be alarmed with usual situations like these in the future because it is for the safety of everyone and they could prevent a true alarm from happening.
[Reply]
I am pretty surprised that there wasn’t a cry of outrage considering more often than not when you hear or read about a situation similar to this, the victim or a group of people who feel “victimized” like to publicize the problem over the media. And I’m not pointing fingers are any group or person in particular, it’s just that some may feel the need for sympathy or attention after an event such as this. That being said I don’t think anybody was in the wrong, ignorance of a not so well known ritual is very common, and the fact that it occurred on a plain where terrorism is always feared makes it a perfectly logical reaction.
[Reply]
After reading this article, my first impression was to feel bad for the 17 year old who had a flight diverted because of his praying practices. However, in a post 9/11 era, I guess you can say that you can't be too cautious. With that being said where do we draw the line? I think as Americans we are very quick to assume and very suspicious of what happens on a plane.
The only question I would have for this 17 year old would be, why didn't he inform the flight attendant of what he was doing. Did he not think that it was out of the ordinary realm of what people would expect on a plane? I know at most large international airports there is praying rooms.
I also think anyone who wasn't familiar with the customs of a different culture automatically perceives it as a threat — especially when on a plane. I think this also has to go back to the post 9/11 culture of Americanism and the treatment of what happened to those of a darker skin color in that era.
I think another issue is that he got through our extensive security, as I have read in some other posts, and some are wondering how the flight attendent would have thought he had a bomb when he got through security. I think they have missed the fact that it is generally not difficult to pass something through the airport secuirity if one is determined enough.
You also have to feel bad for this 17 year old kid who was probably treated terribly and handcuffed. Although i still don't understand why he wouldn't have said anything. to the flight attendant. Not saying that what this kid was doing was wrong but I think most would agree out of the ordinary for in an American setting.
Going back to being cautious, what if the boy was using the religious act to hid what he could have been doing. Not saying that he doesn't have every right pray, but he needs to think of the consequences of his actions before he starts wrapping his arms up with tefflin.
[Reply]
I understand how the misinterpretation can be found offensive to people who practice the Jewish religion. But in reality how many of us would know what the straps around this mans arms was for and what prayers he was saying (since it was probably in Hebrew)? I asked two of my friends, both are Jewish, what the teffinlin was, where it came from, and what it signifies to the Jewish religion and neither of them knew. With all the recent acts of terrorism, especially the past attempt around the New Year, and the movies in which terrorism is a theme and the terrorist are Muslims who pray in a language other than English before their attack, I can understand why people aboard this flight got nervous. Its kinda sad that people around the world stereotype strangers the way that they do, and I believe that Americans need to learn more about the religions around the world so they understand their values, beliefs, and rituals and these mishaps will eventually stop happening.
[Reply]