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”
Being an Intercultural Communications major, I study the relationships between various cultures all throughout the world. This article just goes to show everybody out there that being culturally in tuned and aware is eagerly stressed. I am not shocked at the actions that the pilots suggested by pulling the plane over. The boy’s grandmother said it herself “It’s true that we in America are very, very skittish.” It is also true that in America, people have the right to practice what they preach. The boy thought that the time on the plane was the appropriate time to pray. Other passengers felt it was necessary to sleep, read or even watch a movie. Just because most people are accustomed to people sleeping, reading and watching a movie while riding on a plan, why is it when someone practices their religion, it is an issue?
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It is an issue because we as in the American culture are not aware of everyone’s subcultures. It would actually be nice to say that we are observant of everyone’s lifestyle and religion. It does bother me however, that the boy’s rabbi, Rabbi Greenberg, suggested praying on the plane, and practicing the ritual later, when it comes to other flights. It bothers me because if that is a part of one’s religion, then one should fulfill those deeds without having to walk on egg shells around the non-Jewish by standers. Regardless of how they may feel you, you should always do what you know is right, whether the people around you understand it or not. But, I do know that it is always easier to be said, than done.
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Ever since 9/11, the U.S. has become sensitive to everything. If you’re wearing a turban, a terrorist. If you have a long beard and other facial hair, you’re going to blow up the plane. If you’re riding a bike, you have a bomb. It is ridiculous. I can fully understand why the flight attendant thought that the boy’s praying ritual was suspicious, because we all fear the unknown. But I do not understand that every time someone does something different than what we are accustomed to, they are wrong and at fault, and potentially a terrorist. I would hope that the next time the boy takes a flight, he prays again. Wires and all. I just want him to do that just to see what will happen once again. Or maybe even better, his sister should join in and they should pray together. The outcome may be ruff, but that still goes to show that the American culture needs to be educated. Everyone in the U.S. does not come from the same place, nor practice the same faiths. It is important to know your neighbor.
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It is unfortunate that everything that happens on an airplane today is scrutinized. Thankfully, this was just a cultural misunderstanding and was something that was not violent. The teenage boy was trying to be a good person and follow the ritual he was supposed to do but did not think about the consequences of doing this on an airplane. I can definitely understand why the flight attendant got nervous because of the similarities between tefillin and cables that could possibly be explosives. We should take this opportunity to admit that we need to become more knowledgeable of the practices of other religions so that we do not need to jump to conclusions in the future. Until then, I agree that we need to take the proper precautions to keep everyone safe when they are traveling.
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I really enjoyed this article. Before this article I never knew anything about the Jewish practice of using tefillin during prayer. I have quite a few friends who are Jewish and I never witnessed or heard them talk about it either. It must be a practice only strict Jewish people use.
Now about the incident, I believe that the situation was handled correctly and professionally by everyone involved. The pilots, flight crew and police on the ground seemed to act quickly and decisively at a perceived threat. It’s semi-comforting that they are keeping a vigilant eye and looking out for this nation’s safety. I used the word semi due to the ineffectiveness lately but that’s a whole other topic. I disagree with some of the other comments say that the flight crew “freaked out”. With the whole firestorm of terrorist attempts, senate hearings and media that airline terrorism is getting I think they acted the only way they could and what in my opinion was the right way. One response that I read was that they should have just talked to the kid and then they would have found out what was going on. I find that solution laughable. If the kid actually was a terrorist my bet is that nine times out of ten he wouldn’t give himself up. He’d just lie. This situation was handled very well.
Now on the other had I feel bad for the kid. He was doing nothing wrong and just practicing his faith. I understand that in his mind performing his daily prayers is normal to him. However people must also understand that airline security is a very intensely watched situation and anything that is even slightly out of the ordinary will be perceived as a threat. I think that the kid just made a poor judgment error. I also appreciate the understanding of the grandmother and other Jewish official. I got the sense from their comments that they knew that the kid “kinda sorta” messed up. . He should have been aware that people will be on edge and very cautious on airplanes. Like I said before he did nothing wrong and he should be allowed to practice his faith but discretion is key.
I am glad to see that our flight crews are keeping a vigilant watch and protecting our airlines. I am also glad to see that “the system” seems to be working. Again I feel sorry for the kid and the mess he got himself into. I hope that people read this article on the New York Times website and took it as a lesson as of what not to do on airlines. Some things are just better left to doing on the ground.
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This was a strange situation, I don’t know if the lady did the right thing or not because it goes both ways all honesty I would have been curious as well. This is the year 2010 and you cannot take anything lightly these days because soon as you do that when stuff get bad really quick. On another hand the lady should have ask questions on what was going on instead of just reacting. It would have been ok to do that, we jump so quick on things and don’t know the truth but again she could have panicked and just reacted and I can understand that as well.
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This story actually gave me a slight sense of comfort amidst all of the absolutely absurd events that have been taking place around the world. Since 9/11, the entire nation has been introduced to an evil force called “terrorism” and the willingly suicidal numbskulls that orchestrate and carry it out, called “terrorists.” Before that infamous date, I had no idea that such a concept even existed. I was young and naïve at the time, but the thought of people killing themselves and others in order to be higher regarded in their religion and combat western civilization was absolutely not even in the realm of possibility. Even if the thought would have been introduced to me, I would shot it down saying that no one could be that stupid or that entranced in a way of thinking. Yet, ten years of extensive media coverage and increasing attacks around the world has changed our mode of thinking. It has made it semi-acceptable. When you hear about a hijacker, you are hardly ever surprised anymore, why? Why is it that society as a whole has changed their mindset so radically that it is now not even startling that people act in such radical and irrational way? Not to say we accept that it happens, but we almost accept the fact that “its just their religion” and “that is what they are taught.”
So yes, I am glad that the flight attendant acted in such a way to ensure the safety of not only the passengers, but of herself. From reading the article, I kind of got the feeling that this kid was a completely oblivious. Although it is now 9 years after those terrible attacks, the stench of terrorism still lingers. He should have had enough common sense to at least ask permission of the surrounding passengers or flight attendants before “strapping himself up” to pray. It is simply mind boggling that people can be so aloof in such a sensitive and recently wounded society. If you are aware of the fact that not even other jews know this practice exists, let alone the rest of society, and it can be mistaken for an act of violence or diabolical, suicidal plotting WHY WOULD YOU DO IT ON AN AIRPLANE!?!?!?! Simply unbelievable to me.
This story is a funny one to me though, because just recently I had a discussion with a friend regarding religion. I expressed the fact that religion serves as a medium to bring people together and unite the oppressed. In this union, they can find strength in hope and in their congregation. To me, this is the main function and purpose of religion. My friend disagreed though, saying that religion tears people apart and is the reason for all of the wars that have ever occurred. My response was that some people simply take religion too far and it is because of these radicals, misunderstandings take place and escalate into larger events. This could have been one of those examples.
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After reading this article, I immediately thought of the reason I am glad to be in college. For less fortunate people, they do not have the opportunity to learn about other people and about the world in general as much as they could, without travelling around the world of course. So many people in today’s society do not know that much about other people and other cultures and what happened to the young teenager on the plane is a prime example of the repercussions. One major component of my decision for which general education classes I would take was to broaden my scope of education. I love math, science, and history, but only to the extent of basics that they teach in regular classes. When I picked my classes, I decided to take classes about specific historical influences, such as musical influences in the 1980’s, and sociology, race and ethnic relations. I feel that if people were able to go to college and take similar courses, we wouldn’t have as much of a problem in our society with being so “skittish.”
The part that I liked the most about the plane incident was that the teenager was very calm and understanding. Some people might be shocked and offended that they were suspected terrorists trying to blow up a plane, especially in today’s circumstances. However, this teenager was very cooperative with all of the confusion. The reason why I thought this was very respectful was because imagine if you were in his shoes. If the world was different and majority of the population was Jewish, even though there were plenty of Christians, and you brought out your prayer beads on the plane because you were going to pray. I am fairly certain that flight attendants would act the exact same way as they had with the Jewish teenager last week. I feel that not only was the teenager mature considering today’s circumstances, but the flight and crew handled the situation perfectly. Now I don’t think that a terrorist would be that obvious about trying to blow up a plane, but I would not want a flight attendant to think something might happen and not do anything about it.
This is a huge problem that unfortunately cannot be fixed overnight. I agree with Rabbi Greenberg when he said, “Nobody would have assumed it would create panic, but in today’s environment, I guess everything creates panic.” I hope that I use the information that I learn in my classes, especially about race and ethnic relations, to not be so “skittish,” as Frances Winchell stated, when I am faced with an unfamiliar cultural practice. I only wish that more people could be as fortunate and learn more about this type of our society so that we, as Americans, will not be so “very, very skittish.”
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Part 3:
The part that I liked the most about the plane incident was that the teenager was very calm and understanding. Some people might be shocked and offended that they were suspected terrorists trying to blow up a plane, especially in today’s circumstances. However, this teenager was very cooperative with all of the confusion. The reason why I thought this was very respectful was because imagine if you were in his shoes. If the world was different and majority of the population was Jewish, even though there were plenty of Christians, and you brought out your prayer beads on the plane because you were going to pray. I am fairly certain that flight attendants would act the exact same way as they had with the Jewish teenager last week. I feel that not only was the teenager mature considering today’s circumstances, but the flight and crew handled the situation perfectly. Now I don’t think that a terrorist would be that obvious about trying to blow up a plane, but I would not want a flight attendant to think something might happen and not do anything about it.
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Ok, so we have a case where we had a flight attendant who was unaware of a religious practice. Who is the one to blame in this situation because as we know if this teffilin was actually some sort of explosive and the flight attendant would of ignored it, the story line would have been, flight attendants were not aware or more rigorous training towards flight attendants. It was not the case and who else is there to blame but the flight attendant who did not know the practice of a religion. What do we really excepted from our flight attendant, but good customer service; I compare them to any restaurant waiters, but held at a higher level with training. As we live in this time era where the leading fear of most Americans is terrorism, especially when you’re in an airplane, where any strange movement or any item that is not a normal or a familiar item to the American eye can cause discomfort or in this case panic. The big question in the story that brought it to the news was, the flight attendant actions justifiable? I believe so I don’t expect my flight attendant to know every religious practice that exists in this world that very well may exceed over the thousands. I certainly did not know what was a teffilin before reading the article. I know that if I saw someone wrapping themselves in some sort of wires would bring me in a state of panic. Of course her action lead to loss of profit and many other issues, but I rather may safe than sorry. Sam mentioned the part where the Jewish family reacted as they were against the Jewish person for even daring to do such thing in an airplane. I just believe they were trying to locate themselves or put themselves in the shoes of any other person who is not familiar to the Jewish religion practice. They probably understood what reaction of others could cause in a country where the entire airport system has been reevaluated and reformed since 9/11. I don’t believe it was the intention of the Jewish to cause any uproar because I believe that if he knew of the consequences, he would have waited until landing without any complaints. This is one of many mistakes that will come today and in the future. Everyone is looking for any suspicious activity especially for a country in war and past occurrence. I believe as a precaution to limit oneself to any activity that may cause any kind of issue or if it’ truly important and something that maybe unusual to someone else, even of the smallest thing, should be mentioned to the flight attendants of such activities before acting upon it just as a precaution; as I mention before, rather be safe than sorry.
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I'm not in any way shocked or appalled by the reaction of the airline crew mentioned in the story. I'm also very impressed by the grace exhibited by the specific Jewish community in the story. The crew acted in what they thought to be in the best interest of the crew and the passengers on board the aircraft. Bravo to them, considering recent threats to America's security through the airline industry. Obviously, it would have been better for the crew to have been aware of the Jewish practice, but I understand where they were coming from. More so, I am proud of the Jewish community for being so understanding. In an ideal world, people wouldn't have to worry about misconceptions affecting daily activities, but since we can't have an ideal world………
Understanding is obviously the key to living somewhat harmoniously.
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When I first heard about this story the only details that I had gathered was that the plane rerouted due to an unusual prayer act. I thought, is our government really this stressed about further attacks that we are now grounding flights if someone decides to pray. I figure many people pray when they are flying, either looking for protection or comfort. Now that I have read this article and actually know all the details my viewpoint has slightly changed. If I was on an airplane and saw someone wrapping straps or chords around their arms and head, than I too would be nervous about that passenger. For one its because it is different from the culture that we are used to. If you think about it why is someone wrapping there arms with bands that threatening. I know since September 11th there is a higher panic alert when dealing with such issues, but honestly why should something like that bother us, other then because we aren't familiar with it. I see people walking around school buildings where trench coats and I don't panic and call the police on suspicion that they are carrying guns like the Columbine shooters. I did admit I'd be uneasy about the passenger too, but I wonder honestly why would I? It is impossible to understand all the different cultures and their beliefs and practices and I'm sure that plays a part of it. I also feel that the media plays a big part of it keeping people on edge whether its with tv shows like 24 showing different prayer rituals a terrorist would go through before bombing a place or through movies doing the same. It sounds stupid, like who really believes the stuff in the movies, but I do think it influences peoples perceptions on circumstances like this one. I do think they took proper protocol because if you feel that their may be a threat you have the responsibility to all the other passengers to keep them safe and ground the plane and get to the bottom of the situation, but I do hope that one day we can get past this on edge 24/7 when in an airport or on a plane because incidents like this shouldn't have to occur. I think flight attendants should be taught about some of these different practices before they become a flight attendant just to give them a basic understanding so that incidents like this do not happen. I know it is impossible to understand and learn all cultures, but an understanding of some different ones not usually seen would be helpful in some of these incidents. Then if they see something out of the ordinary and have their suspicion then they should do exactly what they did do in this incident, tell the captain and let him decide. Maybe radio it in and see if they can inform him of the practice.
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Ok, first of all, religious people and airplanes don’t mix; we all should know that by now. Yes he was probably mistaken for a Muslim extremist, but what can you do, that’s just how the world is these days, and you can’t blame them, apparently, bombing an airplane is the new cool thing in the Middle East. The flight attendant was just being cautious. and off course the kid didn’t think that strapping himself with wires would cause a problem, but imagine if he was a Muslim, the plane wouldn’t have taken off at all, that’s just the world we live in, we stereotype everyone. But stereotypes obviously have a hint of truth to them.
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Hmmm, I never really thought of tifillin as being "ominous", but it did bring back a very interesting memory of mine. When I was very young, and just being introduced to my jewish heritage, my grandfather who at one point was an orthodox jew, pulled out his tallis and tifillin to show me. Now, being of jewish culture, I knew what the tallis was, which for those who don't know is a prayer shawl draped over your shoulders. However, when my grandfather pulled out the tifillin, it was nothing I had ever seen before, and it did give me a sense of uncertainty. So, I do find it understandable that somebody could confuse what they were doing with something more devious. What I find very interesting is that none of the flight attendants or pilot knew what was going on. Number one, they probably could have asked ninety nine percent of the people flying out of new york, and most of them would have at least heard of what they were doing. The most ridiculous part is that they asked the kid what he was doing, to which he replied that he was praying, and the crew did not believe him. That is absurd, on many different levels. Number one, if he really wanted to blow up the plane with his tifillin bomb, he probably would have just detonated it. Number 2, it's really hard to make a bomb out of leather, which I'm assuming it was made out of.
This is where my real problem with the whole situation comes into play. Where do we decide to draw the line? On the one hand, everyone should be allowed to pray on the plane, no matter who it makes "uncomfortable", whatever that would mean. On the other hand, if we give free tifillin passes to everybody who flies on a plane, there's gonna be some whackjob who decides to fill there's full of plastic explosives.
Being a Jew, and somebody who knows what tifillin looks like, I'd have to agree with the boys rabbi. Praying with that stuff on a plane in front of a whole bunch of obviously uncultured flight crew members, is definitely a poor decision on his part. Although mostly they are made of leather, I could see how somebody would find it quite mysterious, especially if they had never seen it before. And praying doesn't actually make them any less hostile. I'm sure that a lot of people trained in public transportation are told that people praying is a sign that they may try and commit an attack, like they are praying before they die. It's too bad prayer has received such a bad rap in the last decade.
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Osama and Pals have promised more terror attacks in the future and one of their favorite mediums appears to be planes. The flight attendant and pilot were overly cautious and it is that kind of thinking and action that will save lives in the future. It appeared frivolous this time because the outcome was peaceful but I hope the event in no way deters future apprehension. Perhaps the FAA should set strict rules about what activities are and are not permitted in flight. Passengers should be able to occupy themselves for a few hours with books, magazines, and movies without getting cabin fever. Strap yourself up and appear to be giving yourself last rights and you get tackled.
Furthermore, racial profiling should be a priority. More aging white grandmothers than young Islamic men are given extra screening at airports because of the risk of being accused of profiling. Security guards fear profiling lawsuits and losing their jobs. Similar to a situation one might find reading “Freakonomics”, one issue promotes both racial segregation (mentally), heightened risk of terrorism.
Political Correctness. Not having the perceived freedom to speak freely has led to not being able act freely. Not even to save lives.
The Christmas day underwear bomber was read his Miranda rights before being interrogated. Because of political correctness, we learned Nothing from this terrorist. It is likely that we never will. Terrorists should be boxed and shipped to Guantánamo Bay to be treated like the dirt they are, but instead this administration treats them No differently than they would a citizen of the country they swore to protect.
By far the most disgusting implementation of political correctness to date has been the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/ll terror attacks on the World Trade Center. This man, if he can be called such, will be tried in CIVILIAN COURT. After ADMITTING to plotting the World Trade Center bombings, taxpayer dollars will pay for HIS lawyer.
Political Correctness.
Once intended to prevent offense, the term has grown into a life threatening monster. Events like what happened to this jewish boy should be common and accepted, although I fear there will be some left wing backlash.
Osama bin laden has promised further attacks in the “future” for quite some time now. Unfortunately, I have never been so motivated to believe him. Everything is in lined up in his favor. Existing terrorists are treated like common criminals. Terrorists attempting to blow planes out of the sky are NOT interrogated. If we, the enemy, pose NO significant threat, why hesitate? If his bombing missions are successful, then he has achieved his goal. If his cronies get captured, at least he can now promise them that in the event of capture, they won’t even get tortured for information.
Harmless religious tradition or not, thank God for overly cautious flight crews.
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This just proves how insecure we have gotten since 9/11. And I don't blame people for having their guards up because terrorists attempts arise. I think the simple solution to this problem ti to educate people so that they are aware of things that are purely innocent and for the goodness of an individual's beliefs or lifestyle than what could be harmful. Its no other way around this but i don't even think people first thought when they see something peculiar on a plane is a terrorist attack. That fear prevents us from thinking rationally and being able to make decisions that require common sense. I know that when I see something strange no matter where I am, i look with suspicion. I am vigilant of my surroundings and make sure that everything is steady. I hope that the Jewish people do not take offense to this. Its no means of disrespect, people are just trying to be safe. And during these times of trials, who isn't?
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I found this article to be very refreshing for all parties involved. I only know what tefillin is because of the movie Pi, and apparently is so unheard of that my spell check doesn’t recognize it either. What the flight attendants and pilots did was in my opinion the right thing to do for precautionary reasons. It also seemed to me that the cops who got on the plane and approached the boy and his sister handled the situation in a firm, yet respectful manor without over stepping boundaries that could have turned into police brutality. I also found that the reaction of the kid, his grandmother,
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and rabbi were in very good taste, understanding that to the average person, what was happening could be seen as a security threat. This is not the case for an 8-year old kid who has trouble getting on airplanes because he shares the same name as a person on a terrorist no fly list. I understand that in a world today where you cannot ever be too careful that sometimes there needs to be a line drawn. I think there is something to be said about knowing other peoples cultures from this little mishap. Not that I actively sought out to know about this culture, but because I by chance know about it and would have recognized it on the air plane I would have not had to stress out and worry that my airplane was going to be blown up.I know though that there are a lot of things though that I do not know many different cultures and if I were on an airplane where someone else was doing a completely harmless act I could be scared to death over it. I think it is safe to say that about most people also.
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This is a very interesting article to me. It shows that America still has a lot of learning to do about different people and their culture. This 17 year old boy was just participating in his prayer ritual. I do however feel that the flight attendant reacted properly to this situation. She was unaware that the boy was praying. She felt as though her life as well as all the people’s lives that were on board of the aircraft were in danger. Though he took out this “teffilin” to pray, people were unaware and took it as a bomb scare. I feel as though the whole crew took the proper procedures and precautions to make sure everyone on board were safe and resolved the problem on ground.
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In the past seven decades, Americans have made impressive gains in overcoming bigotry on the basis of religion, sex, and race. However, they have lots of room for improvement in reducing bigotry towards Atheists, homosexuals, and the elderly.
In 1978, the most discriminated-against characteristic was homosexuality; only about one in four Americans would vote for a well-qualified homosexual. Gays and lesbians have made impressive gains in acceptance. Now, about three in five Americans would consider voting for one.
In 1978, the second most-discriminated against group were Atheists. Only four Americans in ten would vote for a well-qualified Atheist. In 1999, Atheists had made a slight gain; half would vote for one.
The data shown for 2007 was collected between February 9 and 11. A later survey, taken in 2007-DEC showed that the acceptance level for a Mormon president had risen from 72% to 80% during the year. This increase was probably due to the presence of Mitt Romney as a Republican candidate for the presidency.
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The most striking aspect of this story to me was the overall calm reaction from the boy and his family. I really respect how they did not react with anger despite the ignorance of the flight attendant. I can't help but feel as if it was the right way to react, given that most people (judging by the other comments) are not familiar with tefillin, myself included. It wasn't really the flight attendant's prerogative to read up on Jewish religious practices to prevent misunderstandings like this. The air travel climate, as the boy's grandmother pointed out in the NYT article, is less than comfortable in recent years, which also contributed to the actions of the flight attendant. I sort of feel like no one is at fault here; the flight attendant was just doing her job and the boy was just following a religious ritual. If there is blame to place, I suppose the flight attendant could have asked the boy what he was doing and asked if he could wait until landing before causing a scene, but then again, the boy probably should have understood that praying mid-flight with leather straps on his body was not the best idea either.
The boy is also a victim of a society that is mostly familiar with Christian religions and their respective practices, which is not his fault. If he was praying with his hands folded, sans leather straps, no one would have said anything. It's a shame, but that's the reality of the situation. He is also the victim of a travel environment that won't even let you bring a bottle of water on board a plane because it might turn out to be some sort of weapon or explosive, which is also a shame. Anything out of the ordinary is obviously going to worry people on a plane, so the flight attendant was probably taking whatever measures she could to keep the other passengers comfortable and safe.
I am curious to see what would have happened if an incident like this had occurred someplace else in the world, like Europe for example. I know that travel security guidelines have been bolstered globally in recent years, but just from personal experience, I wonder if there would have been a reaction like this if he was flying from say…London to Dublin. I remember getting on planes in Dublin a lot faster and easier than I ever had in the United States, and I generally felt like less eyes were on me as I walked from gate to gate, but maybe that was all in my head. I just think there is a much higher sense of paranoia in the United States when it comes to air travel, and when you combine that with public displays of religion, you end up with unfortunate stories like this.
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When I read this article, I think to myself that if I was the flight attendant that I may have been the same way. I would have been wondering what the device is that this young kid is using. Also this article does show the state that America is in, how people are scared and that no one on the flight even questioned the young boy to see what it was that he was using. Yes it does pay to learn about other peoples cultures because people in different cultures and religions all use different things. it seems that after the September 11th attacks that people are a lot more aware of their surroundings on public transportation weather it is a train, plane or bus. There have been many occasions when I was on a bus or a plane and I would have thoughts running through my head like what if something happens to this plane.
I feel that people don't take many chances when it comes to safety on airplanes and in airports, these people were unfamiliar with the device that this kid was using and decided that he was somehow a threat to the people on the plane. But then you have to think about how the boy could have done this differently, I mean even the Jewish community responded saying that they see why the flight attendant would have reacted like that, and that the Teffilin isn't widely used in the Jewish community. So the boy could have prayed in private or in a more secluded place just not to alarm people or so no one would disturb him.Also I wonder how he felt when all of the police came onto the flight to find out about this "mysterious" device that the kid was using. But with that being said when it comes to religion and how people practice there's everyone is different, my religion is different than yours and everyone doesn't worship the same way.
Another thing about this story that I think is interesting is how the media treated this story, some of the stories that I saw tried to make people more aware of what a teffilin is and how it works and what it looks like when it is being used so that people will be more educated on the device if they even come into contact with it again. I feel the news did a god job on letting the public know what happened and how there wasn't a real threat on the flight. When the story first broke, the media was just saying that a flight had to land in Philadelphia for unknown reasons, which to me could have been anything.
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I think the response from the flight attendant on the plane is normal. anyone who dosent know about the cultural practise is going to react in the same way as the flight attendant did. Our past experiences and history make us think that a terrorist is on board and wants blow up the plane.I think that the flight attendant just followed the protocol and called the pilot, she cant be blamed for this, if that man would havbe actually possessed a weapon or a bomb, she would have been a hero. This is a perfect case of perception where the flight attendant had a fixed idea of what a terrorist would do and compared it to the young man.
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I just asked my Jewish friend to explain to me what exactly a tefillin is. Apparently it's a black prayer box men wrap it around their head and arms a number of times to represent the number mitzvot in the Torah. Some men, or some highly religious men apparently use it every time that they pray. I can totally understand why someone would pray when getting onto a US airways flight too. Many people pray before flying, no matter what religion. Anyway, I think that it is understandable to be concerned when seeing that if you don't know what it is. It took me a long time just talking to my friend to figure out exactly what it does and why Jewish men wear it. I do, however, think that the flight attendant made the wrong decision to land the entire plane. She should have asked around to figure out exactly what the device was before making such a rash decision.
As far as Jewish person's reactions to the story, I can imagine that if I were Jewish I wouldn't be too upset. I think that they are well aware of how people are very uninformed about their religious practices and they are understanding of it. When I asked my friend, she said, "She's pretty ignorant, and she could have just asked someone. It's not like he was strapping on a bomb. It's not a quick process to wrap the tefillin and she could have easily questioned it." There are so many things that people do that could be mistaken just like the tefillin incident, but no one is landing planes for them. This is very embarrassing for US air, and I think that they should really spend some time investing in airline employees who are more cultured. It's also very scary for the 17-year-old who was assumed to be a terrorist. The poor kid must have been scared out of his mind when greeted by bomb sniffing dogs and police in Philadelphia. And even he was really understanding of being freakin' stopped and emergency landed in Philly.
The Huffington post wrote, "'Therefore, in the interest of everyone's safety, the crew decided to land in Philadelphia, where a more complete investigation and follow-up with authorities would be possible,' the statement said." This is the only part of the story that I can sympathize with. I think that if all the crew members are convinced that there could possibly be a bomb on the plane, you better follow the old cliche, better safe than sorry. I do, however, think that the crew should have taken more steps to make sure that the boy was a real threat before landing an entire plane and wasting a lot of time and money. Overall, I think that I could make a better decision on how I feel about it if I were there. My whole mindset might change if I were sitting next to the man.
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Although it's rather sad that a young man cannot perform a religious ritual (that is an everyday routine for him) in public without winding up in handcuffs, I can completely comprehend why these actions were taken. As I see it, the black material attached to the young man's head could have been one of two things. The first being some type of explosive device, which obviously poses harm to many people, and the second is something completely harmless, such as necessary material for a religious ritual. And from here, the officials on board could have acted in two different ways. The first would be assume they were truly wires, and the plane would blow up unless precautions were taken, which is what they did. The second option they had was to assume that the boy had no malicious plans behind the material, and perhaps they were merely just there as some sort of ritual.
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It should not be happened, but was expected to be. Reading through this article, I found myself having ambiguous feeling toward this incident although it was not such shocking or surprising.
Firstly, the reason why I was not surprised is simple. Since I was not originally born in United States, I always heard about some incidents of discrimination via mass media. Misunderstanding from the lack of understanding DOES exist. In a flight, passengers are happened to be from different background with many different reasons. It might be obvious that flight attendant did not know about such religious practice and she, therefore, prioritized the ‘safety’ of the plane in the first place – especially these days when terrorism became one of the big concerns in the agenda.
However, I had mysterious feeling and it can be explained by a term, “weird.” As I mentioned above, I heard lots about it, but I thought it could not be any worse than bullying by immature persons and I did not know it would actually happen in this way. Jews were quite often talked about in United States due to their possession of influence to U.S government and, ultimately, the “power.” My doubt is that why such religion’s practice from those holding power has not been acknowledged by people like Islam.
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The problem starts here. The first option may be considered politically incorrect to Jewish persons such as this young man. Handcuffing and restraining a man just because they were not familiar with his culture just seems wrong. Which, I guess it is, but it was necessary in this case. It was necessary because this religious item could have just as easily indeed been an explosive. Worst case scenario for this possibility is that the plane blows up, killing everyone on board, as well as possibly people on land, who could possibly be struck with remnants from the exploded plane.
The officials did not act incorrectly for assuming the worst. When you weigh the worst case scenarios for each of the possibilities, one is drastically worse. The consequences of how the officials acted has only resulted in some debate, and rightfully so. The possibility that this could have indeed been an explosive existed, and the officials could not take a chance in many innocent people dying, just to spare the feelings of a few people who may hae been upset by this.
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I don’t blame the flight attendant for being suspicious of the boy praying. Teffilin is not something you see or hear about very often. In fact, spell-check didn’t even recognize the word. So it’s not surprising that the flight attendant was worried that someone was wrapping straps around themselves in flight. For someone who is unfamiliar with Jewish rituals, such an act would definitely appear suspicious. Safety is the number one priority, and I feel that it’s better to be safe than politically correct. I know for a fact, that if I was on that flight, I would have found the boys behavior kind of strange. Although the flight attendant had every right to be suspicious, I don’t understand why they redirected the plane to Philadelphia before they confronted the boy. From the time the flight attendant noticed the boy with the straps, to the time it took to land the aircraft, the boy could have detonated a bomb if he had one. Why didn’t the flight attendant just approach the boy and ask kindly what he was doing. There’s nothing wrong with being curious. It would have saved so much time and avoided the embarrassment of putting people in handcuffs and what not. Either way, I’m glad the flight attendant didn’t just keep to herself about the whole situation. She followed protocol and did the right thing by notifying the pilot.
On another note, I’m really surprised that the boy’s mother and the boy were so understanding of the mishap. If it was me, I was be appalled that they went to such drastic measures for a simple prayer ritual. It’s nice to know that the boy and his mother were empathic and realized that it was a reasonable misunderstanding, especially after the events of 9/11. Since 9/11, everyone’s guard is up and any little thing that appears out of the ordinary, especially in an aircraft, can be scary. The boy handled himself very well, especially after having a gun pointed at him. Which by the way, was a bit extreme. Why did they point a gun at the passengers. There was no immediate threat, and I feel that the officers over reacted. Why didn’t they just escort the passengers calmly out of the aircraft.
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It pays to learn a bit more about others culture. This goes for both the boy and the hostess. Because there are so many cultures in the world it is impossible to know absolutely everyone so the safest option is to learn the ones of the country you are in. I am quite certain the boy could just have held out until he got off the flight especially considering how on edge fliers are as of late with all the bomb threats and “suspects” in airlines. The hostess although relatively embarrassed by her decision made a call based on what she felt was a security issue but where do you draw the line between founded and unfounded fears. Will she do this then to anyone she regards as strange or different? But being that her job requires that she be in contact with people of various nationalities and backgrounds the least she can do is educate herself during her spare time.
I am trying to imagine myself in that situation as a passenger and what I would have thought. Being that I myself am not aware of “teffilin” I would have paid attention what he was doing. I do not believe I would have alerted any attendants of it because you have to control your own fears and potential hysteria or you, as the hostess was, become the nuisance. Now everyone was delayed in getting where they needed to go because someone was praying and the air hostess freaked out.
I see the next step to all this craziness being religion being banned from public places because people do not take the time of day to actually process effectively what they are looking at. Emotions should be controlled by a person not the person be controlled by the emotions, because that is when the dumbest decisions are usually made because all ability to think logically goes out the window. People need to control their fears! Not everyone different from you is out to get you! Imagine how on edge this world will be if everyone reacted in this way where a whole plane had to land for a prayer. Really, though?
I also see Christians in some twisted illogical way being blamed for this. Although Muslims are the rebel group of the day Christians are the fall back scapegoats when everyone other than a Muslim is a target. It is amazing how change can be affected by a handful of people and yet most people do not think they can make a difference to right a wrong. Leave the Muslims watch the terrorists. Stop scapegoating the Christians and direct your comments to those that offend you. This grouping of people unjustly needs to end while we all some semblance of sense left in us. This is how dictators and opportunists rise.
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I absolutely understand how the flight officials handled this the way they did. It is understandable that after the numerous terror attacks and attempts, that officials have reason to be jumpy about things of that nature. I don't think that it was a smart move by the boy to go all out on the plane. It's not an issue of religious intolerance,i feel that it is more of one of common sense.If you know that something may look skeptical, whether it be an action or personal item, although your intentions may be good, sometimes it's best just to not involve yourself in the hassle that may result.
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This article grabbed me right from the beginning because it was an opportunity to learn more about a culture about something I had no clue about. I think it is so intriguing to learn as much as possible about other cultures just so you are aware of what is going on. Being that we are a very diverse country with many different cultures and religions it is important not to be ignorant, because there are so many ways to access information now faster than ever; you would think more people would be informed. That is why I chose this article because it gave me a chance to learn about something I never knew about and it sparked a conversation with my roommate as well.
It is true now-a-days for anyone to be suspicious of things out of the ordinary, because of events like 9/11 and so on. It seems like the situation was handled as calm and smoothly as possible though; which should give some relief to the passengers of any aircraft. I know for sure that if I saw someone wrap themselves in leather attached to a box on their head I would try and keep my distance for the pure fact of not knowing.
When I heard it was a Jewish practice to use tefillin for prayer I turned first to the person who I thought would be able to get me to the bottom of this, my roommate. My roommate is half Jewish and even though not practicing I figured she could help shed some light on this otherwise anomaly. When asked what tefillin was or what it was used for she looked confused and didn’t know what I was saying. Now her curiosity along with mine grew so she called her dad who was also Jewish and asked him what the deal was. He having practiced this prayer once in awhile was able to explain it to us. I was told it was like the Catholics form of a rosary. You took it out and wrapped it around yourself as you would a rosary around your hands and then say a prayer that goes along with the holy object.
Now not only was I informed about something of a different culture my roommates as well benefited from my curiosity. This is the whole point of journalism in the end, isn’t it? Journalists seek out interesting and informative stories, and then write to the general public to inform them and make them less ignorant. I am happy when I am able to learn something new and interesting everyday. The next time I see someone with tefillin wrapped around their body, I will now know it is a form of prayer. Instead of keeping my distance for fear of the unknown I can now just take it as an everyday occurrence and not be fazed by it at all. Knowledge is definitely power in a world as diverse as ours.
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I actually had the privilege of reading this article when it came out in the news. I found it incredibly interesting because it is so odd. I, like many others, would have no idea what the man was doing, and I most likely would be very worried and curious as to what to do. But, the fact that the plane had to turn around is almost comical to me. The plane had to turn around because of the fact that the majority of Americans today are ignorant to other religious customs. Is this right, wrong or indifferent? I’m not quite sure. While I wish I was more in tune with other religious customs, I am not and probably still won’t be after writing this know any more about these sort of customs than I did previously. But, I’m not sure if that makes me a bad person. I don’t think it does, but I do think it makes me part of the reason for incidents such as these. Will I change after reading and writing on this blog post? I guess we shall see.
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After reading this post and the article attached to it, I'm not surprised that this happened even though I think it is an awful event. If I was a passenger on this plane, I most likely would have been scared as well if someone took something out of their carry-on and strapped it to ourselves. I do understand that this is a religious practice and we all have the right to believe and practice whatever religion we want, but after 911 I think people should be more aware of what is going on. If I was this kid I would be hurt a lot if this happened to me especially when all I was trying to do was pray, but I think he should have been a little smarter about the situation and about taking something out on a plane and attaching it to yourself.
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Can you blame the airline industry for being so cautious. You can never really tell when you see someone acting in an uncommon matter there always is suspicion aroused. Needless to say if I was on the plane and he started praying next to me I’d get to biting my fingernails and watching him very closely. After such tragic events of 9/11 the idea of another terrorist attack has been haunting the airlines. The moment they decide that they need to loosen up their policy is the very moment that they are going to miss something. Personally I believe that they did the right thing. At least now they know for future scenarios. Despite how ignorant and ridiculous it looks, I believe it is a positive moment in which they took the initiative to secure the safety of their passengers before it was too late. I doubt there were many aboard the plane that objected to the precautious and temporary delay in flight arrival time. It is better to know that it was a misunderstanding and no one was hurt then to read in the papers or see on television that due to the neglect of a flight attendant, a plane was brought down and there were casualties.
The airlines are not responsible for knowing of every religion and the practices of them. The world culture consists of a vast variety of gods and religions which may create a huge study guide for flight attendants to study. Instead, the responsibility of the airlines is to ensure the safety of those on board at all times and mitigate the possibility for any externalities that may alter the amount of safety that one or all passengers may feel on an given flight of any given day and time. The changes since September 11th have been made to advance and increase the safety and reputation of the airline industry in this country. Although troublesome it has been very successful and needless to say they have had their work cut out for them. This may seem like and audacious thing for a white skinned Hispanic Christian to say since I have never been on the end of any racial or religious/cultural prejudice. But I personally don’t care I can tell when someone is being racist and when they are just protecting their own interest and safety. It is never bad when you are just looking out for the common good of everyone else around. As long as you act kindly and with consideration for the feelings of individuals it is not wrong to say, “can I have a word with you” to clear up any possible misunderstandings that may arise due to awkward practices.
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This article was actually very interesting to me. I am Jewish, and while I am not in any way religious, nor did I go to Hebrew school or have a bat mitzvah, I do have friends who are very religious and who do use teffilin while they pray. My brother had a bar mitzvah and in his pictures from the event, he has teffilin on. Is this weird? Maybe… but I don’t think anyone should make judgments without understanding. I am used to seeing people playing with teffilin, but I am in no way surprised that some would find this act strange. It is not necessarily “the norm,” but I wouldn’t expect people to pull a plane down for it.
What I found funny about the article is that it was the flight attendant who made the claim about the boy being suspicious because of his religious practice. Yes, I understand that she didn’t realize what he was doing, but why didn’t she ask? I am sure that on a big plane, there was at least someone else who was jewish who could have explained the situation and avoided the hassle that they had to endure. I wonder why she didn’t ask someone around her if they knew what he was doing.
Every religious group has their own practices that those who are on the outside could find strange. I am sure if I didn’t know what teffilin was I would find it strange, but it is unfortunate that things so customary to some religions and cultures could seem so strange to others. It would be nice if we could be more integrative and more accepting of others, but when will that even happen?
Spell check is telling me that “teffilin” isn’t a word… doesn’t that show something? I think it shows that we are not open enough. If it is not in the English language, then how should anyone expect to know about it?
One thing I have experienced as a Jewish student at Penn State is finding people who tell me they have never before met a Jew until they came to Penn State, or even until they met me. I grew up in a pretty Jewish area, or at least an area where being Jewish isn’t weird. I find it to be funny when people have never met a Jew before because it seems so common to me. I never thought of being Jewish as a minority, although I always knew it was. I thought being Jewish was just like being anything else, and it is… but at Penn State it seems like so many people perceive it as being so weird. Why is it weird? While I believe religion to be weird in general, and while I think beliefs are weird, I think we cant judge each other’s religions if we don’t take the time to understand them. This brings me back to the flight attendant. I wish she had taken the time to think about what he could be doing.
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I can completely understand why someone would feel the way they did after seeing this young man looking the way he did. I feel that if I were on that plane I would have acted the exact same way. I think I would have looked at him, and not knowing that the hell that is on him, I would have been a little unnerved. I know nothing about Judaism or their practices, and I think I only know about two Jewish people, so I would have had no idea what he was doing.
Yes this may be partly my fault because I am not “cultured” enough or worldly enough, or maybe this is part of America’s problem, the fact that we jump to judge people without knowing all, or many times, any of the facts. The United States as a whole has a problems with being overly judgmental without any basis for their feelings, myself included. We also have a lot of ignorance for people who are not exactly the same as us. For instance, for the most part, Catholics will believe that their religion dominates; therefore it is not important to know about any other religion, everyone else should just know about theirs. It also appears with immigrants. I cannot even count how many times I have heard someone make a comment such as, “You are in the United States, Learn how to speak English if you are going to get a job” in reference to a foreign fast food worker, or something of the sort.
With that said, this 17 year old should have enough common sense to know that many people probably do not know what it is that he is wearing/doing. Especially with all the heightened security in airports today, why would you even take a chance in wearing something like that when it is obviously not something you see every day? I know it might be ignorant to forget about his religious beliefs, but common sense should tell you that hey, if I get on this plane wearing what looks to be wires and straps and reading something that most people do not know that language to, it might raise some flags and some eyebrows. I am still afraid to bring lotions and shampoo on the plane with me for fear that it will cause a ruckus, how did this kid not even think about it before hand? Especially the fact that that a man was just arrested a few miles away from La Guardia at Newark airport in the beginning of the month for crossing a restricted area line. Shouldn’t that have maybe given out a few clues that the airports were still taking even the slightest things very seriously? This isn’t made to sound rude, but would it have been completely out of the question to wait and put the tefillin on after the flight?
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This article definitely interested me the moment I looked at it. Although I am not Jewish, I am American and I can definitely recognize that this is an article that basically anyone can relate to. I know that there are many people out there who feel that Americans are taking precautions to an all-time high when it comes to flying; which I can believe is very aggravating at times for those who being profiled or checked twice at the gateway. However, I have always agreed that although it may be annoying, if a person has nothing to hide, and can ensure the others that they are safe to be on board, why not do so? I read this article and can almost assure myself that I probably would have done exactly the same thing that this flight attendant did when noticing the boy with a strange device being wrapped around his body! I’m sure that many people can say that it’s a sign of ignorance that no one knew this boy was simply praying, doing what he does everyday. However, I don’t believe that it is realistic for someone to observe or study all other religions, cultures, and practices different from their own because the reality is that there are probably too many for the brain to hold.
I don’t necessarily know what else could have been done besides what the flight attendant did on impulse. She confronted him, simply asking what he was doing, and although he responded with prayer, that would still have the ability to scare me possibly even a little bit more because of the seriousness of the activity. However, I believe I still would have told someone of higher authority of what I saw. I believe the flight crew probably didn’t ask this boy any other questions after the flight attendant because god forbid this boy did have a deadly weapon attached to his body, confronting him would probably not have been the best idea, likely that the boy would have set off the “bomb” right then and there. I’m sure the hopes of the flight crew were to land as soon as possible without alarming any of the passengers on board that something was out of the ordinary.
I almost feel that there was a significant amount to blame on the 17-year old boy for not recognizing that what he was doing was probably not something many Americans saw in every day life. In fact, what he was doing was considerably out of the ordinary. It may have been a smart idea for the boy to inform some authority on the plane that he had planned to pray during the flight and his prayer involved a “tefillin,” which although may look strange to them, was completely harmless and only used for his Jewish prayer.
I will say that it is very easy for us Americans to pull out a gun or pat down the most suspicious looking person on a plane, and I wish this wasn’t so. I wish there was there was another way to confront this boy (and his younger sister) in a not so abrupt manner. I guess it’s more important sometimes to assure the safety of other passengers by acting in an sudden and unexpected manner.
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With the important issue that is national security what happened in this article is obviously a hot topic to talk about. After seeing the teenage boy wrapping himself in what seemed to be “cable and wires” the natural reaction for many citizens post September 11th would be to panic and question what is happening. I grew up going to Catholic schools and I have never seen or heard of teffilin, I don’t claim to know much about his culture but, like I said before seeing something that even slightly resembles cables and wires on a plane I would become suspicious of what was happening. So what happened on this flight in reaction to the teenager praying in teffilin is not one bit surprising. So many people have thoughts and fears that are bordering paranoia in today’s world especially when it comes down to the safety of passengers on a plane. I myself can say that if I saw the teenager wrapping himself and praying, I would without a doubt be a little paranoid about what could happen on this flight. After seeing this I would also be taking all precautions to keep myself, and the passengers on the flight safe just like what the flight attendant and pilot did.
In regards to the teffilin and praying that the teenage boy was using and performing I believe that he has the right to do this whenever he pleases. I also believe that discretion should be used when using anything that even resembles cables and wires, especially when on a plane with the ever increasing fear of bombings and hijackings that so many people have heard about and want to prevent. I think that handcuffing the two teenagers after landing was a little unnecessary, especially after the explanation that the boy was praying with his teffilin had made.
I don’t think that he flight attendants and Pilots can be expected to be perfect and recognize on the spot exactly what someone is doing and this instance is no different. I am sure that flight attendants are trained to be a little more suspicious of activities or items that could be connected to bombs or hijackings and the attendant on this flight was just doing what they thought was necessary to protect everyone on the flight. In my opinion being “better to be safe than sorry” is a mantra that needs to be followed when seeing suspicious activity on a plane, because of the imminent danger that an actual attacking presents. Maybe I am just becoming more and more paranoid as well, after watching TV and hearing the media’s take on national security, it seems as if everything that happens on plane has to be looked at through a microscope to protect the passengers.
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Americans, have a heightened sense of fear when it comes to plane travel, especially after September 11. I don’t blame the flight attendant who told the pilot she taught there was somebody who had explosives. After all, it is safety first. She had no idea that the man was in prayer and you can’t expect her to. She was looking out for the members on the plane, as she should and she acted responsibility. On the other hand, I think flight attendants should be more informed than most people about what explosives look like. She seemed to be the only one who saw the boy’s prayer as dangerous. I would expect flight attendants to be experts on different types of people and their religious practices, because they interact with different types of people every time they take flight. However, if she wasn’t sure, she did the right thing by looking out for everyone’s safety. If I had seen the boy strapping a teffilin to himself, I would’ve been kind of worried myself.
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My race relations group delved into this particular story in detail just today, and everyone gave very nice feedback. It is definitely a controversial topic, and what is interesting is how many different opinions and viewpoints were presented. Simply stated, I cannot blame the flight attendant. As unfortunate a situation it is (especially for the young boy), safety measures must be taken first and foremost on an airplane. I try to always put myself in the situation presented and go from there. If I was on the plane, and I saw a young boy mumbling as he held or was wrapped in wiring, I would absolutely keep an eye on him or at least have pessimistic thoughts as to what business he was up to. Granted, I know extremely little about Jewish religious traditions or culture. A Jewish kid in my race group did not even fully understand what teffilin was. Therefore, considering the unfamiliarity with this custom, part of the “blame” should be placed, if any is placed whatsoever, on the kid. It has not been a decade since the worst terrorist attack in the history of our country took place – there will obviously still be some concern as people take to the skies. Consequently, everyone should just realize that anything appearing even remotely mysterious, “shady,” or concerning could evolve into a more-than-mild issue. Easier said than done, right? Maybe. But again, I put myself in the situation. I know I would do anything in the world to protect the safety of my family, even if it may involve creating an inconvenience such as redirecting a flight. In situations such as helpless as an airplane flight, it is my belief that you should take every precaution to ensure everyone’s safety. Therefore, I have no grievance at all with identifying the boy as a potential threat and landing the plane for further investigation. What I do wonder is why the boy had to be arrested (physically placed in handcuffs) without a simple interrogation or conversation taking place first? I feel this could be an unnecessary measure that could not only embarrass the boy but damage him. This, however, could all have been prevented if the boy prayed to himself silently, and used the teffelin upon landing. Once again, I do not know the ritual and apparently the flight attendant did not either. Should she be taught customs other than the ones most popular in the United States? Maybe this enlightenment or increased awareness could help the situation or even eradicate further false alarms in the future. For now, though, I would stick to my humble opinion that plane travelers should just try to abstain from looking suspicious or creating any misgivings with unfamiliar “props.” It is regrettable that it has to be this way, but terrorists create unfortunate realities. And the reality now is that we need to be cautious first, and trustworthy later. What a shame.
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I found this article to be really interesting. My mom told me about this a while ago, but I did not really fully understand what exactly happened. I have not made my decision yet on how I really feel about the situation. Maybe I will figure that out while I am writing this, maybe not. In my section yesterday we discussed how America can be perceived as ignorant a lot and that “we” don’t bother to learn much about other countries. I find this to be true. I know there are exceptions, but overall I find that America is way less educated about other countries than the other countries are. I think it is really important that we know about other countries even if we are the hegemon or not. However— I am not too certain if we were more educated about other countries and cultures that we would have known what was going on with this boy. There are Jewish people that I know that don’t even know what tefflin is. So, yes I agree that America needs to open their eyes to other countries and what is going on in the world; however I am not certain that would have effected this particular situation.
Now, what I am indifferent about is who I think is right in this case. I try to step back and think about what I would have done if I were on that plane or the flight attendant and I still do not know what I would have done. I can see where the flight attendant was coming from. In today’s world you never know what is going to happen. People never cease to amaze me. It is hard to just ignore something suspicious going on on the airplane with all that has happened lately. With that being said, I feel bad for the boy. He is only 17 and was just trying to practice his religion and keep himself occupied on the plane. I think that what should have been done is the flight attendant should not have been so quick to react. I understand she was probably scared, but I think she should have looked into the situation a little more. She said they looked like wires; well maybe she should have gone over and looked closer at it than to freak out and make accusations. The safe way to go in today’s world is to just not push the limits on a plan though. The boy could have prayed without the tefflin and saved that for a later time like the article said.
I do find it rather sad thought that our world has gotten to the point that something like that freaks everyone out. We shouldn’t have to freak out about someone praying. We shouldn’t have to be scared for our lives as soon as we enter a plane.
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I find this article very interesting. All this boy was doing was praying and practicing his religion on the plane. Because of this the plane was actually landed to check for a bomb. That’s a really big deal. Luckily there were no bombs on the plane and everyone was able to continue on their way. I’m not surprised to hear a story like this though. I am surprised though to not have read anything in the article about people being upset. I feel like this would upset people. In my opinion though, it shouldn’t.
It really is too bad that the plane flight was stopped just because of this boy praying but I feel that it was very necessary. The flight attendant wasn’t one hundred percent sure what she was seeing so she told the pilot. I don’t think that she is to blame. It’s not her job to know anything about a particular religion. She was fearful of her and the passenger’s life. She made the correct decision and I think that many people would agree.
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I’m surprised that the article did not talk about any Jewish or other different religious people being upset. I would think that some people would be very offended to hear of someone mistaking their religion for something like a suicide bomber. If I was in their shoes, I would probably feel frustrated by the situation. I would wish that people could just understand the differences between all the religions.
A situation like this raises concerns for people’s lack of knowledge of the different religions. If the flight attendant knew more about the Jewish religion, maybe the plane wouldn’t have needed to land only half an hour after taking off. Unfortunately this is a pretty unrealistic goal. There are too many religions to have people learn about all of them. Also, you can’t force people to learn the basics of all of the religions. Let’s say that only flight attendants were educated on different religions. That’s still not good enough. Suicide bombers could go and do their prayers before they actually take down the plane. If ending flights early, after seeing someone pray, to check a bomb is the safest way to keep everyone safe then that is what should be done.
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I found this article very interesting to read. It’s too bad that the entire plane had to land because they thought there was a bomb. I think that is was the best decision though. It’s not worth taking chances when you are dealing with many people’s lives. It would be nice to see people get more exposure to other religions though. The suicide bombers were of the Islam religion but that doesn’t mean that every person of the Islam religion would do a suicide bombing. There are a lot of different groups within the Islam religion and other religions that appear similar. I think that the choice to land the plane immediately was the safest decision, which is the route that should always be taken.
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I am writing in response to Sam Richard's post, "I Guess It Pays to Learn a Bit About Other People". The issue Sam writes about surrounds a domestic US Airways flight that made an emergency landing in Philadelphia in route from New York to Kentucky. The reason for the abrupt landing was because of a flight attendant's misinterpretation of a Jewish boy praying with tefillin, an Orthodox praying device made of leather straps that wraps around the hands, arms, and head of a Jewish man. The naieve flight attendant innocently thought that the boy was instead a terrorist, wrapping himself in an assortment of cables and wires attached to a bomb device. In defense of the flight attendant, tefillin can be an intimidating and eye-catching device that is not seen very often. Being Jewish myself, I am familiar with what tefillin is and what it is used for. However, if I was not Jewish, and was from the midwestern region of the United States, I probably would not know what this "strappy looking thing" was either. Being that there aren't too many of us Jews populating the world these days, most people are not very educated about the religion in general. In fact, Judaism is often referred to as a race, instead of a religion. It helps to know, just for those who don't, that there are mainly three types of Judaism currently being practiced today- Reformed, Conservative, and Orthodox. Reformed people usually do not keep kosher, keep the Sabbath, or attend synagogue regularly. On the other end of the spectrum, Orthodox Jews pray a certain number of times a day, keep kosher in and out of the home, keep the Sabbath (not driving, not using technology or electricity from Friday night to Saturday night), and wear conservative, traditional clothing. Orthodox Jews are usually easy to recognize because of men with long beards, wearing tallit underneath their suits, large black hats, and women with long skirts and dresses, and even sometimes wigs. And of course, Conservative Jews are in the middle. Many non-Jews in the US associate Judaism in general with the Orthodox people simply because they stand out more in public places than Reformed or Conservative Jews. All things considered, many Americans have never even met a Jew in their lifetime- probably someone like the US Airways flight attendant. Ignorance aside, I understand the attendant's uncertainty about this issue. Life after September 11th has forced many Americans in a "better safe than sorry" mindset, and I agree that our nation should always be thinking like that in times of war and uncertainty. However, it always makes you look like less of a fool to make rash decisions when you are educated about other cultures, races, and religions.
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I am from New York City, and the area in Brooklyn where I grew up was of heavy Jewish population. I have been around Orthodox Jews for my entire life, in their stores, in their homes, even at their weddings. Sure they have cultural traditions and rituals that may seem strange to the everyday eye, but then again, what is this so-called "everyday eye"? Who's eye is it, exactly? I'm sure they look at the American traditions of eating little clumps of cow meat with cheese on them, or drinking massive amounts of alcohol and sitting in front of a television to watch other people try to get an oddly shaped brown leather ball across a hundred-yard field, and think, "Wow, that's pretty weird." And I know there are always people out there who subscribe to the "Well, if they don't like America and it's traditions, they can just leave!" ideal, but is this country really ours? I mean, what percentage of us is truly native to this land? I agree with the pilot's protocol of landing the plane, because, after all, we must look after our own securities, and it is always better to be safe than sorry. I am of Indian descent, and since 9/11, I have faced the incessant jokes about brown people being terrorists. I think it's funny, but even I would do a double take if I saw a brown-skinned person in religious garb, praying aloud and wrapping himself in what seemed like wires on an airplane. Does that make me a racist? No, it makes a HUMAN BEING. It is in our animalistic nature to coil back when we see something that has the potential to be a threat to our well-being. This article just further proves my notion that religion is the knife that cuts the threads of society, causing more trouble than it does benefit.
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After reading this article, it was almost refreshing to see the ration reactions from both parties on board. While the tefflin was just a religious piece, it was the flight attendant’s responsibility to be concerned. Personally, I have never seen this religious practice and may have been concerned myself. Post 9/11, everything is seen as a threat and personally, I’d rather more events like this happen than another terrible event resulting in thousands of deaths. What is more positive about this suspicion, as well, is that it is not another case of racial profiling where you hear about the innocent Arab man being called upon because he “looks like a terrorist.” This was a legitimate concern for the safety of other passengers and while it was due to unfamiliarity, I don’t think many people can say they would have been able to identify what the boy was actually doing.
Additionally, the responses back to the public from the boy’s grandmother and rabbi were also very commendable. There were no claims of being unfair or that the flight attendant was discriminating against their culture. In fact, the responses were full of understanding. Truthfully, the boy did absolutely nothing wrong, and it saddens me that he had to go through the process of being handcuffed and having a gun pointed at him at such a young age (or at all, for that matter). This just shows how little everyone really knows about one another’s cultures and how diverse our world really is. I have four Jewish roommates (none of which are conservative) and they all had no idea about this religious practice, nor would have been able to identify what the tefflin was if they had been on the plane.
It is even sadder that in this post 9/11 world that we have to assume that everyone has bad intentions, and what is worse is that we assume that anyone looks different from the typical, American look are the ones that are causing the chaos. What I think people do not understand is that not every terrorist is from al Qaeda and not everyone that is different from the norm is out to get America. I do understand we must ensure the safety of our nation, what is the cost at which we must do this? Are we going to alienate every single person and culture because they look and act different? After all, this is America – we are supposed to be a melting pot of cultures that is accepting of everyone. We were able to mix together Italians, Irish, Germans, English, etc, but how long will it take for us to integrate all cultures into the “American” culture because it’s 2010: how long will everyone have to wait until they are accepted?
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After reading Dr. Richards’ blog post and the article, my initial response to the situation was nothing more than, “he wasn’t doing anything wrong, why make a big deal?” Then I took a second to really think about what I would have done if I were on the plane and saw the same thing. I’d probably have a panic attack. While growing up, I was always taught to mind my own business and not pay attention to what others around me are doing. Because that’s the way I was raised, I probably would have sat in my seat and freaked out until someone else witnessed the same thing and reported it. Basically, I wouldn’t have had the balls to do anything about the situation.
In this particular case, a plead of ignorance is basically an acceptable reason for what happened. Since religion isn’t necessarily a big conversation topic and since only a small fraction of people are practicing Jews, the religious custom of praying with a Tefillin is not known by many of those outside the Jewish religion. An excuse like the contraption being an accessory to prayer may sound like a lame excuse to those ignorant of the custom. There’s a pretty good chance that no one of reliable expertise was aware that the device was used for something religious. Anyone that may have confirmed the use of it probably would have also been targeted as a threat of conspiring with the alleged bombers.
One of the previous comments on this entry talks about the use of the word “normal.” For the seventeen year old boy and his sister, the customs of their religion are normal to them. If they were raised wearing clown suits and performing magic tricks, they’d probably think that to be normal too. Normalcy is relative based on how people are born and raised. What I think is normal may certainly not be something you would consider normal.
Although I’m aware of the fact that the US is pretty sketchy about terrorism and the fact that terrorists don’t have to fit any type of stereotype, I think the US should either relax about the whole thing, or make it more strict. With today’s technology, why can’t we detect bombs using radar or computers or something like that? For being as technologically advanced as we are I guess the US likes to just do some things the good old fashioned way.
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To be honest, I kind of would’ve acted the same way if I was on that plane as well. You don’t try to, but the world we are living in its just best to always have your guards up. Who's to know that we or I suppose to know that he's praying? It's not ignorance it’s just the fact that were not familiar with other cultures and the way they go about things. And with that said it happened in an air plane, when just about everyone in the plane is kind of nervous in away. When seeing someone dress like that in a plane or doing something that you’re unfamiliar with, you will kind of react in a way that you’re not usually acting.
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I have a story when, on my way to the Capital One Bowl me and six other teammates. We saw multiple Iraqi’s. They were dress different so I first reaction was to stare them down until we landed. I’m pretty sure they knew we were looking and it was uncomfortable to them, but we had no choice. That’s just the society we are living in and trust on air planes is a no no when outsiders aboard the plane. Now let it be know if it was girl Iraqi’s or etc…. I don’t think we would have been that uncomfortable. Why, I have no clue that’s a question I would like to be answered from someone else who feels the same way.
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