In the middle of our relentlessly vicious winter, I flew to Florida to deliver a lecture, after which I planned to sit in some blessed sunshine. There was precious little of that. It was cold, it rained, the swimming pool remained covered as the temperatures remained in the 30s. On my second day there, I experienced my second post-operative “spontaneous” fracture in the last seven months which made each step agony and which kept me confined to my dear friends’ very comfortable leather couch for eight days. Each day I hoped I’d improve; each day, like the weather, I only got worse.
I drove to the airport, hoping that the flight back would not be delayed by bad weather and that the pilot would not have to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River. So there I was: Gratefully confined to the airline’s wheelchair, when I was told that both my companion and myself had been randomly selected for an extra-special, super-duper security search.
I kid you not: At least two men of Middle Eastern descent (who could have been FBI agents for all I knew), breezed right on through as I sat there. Two people did a slow-and-careful search of our carry-on luggage; they examined my computer millimeter by millimeter. Special chemicals were involved. And much time.
My patient companion was put in a radiation/x-ray chamber and radiated. We took off our shoes, coats, jackets, and jewelry. (If they could, they would have had me remove my bright shiny new hip too). I was physically patted down in every imaginable place–and had to try very hard not to laugh when the security attendant told me that she would “also have to search my wheelchair.” “Please do,” I said, “but it is not mine, it belongs to the airline.” She nevertheless searched it vigorously, especially below the wheelchair seat while I was still seated in it.
Two of the security guards were weather-beaten, angry-looking prison warden-like women with whom one does not wish to make eye contact. Three more were milder sorts but all were “just following orders.” As I sat there I wondered: What if they were border guards in a war-zone? What if my life depended on whether I made this flight? How exactly does one “sweet-talk” such self-important bureaucrats?
And thus, does terrorism–and our need to defend ourselves from attack–impinge more and more upon our lives. Airports are no longer any fun, all the glamor and excitement are gone, one waits on long lines to be searched, as we must, we must.
I would like every passenger to remember why. These burdensome and necessary procedures are not due to American foreign policy or to Israel’s precious existence but to death-eating Muslim terrorists. As I’ve written many times: Not all Muslims are terrorists–absolutely not–but these days, all terrorists seem to be Muslims.
For saying true things like this, as is our right to do in free democracies, Mark Steyn was tried for committing “hate crime speech” in Canada and now Geert Wilders will be tried for it in Holland. Taslima Nasrin, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wafa Sultan, all live in hiding because they spoke out about Islam. Which of us will be next?
I say: All of us must be next and we must keep on speaking the truth until we roundly defeat the jihadists on all the fields of battle.
I am constantly being pummeled on chat boards for stating the same things as you write here today. I cannot help but wonder how so many people can be so weak-minded.
The Left freely blames George W. Bush for just about everything wrong in the world. Alas, sometimes the former president was responsible for an incredible amount of damage. Never forget that he allowed the politically correct Norman Mineta to serve as his Transportation Secretary even after 9/11. President Bush became psychologically discombobulated whenever dealing with evil people of color. He severely hindered our fight against Islamic nihilism due to an exaggerated concern not to offend Muslims. Yup, in this particular instance—Phyllis Chesler should be very irritated with the previous occupant of the White House. Will Barack Obama be an improvement? I doubt it. We are in deep doo-doo.
When Americans get angry enough, when enough of us get blown up, cut up, inprisoned, and or just fed up, maybe,,just maybe someone will speak up and out enough to put a stop to the infiltration into our homeland, and government with these radical muslim terrorists. Yes, Bush did not do all the right things, yes he had bad advise and was afraid to offend,but look who we have now?
hussein obama, a friend of terrorist, and an ex or present practicing muslim..yeah,,that’ll stop ‘em. My advise, hold strong to your convictions and your beliefs, it may be all you have left when the smoke clears.
Yeah, aggravates me that they hassled you so, bu you seem to be taking it well.
What really bugs me today is all the “Israeli war crimes” investigations that are being talked about today. How the UN and all is going to go after the evil joooos.
But what about the Hamas war crimes of drawing fire on civilians, intentionally firing are civilians, using UN compounds from which to fire. Using journalist locations from which to fire rockets? Murdering Fatah members an any other opposition cold blood. All of which is well documented and public information.
How many are asking that Hamas and its members be prosecuted for this?
Absolutely no one. Nada, squat.
The head of the UN did call it “unacceptable”
OMG he said its unacceptable and that’s all they plan to say or do about any of it.
It is the double standard here that is unacceptable!
I’m just beside myself that Israel is being treated this way and the murdering terrorist scumbags get a free pass except for one “unacceptable” statement with a stern finger point.
Its just insane!
I know exactly what you mean. A few years ago, my 11-year-old daughter was selected for extra screening, although I couldn’t imagine why anybody might have confused her with a potential hijacker. As somebody wrote in The Wall Street Journal a while back, if little green men are going around robbing banks, wouldn’t it pay for law enforcement to focus their attention on little green men?
One Word – Trains.
I spend a lot of time at airports and on aircraft traveling around the world (thankfully, I am retired and have the time, money and health to enjoy myself). Whenever I am on a security line and I hear a vigorous complaint I remind those around me that they should thank George Bush and his good friends in Saudi Arabia who spend countless millions spreading the “religion of peace” through Wahabi midrassahs in Muslim lands and in Europe.
I fly frequently between France and Germany and I have never, ever experienced such madness as is described here. Security is thorough, efficient and relatively friendly. Maybe Americans just cannot do bureaucracy well?
Dear Phyllis,
I hope you´ll get well soon.
I am so sorry about
what happened to you in
Miami´s airport!
Hugs,
Iara from Brasil
“Maybe Americans just cannot do bureaucracy well?”
That’s probably not it at all. Americans often foolishly put into practice these politically correct measures—and the French and Germans do not. France treats suspected terrorists, for instance, in a fairly ruthless manner. Racism is far more pervasive in these two European countries than in our own country. A Barack Obama would never have a realistic chance of becoming the top elected leader in either nation. In other words, the citizens of the United States are regularly made to feel guilty by downright hypocrites!
Wait a minute. Geert Wilders will be tried for hate crime speech in Holland? You mean, in the country where the film-maker vanGogh was murdered by islamic jihadists? And what, if anything (because we all have to do mea culpa, you know) was done to those murdering terrorists? No, don’t tell me; they probably got off with unsupervised probation.
Dr Chesler left out another villanious element: Trial lawyers.
Airlines started things to protect themselves against racial discrimination lawsuits. TSA gladly took it over.
Set the computers to single out certain numbers of those who CANNOT be a threat. These will invariably be other than “minorities”. So you can then point out that while 15% of passengers are “minorities”
they only constitute 2% of those selected for special scrutiny. Public safety be damned.
And the really bad news? If the last surviving Muslim terrorist went to spend eternity with 72 Rosie O’Donnells on Wednesday, TSA would be demanding a budget increase Thursday morning in order to step up the intrusions.
I work in aviation. I observe all this.
Others started the problem, but it is our own kind that perpetuate it.
BTW thankW.com has a thank you note to George W and Laura Bush. You may add your own thoughts if you wish. I have added mine.
Y’all are invited to join.
However, trolls will be deleted. No exceptions.
Phyllis, you can be fairly certain that your name has been placed on the “watch” list. From this point on, when you travel, do not be surprised when they pull out of the line and search you. 90% of the time, when I travel, this happens to me. It is not coincidence. We have now become a country that treats us like criminals for defending our freedom.
If you ask around, I would bet money that other people who are looked at as “rabble rousers” are treated the same.
I fly frequently between France and Germany and I have never, ever experienced such madness as is described here.
I’ve flown through France and Germany and I’ve found their bureaucracies to be even more irrational and annoying than ours. Germans are obsessive about restrictions on liquids of any kind, and have a fanatical obsession with confiscating toothpaste. If you add in European labor strikes and the occasional deadly airport collapse, the madness in Europe is much worse.
That said, this is a terrible story. The TSA is in need of a serious overhaul.
Hey Phyllis, get well soon.
As for this statement you made,
“I would like every passenger to remember why. These burdensome and necessary procedures are not due to American foreign policy or to Israel’s precious existence but to death-eating Muslim terrorists. As I’ve written many times: Not all Muslims are terrorists–absolutely not–but these days, all terrorists seem to be Muslims.”
Am I correct that this statement also includes Muslim’s that are not of middle eastern decent, but converted to Islam from various countries as well?
Marcia: I suspect that critics were signled out by name during the reign of “Naughty Norman” Mineta.
I do not think that such individual attention is being paid at the current time. Rather
names are put in a pool by their prevalence
among ethnic groups etc and then randomly selected from that pool.
Odds favor this being the case anyway.
if more people the world over including our own beloved country did not want any of this to occur, it would not be happening. something in the human spirit is vulgar, dessicated and moribund. if we deny this, and keep looking for rational reasons, or those with courage, or even a philospical outrage at what is happening to us, we’re just playing games with our own minds.
this is acceptable. the murders, the beheadings. the tablecloths these crazy women wear on their heads that droop to the floor covering their faces, the “honor” murders, the medieval brain that never developed amongst these islamics, all of it is acceptable to us.
our own nation is vulgar, it has replaced our priority on intelligence and learning and knowledge and true history and rightousness with falsity and dumbness. nothing will stimulus us from this fat ass reality show watching public stupor. the republic is perishing before our very eyes. keeping the republic intact is a hard job, easier to just let it go. easier to be enslaved. that’s the way people want it. or it would not be happening.
I sympathize with your experience.
You could try carrying this when you fly; just be careful who you show it to…,(:->)
“I AM AN ORTHODOX JEW. IF MY LIPS ARE MOVING BUT I AM NOT TALKING TO YOU, I AM PROBABLY PRAYING; JEWS OFTEN PRAY DURING TAKE-OFFS AND LANDINGS, SOMETIMES DURING THE FLIGHT, AND ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE BLESSINGS BEFORE AND AFTER THEY EAT; EVEN ON AIRLINE FOOD.
PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO PRAY OVER YOUR IN-FLIGHT MEAL; THIS WILL NOT MAKE YOUR MEAL KOSHER, NOR IMPROVE IT’S FLAVOR.
IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN AN ORTHODOX JEW BEFORE, PLEASE BE ASSURED I AM NOT PRAYING TO “ALLAH,” AND I WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST MEN OUT OF MY SEAT TO TACKLE ANYONE HEADED TOWARDS THE COCKPIT DOOR (I KNOW JEW-DO AND HAVE A BLACK HAT IN JEW-JITSU).
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.”