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Indybay Feature

We Will Not Be Silent: Movement Grows to Challenge Racial Profiling at Airports

by Democracy Now (reposted)
A growing movement across the country is challenging what appears to be an increase in racial profiling at airports. More and more travelers are donning T-shirts that say "We Will Not Be Silent" in English and Arabic in solidarity with Iraqi blogger and activist Raed Jarrar who was forced to change the T-Shirt before boarding a JetBlue Airways flight at Kennedy airport.
There is a growing movement in this country to challenge what appears to be an increase in racial profiling at airports. More and more travelers are wearing T-Shirts that say "We Will Not Be in Silent" in English and in Arabic. Why? Well about two weeks ago, Iraqi activist and blogger Raed Jarrar did the same thing as he was boarding a JetBlue airways flight at Kennedy airport in New York. Airport officials forced him to change his T-Shirt before getting on the plane. Democracy Now spoke with Raed Jarrar ten days ago about the incident.

* Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi blogger and architect. Raed is Iraq Project Director for Global Exchange.

We called JetBlue, the company responded with a statement saying that according to the airline"s preliminary findings the request to remove Raed"s T-shirt was not made by a JetBlue crewmember.

We also called the Transportation Security Administration, they confirmed that a TSA employee was involved, along with two JetBlue employees, in talking with Raed. But they said it was not a TSA employee who bought him the T-Shirt to change into.

Since our interview with Raed, major newspapers and corporate TV networks in the United States and around the world have picked up the story. Now, more and more people are putting on We Will Not Be Silent T-shirts in solidarity when they travel.

Laurie Arbeiter joins us in our firehouse studio. She is a member of The Critical Voice, an affinity group of Artists Against the War who organized the We Will Not Be Silent T-shirt campaign.

* Laurie Arbeiter, member of The Critical Voice, an affinity group of Artists Against the War who organized the We Will Not Be Silent T-shirt campaign. Send an Email.

LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/01/1338241
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Comments (Hide Comments)
by nonya
Since all the fucking terrorists are 18 to 40 year old muslim men, I think that the security at the airports and public transportation centers should go after other people like 80 year old grand ma's and young white and black men, not the ones who blow people the fuck up. The stupidity of the progressive left is amazing. Nobody gives a shit whether you are silent or not. Your shrill stupidity and the the "solidarity" with the terrorists is just par for the course.
get your head out of your ass and you will why racial profiling is stupid idea - first of all do you even know how many white and black muslims are in the world - oh, I forgot how would you know - since your head is stuck in your ass... secondly, start racial profiling, and the terrorists will change their profile, and slip right through as dumb fucks like you are busy chasing the "profile"
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