From the racist air transportation files

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 12:32 PM on December 4, 2006.

A story from Sunday's Deseret News just adds insult to the injury done to the Muslim holy men marched off a US Airways flight in handcuffs last week.

You can read more about that HERE but the operative point is that 6 imams were not only marched off the plane but subsequently refused air travel after being cleared and released by the FBI. Yes, even AFTER being cleared.

Now, Deseret News reports that a Jon Telford McBride of Kaysville, Utah refused a search at the Salt Lake City International Airport a couple of months back, asking the officer patting him down if he were a homosexual.

McBride then broke out his leather case with the Great Seal of the U.S. on it and "an ID card bearing the U.S. seal, a photo of McBride and designating him as 'Ambassador Jon Telford McBride.'"

The report ends: "A background check revealed that McBride was not employed by the U.S. Department of State but was allowed to move on to his flight after consenting to a search."

Now, he is being charged with "one count of unlawful use of likeness of the great seal of the United States," but he was allowed to fly?

A quick check with the State Dept's website reveals that a woman impersonating an Ambassador last year faced "a maximum sentence of three and five years."

So the tally goes like this: Six imams cleared by the FBI can't fly because US Air caters to bigotry but a white guy who has pretty clearly committed a serious crime gets to fly immediately.

I realize the entities granting access to flight were different and that the comparison isn't perfect, but it is interesting to note that our security and intelligence agencies appear quite a bit less hysterical than certain corporations.

Tagged as: race, muslims, airline safety

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.