We should all use the story not to buttress our prejudices but to examine our own hearts to establish how we would react to any sort of questionable situation like that.
There's too much going on these days to ignore it. If somebody had reacted differently when Major Hasan put on his robes and jumped up on whatever it was he jumped up on, we might have had a different result.
We can't ignore the connections between radical Muslim behavior and catastrophic events that result from it.
My antennae go up when I see strange behavior or something that catches my eye. They've gone up a half dozen or so times. The following examples indicate how I stay alert.
1. I saw a tall person in some kind of Muslim robes sweep right through the door in a Walmart I was shopping in and go rapidly into the interior of the store. Very suspicious, in my opinion. Nothing happened. A trial run? Who is to say?
2. I saw several young women in beautiful Arabic dress in Costco. They were laughing and having a good time, apparently preparing for a party. Plainly benign. But I took the trouble to evaluate them.
3. A woman in Muslim dress worked at the boarding security gate at the local airport where I took my wife for a flight. I did not appreciate her wearing attire that could have easily concealed ... whatever. She should have been required to wear the TSA uniform.
4. I evaluated and passed a group of turbaned men waiting to get on a bus we were to travel on. They were Sikhs. I passed them, and tolerated their pushing into line in front of us.
5. Shortly after 9/11 I was in a busy airport and observed a woman in Muslim dress orbiting the passages between the check in counter and the commercial concourse -- multiple times. There was enough room under her garb to conceal ... whatever.
In my view, TSA's regulations are faulty because they protect NOBODY between the entrance to the airport and the security screening areas. There are hundreds of people in these areas, and one detonation would completely shut down air travel for weeks, just as the aerial terrorism did on 9/11.
6. In Portland, while waiting to go through the security screening area, I observed an entire Muslim family being shepherded through an expedited check point because one of their number was in a wheel chair. I did not appreciate that at all. It does NOT square with the pat down that I got because I failed to remove a pocket comb and handkerchief from my pocket.
7. In a Costco I saw a tall man dressed in drag, evaluating items that were of more interest to my wife than myself. High heels, lots of jewelry, fake bosom, wig, heavy makeup. Just plain weird. I had to suppress laughter at some of the rolling eyes I saw as people passed by.
EYES AND EARS OPEN, THINK ABOUT APPROPRIATE RESPONSE. |
