Welcome to the new year of 2002. Did you make any resolutions? I didn't; but I do have a statement: "We are not in the Promised Land yet."

What did you say? You heard me.

The treatment that an Arab-American secret service agent received last
month from an American Airlines pilot should trouble everyone, particularly
African-Americans. After the pilot was able to verify the agent information from the airlines' front desk (which did the paperwork), and from two of the secret service agent's colleagues by phone, he still wouldn't let the man aboard the plane. Now, the airline's administration is the uncomfortable position of defending the pilot in this post-September 11 atmosphere of arch conservatism, protection at any cost, even if it means humiliation, being declared guilty before even walking in the door. Sound familiar? Just because such profiling and discrimination is happening openly to Arabs, doesn't mean the focus will stay there or not cast a wider net.

Look into the case of Richard Reid, the British shoe-bomber who tried—and very nearly succeeded—to cause an explosion by lighting his shoes. Reid was not of Arab-descent, rather mixed British and Jamaican. In light of this event and now the Arab-American secret service flap, many of the talk show pundits have had guests (almost all white) saying that the discrimination is justified (for an indefinite period of time) so Americans can feel safe in the air, and that Arab-Americans should understand that everyone must contribute to the nation's healing and that extra-suspicion won't hurt in the long run.

Wondering why another voice isn't heard? Strangely enough these very arguments by these white-collar elites for white-collar elites are some of the same arguments that have been used to justify DWB or WWB (Driving While Black or Walking While Black), as legitimate hazards for the 'overall' populace in dealing with crime outside of the inner city. African-Americans can refute this argument wholesale as their history tells us that once tar from the paintbrush hits you, it's hard as hell for it to come off. If the future of transportation security means racial profiling, it is naïve folly to think that such procedures will not have a lasting effect in the general populace.

Likewise, the mainstream media seems to be keeping in lock step with the 'protect America line' used by conservatives in the effort to justify such extreme measures. Even having some black pundits like Earl Ofari Hutchinson in 'Salon,' saying that "Black leaders like Jackson seem lost in the face" in the GOP wash after September 11. I counter this assertion that African-Americans are backing the Republican party, rather they are being patriotic, patient and polite, but they will soon be pained and partisan, if the GOP's erosion of civil liberties includes open profiling of minorities, as it seems it will.

Why is this incident important for minorities? In this New Year, African-Americans (in particular) must remember the past history of profiling and the consequences of which have only ingrained bigoted perceptions and covert racism that became festering sores on the body politic.

African-Americans will clearly be mistaken as justified profiling gives credence to use racial profiling (i.e. DWB) as a means of preserving public safety for homeland security.

In the post-September 11 rubble, anyone who is not perceived as 'All-American' is potentially considered a target, a dangerous notion considering the U.S. constitution supposedly states that "all men are created equal," the meaning of which should extend to equal treatment for all our traveling citizens, especially those men and women serving our country. Leave it to the conservatives to convince Americans to resort to the more 'exclusive' definition.

In short, the treatment of the Arab-American agent was a step in the wrong direction for everyone committed to ending racial profiling and should be a wake-up call for minorities. The consequences for FWA (Flying While Arab) are just the same as WWB—you're suspect by color. As a new scapegoat for the problems of the nation comes to bear, justifying racial profiling, especially of minorities, means that racial profiling will affect everyone.

Erosion of freedom doesn't just stop with one action, but compounded, with other factors, begets even more erosion of race in the national dialogue. In 2002, let Americans resolve—as patriotic citizens, who believe in problem solving and freedom for all—not to let this happen. A newfound unity does not have to be a 'mosaic,' or a 'façade.' All Americans must realize that every person has features that embody the world community and, though there may be more than a hundred different looks, all people share the same face of freedom—especially among those individuals willing to die to protect bigoted points of view.

Copyright © 2002 Tommy Ates. All Rights Reserved.

Tommy Ates is from Austin, Texas, trying to get a job, keep a job, and not go crazy.