Posted by: mcq on Thursday, March 15, 2007 Of course anyone with even a modicum of intelligence knew this was coming: The "flying imams' " federal lawsuit, filed this week in Minneapolis, has made headlines around the country. The imams are demanding unspecified damages from US Airways and the Metropolitan Airports Commission, both with deep pockets.Call it the new American sport, but whenever there is the slightest disagreement of any sort the court, rather than being the last resort, has become the first. The sport, of course is to see how trivial a lawsuit you can succeed in introducing and how much you can soak the defendant for. Of course, in this case, what the imams are attempting isn't trivial at all: The imams' lawsuit, however, asserts that US Airways and the MAC acted solely out of religious and ethnic discrimination. It includes 17 separate counts.The burden of proof is on them, but in today's politically correct environment where cultural relativism is dominant and you can pick your jury, anything can happen. But make no mistake, the entire intent of this exercise, at least in my opinion, is to make it painful for airlines to make the sorts of decisions that the airline captain made in this case. To refresh your memory: The imams engaged in a variety of suspicious behaviors while boarding a US Airways flight, according to the airport police report. Some prayed loudly in the gate area, spoke angrily about the United States and Saddam, switched seats and sat in the 9/11 hijackers' configuration, and unnecessarily requested seatbelt extenders that could be used as weapons, according to witness reports and US Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader.In my opinion the pilot acted correctly as the activities of the imams (not words, but deeds), such as switching to particular seats and requesting seatbelt extenders when none were obviously needed, suggested a security problem. As Katherine Kersten writes: Their lawsuit appears to be the latest component in a national campaign to intimidate airlines and government agencies from acting prudently to ensure passenger safety. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is advising the imams, is also calling for congressional hearings and promoting federal legislation to "end racial profiling" in air travel. If the legislation passes, airport personnel who disproportionately question passengers who are Muslim or of Middle Eastern origin could be subject to sanctions.Using the system to subvert the system. A tactic as old as terrorism. And these imams are an integral part of the attempt, as is CAIR. I keep wondering when those in authority are going to wake up and understand the purpose of all of this. There's another aspect of this lawsuit. It's not just aimed at neutering the government. It's an attempt to silence the public as well through legal intimidation: But the most alarming aspect of the imams' suit is buried in paragraph 21 of their complaint. It describes "John Doe" defendants whose identity the imams' attorneys are still investigating. It reads: "Defendants 'John Does' were passengers ... who contacted U.S. Airways to report the alleged 'suspicious' behavior of Plaintiffs' performing their prayer at the airport terminal."That, apparently, is enough to see this couple rounded up and dragged into court with all the attendant cost and fees associated with defending themselves. The obvious intent is to make an example of these John Does. Their story, of course, will end up being told and, one would think, the cost and "ruination" this will bring will also be a part of that story. Plainly the strategy of this lawsuit, win or lose, is intimidation. What I would love to see, for once, is a court review the suit, and, if warranted, throw the thing out before it ever gets started. I personally see no merit in their charges, given their activities. But then, we're talking about the US legal system and much weaker and stranger cases have found their way into that system and been decided in ways which have confounded the opinion of the general public before. |
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