Posted by
John Caile on Thursday, October 22, 2009 11:20:59 AM
In a disgusting display of corporate cowardice, U.S. Airways has knuckled under to what can only be described as political extortion by a group of politically savvy Muslim clerics. The airline has agreed to a "settlement" in a lawsuit brought by several Imams who were removed from a flight in 2006 at the Minneapolis airport.
For those unfamiliar with the case, it began when passengers, both in the terminal and on the plane, reported suspicious and disturbing behavior by the Imams. The Imams of course, were quick to cry "discrimination!" Just as predictably, there was the usual contingent of liberal media apologists who went along with them - can't have any of that horrible "profiling" you know.
But far from being just another case of unfair treatment of some innocent Muslims who were following their religious practices, it is instead a perfect example of how professional victims have learned to use "identity politics" to game the system. These supposedly religious men did not simply recognize a financial opportunity in an event that just "happened" - nope, it is clear that they went to the airport that day, planning to create the entire scenario that they knew would ultimately result in a big payoff.
Think about it. In a post-9/11 America, a bunch of Muslim clerics go to an international airport dressed in attire that clearly advertised their religious affiliation. They then conspicuously (and loudly) pray in Arabic, and more to the point, make disparaging remarks about the United States and its involvement in the war in Iraq.
But they didn't stop there. Once on board the plane, they then asked for seat-belt extenders - the exact tool that the 9/11 hijackers used to block passengers from running down the aisles of the doomed aircraft that slammed into the World Trade Center. Now, seat belt extenders are intended to be used by very obese passengers who can't get the standard seat belt fastened, but the Imam who requested them was downright slender in physique. Noooooo, nothing suspicious about that, right?
Oh, please. Everyone with an ounce of common sense knows what was going on here. These guys were nothing more than opportunistic con men who saw how easy it would be to use political correctness to get a big check.
And they were right.
Without a doubt, the Imams are this very minute sitting around some coffee shop, laughing at you, laughing at me, laughing at all of us. Not to mention laughing all the way to the bank. But then, why shouldn't they? They read the zeitgeist properly, and they won.
And sadly, they won because too many corporate types don't have the insight, much less the guts, to recognize that sometimes, it is better, in the long run, to spend ten times as much to fight for what's right than it might cost to just "settle" the issue.
Note how often an absolutely terrible employee, who legitimately loses their job for poor performance, is eventually bought off because...they were a minority. Today, a "wrongful termination" lawsuit is almost routine whenever a woman or minority is fired - they've learned that claiming discrimination, especially racial discrimination, is a ticket to easy money.
And as long as everyone knows that this is how the system works - because no one has the courage to fight back - the kind of blatant fraud that the Imams successfully perpetrated will be repeated, again and again.