The Perils of FWA (Flying While Arab)

I'm sure that this story will be viewed as an indictment of American paranoia toward Middle Eastern people:

A conflict between passengers at Lindbergh Field Tuesday night caused the overnight delay of an American Airlines flight headed to Chicago.
...
...televised reports claimed that the incident involved a group of six to seven Iraqi Americans and another passenger who was apparently uncomfortable that the men were speaking in Arabic.

And of course it apparently was irrational fear that led to this inconvenience for both the Iraqi-Americans and the other 110-odd passengers on the flight. But I prefer to view it as an indictment of TSA and the Department of Homeland Security, who have failed to create a flying environment where passengers can feel secure. The bottom line is that security precautions at airports strike most people as a joke, where the inconvenience and invasiveness far outweigh the security benefits.

I believe that most people would accept even more inconvenience, if they felt that it was actually accomplishing something. As it is, though, you can hardly blame a passenger for feeling that she has to take her child's safety into her own hands.