My boyfriend and I are going to Ohio for the weekend for a wedding (two friends from college are getting married!) and got a "hey, come check in" email this morning. I went to the site and clicked on the option to check both of us in at the same time. I kind of knew what was going to happen, but I hoped for the best anyway.
Unable to Complete Check-in, the site said. "Your reservation requires special handling. Please check in at an airport kiosk."
My BF was born in California and grew up in a house in a cul-de-sac in Colorado. He makes great hummus and loves Belle and Sebastian, 30 Rock and playing Frisbee. But because his family is Palestinian and his last name is foreign, we can't check in together. He has to go to the counter and check in (usually with the ticket agent checking him out and overriding security settings) while I hang around and wait.
When I checked in online with my equally foreign (albeit eastern European) last name, no problem. I understand the airlines want to keep us safe, but the assumption that everyone with his last name must be monitored at all times is so frustrating.
Has anyone made assumptions about you or your SO that weren't even close to being true? How did you handle it?
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It wasn't frustrating but they made the assumption that because my at the time boyfriend was Jamaican that he'd have the accent.
It's very light and if anything he just ends up sounding like some weird for of English. lol.
I think everyone makes assumption about me when I date someone because I'm from Venezuela. Most people think I have a terribly impossible-to-understand accent but I can speak in perfect English and I can switch my accent on or off at will depending on what language I'm speaking. Most people when they even meet me for the first time don't even know that I'm from another country because I'm able to disguise it that well.
Another thing that gets me is that a few times people would assume that just because I'm from a socialist country, I have socialist ideals. Yes I am a little leftist, but I am only moderately to the left and not extremely as socialism is.
It's also kind of hard to make a good impression sometimes because people have already assumed a lot about you because of the cultural background that you have. It's sad but the world still sees color and assumes a lot because of it.
airport security made the assumption that my grandmother, whose had 3 strokes, can't talk well and is the sweetest person on earth was a terrorist because she didn't answer their questions or have a photo id
nothing to see here. move along
Some false assumptions people make about me because I'm Chinese:
- I know kung fu.
- I'm great at math.
- I eat dogs and cats (not yet at least).
- I can't speak proper English.
- I automatically know how to speak every dialect of Chinese.
Yeah, the list keeps going. I respond by telling them that they're idiots.
So basically, you can't easily book tickets for a flight to a wedding because Airport Security is racist. I say you should try filing a law suit. :þ
[Edit] On a different note, I was randomly chosen for a full search on 2 out of 4 flights on my trip to England and back about 5 years back. One was for me carrying a camera bag. The other... I dunno.
@vashts6583@xanga - oh, they took money without issue when we bought the tickets - but when it comes time to redeem the tickets and check in, he can't do it online. sweet.
that sucks!!! seems like you guys handled it pretty well, though.
Airport security is so fucking stupid. Dont get me wrong, I totally UNDERSTAND that after 9/11 things change but being racist or just plain dumb/rude doesnt help.
In November 2007, my mom & I had to fly back home to NY for grandpa's funeral. They took my facial moisturizer & other personal hygiene items saying it was a security risk (we only had carry ons because we stayed 4 days). I was already grieving & aggitated because I had to fly & I was ready to scream at the lady because she just took my bags & THREW them down the end of the belt (I was checking them right in front of her for broken items) but mom told me to let it go & she'll replace them later.
The funny thing is my mother had metal curling irons & a stove in her bag but they didnt take her stuff. They claim random checks but I think there were other factors involved.
Racial profiling has been a big issue in airports. I can understand your frustration, but you must understand theirs.
If 70 year old irish women had blown up the WTC, things may be different, but the fact is, it was younger middle eastern men. They do racial profiling because it helps things to run smoothly. They can't extensively check everyone just to be politically correct. They aren't trying to inconvenience you.
Sorry if that came off as shitty. I really wasn't trying to be rude, I would feel the same.
Yeah, I dated an older guy and people snickered at me to make sure I carry pepper spray in case he goes raper-pedophile on me.
Haha, I've got a good story! My grandfather is hard of hearing and has a breathing machine that is necessary that he has on him when he sleeps. If he does not have it, he could stop breathing in his sleep, and die. Needless to say, this is a carry on necessary item. We were flying the summer of 2002 and he was stopped because of the breathing machine. They did a chemical test on it to check and make sure it wasn't a bomb, then insisted that they call his doctor's office to make sure that was indeed supposed to use said type of machine.
The same day my mom got swiped with one of those "really powerful hand held metal detecors" after she passed under the walk through one(no buzz went off). It was funny because my mother has a mental plate and screw in her knee. Big ones.. neither detecor found them. The cop got pissed.. that year at Christmas my Uncle recieved a metal detector as a gift, it found them.
i understand it must be annoying, and i'd probably react the same way if i were in your shoes - but better safe than sorry, no? ;\
Wow that would be pretty annoying. If he grew up here, then what's the problem. There is a VERY low chance he would be a terrorist.
No one's made any assumptions about me or my boyfriend, which is nice.
Been there. I'm half Iranian and my dad gets stopped EVERY time we go to the airport for a full security check just because he's Middle Eastern. It's absolutely ridiculous. Just because you're from a certain part of the world does not make you a terrorist.
wow that's crazy..
@Sammyhellsyea@xanga - It doesn't make it right, who cares who blew up the WTC, racial profiling is never ok. Do extensive checks on people who deserve it like those with criminal backgrounds etc. Because the next terrorist could be a Asian Jew and we probably wouldn't catch them because we are too busy looking for Muslim terrorists.
My last name is Shahid. When I was 11 (about a year after 9/11) I got my bag back after I got off the airplane and found a pink slip inside that said "checked for a random screening". I should mention that I flew back and forth 4 times that year and every time I found that slip. :-\
i always get pulled over by customs. damn that's both scary and annoying. every single time we're on the "random screening" list ... psh chyea ohkay. random my ass.
My boyfriend is German and im Mexican; We live in Tijuana and every time we cross the border together the officer ask us a LOT of questions (how do you met each other? how long how you been living in Mexico? why do you still live in Mexico? can I see your school id´s? Where are you going? who is the owner of this car?? etc etc etc). Everyone else just get asked for their US visa must of the time, unless the officer suspects something.
I dont care if they check more on us (national security comes first), but I dont like it when the officers do nasty comments about Mexico or do disgusted faces when my boyfriend tells them that he lives here (like "you live in Mexico?? why?? yuckkkk *rolls eyes* ).
I'm not sure if I would treat this as racial profiling necessarily. I also recently flew to Ohio this year and had the same exact thing happen. I'm as white as can be with a last name to match. Out of 6 of us flying, all but me could check-in online, even my brother with the same last name. The airline worker told me I was flagged because my name was similar to someone on a list. Highly unlikely as my first name is a top name for girls and my last is so uncommon. Honestly, I handed her my passport and less than 5 minutes later was on my way. They also literally tore through everything in my checked luggage. They opened my new prescription up, my new travel size toothpaste (still in the box), and definitely checked to make sure the box of Boston Baked Beans were not tampered with.
While a lot of the times the profiling does have to do with race, I don't think the airline companies are being racist per se. A large percent of people who are very unhappy with the US and would like to cause harm, are currently in the Middle East. It makes sense to have a little extra security (which is kind of a joke honestly) to make sure that those with potential ties are who they say they are and are not falsifying information. I believe the reason I got checked is because I am a physicist and recently had signed up for some access to some government resources. I know they profile physicist and astrophysicist as there numerous stories from fellow students about their "adventures" with customs. While unfair, the profiling mostly has to do with groups considered to be a large threat or knowledgeable on how to create disasters. Besides, with proper identification and nothing to hide, there should be no problem beyond the annoyance of allowing some extra time for check-in.
Oh I've been accused of being a cradle robber because my fiance is two years younger than me and was still in high school and I having just graduated at the time we started dating. Although, my aunt and uncle are two years apart and she's older than him so I'm not worried about it.
I got security flagged and couldn't check in online when I was flying out of baltimore, MD to go home to FL. My mom checked in online just fine, but I was flagged and had to check in at the counter. The attendent then put a big star on my boarding pass and when i went through security, I was pat down and had my carry on backpack (pretty much just a book, sweatshirt, and some snacks) emptied and wiped down with some cloth, then I had to stick everything back into the bag and go on my (not so) merry way. I was just a teenage girl on spring break with her mom....
THAT REALLY SUCKS. ANYONE can be a terrorist no matter what your racial background is.
I've had a really dumb experience at the airport once and I was only like 9 or 10 years old. I was half-asleep, half-deaf (I have very sensitive ears so it takes a bit longer to have my ears back to normal from the air and they were hurting like hell.) The line was long but moving quickly, the security didn't seem to ask anyone anything. But it had to be ME. They started asking random questions like why you were there, what did you do, and even personal questions, and a bunch of questions that I could hardly hear. They accused me of giving them an attitude, saying I took too long to answer the questions... AND they actually said that if I don't stop giving them an attitude, they would lock me up for 5 hours in the airport. I mean, what attitude? It isn't right to throw questions at a little girl in that kind of way especially when her ears are killing her. Those people have no kindness in them at all. >:[ This happened at JFK, btw. I understand they want to ask q's for safety reasons but they went way too far.
Do you guys ever think about the other side of the story?
Seeing as how I work at the airport and these situations pop up from time to time... wait I can't say the rest lol...
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