I have always prided myself as being a patriot and a good American. Today, all Americans are put to the test. It has always struck me that we are at our best, when times are the worst. There is nothing better than a good Midwest upbringing where you are routinely taught that while you may never agree with someone on a specific issue, you will always fight for their right to say it. I never knew how true and tough this can be until last week.
I am the only one in my family who is not a teacher, so education has always been of paramount concern and tolerance was a way of life. Think about what you would do in this situation and I will tell you what I did…and I am still not sure it was correct.
I travel quite a bit and boarded a Delta flight out of New York’s Kennedy airport destined to Phoenix where I was to begin a week-long tactical training event at the world famous Gunsite Academy. I was fortunate enough to be upgraded to first class. Next to me was a well-dressed man who was obviously of Middle Eastern descent. My radar went into overdrive. I still have photos and video clips of 9-11 on all my computers so I shall never forget that day, what it meant and the fragile essence of life we enjoy.
The man immediately pulled out his iPhone and everything was in Arabic. He was in an instant chat with a friend or associate. I could not help but to glance frequently at the interchange all the way through taxi and during takeoff. To put this into perspective, there were two other flights on this day that had airline incidents where a man tried to open an exit door in mid-flight and had to be diverted and another when a terrorist note was left in a bathroom that grounded a flight. You might remember the day now.
Since this was a long-range flight, satellite TV was available and I decided to watch all the details of the Bin Laden operation. After that, CNN had a special that featured a minute-by-minute timeline of 9-11. I was mesmerized on these shows, but my traveling companion was not. When the flight attendants said electronic devices were allowed he jumped to his bag and got out his computer and then pulled out his iPhone and connected to the plane’s Internet access. He began an instant chat with an associate again. He was constantly flipping to the chat and then to a photo album on his phone.
The photos he viewed were obviously dear to him. He flipped through images of a young woman and young man that resembled him, whom I am sure were his children. He caressed the screen of the phone and then flipped to photos of documents that were in Arabic. I am now watching intently. He flipped through several more photos of Shemagh headwear and a traditional Bisht robe. After viewing those for several minutes, he then went to a flight tracker to see where our plane was every few minutes and then toggle between the chat, the photo album and where our flight was.
As you can imagine, I am now having a vigorous debate on whether I should say something to the crew.
After forty minutes of watching this play out, the man rudely climbed over me and entered the lavatory with his computer. Now, I am fidgeting and nervous on what to do. The truth of the matter is that there is a very good explanation of what could be happening. He may have been traveling to his daughter or son’s graduation and he is chatting with a younger son or daughter about his progress and how excited he was to see them or reminiscing of family get-togethers. The truth is that if I was doing the very same thing, no one would be paying attention to me or given me a second look. But because of many recent events, my knowledge of the other two plane incidents and the fact this was a very short time after Bin Laden’s demise, I was facing the strongest civics test I had ever imagined.
Do I cause a huge uproar and perhaps alarm the entire plane on nothing more than observation and assumption? What if I don’t? Very uncharacteristically of me, I decided I could always inform the crew and then began charting out a plan of scenarios. As I was about to get to my bag to see what makeshift defense weapon I could come up with, the man exited the lavatory and put his computer back in the overhead and returns to his seat. He glared at me and proceeded to take a nap.
I frantically began another mental debate. As I looked around the area, everyone else seemed oblivious to what I was fixated on. Trying to calm down, I began watching the TV again on the Bin Laden operation. There were many photos of where the attack occurred including bloody photos of the Pakistani mansion and animation of the operation. I dozed off. I awoke suddenly as the man reached over me to turn the TV off thinking I was asleep. I truly believe the images offended him. As I looked at him in horror, he snorted and returned to his nap. I quickly turned on the TV and watched the program until we began our descent.
As we approached Phoenix, now late in the evening, everyone was gathering their belongings and preparing to land at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor airport. The man and I exchanged very brief non-friendly glances and never spoke. My guess is that we both despised the other and were equally disgusted by our suspicions and heritage.
I have now had over a week to analyze if I did the right thing. The result was certainly favorable. Was this as innocent as it may have been or was this a dry run or a reconnaissance mission? I will never know for sure. I do know that our fore fathers fought and died for basic rights of freedom from interference in movement and thought. I am glad that I live in a country that I was taught tolerance and its importance. In my position at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, I see prose and hear words every day about our rights as citizens and passionate appeals about our freedom. On that flight however, I stared face-to-face in the reality of how tough it is to be an American and stand by the beliefs we all cherish.
Mark Thomas is the Managing Director of Marketing Communications for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry. He was honored by PR News as a finalist for Communicator of the Year.
