Aviablog

A man who claimed he was discriminated against by JetBlue based on his ethnicity and Arabic writing on his t-shirt was awarded a settlement of $240,000. The man was denied boarding by JetBlue and the TSA because of the text on his clothing. After interrogation by the authorities, he was eventually allowed to board after covering up the shirt, and he had to sit in the back of the plane. The lawsuit was filed in August 2007 and the case settled late last month.

While I personally disagree with the huge amount of lawsuits in the US, often about the most trivial things, this is clearly a case of discrimination and undermining of civil rights. There is no law that prohibits wearing clothing with Arabic text printed on it, so the airline and the TSA had no valid reason to make an issue out of it. This man is one of many of Middle-Eastern descent who are being humiliated by authorities in the US and other Western nations for no valid reason.