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Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American Air

Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

Grand Mal said:
You said it yourself, the point of terrorism is to create fear and confusion. If you give in to fear, like this case, you show that terrorism works.
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Yes, terrorism works. There is no doubt about that. That confusion creates uncertainty on how to react to different situations and mistakes will be made where someone was hesitant to act and other situations, like this one, where actions were unnecessary. It works both ways.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

upsideguy said:
Sorry, but when you start thinking Italian economics professors are Arab terrorists, you have let the terrorists win.
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This woman understood she was dealing with an Italian economics professor? Are you quite certain she knew that at the time?
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

danarhea said:
Sure, Italians blow up airplanes every day, right? Paranoia will destroy 'ya. But, since he was Italian, we have to assume that his math was the economics for the heroin trade. He's in the Mafia, of course. And the Mafia is a bit like ISIS. Therefore, we need to send him to Guantanamo. And, while we were at it, we need to send Mexicans to Gitmo, and Native Americans too. If they are brown, we don't want 'em around. Right? Sheesh.
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Check your meds.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

Grant said:
Yes, terrorism works. There is no doubt about that. That confusion creates uncertainty on how to react to different situations and mistakes will be made where someone was hesitant to act and other situations, like this one, where actions were unnecessary. It works both ways.
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Okay, it works but it doesn't have to be seen to work. In this case, I bet the pilot would have recognized mathematic equations. He didn't have to put the situation in the hands of the authorities.
Another way terrorism has accomplished it's goal is the outcry against accepting refugees. That's exactly what ISIS wants and it's getting what it wants. Being given what it wants.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

AliHajiSheik said:
He could have been hiding a weapon of math destruction.
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That just doesn't add up!!
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

TurtleDude said:
That just doesn't add up!!
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Might, if you factor in all the variables.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

David G said:
You think the Feds actions were 'personal'? Not professional? Sounds like a strange assertions to me. What'd the mathematician ever do to THEM?

OK... I'm just yanking your dangling grammar-chain. Personally - I think someone more professional would have found a way to investigate more discreetly. And, personally, I think people have indeed succumbed to the temptations of emotional, fearful, catastrophizing, over-reactions to such things.
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My bad grammar

I don't know if they would have had the time to be more discreet. But yes that would have been better.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

A depressing insight into the level of fear and paranoia stoked into the minds of the public by the war on terror. Land of the Regulated and Home of the Fearful. Pity
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

Grant said:
You're calling it fear, others might call it discretion. It seem there is some confusion as to how to respond to possible acts of terrorism, as we saw before the murders in San Bernardino. People were afraid of being accused of "Islamophobia" despite seeing Muslims with guns behaving suspiciously. Had they called someone perhaps those lives would have been saved. The same was true on 9/11.

It's much easier to be correct and judgemental after the fact, isn't it?
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And even then it's not easy. Putting Japanese American's in a special place during WWII is now seen as barbaric, but we don't have the luxury of knowing what would have happened if we hadn't done just that..


Tim-
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

Weapons of Math destruction?

Seems to me that it could have been settled in a 5 minute conversation followed by letting him on his way, that is, if you recognize math equations.
Guess some don't / can't.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

danarhea said:
Read the rest of the article, and shake your head. At least the Feds got him off the plane before he was burned at the stake. LOL.

Article is here.
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Interesting read. Thanks for posting.

I would like to know if she now knows. Personally, I think she should be told, if she hasn't.


AliHajiSheik said:
He could have been hiding a weapon of math destruction.
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:thumbs:


Risky Thicket said:
So she thought he was writing terror plans in Arabic? :lamo Quick, save us, someone is doing math!
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To be fair, he had sloppy scribbles for writing (according to the pictures of his work), and she was looking at his paper somewhat askew. It's unfair to blame her for that, though overall I do blame her for her paranoia.


eohrnberger said:
Weapons of Math destruction?

Seems to me that it could have been settled in a 5 minute conversation followed by letting him on his way, that is, if you recognize math equations.
Guess some don't / can't.
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That 's it. It could have and should have been handled quicker and more efficiently. If I were another passenger I would have been livid if I were delayed for two hours when it could have been 15-30 minutes.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

upsideguy said:
Sorry, but when you start thinking Italian economics professors are Arab terrorists, you have let the terrorists win.
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He has, he lives in the fear they want to create.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

Grant said:
This woman understood she was dealing with an Italian economics professor? Are you quite certain she knew that at the time?
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It is clear she did not know here numbers. Blame her parents.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

eohrnberger said:
Weapons of Math destruction?

Seems to me that it could have been settled in a 5 minute conversation followed by letting him on his way, that is, if you recognize math equations.
Guess some don't / can't.
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But you'd think the pilot would.
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

Grant said:
This woman understood she was dealing with an Italian economics professor? Are you quite certain she knew that at the time?
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You are totally missing the point. Her fear was elevated beyond reason as the evidence shows. The guy was not Arab, he was Italian, but to her all olive skinned people are dangerous Arabs and calculus on a sheet of paper are some type of Islamic will. Not recognizing calculus is a matter of poor education, but when you start thinking the the person sitting next to you is a terrorist, you are living in a world of paranoia and you are letting the terrorist win.

Now, I won't fault her for the unreasonable thinking that an Arab terrorist that gets his bombs through security would target a small regional jet heading to Syracuse (a small plane heading to a small media market) rather than go after a wide-body plane between two large cities. After all, terrorism is about terror. It needs attention and needs to "hit home" in its closeness. Most orchestrated terrorist attacks are done affecting large population centers.
 
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Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

Grand Mal said:
But you'd think the pilot would.
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I'd certainly hope so, but then again, now that the pilots all have computer auto-pilots and compute navigation to GPS points, guess they are rusty with their maths?
:mrgreen:
 
Re: Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American

Grant said:
You're calling it fear, others might call it discretion. It seem there is some confusion as to how to respond to possible acts of terrorism, as we saw before the murders in San Bernardino. People were afraid of being accused of "Islamophobia" despite seeing Muslims with guns behaving suspiciously. Had they called someone perhaps those lives would have been saved. The same was true on 9/11.

It's much easier to be correct and judgemental after the fact, isn't it?
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This post right here is a classic example of that game "telephone."
 
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