Observer: Arab Musicians Become Suspects In Post-911 Hysteria
A simple, if frightening, account on an obscure American website of a plane flight has become something else in the paranoid world of post-9/11 air travel. Annie Jacobsen's tale of flying to Los Angeles with 14 'Middle Eastern-looking' men quickly generated a storm of controversy.
It prompted airline whistleblowers to come forward with lurid tales of lapses in security against terrorists. It threw a spotlight on rumours and warnings of terrorists carrying out 'dry runs' for future hijackings.
But it also revealed an unpleasant underbelly of fear and loathing among ordinary passengers terrified of seeing a dark-skinned male face board their plane. It showed a world in which passengers saw terrorists around every corner and an innocent band of Arab musicians going to play a gig were mistaken for suicidal jihadis intent on mayhem.
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