But last week, my name was enough to prevent an online computer store from selling me some DVD-creation software.

I can believe he's subject to name-based profiling in general. I'm suspicious of this particular story without more details.

Waaaait... an online store discriminated against him because of his name? Come again? Have it shipped to Bob Robertson. There's no way in hell they'll red flag a cardholder name.

And why did he not out the online purveyor?

Occam's Chainsaw: And why did he not out the online purveyor?

My expectation would be fear of litigation.

ZAZ: I'm suspicious of this particular story without more details.

I'm sure the combination of his name and profession are enough. The previous administration (and this one for all I know) were ridiculous in their US citizen "watching".

Of course, many people will automatically think... "OMG...the guys name is Mohamed, he must have connections to a terrorist organization!!!"

We, as a nation, have done well in putting a face to terrorism...sadly

kronicfeld: My expectation would be fear of litigation.

He teaches at Duke. He should be able to find a lawyer or two.

/Which, by the way, sucks.

Why is racial profiling so bad? I mean Bettylou from farking Iowa is probably less likely to hijack a plane than Abdul from Iran.

Occam's Chainsaw: He teaches at Duke. He should be able to find a lawyer or two.

Option 1: Don't mention name of retailer, make point anyway, avoid lawsuit

Option 2: Name retailer, get involved in he-said-she-said defamation lawsuit, spend over a year of one's life and tens of thousands of dollars of unrecoverable attorney fees defending said suit.

I know which one I'd choose.

Use the name Moses instead?

eddyatwork: Why is racial profiling so bad? I mean Bettylou from farking Iowa is probably less likely to hijack a plane than Abdul from Iran.

What about Bettylou from farking Iowa versus Abdul from...farking Iowa? Let's compare apples to apples here.

Oh shut up, whiner. A handful of your kind murdered three thousand of ours. Therefore, all of your kind is forever doomed to be suspected for any and all crimes. We should put you and the other JapaneseMuslims in internment camps while we're at protecting our freedom.

eddyatwork: Why is racial profiling so bad? I mean Bettylou from farking Iowa is probably less likely to hijack a plane than Abdul from Iran.

Why is racial profiling so bad? I mean Tim from farking New York is much more likely to bomb a federal building than Hassan from farking Pakistan.

smooshie: Oh shut up, whiner. A handful of your kind murdered three thousand of ours.

I feel the same way about South Carolinians.

kronicfeld: smooshie: Oh shut up, whiner. A handful of your kind murdered three thousand of ours.

I feel the same way about South Carolinians.

The British.

Betty Lou's gettin out tonight. Betty Lou's gettin out tonight.

Occam's Chainsaw: kronicfeld: smooshie: Oh shut up, whiner. A handful of your kind murdered three thousand of ours.

I feel the same way about South Carolinians.

The British.

Christianists.

Kill the president. Bomb, bomb, bomb, fark the FBI. Tomorrow 13:00 at the park with the device.

There.

That should make sure the FBI is in on this thread.

Well, of your parents hadn't named you DeathToAmerica SuicideBomber AdolphHitlerCampbell, we wouldn't have this problem, would we?

Talk to them. Not my fault.

Tr0mBoNe: That should make sure the FBIbanhammer is in this thread.

FTFY

This reminds me of when I was in my freshman year of college in 1985. First day of Math 101 the math teacher came into the lecture hall and introduced himself:

"Hello, my name is Mohammed [forgot arab sounding last name], and I am from Iran. However I assure you that I am not a terrorist."

We all laughed at the joke then got on to learning remedial algebra.

This was in 1985 people. Like, five years after the hostage thing.

/still don't remember algebra; have a computer to do that for me
//pretty sure he wasn't a terrorist, nor are most of the other Mohammeds etc. I've met and worked with in the past

Can't he just burn data DVDs from the Finder?

smooshie: Oh shut up, whiner. A handful of your kind murdered three thousand of ours. Therefore, all of your kind is forever doomed to be suspected for any and all crimes. We should put you and the other JapaneseMuslims in internment camps while we're at protecting our freedom.

Masterful! 10/10 would read again!

isnt there a reality show about the TSA and what a wonderful jorb they are doing?
oh wait, they are scum of the earth and need a reality show to try and prove otehrwise, nevermind

/we need a reality show for the other side. video your harrassment by the TSA. send it in !!
woot woot

40yoVirgin: I'm sure the combination of his name and profession are enough. The previous administration (and this one for all I know) were ridiculous in their US citizen "watching".

sooooo the department of homeland security ran the online store he was buying from?

I'm with Zaz on this one. Needs more detail.

My name is Mohamed. I'm a professor at a prestigious American university, and I'm internationally recognized for my work in evolutionary biology. If you were to put my full name into Google, you'd know all that in two seconds.

I support profiling against dicks who google their own name.

Look, your name is Mohammed, and whether you like it or not that is enough to be suspicious. If I was to place a standing bet every time there was a terrorist incident that the terrorist name was Mohammed (or variant), I would be a fairly rich man right now.

Also, from a caucasian western point of view, you present me with a a person named God or Jesus (white guys only of course), and I'm going to be leery of them.

You can cuss gravity, or you can learn to live with it, but it isn't going to go away.

Dread Pirate Slasher: smooshie: Oh shut up, whiner. A handful of your kind murdered three thousand of ours. Therefore, all of your kind is forever doomed to be suspected for any and all crimes. We should put you and the other JapaneseMuslims in internment camps while we're at protecting our freedom.

Masterful! 10/10 would read again!

OooooKaaaayy

Dready+Smooshie=
By your logic then "We" should "intern" all of "You"

That's life in America with a Muslim name. Yeah, it's a pain in the ass.

/the DVD creation thing sounds kind of weird though, never had that problem

Hell, I'm a white male and whenever I fly chances are I'll usually get some kind of shiat, or at least sarcastic comments, from the jackass border police when they see the stamps written in Arabic in my passport.

DrD'isInfotainment: By your logic then "We" should "intern" all of "You"

I was kidding -.-

It's not because of his name its because of where he works, DUKE SUCKS,.
FTFA: "Mohamed A.F. Noor is a professor of biology at Duke University."

I find it hard to believe that the TSA workers could actually find the time to harrass someone, when they have such a busy schedule of rifling through peoples' luggage, stealing things, and then managing the e-bay sales of all the things that they stole from luggage.

But, I guess if the TSA folks can make the effort to tear themselves away from their profitable luggage-theft bussiness, in order to absent-mindedly work out thier racial hatreds on passing world-famous Biology Professors, then we should all be grateful for their sacrifice.

;)

Karma Chameleon: Hell, I'm a white male and whenever I fly chances are I'll usually get some kind of shiat, or at least sarcastic comments, from the jackass border police when they see the stamps written in Arabic in my passport.

That's because you've got desert loving in your eyes.

"My name is Mohamed. I'm a professor at a prestigious American university, and I'm internationally recognized for my work in evolutionary biology. If you were to put my full name into Google, you'd know all that in two seconds."


Got it, your picture is all over the place.

Phil Herup: "My name is Mohamed. I'm a professor at a prestigious American university, and I'm internationally recognized for my work in evolutionary biology. If you were to put my full name into Google, you'd know all that in two seconds."


Got it, your picture is all over the place.

I was expecting him to say he has $40,000,000 million US Dollars For immediate transfer to YOUR bank account. Please sends all relevent materaials to me post haste.

I didn't know anyone registered software with their own name.

That's just too bad buddy.

My dad and I got pulled aside for extra interrogation at the MSP airport when we were flying out to Rhode Island last-minute to my uncle's death bed. We're both white with very ordinary mid-western names, but since we'd booked the flight less than 12 hours before it left, they needed to check us out.

Funny thing is, when I got to RI, I was digging in my purse for my wallet and found a pair of scissors.

Didn't bolster my confidence in our airport security screeners :P

Not buying it. I'm guessing his credit card was over limit and was rejected. He would have noted what store it was if the story was true (There would be no fear of legal liability if it was true). This is another story akin to the black professor who hung a noose on her door and claimed racism. (While not proven, it was coincidentally hung the same time she was under investigation for plagiarism would would lead to her firing).

When has racial profiling ever worked? Not trying to make a point, I really want to know.

T. Dawg: was digging in my purse for my wallet and found a pair of scissors.


I was majorly searched, in Mexico, when I inadvertently left a pair of mustache/beard trimming scissors in my bag. I was willing to say "bye" to them, but they really checked my shiat out after that.

Quadruplator: When has racial profiling ever worked? Not trying to make a point, I really want to know.



Look up the name Jose Melendez-Perez


try this for starters (new window)

/Conservative father smiles at the misfortunes of the non-Anglos, and tucks into another heaping of hegemony pie.

Phil Herup: try this for starters (new window)

"Kahtani was then a Saudi national who came before Melendez as he worked in secondary screening, simply because Kahtani had incorrectly filled out a Customs Declaration Form."

"He had a military appearance. Upon establishing eye contact, he exhibited body language and facial gestures that appeared arrogant. In fact, when I first called his name in the secondary room and matched him with papers, he had a deep staring look"

"Of significance, the would-be terrorist who claimed not to speak English, found a command of the language when Melendez rejected him, saying "I'll be back".

What part of that is "racial" profiling, dimwit?

kronicfeld: What part of that is "racial" profiling, dimwit?


Really, are you that obtuse? No one can actually talk about it, no one can write about it; but it is there.


/Reality...try it sometime

Phil Herup: T. Dawg: was digging in my purse for my wallet and found a pair of scissors.


I was majorly searched, in Mexico, when I inadvertently left a pair of mustache/beard trimming scissors in my bag. I was willing to say "bye" to them, but they really checked my shiat out after that.

I actually think the screener missed them because - as he was opening and searching every pocket of my purse - he asked if I was going somewhere fun for spring break ('twas mid-March), and I started crying.

Oh, the power of female tears!

good, he's probably selling his evolutionary genetics research to the highest third country bidder. damn muslim terrorist.

Bush's security measures at work for ya!

T. Dawg: Oh, the power of female tears!


I clicked on your profile. You definitely are the kind they check. Why? Because they know they will find nothing. Sad in many ways.

Phil Herup: Really, are you that obtuse? No one can actually talk about it, no one can write about it; but it is there.

Sort of like God or leprechauns?

eddyatwork: Why is racial profiling so bad? I mean Bettylou from farking Iowa is probably less likely to hijack a plane than Abdul from Iran.

Because not everyone from the Middle East is a terrorist . . .

And not everyone with Middle-Eastern physical traits (like Dr. Noor here) are actually Middle Eastern. The man is an American citizen. This shows why racial profiling is bad.

Also, Timothy McVeigh was an American. Not all terrorists are middle eastern muslims.