by Pa rock
Citizen Journalist
Navdeep Bains is a Sikh Canadian who serves as his country's Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development - and, as a devout adherent to his religion, he wears a turban. The turban is a sign of his faith. This week Mr. Bains related to a Canadian newspaper the story of how he had been harassed at the Detroit, Michigan, airport last year as he was trying to return to Canada following a meeting with some American politicians.
TSA officials were insistent that Mr. Bains remove his turban as a part of their passenger screening process, something he declined to do. Finally, and reluctantly, Mr. Bains used his diplomatic passport to leverage his entry onto the plane. The Canadian diplomat felt that he should not have had to play the diplomatic card, and that he should have been shown a basic courtesy related to his religious beliefs and not because of who he was.
Some might argue that tolerance of ethnic, cultural, and even religious differences is diminishing under the current administration - and some would be right. I have told this story here before, but it deserves repeating. Several years ago, during the height of the Obama administration, I was traveling through Portland, Oregon, and had an interesting encounter at the Portland Airport (PDX). One of the TSA officials that I encountered was wearing a turban. I remember the fellow as being expedient and very pleasant - far above the standard for TSA even at that time.
When tolerance is alive and well in the White House, it is more likely to filter down to every level of government, but when the White House is a bastion of intolerance, petty bureaucrats and fiefdoms flourish and we are all more likely to treated like problem children as we try to go about our daily lives.
Diversity makes us stronger - and better.
Citizen Journalist
Navdeep Bains is a Sikh Canadian who serves as his country's Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development - and, as a devout adherent to his religion, he wears a turban. The turban is a sign of his faith. This week Mr. Bains related to a Canadian newspaper the story of how he had been harassed at the Detroit, Michigan, airport last year as he was trying to return to Canada following a meeting with some American politicians.
TSA officials were insistent that Mr. Bains remove his turban as a part of their passenger screening process, something he declined to do. Finally, and reluctantly, Mr. Bains used his diplomatic passport to leverage his entry onto the plane. The Canadian diplomat felt that he should not have had to play the diplomatic card, and that he should have been shown a basic courtesy related to his religious beliefs and not because of who he was.
Some might argue that tolerance of ethnic, cultural, and even religious differences is diminishing under the current administration - and some would be right. I have told this story here before, but it deserves repeating. Several years ago, during the height of the Obama administration, I was traveling through Portland, Oregon, and had an interesting encounter at the Portland Airport (PDX). One of the TSA officials that I encountered was wearing a turban. I remember the fellow as being expedient and very pleasant - far above the standard for TSA even at that time.
When tolerance is alive and well in the White House, it is more likely to filter down to every level of government, but when the White House is a bastion of intolerance, petty bureaucrats and fiefdoms flourish and we are all more likely to treated like problem children as we try to go about our daily lives.
Diversity makes us stronger - and better.
No comments:
Post a Comment