The Flight to Washington
The check in at the airport in Birmingham was fairly easy. We went through security with no problem. A gentleman that appeared to be of Armenian descent was behind us as we walked through. He received extra scrutiny. At the gate, two TSA agents appeared and asked to see the ID of each passenger again before we boarded the plane en route to Charlotte. The plane took off and landed without incident and our Armenian friend was onboard.

From Charlotte we flew to Charleston, West Virginia. There we waited for a flight to Washington Reagan. While awaiting our flight, a young woman sat next to us. She appeared to have a cold because her eyes were red and puffy. When we boarded the plane, she sat in the aisle across from us. During the flight I noticed that she was rocking back and forth, rubbing beads and reciting something aloud as she looked at a book that was clearly written in Arabic. I reached across and touched her arm, asking if she was alright. Tears flowed from her eyes dropping onto my hand and arm as she leaned toward me. The young lady was from Syria. Her mother had passed away suddenly the day before. She was trying to get there before her funeral. I told her that I understood her grief because I too lost my mother and I still cry for her. I told her that I would remember her in my prayers. She said thank you and appeared calm for the remainder of the trip.

What does this have to do with Obama’s inauguration? I hope that we are entering an era where people are no longer stereotyped as terrorists just because of their appearance. Shortly after 911 I was stopped three times at an airport because I fit a certain profile. I am not Arabic or a Muslim. I am a US citizen that was born and raised in Alabama. The young woman from Syria was a Muslim living in the United States whose grieving could have easily been mistaken for something else by someone looking at her through stereotypical eyes. Obama’s presidency could help us begin to see people as human beings first instead of enemies.