Posted on 10/20/2007 12:21:02 PM PDT by camerakid400
WASHINGTON: Sikhs have welcomed the steps taken by the TSA authorities to correct the policy of indiscriminate screening of Turbans at the airports. The United States’ Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced an adjustment of its screening policies for headwear which included Turbans.
According to the new guidelines by TSA, airport screeners will no longer "pat down" people wearing religious head coverings and travelers will have the choice to go through alternative security measures. Officials said such alternatives might include walking through a machine that detects explosive chemicals. Or wearers could agree to pat down their own turban, and then have their hands swabbed with a cloth that is tested for chemical residue.
Dr. Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said, “This is a welcome change. The Sikh community is fully committed to work with government to ensure the safety of all Americans and at the same time making sure that the religious rights of all citizens are protected. Dr. Singh also welcomed that TSA has promised that it will provide all its field employees with mandatory cultural awareness training about Sikh observances.”
Dr. Rajwant Singh also stated that , “We would also like to recommend that TSA make efforts to hire more Sikh Americans in the TSA administration as well as TSA officers. This will certainly help in creating a congenial environment for the Sikh community.”
The new policy is a direct response to Sikh concerns, raised after the TSA in August listed "bulky" headwear such as cowboy hats, berets or turbans should be patted down.
The TSA has now removed turbans from its screener guidance.
(Excerpt) Read more at punjabnewsline.com ...
Nice photo, but hope this doesn’t mean a terrorist can now pretend to be a Sikh.
The Sikhs were not involved in 9/11, but I predict more and more Islamic terrorists will start wearing a Sikh turban when they fly. How is having them pat down their own turban going to achieve any kind of security objective? If the Sikhs don’t want to obey our rules, they can stay in India. Why are we making exceptions for these guys, and I still can’t take more than four ounces of shampoo in my carry-on? I wash my hair religiously and I think the TSA should accommodate MY religion. Norm Mineta is long gone, and still the TSA is run by a committee of pc idiots. They were so busy re-writing the guidelines for people in turbans that they forgot to train the inspectors how to IDENTIFY BOMB PARTS BEING TAKEN ON AIRPLANES. What priorities.
Given the Sikhs history of being excellent workers and guardians, I could go along with this. But then the perpetual whiners would complain because they are TOO efficient and thorough.
I feel conflicted on this. Not only are Sikhs not Muslims, but they have been standing up and defending themselves against Muslims in India for centuries.
But when President Bush caved in to the Democrats in congress and agreed that airport security would belong to the government employees union and double their previous pay, all good sense went out the window.
So, who knows if these alternative procedures will work?
Muslim terrorists have disguised themselves as women, and they won’t hesitate to disguise themselves as Sikhs.
Turbans should be removed. Plain and simple. Our airports are being tested weekly....Those flying know it.....Foolish PC policies (for the sake of PC-ness) is going to cost thousands more their lives (and after the fact we will hear all the same Gov't BS about "why, why, why".
What a bunch of crap, if I have to take off my f***ken shoes, they better take off their turbans.
On long flights, with a stop or two in the middle, it helps to have shampoo or soap in the cabin-carry luggage. Remember that the main luggage won’t be accessible to you during mid-course stops.
The difference here is little old ladies, cripples, and toddlers are just people--turbans, burka's and the like are something else and those who wear them demand special treatment.
I agree with you 100% but we all know the squeaky wheel gets the oil and many seem to know how to make it squeak.
They did such a great job of protecting Indira Gandhi the Prime Minister of India.
Nothing against the Sikhs, but the TSA first needs to learn how to stop bombs...
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/ohare.bomb.detection.2.392598.html
...and then they can learn about various religious customs.
The Gore Commission had established this same kind of cultural sensitivity prior to 9/11:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1913803/posts
And we know what that got us. Half of those hijackers WERE flagged as risks, but were allowed on without much fuss anyway.
And if it were a Christian custom, the answer would be, “Tough, suck it up.”
Yes, I too think that the nation-state known as the U.S. has made a good decision not to take off its turbans at airports.
Genius headline writer.
Absolutely and the ACLU would defend those against the Christians. It is so glaring what is going on and there is no one around to do anything to cause all this politically correct/ACLU crap to reverse direction. We (the American people—the citizens of the country) are in big trouble and that includes some of these kooks that don’t know any better.
“If the Sikhs don’t want to obey our rules, they can stay in India.” I live in an area that is overflowing with Sikhs, and most of them are from California or New York.
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