The profile

posted 11:46 PM 08/27
Link this article here.

The man sitting next to me in the window seat of the plane bound for Phoenix was olive-skinned. He had short-cropped black hair, and when he asked the flight attendant for a Coke, I detected an accent. Maybe it was Middle Eastern, but it was hard to tell from the short exchange.

It was early in the three-hour flight and I hadn't said a word to him, nor had I spoken to the seatmate on my right. Airplanes have become like elevators. People carve out a territory of their own that's measured in inches.

I was sorely tempted to break the silence with the window-seat man, who looked to be in his mid-20s. I wanted to start a conversation with him and steer it toward what I wanted to learn: What's it like to be a young, Middle Eastern-looking male flying in the United States these days? I wanted to know how often he gets "randomly selected" for a search. Does he always take the window seat to appear less of a threat? Does he get wary looks from fellow passengers? If he gets up to use the bathroom during a flight, do people turn around and see what he's doing?

But I couldn't figure out how to start the conversation, mostly because I was afraid my duplicity would show through, so I remained quiet for the flight, consoling myself with the idea that this guy didn't need another seemingly well-intentioned white guy pumping him for information about what it's like to not be a white guy.

A couple of years after Sept. 11, 2001, I made the acquaintance of Mohammed Mukhaimar, a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip. Mohammed was in town for four months studying with the International Trauma Treatment Program, an Olympia-based organization that brings people here for further training in treating victims of war, torture or natural disaster. I'm a volunteer with the group, and in the past 10 years, I've become friends with people from Sri Lanka, Uganda, India and the Gaza Strip.

Mohammed has a gregarious sense of humor. When the group had a gathering to introduce the students to the community, Mohammed made his debut dressed in cowboy gear — jeans, vest, hat, boots — and he affected a wild West accent. It was a wonderful tableau: a Palestinian mental health worker playing Wyatt Earp.

While Mohammed was here, he did some traveling by plane within the United States, and he received lots of extra attention at airport security each time he flew. He was constantly "randomly selected" for searches and interrogation.

He told me of one such search. He was flying out of Oakland, and he was in line for the security check. Mohammed said he displayed his passport and visa, then the guy checking his documents motioned to a security guy.

The security guy came over, took a look at the passport, looked at Mohammed, and then said, "Well, it looks like you have the magic name, Mohammed."

"But he was smiling when he said it," Mohammed said. "He was a black guy so he knew what was going on." Mohammed said they ended up having a wonderful conversation.

Mohammed didn't blow up the plane, either.

It's hard to generalize about white people because they're just so gosh-darn diverse, but here's one thing that seems to be true: They don't have an adequate appreciation for how demeaning and perilous it is to be picked out of a crowd by the authorities for special attention because of the color of their skin. A lot of white people have this attitude: As long as it doesn't affect me or my family or my close friends, then everything's smooth as mayonnaise. If it affects those other people, fine, but at least it makes me feel safer.

I know this because there's a part of me that has that outlook.

You can see this in polls that try to plumb perceptions of racial profiling in this nation. Most non-white people think it's a problem. Most white people don't think it's a problem.

But if the situation were reversed, if white people were profiled like non-whites are, do you think whites would think racial profiling was a big problem? Of course they would. They'd raise a stink that would be heard in heaven. Bruce Willis, John Goodman and James Belushi would finally have some real blues to sing about.

I happen to be white, mostly because my parents happen to be white. I didn't ask to be white. It's one of those things that happened when I wasn't paying attention. Some of my best friends happen to be white. My wife happens to be white and our two kids happen to be white, too.

So don't accuse me of being a racist when I generalize about white people. I know these people. I know how they think.

I know their profile.



COMING UP: Eureka!

Nose jobs

posted 11:36 PM 08/27

Have you ever thought about which senses are necessary to do your job?

Sound?

Sight?

Smell?

Touch?

Taste?

About us

posted 11:47 PM 08/25

Here are some survey questions I'd like to ask the residents of our nation: QUESTION ONE: What language do you think Jesus spoke?

Exit, stage right

posted 11:38 PM 08/21

"How do you think you're going to die?"

"I don't know," I answered. "Maybe cancer. Maybe heart disease."

Happy birthday, Irma

posted 02:58 PM 08/25

My older son and Irma Tranum had birthdays last week. Alexander turned 14. Irma turned 100. One has a lifetime ahead, the other has a lifetime behind. They're at opposite ends of a boat on a one-way trip.

Breaking the law

posted 02:58 PM 08/25

Do you think it's possible to go through a day without breaking a law?

Eastern Washington

posted 12:11 AM 08/07

In 1989, Rep. Tom Foley from Spokane was appointed speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the first person west of the Rockies to hold that vaunted and perilous position. While the job is second in the line of presidential succession, Foley got the job because his predecessor, Jim Wright of Texas, had been caught supersizing his wallet.

The wish

posted 11:15 PM 08/18

Many years ago, on an ocean beach somewhere between here and there, I found an oil lamp that was partially buried in the sand at low tide. It looked like the kind of lamp that might contain a genie similar to the one in the folk tale of Aladdin. So I picked up the lamp and rubbed the side.

The payoff months

posted 02:39 PM 08/07

Summer is the season that doesn't need a reason for the sensations that you're feeling.

Fluff No. 5

posted 02:39 PM 08/07

Something you don't want to see in person: A mob burning you in effigy.

Navel-gazing

posted 02:39 PM 08/07

From www.thefreedictionary.com: Navel-gazing: Literally, the contemplation of one's navel, which is an idiom usually meaning complacent self-absorption.

What's the buzz?

posted 10:43 PM 07/25

Twenty minutes ago, I drank 25.2 ounces of Red Bull energy drink. Let me clarify. That's 15 minutes from my now, not your now. Does that make sense?

Everybody has a favorite cheese

posted 03:09 PM 07/25

One of my pingpong buddies is a gourmand. I was at his house several months ago when he offered me some cheese that he swore would be the best cheese I'd ever taste.

A Lakefair prank

posted 11:51 PM 07/21

People who have lived here long enough have a relationship with Capital Lakefair, Olympia's recently concluded five-day fair affair that's centered along the weedy, scenic shores of Capitol Lake.

Attila 2.0

posted 03:36 PM 07/20

If Attila the Hun (406-453 A.D.) had a marketing director:

Marketing director: Hi, Attila. I'm Brad, the new marketing guy. First off, it's great to meet you. Heard a lot about you. Some of it good, too! Ha ha. But seriously, Attila, I want you to do something for me. I want you to tell me what you think people see when they think of you.