Making An Example Out Of Him

Ritu does a fair amount of traveling for his work and when he does, he is reminded time and time again what it means to be a man with brown skin dealing with airline security in this day and age.  Those "random" security checks always seem to choose him, especially when he is flying by himself.  

When September 11th happened, we were living in a small town in North Carolina. At the time, David was four and Juliana was just a baby.   I will never forget our family being in a grocery store a few days afterwards.   As we worked our way through the store, people stared at us and conversations dropped off.  There was a palpable feeling of distrust and accusation in their silence.  It was unsettling to say the least.

Two weeks ago Ritu had to fly to San Diego to teach a course.  It was just an overnight trip, so he only took a carry-on suitcase.  In the Portland airport, he readied himself to go through security.  As he waited in line for the conveyor belt, he took a couple of those gray bins and loaded them up with his shoes, his coat, his computer.  Suddenly a TSA worker strode towards him and shot his hand into one of his bins.  Ritu braced for whatever was coming next.  The man held high the bag he had plucked from his belongings and started to speak loudly to the rest of the people waiting in line.  "See this?  This is how you do it, people.  A quart-sized ziplock bag with your liquids and gels inside.  None of them more than 3 ounces!"  He waved it around a moment more like a test paper with an A+, then returned the bag to Ritu's bin, smiled at him, and wished him a good flight.