Shoes Off Hands Up

The Transportation Security Administration. If you’ve traveled by plane to, from, or within America, you’ve likely dealt with heavy airport security. For many, the airport security process goes something like this: remove your shoes, take everything out of your pocket, place electronics in a separate bin, walk through the metal detector, get patted down, then frantically try to recollect your belongings. Some people are subjected to random screening, a more intense (invasive?) pat-down that adds to the already rigorous security process.  

Many have argued that such “random” screenings are not in fact random, and disproportionately affect people of color, middle eastern and Muslim travelers in particular. TSA themselves have stated they use “behavioral detection,” a method in which TSA officers, some in regular clothes, observe travelers for “behavioral clues,” which sometimes include race and ethnicity, in order to determine who should receive extra screening. These extra screenings are designed both to protect travelers and to contribute to the feeling of safety in the airport.

However, when behavioral and “random” screenings disproportionately affect Muslims and people of color, they contribute equally to the fear of those affected as they do to perceived safety. When people see that a specific type of person is commonly detained for safety reasons, they may subconsciously associate those people with danger and crime. Even security agents are susceptible to this kind of bias. Nonrandom screening creates a cycle of fear and wariness of Arab peoples that resembles traditional Orientalism: the stereotype of the Muslim terrorist motivates security to perform extra screenings, which in turn contributes to the stereotype of Muslims as dangerous and criminal. While TSA screenings are not as explicit in their portrayal of a people as art, the fundamental cyclic nature of Orientalism is still present: the fear of people of color leads to them being searched, which in turn creates more fear.