[Josteniok]

There's more than just bigotry at play here. We're constantly told now, "If you see something, say something" (the article even pokes a little at this), then our fear factor is raised as high as possible with notions that any of our fellow passengers could be evil terrorists about to bomb the plane. To top it all off, air travel is stressful and if you have even a little bit of fear of flying it gets amplified by the whole experience. It's like the perfect cocktail for these sorts of situations. I'm always surprised this doesn't happen more often.

[nostrademons]

It's interesting to contrast the response of American leaders to the Great Depression and run-up to WW2 ("The only thing we have to fear is fear itself") vs. that of 9/11 ("See something, say something").

[schoen]

Also, as people have been pointing out, "Keep calm and carry on" (on the other side of the Atlantic).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On

(On the other hand, there were a lot of wartime counterintelligence efforts in the U.S. and U.K. which I think must have included public calls for people to turn in suspected Axis spies.)

[blatherard]

As a counterpoint: internment of Japanese Americans.

[was_boring]

Air travel is very stressful, so stressful that I am scared of the security more than any threats they supposedly protect us from. I fly regularly for my job and about 6 months ago I was "randomely selected" for extra screening -- even with TSA pre check. The person swabing my hands asked why I was shaking, I just told him flying makes me nervous. Truth be told, he makes me nervous with unlimited power over my ability to get back home and see my son. Flying itself is statically very safe from point A to B, the security isnt.