The Passenger in the White Robe

This happened to me several months ago. A post 9/11 airline story:


The flight was nearly ready to depart. The engines were not yet started as we sat in the cockpit waiting at the gate. Almost all passengers were seated. Our flight attendant stepped into the cockpit and told the Captain that everything was ready in the cabin, almost. One guy was holding things up. She called him "Mohammed." And I really didn’t get that at first. She then explained why we weren’t ready to go.


"Mohammed" (of course, not his real name) was a young man dressed in a long white Arabic-type robe who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent. The clothing is referred to in some areas as a thawb, but to oversimplify, I have to call it a Bin Laden robe. The kind you often saw Osama wearing in his videos.


The passenger in the white robe had been seated in the very front row of the plane, but just as the cabin door closed and we were all ready to go, he did something odd. It got everyone’s attention on the airplane.


He got up to go to the bathroom. OK, this happens sometimes and only a few people pay attention. The flight attendants always notice, because this delays the flight. Usually no big deal. This time was different.


What "Mohammed" did was walk all the way to the back of the plane to use the bathroom. There is a lavatory in the front of this airplane, right by his seat. But he chose to use the one in the back. A completely full airplane, ready to go: 139 people watched as a young man, apparently of middle-eastern descent, wearing a Bin Laden robe, walk slowly though the cabin, spend a few minutes in the bathroom and then return to his seat in the front of the airplane.


As our flight attendant spoke to us in the cockpit, she looked over her shoulder, watching and waiting for the young man to return to the front. Finally, he was seated, the cockpit door was closed and we began our procedures to push back from the gate.


Before the plane could move, the interphone chime rang – a call from one of the flight attendants in back. They had a "situation" going on in back. Everything stopped, again. We asked the flight attendants what was going on.


There was absolutely no trouble from the man in the white robe. He was quietly sitting and reading in his seat. But there were other passengers who wanted off the plane. Right away. They had apparently been disturbed by the man in the robe’s behavior – that is, walking through the airplane at departure time.


One family in particular was very upset – a young teenage girl was in tears. They did not want to fly on the plane with the man in the robe. They insisted on being let off the airplane. Although it furthered the delay, we complied with their request. The cabin door was opened and the family got off the airplane. The father was visibly angry, but there was nothing we could say or do except to comply with their wishes.


From there, a normal flight. We arrived a few minutes late, but no problems with the bathroom or "Mohammed." As the passengers departed I stood outside the cockpit and said thank you and good-bye as I often do.


The young man in the white robe stood up and walked past. I expected some acknowledgement from him. A sneer, maybe. A look of shallow victory because he had created more fear among airline passengers. I'd spent the entire flight resenting what he did, especially making a young girl cry. I remember thinking how different we are than in the past when our country was at war. Can anyone imagine, in 1943, a person of Asian descent walking onto a passenger plane, or even being in public wearing anything that hinted of the "enemy's" culture? A kimono? A very different time, a very different war.


The young man with skin darker than mine and wearing a white garment looked at me and in an instant, my attitude changed. He smiled, said thank you, and walked out the door. Not a sneer, not a look of "I won." Just a thank you and that was it. To this day, I'm not sure if he knew of the trouble he caused. Or maybe he did, and he was grateful to the crew for not having him removed.


I don't know where he was from. Maybe the United States and he just chose to dress that way. Or maybe Pakistan, or Turkey, or Iran, or...it does not matter. Perhaps he chose to use the restroom in the back of the airplane as a sign of humility. Maybe he thought the front facility was for the crew. Nearly everyone on the plane probably thought he made a mistake and many considered it intentional. At one point, I certainly did.


But he lives among us in this country free to choose where to travel whenever he wants. Free to make mistakes like any human being. Free to be tolerant (or not) of others.


Everyone arrived safely, that day. I'm sure the family that left our flight found another one. Inconvenienced yes, but in the end accommodated and, I'm sure, happy with the choice they made.


I won't ignore the fact that there are monsters out there who will do us harm. And while there is nothing wrong with watching out for them, I realized how careful I need to be not to create them either.