Adam Saleh explained on Twitter that he was simply talking to his mom on the phone before being forced off the plane.
"I was speaking to my mum in Arabic, then I spoke to Slim in Arabic, and they kicked us out," Saleh explained, adding, "I will not let this issue go by. I will speak up and make sure anyone can speak any language in a plane."
As Islamaphobia spreads across the globe thanks to the media and government stoking the flames of ignorance, innocent people are suffering simply for the way they look and sound — and the video below is proof.
Saleh filmed himself as he addressed his fellow passengers, "Are you serious? I'm about to cry right now. You guys are racists. I cannot believe it. Because we said a word in a different language? And it's six white people against us bearded men?"
Multiple security personnel from Delta have the man surrounded as they force him off the plane.
People in the back of the plane are seen waving goodbye to him as they gloat in their ability to force action based on irrational fear of brown people.
The irony here is that prior to getting on the plane Saleh had to go through the extensive molestation protocol doled out by the Transportation Security Administration. What good is the TSA if people still feel threatened by people who are forced to go through it?
One passenger did stand up for him, however. "That is so upsetting. Why are they being kicked out?" the passenger asked.
Wednesday morning, Delta confirmed the incident when they released the following statement:
Two customers were removed from this flight and later rebooked after a disturbance in the cabin resulted in more than 20 customers expressing their discomfort.According to the Independent, multiple users are expressing doubt in Saleh's story as his YouTube channel is designated to pranking. However, given Delta's history, it is highly likely that Saleh is being truthful.
We're conducting a full review to understand what transpired. We are taking allegations of discrimination very seriously; our culture requires treating others with respect.
In November Delta banned a passenger for life after he went on an explicit pro-Donald Trump and anti-Hillary Clinton rant on his flight from Atlanta to Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The company's firm stance against the "loud, rude and disrespectful" passenger came following widespread criticism on social media over its lack of discipline for him after footage of the incident surfaced online.
Social media users pointed out that the man, who was white, was not ejected from the flight but passengers who are Sikh, Muslim, African-American, and of other minority ethnicities have been kicked off flights due to safety concerns following complaints from passengers and staff
We got kicked out of a @Delta airplane because I spoke Arabic to my mom on the phone and with my friend slim... WTFFFFFFFF please spread pic.twitter.com/P5dQCE0qosGiven Saleh's pranking history, it is entirely likely that he did something more than simply call his mom, but whatever it was, it was not enough to keep him from getting on the next flight out.
— Adam Saleh (@omgAdamSaleh) December 21, 2016
UPDATE: were now on another flight with a different airline heading to NYC after being checked for 30 minutes. We land 5:50pm in NYCThis irrational fear of brown people is a telling sign of the effectiveness of government and media propaganda.
— Adam Saleh (@omgAdamSaleh) December 21, 2016
In April, the Free Thought Project reported the story of a woman who was threatened by a D.C. cop because of her choice of headwear. She was threatened with handcuffs and forced out of a public library for wearing a hijab.
A week later, an entire family was forced off of a United Airlines flight because the way they looked and dressed created a "safety" issue.
Eaman-Amy Saad Shebley, her husband, and three young children were about to take off on a flight bound for Washington at Chicago's O'Hare airport when the pilot asked them to get off the aircraft.
In July, the Free Thought Project covered the case of an innocent Muslim woman who was tackled, beaten, and strip-searched by Chicago cops who mistook her being late for a train ride — as terrorism.
"She was strip searched, videographed, and at the same time men were allowed to see her naked. This is the ultimate horror you can do to a Muslim woman," said Imam Malick Mujahid, a local Muslim community leader, according to CBS.
As the Free Thought Project's Claire Bernish pointed out, any group subjected to continuous discrimination and constant denigration will first experience fear, but eventually, that fear begins to translate to resentment. When resentment builds to an ultimate level, it tends to translate to action — not in carrying out a terrorist attack, but in a more insidious way.
If there is one thing that Islamic fundamentalists and Islamophobic fascists agree on, it's that there should be no "gray zone;" only black and white.
The gray zone is the zone of peaceful coexistence. Eliminating the gray zone - and rendering a world as black and white as the flag of the Islamic state, is the ultimate goal of fundamentalists on all sides — and it seems to be working.
Instead of realizing that American foreign policy creates terrorism through the killing of innocent people written off as 'collateral damage,' brutal occupations masked as 'humanitarian efforts,' and general tactics of destabilization in the Middle East referred to as 'spreading democracy,' many citizens just resort to bigotry. After all, it is far easier to close one's mind and hate than to love and understand.
i had MTV tell me what my news years resolutions are supposed to be just because I'm a white guy.
Get used to be vilified by what you look like, i have.