This YouTuber Just Posted A Powerful Message About Racial Profiling
24 February 2016, 14:33 | Updated: 8 May 2017, 17:09
Xenophobia is everywhere, tbh.
How many times have you heard the story about the man with the beard or turban who was stopped at the airport for just being who they are?
It's a daily occurrence and it happened to YouTuber and Vine star Jus Reign.
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While travelling from San Francisco to Toronto, Jus Reign, whose real name is Jasmeet Singh, was stopped by authorities, taken to a private room for checks and asked to by TSA (Transportation Security Administration) to remove his turban.
Taking to Twitter, Singh documented the whole ordeal.
so the @tsa made me take off my turban in extra screening or they said I wouldn't be able to be let through to catch my flight
— Jasmeet Singh (@JusReign) February 22, 2016
after finding absolutely nothing wrong because a turban is just cloth and the whole thing is stupid I ask for a mirror to tie it back again
— Jasmeet Singh (@JusReign) February 22, 2016
Singh notes that when asked for a mirror, he was told that he would have to go into the hallway and to a public restroom to reapply his turban.
the agent tells me there are no mirrors and that I can just walk down the terminal to the nearest restroom
— Jasmeet Singh (@JusReign) February 22, 2016
without my turban on
On 24 February, Singh took to Instagram to detail exactly what the experience was like and how it felt, pointing out that no one has ever found anything dangerous under a turban.
*Sigh*
Read Jus Reign's whole Instagram status below.
Sunday night I was taking a flight back from San Francisco to Toronto and was stopped by security and ordered into additional screening. Now this is nothing new to me, as I’m a brown dude who flies quite often and these types of extra screening and searchings are regular occurrences. In this specific case however I was asked to remove my turban so it could go through an additional extra check. my first inclination was to say nah, I had a flight to catch and taking off a turban and tying it back on before a flight would be inconvenient. I asked to have a pat down instead (i get my clothes patted down, and those too are made of cloth, never asked to remove those) the manager insisted that either I would take off my turban and or I would be escorted back into the public area and I could book a flight with a different airline or airport.
They provided a private screening room, and after they had done a complete body search and scanned my turban through another x-ray… they came back and told me I was good to go. It was at this point I asked for a mirror to retie my turban again, because unlike a hat or a shoe, tying a turban back on takes time and skill (great skill, only the manliest of men know) plus I gotta make sure i look extra crispy and good ALWAYS (my motto in life, most of the time when I’m not lazy of course) The officials responded that they don’t provide mirrors and one of them had even told me to walk down the nearest bathroom at the other end of the terminal, in public, without my turban on. Which completely defeats the purpose of being in a private room in the first place… why “undress” me and then tell me to walk out “undressed” to the nearest bathroom to retie my turban again? The turban is a sign of royalty, respect, dignity, courage and has a huge significance for my people.
I followed all the security protocols, asked whatever they wanted me to do, the issue isn’t JUST with the fact that I was asked to remove the turban (however silly it still is) but with the lack of respect and insensitivity when I asked for a simple request like a mirror to tie it back on again.
also fun fact: no one has ever found anything dangerous in a turban… ever.
What do you think of this then, eh?
