On Thursday, there was a hijack or bombing threat on American Airlines flight number 124 out of SFO. It came to nothing. But the FBI picked two passengers to escort off the plane in handcuffs. They claimed they were picked randomly. But the passengers seem to have been visiting from Pakistan. So the “random” claim is just more police lying. But the big question is: why is it necessary to treat our guests in this way? I understand that people from Pakistan might be more suspect; it does, after all, seem to be the Al Qaeda capital of the world. This does not explain why it was necessary to publicly humiliate these people. Was there any reason other than their nationality? What is wrong with our country? Have we really reached the point where anyone can yell “terrorist” and cause any person from the Middle East and environs to be handcuffed and led away?