Not only is the US pretty sucky at encouraging bilingualism, we seem bound and determined to discourage it.

A 32-year-old man speaking Tamil and some English about a sporting rivalry was questioned at Sea-Tac Airport and missed his flight Saturday because at least one person thought he was suspicious.

The Port of Seattle dispatched its police officers to investigate the case, which occurred Saturday around noon, said Bob Parker, airport spokesman. The Chicago man was preparing to board an American Airlines flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

The man was speaking Tamil, a language largely used in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore, on his cell phone at the departure gate and on the aircraft. An off-duty airline employee heard the conversation and informed the flight crew. The man also apparently said something in English about a sporting rivalry at his alma mater.

"It's a big misunderstanding," said Parker. "He had a perfectly innocent explanation that all added up."

Evidently babbling in some barbaric tongue makes one enough of a terror suspect to be pulled from your plane and questioned.

Parker said it is incumbent on airport officials to investigate reports of suspicious activity.

"It's hard to triage over the phone," he said.

But Parker had no explanation as to why a man speaking Tamil, which is spoken worldwide, would be considered suspicious. The person who contacted airport officials could give an answer to that question, he added.

I.e. all I have to do is report some "suspicious activity," and the cops will come and yank someone off the plane? Cool! "Hey, stewardess, about this big guy sitting next to me who's taking up my arm rest? He seems ... suspicious!"

And nice move on Mr. Parker's part on deflecting to the reporting party why it was considered "suspicious" -- "It's not our fault! We were just following up on a tip! Hey, the dude is lucky we didn't just send him off Gitmo as an enemy linguist or something!"

Parker said the man was cooperative and boarded a later flight to Texas. He told officials that he would not speak in a foreign language on his cell phone at an airport in the future.

Well, that will teach him! I mean, the nerve!

Filed under :: Homeland Security