We don't like your name - you don't get to fly.

May 14, 2002 8:33 AM

We don't like your name - you don't get to fly. At least not without a great deal of hassle. A 70 year old black woman is repeatedly subjected to lengthy delays by US Airways. Why? Because her name is similar to an alias used by a person who murdered his wife and kids. The interesting part? He's a 28 year old white man. Apprehended 3 months before the incidents described in the article.
posted by Irontom (10 comments total)

Why is this name still on the list? Nobody knows. How would one go about correcting this error? Nobody knows. Which agency was responsible for this error? Nobody knows. When will Godot arrive? Nobody knows...
posted by Irontom at 8:36 AM on May 14, 2002

ah, government bureaucracy. as efficient as it's ever been.
posted by zoopraxiscope at 8:37 AM on May 14, 2002

Mrs. Boyd, meanwhile, informed her that four other law-abiding John Thomases had called to complain.

And this line from the article is why my monitor is presently covered in coffee.
posted by Danelope at 8:54 AM on May 14, 2002

That's just freakin' spooky, is what that is. But somehow, bigger databases and more invasions of privacy are going to make this better? Hah.
posted by dejah420 at 8:56 AM on May 14, 2002

Denelope - I will now go home. My work here is done.
posted by Irontom at 8:57 AM on May 14, 2002

Best of all is the rap bit at the end of the article:

'The identity of the anthraxer is a mystery, that's true
But Mrs. Thomas, give us credit, we did catch you!
Say uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!'

posted by samelborp at 10:01 AM on May 14, 2002

I'll tell you, it's good they federalized airport security. It's getting so much better...
posted by the_0ne at 10:41 AM on May 14, 2002

Watch, some idiot politician is going to use this as an argument for universal IDs.
posted by mikel at 10:52 AM on May 14, 2002

Poor Mrs. Buttle. It's hell dealing with Information Retrieval.

Mrs. Boyd, meanwhile, informed her that four other law-abiding John Thomases had called to complain.

My John Thomas has always been law-abiding (well, except in Louisiana, where apparently the things he did were illegal).

I never let him use the telephone, though.
posted by chuq at 11:18 AM on May 14, 2002

I used to think this whole War On Terror thing was Orwell, but it's veering towards Kafka.
posted by dack at 9:12 AM on May 15, 2002