Flying Mutiny Airlines

The passengers on a British flight from Malaga refused to board the aircraft because of two men of "Asian appearance" who wore heavy clothing, kept looking at their watches and seemed to be speaking Arabic. Eventually, the Captain said he would not leave with the men onboard and authorities escorted them off to take a later flight. There was no overt demonstration on the part of the passengers, indeed the news reports referred to the scene as very calm and polite, though this didn't keep boingboing from describing the episode this way:

Shocking -- who'd have thought that putting signs everywhere telling you that you were in danger of terrorists and that terrorists were everywhere and that you should look out for suspicious terrorism behavior would turn normal people into witch-hunting racist mobs?

Meanwhile, the ever-perceptive Glenn Reynolds had his own take:

The two guys were likely entirely innocent, and didn't deserve this, but this is the kind of thing that happens when people don't trust the authorities to protect them. Over time, I fear that excessive political correctness on the part of governments will breed the reverse elsewhere.

In this war, many governments in the West are forgetting that their first duty is to protect the well-being of their citizens. If the people lose confidence in the willingness of their elected representatives to do this, the government shouldn't be surprised if the people refuse to offer their necks to the knives. Meanwhile, the left should remember that a healthy suspicion of a possible threat is streets away form a "witch-hunting racist mob."