Oh Boo Hoo

Airports have now begun asking those wearing turbans to take off their head-wear for security purposes. The Sikhs are angry about this.

(CBS) NEW YORK The new federal policy of checking hats when going through airport security is causing a serious controversy, with many now asking: Is it a necessary security measure or another act of religious or racial profiling?

Perhaps after the national embarrassment of a monkey getting through Transportation Security Administration agents under a man's hat and ending up on a plane departing Peru and bound for Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and then onto another plane bound for New York City on Aug. 8, officials decided to make changes in policies regarding hats.

Even if you made it through airport security, federal TSA screeners can now search or pat down a passenger's hat in search of illegal items or weapons. Seems fair enough for many passengers, even those with hats...

Others see where the system is skewed, however.

One group in particular -- Sikhs -- agrees, saying the new TSA hat policy is focused on those who wear turbans is in effect a form of racial profiling.

Enough already. Some guy got a monkey on a plane because of his 'hat.' Others could have guns or knives or bombs under their turbans. I say we should have been uncovering all headgear - baseball caps, helmets, turbans, yarmulkes, scarves, etc., a long long time ago. It is incredibly feasible that someone would have a weapon under one of those -just like I could have a boxcutter in my flip flop.

The TSA does not- and should not care about whether or not a Sikh is upset with their new rules. I don't like that I have to carry toiletries in a plastic bag, but you don't see airport security bending the rules for me. (Not to mention, I don't exactly fit the profile of an Islamic terrorist- sorry to "profile.") We all have to take off our jackets and shoes. Why should those with turbans be exempt?

Now this really gets me going:

Prablyit Singh, a Sikh who wears his turban as part of his religion, was stopped recently when he flew out of his home airport in Washington D.C.

He objected to having his turban patted down after he had passed the metal detector, and says TSA agents gave him a hard time afterward, yelling at him.

"What I had to go through was not only humiliating, but a demeaning situation to get onto this flight," Singh says.

Singh finally agreed to the pat down, but as is required by his religion, asked it be done in private.

A message to the Sikhs- you are not the victims here. Pardon the detail, but everytime my underwire bra sets off the metal detector or I refuse to take my shoes off, they pull me aside between the little glass dividers and pat me down all over. And if a large wand between your legs and around your breasts isn't uncomfortable and humiliating, I don't know what else is. Objecting to the pat-down is NOT an option.

So go cry to your momma, but I want to be sure the airports have checked your turban for weapons of terrorism.

And if you don't have to take your turban off, I'm not taking off my shoes!