Maybe SRK was doing it for publicity & expecting to gather ordinary people around him. People who faced similar ordeals but had kept their mouths shut inspite of missing appointments, flights etc. after being detained for an unduly long period of time & being subjected to humiliation.

A celebrity’s voice, rather than a commoner’s, reaches farthest corners. Sometimes they cause change but most often they create a noise. Large number of such “noise” over a period of time can also cause change. We forget how “South Africa” was made to change its regime of apartheid.

But probably SRK made a mistake in expecting Indian immigrants to join in his chorus. Because they are servile immigrants first & Indians later.

The “South Asian” thing is a sword that cuts both ways.
Unfortuantely, we havnt used it properly.

There is a larger idea to the “South Asian” thing.
Will keep that conversation for another day.

South Asian or Indian: Was larger identity at root of Shah Rukh’s flap?

There have been US Senators (Ted Kennedy) , former Vice Presidents (Al Gore) and other famous people in the US who have been detained and questioned by airport security because for some reason their name triggered an alert in the security database system or they violated airport security procedures. Unlike SRK, they accepted that security was just doing their job. No big deal.

The people making excuses for SRK need to realize that US airport security does not gave celebrities special treatment. Yes, sometimes someone at airport security may bypass protocol for someone they recognize but that is cause for suspension or dismissal if they are caught doing so. The person who told Al Gore to around the security checkpoint was reprimanded and suspended from their security job.