The Monk of Mokha

by Dave Eggers

He paid, and she gave him his new tickets, which bore the code that indicated they’d been singled out for extra screenings. “You know what?” he said. “You work in a racist institution. You should know about these things. I’ve been through four hours of screenings and I missed the flight. That’s why I’m here getting a new flight. And you’re putting me through another screening because I’m brown.” Mokhtar was on a roll, his voice rising. People around him were listening. He went on—Are you in a union? You work for a racist organization. This is a racist system—until the African American agent, and the white male agent next to her, began apologizing and until the white man came around and leaned down to Dena. “You want a sticker?” the man asked. “We don’t want your stickers!” Mokhtar said. “We want dignity.”

More sad... ;^(