It’s no secret that now is not a popular time to be Muslim or Arab in America. Unfortunately, that doesn’t only matter if we place stock in popularity contests.

The repercussions are impacting these communities in different ways — including our ability to travel and move about freely without fear of being profiled or subjected to excessive scrutiny.

Hate crimes statistics against minority religious and ethnic groups indicate alarming levels of bigotry and intolerance during the current election season.

The airline industry has proven susceptible to it, as employees across the board seem eager for any excuse to kick particularly Arabs and Muslims off their flights.

Last week, media headlines highlighted two separate incidents involving Southwest Airlines employees removing Muslim or Arab passengers from their planes for apparently ridiculous reasons.

On Wednesday, a Maryland Muslim woman was ordered off the plane after asking a passenger to swap seats with her. The passenger agreed, but despite Southwest’s open seating policy for passengers, a nearby flight attendant objected without giving a reasonable explanation.

The Muslim passenger was humiliated as airport police escorted her back to the gate. There, police were told there was no legitimate reason why she could not fly. Hours later, she was booked on a later flight to her destination.

In a separate incident, an Iraqi UC Berkeley student was removed from the plane after a fellow passenger reported him for speaking in Arabic and saying “insh’Allah” — a common phrase amongst Muslims that translates to “God-willing.”