Pretty strange. Why would she be racially profiling Asians as terrorist suspects? Have we had a rash of Chinese guys blowing up planes that I somehow missed?
If not all racism, maybe some racism could be a symptom of mental illness? [1]
Of course, more to the point, is the fact that based on the article the extent of the evidence that this was racial profiling is that the victim speculated it was such, and the two victims were of similar ethnic origin. That, combined with the fact that it sounds like there is evidence supporting the idea the person may have been having a mental episode, should call into question the journalistic integrity of the author who in the title claims as fact that racism was the cause of the employee's behavior.
At the very least, it seems like there is some chance that this person had some kind of lapse in sanity, and this article now labels that person as being a racist -- if that person's name were included in the article, they'd likely now be the target of an internet mob and persona non grata. Insofar as the allegations about their mental illness are true and have been identified as the cause (unknown) I commend Alaska Airlines for protecting the person's identity.
I would not feel qualified to say for whom it might be of value, but my thinking was perhaps for the individual having their behavior being categorized, or a clinician assisting them. Not super relevant here.
We're talking about the journalist, and perhaps ourselves, and in that light folly makes a lot more sense than it did in how I had initially misinterpreted.
She probably wasn't asking him that because of his Canadian citizenship.