We've heard the cries that "it's time to stop being politically correct and start profiling Muslims at airports!" I contend that it would be an ineffective practice that would make us less safe from terror attacks.
When we go through security checkpoints at the airport, every single passenger passes through a metal detector. Shoes are removed and x-rayed. Belongings are scrutinized with x-ray technology by trained security personell. Those that look suspicious, those that have names on terror watch list (even if they just share a name), and those that are chosen randomly are subject to greater searches. Everyone already passes through security.
Do those that call for profiling only want Muslims to go through tougher security? How do you determine if someone is a Muslim? Because they look like it? The attempted shoe bomber, Richard Ried, was half Caucasian and half Jamaican. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the attempted Christmas Day bomber, was of Nigerian descent. Had we used profiling as security protocal, they'd have made it on the flight anyway.
If we start profiling every single male that looks Arab, they'll send a woman. If we start profiling every Arab woman, they'll send a child. If we start profiling every Arab child, they'll send a black or white convert. Profiling is ineffective for this reason.
If we need extra security protocols, it should be applied to all and not those that just "look" like terrorists. Anything else can take our eye off the prize, give us a false sense of security, and fail to prevent future attacks.
Profiling doesn't work.
Proof? Crime is just as prevalent as it ever was if not more. Regardless of profiling or not.
When I had to travel a lot for business (mostly pre 9/11)I used to wonder why I was always pulled out of line to take my shoes off undo my shoes, etc. After 9/11 I would do all of the above and added pat downs and swabbing my carry ons for explosive debris. This was the norm for me anytime I traveled. Was I on a list of some sort, who knows. Was I profiled ? If I was , I wonder what for, being an old gray haired fart ? I asked, they never told. Was it because of a very loud argument at the CC airport with a TSA idiot ? Maybe. Did I resent it ? Yep. Did I understand why they had such screening procedures ? Yeah. Does it work ? We'll probably never really know unless they release statistics on who they have stopped from flying and why.
I hope everybody knows exactly WHOSE fault this is?
...
...
...
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS.
Truthseeker, I agree we should do that for everyone. I don't consider that profiling, but I see where come could. If we only checked people with the surname Hussein, that would be profiling.
Interesting story. A distant cousin used to be a border guard. He said that was one of the routine questions thay always ask.
I was a travel agent for 28 years. Did a fair bit of international travel. They ALWAYS asked me what I was doing out of the country, how long was I gone, and how much I had spent when I returned. MOST of the customs agents I encountered were very polite.
Carguy,
I was with a friend of mine that was much more familiar with how the border checkpoints function when he and a guard had a rapid fire exchange:
The border guard asked us what we were doing in Mexico and he quickly responded, "Getting a taco." They went back and forth a few more times before we continued across but I missed it because I was caught up in trying to decipher my buddy's response. It was kind of hilarious actually.
I think the border guard responded that he was surprised that we couldn't get a taco in the United States.
When the smoke cleared I asked my friend what the heck that was all about, he said, "It's none of their business what we were doing in Mexico". I just said, "Uh huh!"
Profiling is not only about a persons looks. I think that point I seen made was about profiling are persons actions, meaning there travel. If you have a person with specific travel plans. Yemen or where ever they are training the terrorist at that time. If you establish a pattern and watch movements.
Well, this is quite a pickle we are in here. YOu're right, of course. If we start profiling ALL the usual suspects, they'll send in an albino wearing a Chicago Cubs jersey.
One thing we could do. Happened to me in U.S. Customs once coming back from Mexico.They asked me, "Do you have any marijuana?" Caught me by surprise. So, maybe we can just ASK people if they have a bomb? Couldn't hurt.
Hi AstrosGirl,
you make some excellent points. The solutions to these problems are as elusive as the perpetrators.
Sometimes, I believe that like the approach to recalcitrant children, the only real hope is to get inside their head and strike the chord that holds the kernel of human decency. Despite, what many would profess, I think goodness lives in all of us. Even the most incorrigible have elements of their lives that feel 'personal' and thereby sacred and that is what has to be reached. In truth, what is personal and sacred is their fundamental motivator.