I thought it was funny how the quiz mentioned people who had been randomly searched and it included the Secret Service Agent. He wasn't randomly searched, he was kicked off the plane by the stewerdess and the pilots because he was of arab. I remember reading the statement from the person sitting next to him. He talked about how the agent showed all the proper ID, gave them phone #s to call where people varified who he was, and still they kicked him off. The person sitting next to him even said that the stewerdess searched through his stuff while he was talking to the pilots and he said that the airline lied by saying that he was uncooperative and angry during the whole situation.
Which War? The one oner Terrorism? or are we still fighting the one on Drugs? or is it Illiteracy . . .we have a lot of Wars Rocket River
You guys are so predictable. I can look at a thread title and without entering it, I can predict what type of response will come from whom. However, tis always good banter. I just wish one of you would "throw a stick in the spokes" occasionally. Namely: RM95 Major Jeff (the humanitarian hippy point of view is always refreshing) I love you guys.....
The idea of racial profiling goes against all the principles that this country was founded on. All men are created equal, and should be treated equally.
When people's lives are at stake, when we find ourselves in a time of war, more extreme measures have to be taken in order to help raise the level of security for everyone. If these more extreme measures have negative effects, such as pissing people off due to the fact that they feel they are being singled out because they happen to be the same race as the guilty individuals the government happens to be looking for, so be it. If we ask those that are here to protect us to be very careful while doing their job that they don't hurt anyone's feelings, then we are crippling their ability to effectively serve the public interest. Suck it up, America. You're shooting yourself in the foot. If you don't decide fairly soon to stop worrying so much about hurt feelings and bruised egos, then the next time a terrorist decides to try to board a plane full of potential corpses, then he'll probably get a good chuckle out of the fact that the ninety year-old woman in front of him doesn't seem to appreciate that she has to wait to board her flying coffin due to the United States of America's steadfast refusal to hurt anyone's feelings or (God forbid) encroach on anyone's civil liberties, and he'll be sure to silently thank those "security" guards as he boards.
Suck it up, America. You're shooting yourself in the foot. If you don't decide fairly soon to stop worrying so much about hurt feelings and bruised egos, then the next time a terrorist decides to try to board a plane full of potential corpses, then he'll probably get a good chuckle out of the fact that the ninety year-old woman in front of him doesn't seem to appreciate that she has to wait to board her flying coffin due to the United States of America's steadfast refusal to hurt anyone's feelings or (God forbid) encroach on anyone's civil liberties, and he'll be sure to silently thank those "security" guards as he boards. The terrorists will know that we're racially profiling, and they'll also know that we're not searching other people as carefully. So they'll simply find someone who doesn't look Arab to go hijack the plane. Easier access than they have right now with the random searches...
That might be a lot easier said than done, Major. A lot of the mentality of the suicide bomber/hijacker comes from growing up in the conditions prevalent in Palestine and territories similar. It involves a lot of pain and a lot of suggestion. Random searches discards this fact out of hand, and lessens our overall security. Should random searches be discarded? NO. Should racial profiling be discarded when looking for potential suicide bombers/hijackers? NO. Personally, I say search everyone. I know how unrealistic that seems, but oh well. If you're flying somewhere, be willing to show up a couple of hours early and go through the security. But that's too inconvenient, isn't it?
I'm definitely for profiling. Since the VAST majority of murders, rapes, terrorist attacks, etc...are committed by men, I know that when I go out in public I'm surrounded by potential criminals. I would feel much safer if all men were security checked in some way. I know some men will complain that its an inconvenience, but guys, if you've got nothing to hide what's the big deal? Plus it'll make me feel a lot safer. So profile away! It won't bother me one bit.
What about Robert Reid. He isn't Arab either. He was Black if I remember correctly. And Johnny Walker- white. So why don't we just profile all Hispanics, Blacks, Arabs, and Whites? Profiling is stupid and doesn't solve any of our problems. If we start profiling our citizens then the terrorists have already succeeded in taking away our freedom. We don't want to live in a gestapo state.
I don't understand why people keep saying "well what about so-and-so? He was white!" or "he was hispanic, should we profile them to?!".....it's not relevant. Race is only a component of a profile, it's not a profile in and of itself...I imagine that if a profile was a good one, Padilla, Reed, etc. would fall under it as well.
I'm not necessarily for profiling, but I just want the people searching to be able to use common sense rather than blanket by number random searches. A great-aunt of mine, close to a 100, crooked wig, completely harmless, 5 foot nothing and a little clueless due to her excessive age was pulled aside not once, but twice due to that random search policy. I mean cmon.
Let's see, run the risk of mildly inconveniencing someone by quickly searching them at an airport because of the way they look? Or be completely random in searches while severely decreasing the probability of catching someone who might actually be planning on flying an airplane through a building? Hmmm...tough choice. Let's face it, the reason the airport security has increased is because some terrorists from the Middle East killed thousands of people. It doesn't mean every terrorist is going to fit that profile, but I would say its most probable, wouldn't you? Thus, if the true goal of increasing airport security is to catch terrorists before they get a chance to do their worst, profiling can only increase the chances of that happening, right? In a discussion like this, I think its smarter to side with logic rather than a philosophical notion. If we were talking about killing or injuring people because of their race, I agree that the "all men are created equal" argument would hold a lot more water. But we're not talking about anything as serious as that. What we're talking about is someone being searched at an airport. I'm not saying every Arab person who walks into an airport should be searched, but I definitely think security workers should be allowed some freedom in deciding who is a suspicious passenger. If someone comes walking in the airport looking like Robert Reid, the dude who tried to blow up his shoes in an airplane, I'd be all for the security singling him out and doing a search.
The problem is that if you single out Arab/Middle-eastern "looking" people it can get out of hand. I think it's ridiculous to be searching old ladies and harmless looking 40 year-old white guys, but it's offensive to just pick out every Muslim and brown-skinned person. Who's to say who "looks" like a terrorist? I guess people have instincts, but it could get very out of hand...After September 11th, many complained about being harrassed or embarrassed after being singled out because of their appearance. Obviously, profiling would be considered wrong by many but it needs to exist in some way and random profiling isn't the correct way... "The terrorists will know that we're racially profiling, and they'll also know that we're not searching other people as carefully. So they'll simply find someone who doesn't look Arab to go hijack the plane. Easier access than they have right now with the random searches..." Umm, most people stupid enough to follow suicide missions and terrorist are (sorry) Arabs...Are you expecting them to recruit a bunch of Americans or white people to blow stuff up? All their followers happen to be "arab looking" for the most part. Yeah, there'll be a few black Muslims and a weird exception like the one American, but for the most part you know...
I'm not saying every Arab person who walks into an airport should be searched, but I definitely think security workers should be allowed some freedom in deciding who is a suspicious passenger. Well, to take it a step further, why not search every Arab? It would help protect us all. Where do you draw the line, and why is searching every Arab too much? After all, our security is at stake and its just a minor inconvenience for them, right? If someone comes walking in the airport looking like Robert Reed, the dude who tried to blow up his shoes in an airplane, I'd be all for the security singling him out and doing a search. What exactly about Robert Reid would have put him on the suspicious-list for you?
Umm, most people stupid enough to follow suicide missions and terrorist are (sorry) Arabs...Are you expecting them to recruit a bunch of Americans or white people to blow stuff up? All their followers happen to be "arab looking" for the most part. Yeah, there'll be a few black Muslims and a weird exception like the one American, but for the most part you know... As pointed out earlier, the dirty-bomb guy was Hispanic. Johnny Walker was white. Let's assume the new "plot" repeats 9/11 (which is irrelevent since terrorists target weaknesses. Instead of repeating the airport thing, they'd likely find a new weakpoint) -- you need 4 people. Al-Queda has thousands and thousands of members. Do you really think they'd have trouble finding 4 people out of their entire network who don't look like a suspicious terrorist?
Notice that the ones who support racial profiling are all WHITE. You'll never see someone who's a minority support profiling. When was the last time you've been pulled over in a quiet suburban neighborhood because you're white? When was the last time you've been asked to step back into Foley's because you're white? Being profiled is insulting to our fellow Americans. Minorities have the same rights as us and to harass them is to slap them in the face for being who they are.
