You are 100% correct! Not only would that be good police work, but it's our human nature. Take this for example - Let's say a woman was raped. She was just minding her own business and out of the blue, some ***hole raped her. It would be completely understandable after something so horific, that she would be very skittish and even very scared around men. She would probably look at men in a different light and most likely shy away from men. I couldn't imagine the feeling she might have riding in an elevator alone with a man, probably expecting the worse. Now, it would be completely insane for anybody to say, "Hey! Snap out of it! What's wrong with you? You shouldn't treat men like that! They've got rights to you know! Geeez, man hater!" That sounds pretty bad, doesn't it?
If I'm on a plane along with some Arab people, you bet your ass I'm going to watch them the entire flight. I definitely look at Arab people differently now. I don't harrass them and if I come in contact with them, I treat them with respect. But the thought does cross my mind that they could potentially be a terrorist or give money to organizations that support them. I remember an article (I can't remember where) that talked about how Arabs come over here to work and send all their money back home. Now I know that it's just not Arabs that do this and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I think it's great that people can come to America and take part in freedom and to make a living for themselves and their family. However, after 9-11, I think about that and where the money really goes every time I drive into a gas station and see an Arab man fill my tank. Mark -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 3:33 PM To: CF-Community Subject: RE: We are in big trouble When you combine various investigative factors and evidence, whether it includes race or not, it's not and no way can it be racial profiling. It's good police work. If a black man robs a bank and escapes in a blue, late model Cadillac -- are cops going to stop and question white women driving blue, late model Cadillacs? Of course not. They are going to stop and question, if they see them, black men driving blue, late model Cadillacs. And if you take away the police power to do that, you are effectively inviting criminals to be criminals. In Simi Valley, there were several bank robberies last year -- all perpetrated by single black men. The Simi sheriff's deputies have been stopping and questioning every single black man they see in Simi (blacks make up only about 1 percent of the population in Simi). They adamantly deny that they are engaging in racial profiling, but to me this is racial profiling because the deputies have no other evidence to go on. If they were able to supplement their vague knowledge with specific information and then stopped only people who fit that profile, then they would be doing good police work. And like it or not, looking Arab these days means you can potentially come under scrutiny. There are apparently thousands, if not millions, of Arabs who want to do us harm. No amount of politically correct bullshit is going to change that fact. So, if you're Arab, after 911, and you fit other aspects of the terrorist profile (again, being Arab, alone, is not enough), you are going to be stopped and questioned. That is only right and proper to protect innocent lives. H. -----Original Message----- From: Benjamin Falloon [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 9:44 AM To: CF-Community Subject: Re: We are in big trouble You say racial profiling is wrong... even when their are other factors (such as one way ticket etc) what you describe is still racial profiling.... the others are other types of profiling.... buying a one way time for example is ticket profiling.... flying alone is another form of profiling... So you saying its okay to profile racially so long as other forms of profiling are included in the assessment. I think it's wrong altogether... it make officials include race in their assessment of potential criminals (for example... police officer: "... he looks like an Arab... should we question him...") ... after a while, this becomes standard... then the general perception that Arabs are criminals develops (although Hollywood also already done a stirling job of forming that perception in the last 20 years). Put yourself in their shoes... just imagine you are a successful middle eastern male business man. Pre 9-11 you could mostly go where you pleased without harassment, now post 9-11 you become everybody's posterboy for terrorism, being stopped regularly at airports, having fellow passengers eye you suspiciously, being delayed for 'security checks'... all because of the color of your skin. Most white folks would say "just deal with it... it's for everyone's safely ... no big deal..." but just imagine how that feels for these people...to be a suspect because of the color of your skin. Hey... maybe nothing has changed... they have been doing that to African Americans for some time... only now the media has come up with a new (pc) buzz word 'racial profiling'... sounds like 'collateral damage' or 'friendly fire' or 'post traumatic stress disorder'. A word that is used to create a positive response from the public to an activity that involves unjust treatment of people. Once the middle class white American public accept 'racial profiling' as a concept and condone the police employing it doesn't that take us towards a more racist society rather than away from racism? It's judging people by the color of their skin. Most people who say that racial profiling is acceptable (even if combined with other forms of 'profiling') obviously haven't experienced any kind of racism directed towards them). This is just another form of institutional racism however innocent it may be dressed. Benjamin ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 8:04 PM Subject: RE: We are in big trouble > OK, I'll weigh in now ... > > First, racial profiling is wrong. Racial profiling is the practice of > detaining a person merely because of their race. > > It is not racial profiling, however, to detain, for example, an Arab-looking > guy who has bought a one-way ticket, paid cash, is flying first class, and > is flying seemingly by himself. This fits a known pattern. > > In other words, there needs to be other evidence besides his race. > > As for the SS guy -- he was Arab looking, he was flying by himself in first > class. > > I can see some initial suspicion, but it's ludicrous that it went further > than that and if I were him, I'd sue as well. > > -- > He carried a badge and other identification. > > -- > His ticket was clearly marked as paid for by the federal government > > -- > He provided a phone number to verify his credentials -- a number that > the Airline never called. > > There is no sound reason for the pilot to behave belligerently and delay the > flight for 90 minutes. This matter should have been cleared up in five > minutes tops. > > H. > > ______________________________________________________________________ Macromedia ColdFusion 5 Training from the Source Step by Step ColdFusion http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201758474/houseoffusion Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
