Racial Profiling

Well, this week we heard about the break up a plot to blow up 10 planes either over the Atlantic or once they were over US soil.  Both the US and UK governments immediately changed what you can and can not take on to an airplane.  The US also raised the Terror Alert Status.

Given that it appears as though the majority of those who have been detained are Pakistani, the argument of racial profiling has come back to the forefront again. 

The question is whether racial profiling would be a benfit in the war on terror.  In my opinion, no.  Look at Israel.  If you fly on one of their planes or fly into or out of Israel, you are pulled aside if you do not look like a non-arab.   The US used racial profiling several times in its history and in some places racial profiling still exists today.   What benefit did it provide us?  None.  What problems came from racial profiling?  Plenty.  The first is a vast amount of mis-trust that is created because of racial profiling.  

The last major racial profiling happened during the time of the great war.  Of course everyone knows that the Japanese (Citizen or not) were barred from the West coast of the US.  Those who were living here were taken to internment camps.  The question that really has to be asked is how were the Japanese more dangereous in contrast to the Italians and Germans, who were were also at war with?  The answer is there is no difference except that it is harder to go house to house and pick out the Italians and Germans. 

Racial profiling is only used if the "suspects" or "culprits" are non-europeans.