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Re: Thinking out loud
On Fri, 12 Oct 2001, W. S. wrote:
> Hey, I'm sorry, really didn't want to offend anyone. But I am angry with
> terrorists and freeloaders in this country. Who by chance. Read my
> words, by chance happen to have a different skin color than i do.
Y'know, I have to say I don't have a problem with the *idea* of so-called
"racial profiling", if all it means is that we're not going to blind
ourselves to the fact that people of Arabic descent are more likely to
pose a threat than people of, say, Swedish descent. It doesn't mean you
assume innocent people are guilty, it just means you are more likely to
check out suspects who happen to resemble the sort of criminal you are
watching out for. (And for whatever it's worth, I have come across at
least one Arab-American pundit who has defended this practice.) The
problem is ... not all terrorists are Arabic. The FBI's most-wanted list,
which was released last week, happens to include several Muslims who
happen to be of African descent. And it is conceivable that terrorists
could be recruited from other Muslim nations, in the Pacific, say.
Having said that, I would also have to ask whether you are angry with
terrorists and freeloaders who have the *same* skin colour as you -- for
example, anyone hiding in America who has connections to the IRA.
--- Peter T. Chattaway --------------------------- peter at chattaway_com ---
"I detected one misprint, but to torture you I will not tell you where."
Winston Churchill to T.E. Lawrence, re Seven Pillars of Wisdom
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