¶ … government have the right to racially profile?
We all stereotype others to some extent or other. These are natural, evolutionary ways of perceiving others, namely categorizing them into particular groups. Stereotypes are often erroneous, since people, are, after all, individuals rather than categories, and, therefore, stereotyping is often considered a subjective negative thing to do. On the other hand, it is argued that sometimes, people in positions of authority may be compelled to stereotype and to categorize certain groups for the sake of public security.
One such instance is racial profiling, perpetrated by the government and by, for instance, airport security, particularly when applied to people of Middle East extraction in order to ascertain that they are not carrying bombs or other harmful weapons on their person. On the one hand, the political times warrants this racial profiling; on the other hand, instances such as Timothy McVeigh have taught us that exceptions occur and that categorization can, therefore be subjective and unfair.
Summary: Pipes
Daniel Pipes asserts that racial profiling is in order. This is particularly so since, even though, exceptions...
This may not mean that Islam itself is at fault; indeed it is Islamism, rather than Islam that instigates militancy.
Islamism is a comparative recent phenomena. Castigated by some aauthentic Moslems, fundamentalist Islam has vowed war against the United States and the West and have, in doing so, committed lethal acts that have killed thousands of innocent individuals. This includes women and children amongst numerous other citizens that have had nothing to do with them. For our safety then, Pipe concludes, racial profiling is a necessity and should be done via three steps: preventing Isalmists from entering the U.S.A.; monitoring them, within the perimeters of democracy, within USA; and deligitimating extremists.
Summary: Harris
By categorizing, we often make the error of including certain people into a certain category and, consequently, mistreating them. That this is so was seen by the way we treated the Japanese living in America during the Second World War. More so, not only are such actions detrimental to the other but they are also harmful to…
