From a Washington Post article by Eugene Robinson:
TSA outcry is really a call for profiling
He goes through all the explanations of why we should give up our rights and just submit to a total invasion of privacy and then at the end...the bombshell.
If we only search people who "look like terrorists," al-Qaeda will send people who don't fit the profile. It's no accident that most of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers were from Saudi Arabia; at the time, it was easier for Saudi nationals to get U.S. visas than it was for citizens of other Arab countries. If terrorists are clever enough to hide powerful explosives in ink cartridges, then eventually they'll find a suicide bomber who looks just like you, me or Granny.
I hate to break it to him, but there are a hell of a lot more to profiling a person than just there race.
Did they buy their ticket with cash? Are they acting odd? There are numerous indicators that someone should receive extra scrutiny outside of just "looking like a terrorist".
Unless we get pass this idea that ONLY Arab looking guys are going to be pulled aside, we will just continue to have to endure the sideshow that screening is today.
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