Why we shouldn't "profile"

[Greg Meyer]

Please pause a moment, reflect back and take the following multiple choice test. The events are actual history. Do you remember the answers? Be sure to read to the end.



1. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred

by:



a. Olga Corbitt

b. Sitting Bull

c. Arnold Schwartzeneger

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





2. In 1979, the U.S. embassy in Iran was taken over by:



a. Lost Norwegians

b. Elvis

c. Waldo

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.





3. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:



a. John Dillinger

b. The King of Sweden

c. The Boy Scouts

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





4. In 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:



a. A pizza delivery boy

b. Pee Wee Herman

c. Geraldo Rivera

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





5. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:



a. The Smurfs

b. Davy Jones

c. The Little Mermaid

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





6. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a U.S. Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:



a. Captain Kid

b. Charles Lindberg

c. Mother Teresa

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





7. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:



a. Scooby Doo

b. The Tooth Fairy

c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





8. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:



a. Richard Simmons

b. Grandma Moses

c. Michael Jordan

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





9. In 1998, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:



a. Mr. Rogers

b. Hillary, to distract attention from Wild Bill' s women problems

c. The World Wrestling Federation

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





10. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted to a crash by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by:



a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote and Daffy Duck

b. The Supreme Court of Florida

c. Mr. Bean

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





11. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:



a. Enron

b. The Lutheran Church

c. The NFL

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





12. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:



a. Bonny and Clyde

b. Captain Kangaroo

c. Billy Graham

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40





Nope, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you? So,to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, Secret Service agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning former Governors.



The Gloria Aldreds and other dunder-headed attorneys along with Federal Justices that want to thwart common sense feel doubly ashamed of themselves. As the writer of the award winning story Forest Gump so aptly put it;



"Stupid is as stupid does."





<BR

 

[JEFF WHITE]

i see you have a little time on your hands,but hey,it looks like all the truth though!

 

[Larry Harp]

A couple of months ago my wife, who is the personification of Marge Simpson without the blue hair, travled from Okla City through Atlanta to Columbus Miss, with the head of her dept. who by the way is the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet and because he is from India, looks more like a "D" than an "A" "B" or "C". Well I probably don't need to tell the whole story but I will---OK you guess it, "D" lookalike walks right through while "Marge" gets searched from eyebrow to toenail at EVERY airport they go through. No problem--- I understand that if we only search the "D's" then they will get the A's B's & C's to do the dirty work for them, either wittingly or un-wittingly. But why is it so hard to make the policy that EVERYBODY "A's through Z's get searched EVERYTIME. At least until we get a handle on this thing, if we every do. I know that this will increase the load on the current system so maybe we might have to cut back on just one Pentagon toy and put some REAL homeland defense here at home, as liberal as that may sound.

Thank you for reading my rant for the day.

Harpo

 

[James D.]

I agree with you harpo. seems like things are getting turned around backwards. I guess if they searched a muslim extermist, that might offend somebody.



jd

 

[Anotherdink Scott Chambers]

forgot in 1996 kobar towers was bombed by ? killing US airmen



A. the French

B. the Brits(no way they gave us home brew)

C. U.S. citizens protesting our presence

D. suadi nationals whom we where there protecting their oil



Hey if they do the crime profile them I say and I hate saying that becuase some of them treated us well over there

 

[Rich Stern]

Greg, I'm with you 100%.



We need an all-out, code red dragnet for those Looney Toons characters before they do any more damage.

 

[Michael Snow]

So, according to the prevailing thought here, if we simply exterminated all Muslims, the world would be peaceful?



Hitler seemed to have similar views on Jews.



Maybe if we just exterminated all TERRORISTS, regardless of race, gender, and all that crap about "all men are created equal".



By posting such garbage, you show that you're no less of a terrorist.

 

[Greg Meyer]

No Mike,



But I am retired police officer and I have an insight into security and investigations that is unique. And, at the airports we are not allowed to "profile" even though any rational law enforcement officer would not usually be searching 75 yr old white haired ladies... But, they are doing it... And, they are not subjecting "profiled" types to greater scrutiny... In the name of "political correctness" we are denying the obvious... Right now, at the moment in time radical extremist muslims are our worst (or best) bet, as it is reality, the above post is composed of isolated facts but there is no question it is true.



If I am setting up a duck blind I'm not going to do it in Macy's basement. If I am looking for terrorists, why am I spebding time and resources on random searches of 75 yr old white haired ladies from Cleveland?



And, I did not ever suggest that we "exterminate" anyone. I said and continue to believe we have got to get real here... Let's pay attention and worry about the real threat... Not political correctness. Now, if you have a rational argument against "profiling", a perfectly valid form of security enforcement and a tool to prevent tragedies like 9/11... What is it?

 

[Mikel Stephens]

You are right. It wasn't alot of Marge simpsons that commited those acts. Unfair racial profiling can usually be caught and taken care of by a good program (training, leadership) but we should search everyone that looks like an extremist.

 

[Larry Harp]

I agree. I believe that racial profileling of AMERICAN citizens is wrong even if it may result in the capture of a bag of crack or a stolen handgun ect. That Black or Hispanic is an American and no matter how suspicious his behaviour he is still protected by the same constitution that protects us all. Like it or not. HOWEVER airport security is a differant subject. Now we're talking war for one thing and another a person forfets some of those constitutional rights if he wants to get on the plane. You don't have to fly. This is how the DEA has preformed profiling for years in search for smugglers. If you think Israli airport secutity police don't practice profiling think again. Check out the link below. But the thing is that the Isralis checkout EVERYBODY--- and do not apologize for the inconveneance. If you get a bad attitude in Ben Gurion Airport you probably will miss your flight. Airport security is a very serious problem which I do not believe is being taken seriously enough by the current management.

Harpo
http://travel.state.gov/israel_westbank_gaza.html

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Well I must look like somebody dangerous or something the last 4 times I have been through airport security I was pulled aside for the personal but always freindly search.

Now I am a 43 year old White Male 6'1" 190 lbs. Was wearing jeans,boots and button down shirt..I think it's because I look safe?? airports were Baltimore,Nashville,Miami,Pittsburg and Atlanta.

BF

 

[Glenn Covington]

And remember your Grandma and don't wear underwear (or socks) with holes in them when you fly. Was wearing shoes with steel shanks and couldn't get through the metal detectors recently at an airport. Had to take the shoes off and guess what, had holes in the socks. Thought the wife was going to kill me! No more holy socks for me when I fly!!

 

[Anotherdink Scott Chambers]

I'm not saying the Muslims are the problem its them that use there religion to reqruit people to comit a crime.

Im not saying exterminate nor is any one else I dont believe but you have to look at the nationality of those that wish to commit these crimes, primaraly people of middle eastern, asian, african descent thats just the cold hard facts. Why do you think we have green berets and marines aroud the philipeans (sorry cant spell) that group has ties to the al qada. So if we have to inspect their Visas or run a back ground check so be it. And if there here illegally then they need a swift kick in the butt out of the exit door back to where they belong, or if they are known to be a member of a anti american extremist group go through our court system. Like I hinted at alot of Saudis treated us good while I was over there and didnt have any problems in bhahran. I wish we didnt need the arab oil so we could just get the heck out of there but we try to protect our enviroment to the extent we do we cant even drill and actually use some of the oil we produce do to sulfur content so we sell it off to other countries.

 

[Larry Harp]

What's scary is they come here by the tens of thousands on student visas then many drop out of school and just meld into American socity. The government doesn't know who or where they are. If we go to war with Iraq, Saddam already has a retalatory force on our shores ready to go.

Harpo

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

We know that during WWII a lot of innocent Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps. That was just plain stupid and immoral. BUT.....I would say that placing additional attention on a race or nationality that seems to be credited with acts of terror.....let's be honest... MURDER....is not out of line. At the same time realizing that it is not a requirement that you are middle eastern to commit these acts. If a fox is killing my chickens, I don't go hunting wolves.



TOXIC

 

[Michael Snow]

My offense is with the original "multiple choice" test above. The FACT is, if you wanted to target a specific group of people, you could then create these questions to go along with it. My neighbor emailed me that test a few months ago and my opinion of him dropped a lot. I believe there was an American involved in the OKC bombing. Wait, was it two? John Walker Lindh is a WHITE American who is credited with being a Muslim extremist.



Profile all you want, that's not my issue. My issue is in someone raising the above questions in such a way (and no, Greg didn't invent said test) to turn people toward anti-Muslim views. Martin Luther King hoped his children would someday be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of thier skin. These Western Asians and far east Europeans are being judged by the color of their skin and by their religion. The brush we are painting this picture with is too broad. I have no problem with the hatred of evil and those who are evil. That subset of people would be violent, murderous people of any skin color, religion, or walk of life. While it's true that all Muslim extremists are Muslim, it is FAR from true that all Muslims are extremists. It's also far from true that all extremists are Muslim.



In a 5 second security screening, can the content of one's character be judged, no! Now, take your blue-haired grandmother and give her a nice story about how your fiancee' is expecting this package and the airline will charge you for a SEAT on the plane just to get this package to her and you don't have $500 for this package. The package is an engagement ring for her and a video of you proposing. You spent everything you have on that ring and you want her to be surprised, but you just can't afford "next flight out" airfare charges. You never thought they'd charge you over $20. My grandmother would gladly take that package to your fiancee'.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Point taken Mike. Terrorism knows no race, religion, or creed. If I understand you right, you are saying profile terrorism not individuals....I agree with that but individuals committ terrorism so you are back to square 1. If you have a more efficient way to identify and eliminate terrorists, I'm sure the government is all ears. Until someone comes up wit a better way it has to be person by person and let's face it there is some simularity among those who have perpatrated the acts. Hitler is a poor example because he attempted to eliminate a religion, not a direct threat. He murdered many of his own people by the way (German Jews). Good ol' Uncle Sam tried to eliminate my ancestors since they were Indian...as genocide goes, profiling is a weak inconvience to go through for safety. I Wolves are killing my sheep, I do not hunt Fox.



TOXIC

 

[Larry Harp]

This is why I say that everyone, not just the ones who don't look like us, should be screened. It is too easy to use some innocent looking "mule" to carry the bomb or whatever on board. As Mike reminds us, Tim McVie, Lee Oswald, Squeeky Fromm, John Hinckley Jr., all looked like the kind of people who should board an airplane or watch the president drive by with out question.

Harpo

 

[Greg Meyer]

I would love for everyone to be screened and prescreened and screened again... However, the US transportation system can not exist if it slowed to the pace of the Israeli system... So, compromises are made... Currently the chosen method is random intrusion and cursory baggage screening for all. Fact is, if we spent time only on those that matched a profile we could deter a significant sector just by letting that information out... Next add in some additional random screening and then you would have an efficient system... My adoption and re-publication of the "test" was to highlight by sarcasm the harsh reality that we are avoiding... We are culturally demonized by a large segment of the middle east. So we are a selected target by middle eastern extremist... Is that so hard to understand or admit... I am sure that in 1941 not all Japanese were adamant about hating Americans... But, they did attack us and we were at war with that nation. At that time they were the collective enemy, and we were theirs. We have moved on from that posture and we will again move on from our current posture. But, until then we must protect ourselves not by being politically correct but by being rational and vigilant.