Quote:
Originally posted by Sidd Finch
The risk with all these profiles you've developed is that they either become a simplistic, and too narrow, crutch ("search all Arabs" means "let the shoe bomber through") or they become so broad as to be meaningless (the "drug dealer" profiles the DEA used to have were so broad that pretty much any person flying alone, and some people not flying alone, fit them).
You can say race would be "a factor." But if you believe that everyone of Arab descent should be searched, then race is not "a factor." It is dispositive, at least in one direction.
The other question is one of resources. What % of travellers would have to be searched with this "factor"? Could the TSA handle that -- and still spare the resources to search other people who should be searched, and apply other meaningful security measures?
I do believe that race should be considered, but I don't know how that works in practicality.
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Again, no one ever said that it should be the only factor (or the dispositive factor). The issue is where they should be allowed to use race, national origin etc. as one of the factors. Of course they should. The ACLU
doesn't think they should be allowed to.
Of course the height of stupidity would be to not search a certain group at all because they don't fit a profile. You always have to have random searches for everyone. But no one has ever suggested that.
But you can't give everyone that wants to get on the plane an anal cavity search (eventhough Taxwonk thinks that is a good idea)but when deciding how far up the search process you go (going through the bag all the way to all the way up to being thoroughly interrogated by the police in separate room) these people need to be able to use all the tools at their disposal.
