Should we profile is a great questoin.
When people think of profiling, many will automatically draw an inference that it is a racist proposition. But is that really the case, or is it really an uber-leftist plea? I choose the latter and this is why: Everyone profiles whether they like it or not. When you see a physically fit person, wearing athletic apparel, we draw conclusions that they are an athlete or that sports is an important factor in their life. When we see a man with a t-shirt of a band and he's carrying a guitar, we can assume that he likes music a great deal. How does this fit in the criminal world? When you see 4 men entering a bank at 2:30 in the afternoon, standing in line, what is the first thing you think of? I think that they are getting ready to make a deposit or a withdrawl. Now, suppose those same four men are now outside of the bank at 2:30 in the morning, wearing ski masks and they are blow torching the door? Uh yeah, they're robbing it. You have all kinds of Probable Cause at that point. How about something more subtle: I'm standing gate duty on base and an Arab man drives up, shows his id, smiles politely and thanks me. What do I think of? Nothing, other than he's going to work. Now, a car making erratic movements pulls up to my gate. Its five clean-cut teenagers but they are acting rowdy and seem to have trouble answering specific questions about where they are going and what for. They appear anxious and nervous about my presence. Their suspicious behavior triggers a response in me to have a unit trail behind them for awhile. If there is no reasonable suspicion or probable cause to further engage the teenagers, then the unit stops trailing them. End of story. Race doesn't factor into it, attitude does. That's just how it goes and everyone does it.
On a side note, does anyone know how the Iranian military cleared mine fields during the Iran/Iraq war? Families would send their kids to the Irainian engineers with little gold keys tied around their necks. These kids would then run across a minefield and blow up. The key is supposed to be the key to paradise.
EOD, Iran style.
“If chance be the father of all flesh then disaster is his rainbow in the sky. And when you hear of, state of emergencies, sniper kills ten, youths go looting, bomb blasts school, it is but the sound of man worshipping his maker” -Steve Turner
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