Unit 6 Terrorism Essay

Racial profiling impacts the lives of African Americans, Asians, Latinos, South Asians, and the Arab communities (Persistence of racial and ethnic profiling in the United States: a follow-up report to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 12). Profiling based on race stems from racism, and has lastingly marked and structured the society of the United States (10). In some aspects, it is considered a violation of human rights; therefore, acts then started to develop (12). For example, the United States introduced the Subsequent End of Racial Profiling Acts to Congress in 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2009, but they

Security measures drastically increased after 9/11. 9/11 was an act of terrorism that would change the way the country handled privacy. Americans needed to voice their opinions after this happened and have their own rights protected. The need to protect individual rights is the utmost important aspect in a thriving U.S. society.

There are tons of cases of Racial Profiling. Now a days many people are being targeted or attacked by racial profiling. Laws are being passed but not every police officer is following up with it. And because of this more and more people are becoming irritated with the government system. Just because a particular person from a particular race does something wrong, everyone from that race is being discriminated by so-called other races. Racial profiling is getting worst by the years go by, it is becoming a hot topic. Ever since the major attack of September 11, 2001 many people have seen Muslims as terrorists. Racial profiling doesn’t just affect Muslims; it affects African Americans and Hispanics. Due to the action of just one individual, and from that individual affects the whole race behind it. It just doesn’t make that person look bad it makes they’re race look as bad as they do. That is why African American, Hispanics, and Muslims are being targeted. Racial profiling negatively impacts society.

Even the United States struggles with issues of racial discrimination despite being a society highly based on immigrants and multicultural diversity. On one hand, people frown on treatment based on race, whether that is on an individual or group level. On the other, people are tired and annoyed by the seemingly constant call of discrimination. All of these feelings culminate into the debate pertaining to the use of racial profiling. Likewise, there are some individuals that hold a certain level of acceptance in regard to racial profiling. However, what is lost in the process because of that acceptance? There are many components that need to be thought about in reference to the use of racial profiling. In addition, it can be viewed

Racial profiling occurs every day. It is a longstanding and deeply troubling national problem despite the claims that the United States has entered a “post-racial era.” “Racial profiling is patently illegal, violating the U.S. Constitution’s core promises of equal protection under the law to all and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Racial profiling affects a wide array of communities of color. More than 240 years of slavery and 90 years of legalized racial segregation have led to systemic profiling of blacks in traffic and pedestrian stops. Since September 11, 2001, members of Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities have been profiled by airline personnel, federal law enforcement, and local police.” (Racial Profiling, n.d.)

I maintain that taken alone, profiling is not morally problematic. However, when considering the history of the United States, the conditions needed to ensure that racial profiling remain unproblematic are such that it is not cost effective to pursue as a means of preventive policing, that is the harms outweigh any potential societal benefits. When discussing the policy of racial profiling there are two specific questions that need to be addressed. First, what are the actual problems with racial profiling in practice? Second, what are the conditions which constitute permissible cases of racial profiling? These are the primary questions I am concerned with, and through the course of this paper I will demonstrate the problematic aspects of the policy, as well as offer conditions where the policy can be reasonably accepted. Section One is focused on defining racial profiling, as it exists in the United States. After explaining the constitutive characteristics, Section Two develops a thought experiment intended to parallel the actual policy of racial profiling. By doing so, I will demonstrate in Section Three the theoretical problems that are embedded within racial profiling. In Section Four, I will explore the dominant philosophical opinions on racial profiling as presented by Mathias Risse, Richard Zeckhauser (2004), and Kasper Lippert Rasmussen (2006). Section Five

Since the attacks of 9/11, Muslim communities have been “targeted” by methods such as racial profiling, according to the Toronto Star (1). In America, the FBI have detained over 400 Muslim-Americans to bring them in for questioning. Although the claims of Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller say that these detainments have nothing to do with religion and ethnic background, many say this is, in fact, racial profiling. Some believe that it is appropriate, some believe it is not appropriate. How is it not appropriate? It is not appropriate because, one, it is a form of discrimination, if directed at one culture; two, not all people of Arabic descent agree with the beliefs of the common Islamic terrorist; and three, by

September 11, 2001, was a very tragic day for many people living in the United States. Millions of people were affected by the terrorist attacks. Since then airport security has changed as well as police techniques. When police are at work they use many techniques to decrease their suspect pools. Racial profiling is the most common technique used. The dictionary definition for racial profiling is “the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense.” This is the most controversial technique that our government uses today. Minorities are the most affected, being mistaken for a criminal because a person “fits the profile”, a common scenario in the United States. The issue with racial profiling is

At the beginnings of the twentieth century, is when the trend of “racial” profiling began, it is believed that this is deeply rooted back into the times of segregation and slavery. Criminal profiling was all based on the criminal activities and who was involved. Although, it is more commonly seen now, it began to grow evermore so following the tragic events of September eleventh. It evolved and transitioned into racially motivated arrests, detaining’s, and questionings both justifiable and unjustifiable. In the book, Good Cop Bad Cop: Racial profiling and Competing views of Justice in America, stated “In short order, however, as use of the term “racial profiling” became more frequent, the concept itself spread and became more diffuse and

America has a long history of perpetrating great injustices against minority groups during wartime. The author of “Freedom vs. Security” and chief Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria traces these acts of racial profiling all the way back to 1790 during the French-American War (Zakaria 308). Such injustices are usually “overreactions to a limited threat” (Zakaria 309). Zakaria identifies the current mistreatment of Middle Eastern-Muslims within the United States as a similar overreaction (Zakaria 309). In the war on terror, an unfair emphasis has been placed on the race and religion of terrorism suspects. This use of racial profiling as a tool in the war on terrorism is questionable at best. Alternatives such as smart profiling may be promising,

Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11 there have been an increase in the willingness to condone law enforcement and security actions based primarily on the color of ones’ skin. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it has been the official policy of the United States government to stop, interrogate, and detain individuals without criminal charges on the basis of their national origin, ethnicity and religion. Thus, the term racial profiling was coined. Society, however, has been ignorant to the true meaning of racial profiling and has sometimes misinterpreted the government’s continuous

Of course, racial profiling is a heavily disputed concept for a number of reasons, largely because the persons of that specified race are immediately put at a disadvantage. For example, “Membership in a particular ethnic or religious group is a valid marker for assuming and judging unobserved behavioral traits in another person, especially when we have no other information to go on at that moment in time” (Horowitz 2). Some people believe that it is a necessary precaution to racially profile citizens. According to Carl Horowitz, racial profiling is simply a way to ensure that threats such as terrorism are prevented. Actions such as inspecting Muslim citizens through their daily lives and

Racism and racial stereotypes have existed throughout human history. The radical belief associated by thinking the skin color, language, or a person’s nationality is the reason that someone is one way or another has become extremely detrimental to society. Throughout human existence it has sparked tension between groups of people and ultimately influenced wars and even caused slavery. Racism in America dates back to when Native Americans were often attacked, relocated, and assimilated into European culture. Since then, racism within the states has grown to include various other cultures as well. In the essays by Brent Staples, Bharati Mukherjee, and Manuel Munoz, they discuss the various causes as well as the effects that racial stereotyping can place on a victim and the stigma it leaves behind for the society to witness.

Since 9/11 people still differentiate if racial or religious profiling is still protecting constitutional freedom. In “Is racial or religious profiling ever justified?”, which appears in the April 18,2011, issue of the New York Times Upfront Magazine, Asra QA Nomani, an African American women who struggles for the soul of Islam, Hassan Abbas, a Professor at Columbia University, debate the issue, but only Asra Q. Nomani is successful. Asra Q. Nomani defends the right of racial or religious profiling. Using the example of 9/11, she determines that the racial or religious profiling is protecting the safety and security of the nation.

The government can implement many new methods to increase security, or better yet give off the image of better security which is what they have predominantly done, yet ultimately there will always be a way to bypass or come up with a new way to infiltrate that measure. The government so far has done a variety of things ranging from the closing of the Dulles airport (permanently), working with the FAA on new security measures, having pilots carry handguns, and a not so specific, profiling.