Older article but is relevant to current national discussions.
Just what do liberals picture if you say "terror cell", "crack dealer" "computer hacker" or "Wall Street criminal"? Don't tell me thy don't profile.


Is Racial Profiling Racist? It Depends on Whether It Is Based On Known Facts or Statistical Generalizations

©2001 by Chuck Braman

If a rapist was described by his victims as a white man, no one would consider it racist if the police limited their search for suspects to white men, a racial group.

If the arsonist of a ski resort was known to be a member of Earth First!, no one would consider it un-American if the police limited their search for suspects to members of Earth First!, an ideological group.

If the murderer of a nightclub owner was known to be a member of the Mafia, no one would consider it unfair if the police limited their search for suspects to members of the Mafia, a criminal group.

But if thousands of Americans are mass murdered in an act of war by a group of Muslim terrorists from the Middle East, police and security personnel are accused of being racist, un-American, and unfair if they limit their search for suspects to Muslims from the Middle East.

Why?

Incredibly, because of a semantic error. The public is confusing the above method of criminal profiling, which is uncontroversial because it relies on known facts about specific criminals, with a different method of criminal profiling, which is very controversial because it relies on statistical generalities concerning criminal activity as a whole.

The statistical approach to criminal profiling is usually referred to as “racial profiling.â€