T H U R S D A Y , A U G U S T 1 1 , 2 0 0 5"New York" Magazine: Of Course We ShouldDo Racial Profilingby Michael in New York on 8/11/2005 02:01:00 PMColumnist Kurt Andersen weighs in on racial profiling by sayinghe gets nervous when a group of young black teens "incornrows and gangsta jeans" near him on the street (sorry,kids) and that a black man would be crazy not to get nervousin Brooklyn when he sees a pair of "bulky, buzz-cut,swaggering teenagers...maybe one of them carrying a softballbat." See, everyone racially profiles.Andersen says random subway searches in NYC are stupid andthat you have to racially profile.</p><p> Skip the grandmas, he says,and focus on people more likely to be bad -- ie.</p><p> Muslim youth.One of his arguments: when you're going after the mafia, yougo after Italians, even if you realize most Italians aren't in themob.</p><p> Problem: you'll be ignoring the Russian mob, Latindruglords, and other members of organized crime whose namedoesn't end in -ino.I don't reject racial profiling because it offends my pcsensibilities.</p><p> I object to racial profiling because it lets securitylull into complacency when facing anyone other than youngIslamic men.</p><p> What about the young, clean-cut militia member-- a former Marine -- disgruntled over gov't intrusion into hislife? What about the out-of-shape, middle-aged radical abortionfoe who once was a security guard and now takes pot shots atdoctors' homes and sets off bombs at clinics? What about theJewish settler who wants to get the world's attention over whathe sees as his gov'ts immoral abandonment of its people?Behavioral profiling is logical and makes more sense thanclosing your eyes and randomly stopping people for bagsearches.</p><p> But racial profiling is just another way of closing youreyes to the many threats that don't always look the way youexpect.</p><p> AmoLatino.comAds by Google Add New CommentYou are commenting as a Guest.</p><p> You may select one to log into: Logged in as Matthew YglesiasBlogging as a Vocation - Alyssa Rosenberg onbeing a writer: My experience has been, as DanielStrauss says, that people become artists, or in thecase of journalists, artisans (I ...5 minutes ago Ben SmithRegrets, sort of - Gibbs says Obama regrets hisGates comments, sort of, and blames he press: "Ithink he would regret if realized how much of an o8 minutes ago Daily KosSpecter, Sestak to Visit Netroots Nation - I amthrilled to announce that on Friday, August 14,Sen.</p><p> Arlen Specter and Rep.</p><p> Joseph Sestak will bejoining us at Netroots Nation 2009 for aPennsylva...16 minutes ago HuffPost PoliticsMike Elk: GE Moves Green Jobs To China - In thelast decade, GE has closed over fifteen factories inOhio and downsized numerous others.</p><p> Since 1980,employment in GE Lighting has dropped by 68percent.24 minutes ago FiredoglakeFDL Action: Public Option Whip Count – Day 30 -We've updated the whip count with a whole newround of folks from Mike Stark's interviews on theHill.</p><p> Sadly, many of our new additions fall into thecat...33 minutes agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S Show All AmoLatino.comFeedback - Ads by Google AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: "New ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/08/new-york-magazine-of-c... 1 of 57/24/09 11:49 AMA M E R I C A B L O G T V Visit our AMERICAblog TV site.see all 326 videos >I collect with vodpod Judge order San Diego toget rid of the seals Massive brawl in SouthKorean parliament Mormons may havesecretly baptized Medieval helpdesk withEnglish subtitles The Taco Bell dog hasdied In honor of SenatorDeMintNext 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: "New ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/08/new-york-magazine-of-c... 2 of 57/24/09 11:49 AMEzra KleinKirsten Gillibrand andthe Power of Primaries19 minutes agoThe TreatmentPaul Krugman Gets It(Shocking, I Know)1 hour agoWonk RoomThe WonkLine: July 24,20091 hour agoManaged CareMattersFresh Health WonkReview awaiting yourperusal3 hours agoWalker ReportSimple Test ToDetermine If Conrad'sCo-ops Are Worthless12 hours agoG AY P O L I T I C S Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S Blog RSS AMERICAblog TV RSS Twitter RSSTwitter Feed Get the blog by email: Subscribe me! 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