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Suddenly, Racial Profiling Is OK
(from Bet.com)
Posted Sept. 25, 2001 — Before the Sept. 11 terrorists' attacks, it appeared that a racial profiling bill might have a good chance of passage in Congress. But not any more.
Now it seems that government leaders and much of the public think that racial profiling is permissible, if it will prevent more such attacks.
Some 68 percent of Americans say they would approve of law enforcement officials "randomly stopping people who may fit the profile of suspected terrorists," according to a Los Angeles Times poll taken just days after hijacked airplanes plowed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
A CNN/USA Today poll found that a majority of Americans would support a requirement that people of Arab descent, even U.S. citizens, be subject to more stringent checks before boarding an airplane.
Racial profiling is defined as law enforcement officials singling out people, typically African Americans, for questioning or stronger action based on their race, ethnicity or national origin alone.
It's been a controversial issue in recent years that has roiled some communities. A dozen states passed laws against the practice in recent years.
But the once widely criticized practice is suddenly more acceptable since Sept. 11. As a result, many Americans of Arab descent are complaining that they are being singled out by law enforcement officials for questioning.
Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat and dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, says he will continue to try to get his anti-racial profiling bill passed, despite the sea change in public opinion, according to wire reports.
He said it's important to prevent injustices against Arab Americans as well as Blacks.
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