Replies

A very good article. Thanks for the ping.

The author, however, is either a bit misguided or merely being conciliatory in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way. For instance:

Thus we reject profiling on the commendable grounds that human beings ought not to be treated as statistical probabilities.

Statistics tell us nothing about themselves. It is up to us to determine, as best we can, why those in a particular statistical group behave as they do. While at one time this may have been a difficult task with regard to muslims, today it has ceased to be so - especially when muslims themselves announce their intention to become statistics and explain their reasons for doing so.

We reject profiling not because it treats human beings as statistical probabilities, but because it treats individuals as stereotypical members of groups - e.g. young black men up to no good, people of Japanese ancestry with divided loyalties, illegal alien Mexicans leeching off our labor, muslims with blood in their eyes.

America's hyper-individualism makes it easier for a young black man to escape the life he was "born and bred for", for instance, and we cherish the ideas which provide such an avenue of escape.

Our mistake, though, is in not demanding reform of the group itself. We didn't make that mistake during World War II. Instead, we treated the group as a whole, and interned those whose membership made them suspect. As a result, many of that group accepted the challenge and took on the task of proving the group's loyalty to the United States.

This is entirely as it should be. I am of the opinion that other groups will do the same, if we will but demonstrate a conviction that our culture is indeed the best, and demand that foreign groups adopt our principles and conform to our way of life. I'm convinced that they will either (A) en masse reform and police themselves or (B) oppose us so openly as to leave no doubt that their entire group is our enemy (which would great simplify the situation as well).

Do we still have confidence and pride in our culture and principles sufficient to this task?