Originally Posted by PhlyingRPh
OK, the next time you are in a line anywhere, see if you can point out the "foreign male Muslims" that you perceive to be such a threat to you. Remember, you can only pick out foreign born Male Muslims. Whats that? They all look the same to you? Oh alright then, just pick out all Male Muslims. What was that? How do you know if all the brown peole you just picked out are Muslim? Well, it doesn't matter. They are not white and thirty years ago you wouldn't be seen dead in the same room as them anyway, so send them all to be screened. OK? Good. What now? Oh, what if these evil brown people find other wasy to blow stuff up? Hmm, hadn't thought of that. No, sorry, I dont have any gas chambers.
Profiling as you have described it does not appear to be particulary useful or indeed engender any loyalty from those being profiled. Perhaps if people suggested that you and your children should be singled out for extra attention everywhere you go based solely on your ethnicity, you might not agree with profiling either.
[self-edited to confirm with topic]
My ethnicity has not vowed to destroy the West in a clash of civilizations.
Dovster in an earlier post alluded to a procedure that would complement mere appearances. Sophisticated security procedures include a brief interview to give the screener an opportunity to interact the passenger to determine if the passenger exhibits behavior inconsistent with a regular traveler. This interview would add a few seconds to each screening, but would immeasurably improve the effectiveness of screening. If a young male had an obvious foreign accent typical of, say, Mid-Eastern Arabs, that person could be more extensively screened. A passport from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, or Egypt could be another cue. I realize that terrorists often obtain fake ID's, but this step is another small part of more effective screening.
Personally I don't care if foreigners are not fond of screening procedures. Better that foreigners get hassled than Americans.