Racial profiling has become a major issue in today's American society both on and off the streets. Racial profiling roughly covers the grounds of an individual being searched, pulled over, arrested, or questioned by authorities based on race, sex, or even more so, ethnicity. It is a fact that African Americans are six to eight times more likely to be not just arrested, but convicted of a violent crime than a Caucasian. Should authorities simply ignore this because of complaints concerning racial profiling? The nineteen hijackers that were responsible for the World Trade Center destruction, and carried razor blades, were all "Arab" looking, Middle Eastern Men. Knowing this, it is just rational to keep this in mind when dealing with airline security.
Racial profiling happens to almost everyone, yet it seems that only minorities are complaining about this issue. Delta Airlines selected 15 individuals to be searched at random out of a whole flight, there were six young, Middle Eastern looking men, all traveling alone on that same flight. Though none of them were selected to be patted down or searched, six Caucasians were. Would anybody argue that racial profiling was committed against white people aboard that flight? It is extremely doubtful. However, on another flight there happened to be an Arab looking male carrying a gun who left a bag and book, among papers written in Arabic on his seat. Flight attendants, along with the Pilot himself were immediately skeptical and confronted the man. This man later went on to file an ethnic profiling complaint, even though there were means of concern for a search. If the same scenario occurred involving a white individual in place of a Middle Eastern man, it would be virtually impossible to say racial/ethnic profiling played any role in the event.
Racial profiling does indeed take place here in the United States, in some cases authorities have reasons to back up the action, and in other incidents it is unnecessary, for example; a black man should not be pulled over and asked to be searched just because he is black.
