The ACLU Is Out Of Touch With The 'A' Part

Yahoo! tells us that according to this poll, by an almost 2-to-1 margin, Americans are in favor of profiling based on physical appearance. It gives me some faith in our people. Last night I was telling a buddy how excited I am about having been profiled on my trip to/from France back in March. I was stopped at nearly every checkpoint, and given everything from a casual Q&A to a thorough personal search. And of course my baggage was usually opened and checked for bombs and crap. Oh, I am a dark, dark haired guy with a prominent, Jewish-born nose, and I was sporting a big scruffy black beard. I could easily pass for an Arab. As someone profiled based on appearance (the only criterion security personnel can possibly use for this activity), I can unequivocally attest to a complete absence of offense or disturbance. Keep in mind that my not being an Arab/Muslim has no bearing on why I was profiled. The idea is to conduct profiling based on appearance--not DNA or philosophy or even religious beliefs. My being profiled was just as potentially offensive as someone else being profiled who happened to be Muslim. What makes my being profiled even more impressive is that it occured in the Dhimmiland of France, and that I looked a lot more like one of the 9/11 terrorists than some Muslim in his full religious get up. So they were being so cautious as to stop me as a guy whose face said "Arab" but whose demeanor and attire said "Westerner." Three cheers.