Rightwords... Prudent Conservatism

What is the problem with racial profiling, and a national ID

If dark-skinned people commit crimes far more often than whites, why not use their profile to stop them?

If ME-looking people blow up things more often than anyone else, why not use profiling to stop them, especially at airports and high-profile facilities. They have earned the distinction of being criminal and of hiding behind their fellows.

If their fellows don't want to be questioned, they could help to put their criminal members in jail, and thus reduce the rate of crime--and profiling too.

I find it insane not to use all of the legal tools we have to catch criminals and terrorists, even if it sometimes inconveniences law-abiding citizens.

The same goes for requiring us to carry proper identification at all times. I'd say we do carry ID 99.8% of the time anyway, because of the need to have a driver's license with you when driving, so by habit the license is in your rear wallet or in your purse just about all the time. Most people in the US have other ID as well, such as an employment badge, a credit card, and Medicare card or Social Security card.

It isn't the problem of carrying ID, per se, that has some nuts upset; it is the problem of having to show it on demand to police. They think of it as an invasion of privacy and a diminishing of liberty as in a police state. Too bad, I say. If the powers in control had managed the borders properly, we wouldn't need such measures, but they didn't do it, so we must give up some slice of our freedom to fix the problem. Tough!

When I think of the millions of undocumented people wandering around in the US, a fairly high percrentage of whom are criminals, it is quite evident to me that we need to do something to correct that problem, such as to have a valid ID with you, and to allow the police to ask for it if they suspect you are not here legally. No ID should mean a trip to the station to find out your true status, and if you are an illegal, it should mean your deportation forthwith.

Labels: Nationwide ID, Racial Profiling

# posted by Mannning @ 3:19 PM