Introduction
On January 9, 2002, Linda Chavez published the op-ed piece “Everything isn’t racial profiling” in TownHall.com. The Web site is a portal, owned by the Arlington (VA)-based Salem Web Network. Decidedly conservative, TownHall employs every Web 2.0 vehicle – links to talk radio, podcasts, photo and video galleries, cartoons, blogs and an e-magazine – to communicate its take on things.
Overview
It is New Year of 2002, four months after the attack by 19 terrorists on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and days since a Secret Service agent of Arab extraction was taken off an American Airlines flight for investigation. American rage at being attacked on their own soil is particularly strong in the Eastern establishment, the New York-Washington nexus. These feelings would culminate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. At that time and place, Chavez argues that racial profiling is not only permitted, it is prudent. This thesis is exemplified by such statements as, “But there are times when it makes sense to include race or national origin in a larger, criminal profile, particularly if you’re dealing with a crime that has already been committed or is ongoing and the participants all come from a single ethnic or racial group” (Chavez, 2002, para. 1)
Connection
This freestanding column by Chavez is an example of the exploratory essay primarily because the author wishes to overturn conventional wisdom that “racial profiling” is always a bad idea. To do this, she sets limits to what is incorrect racial profiling and when it is justified. It is clearly racial bias when police search every African-American leaving a building where a murder has been committed but witnesses describe a Caucasian-type perpetrator. In between is the example she cites of security officers following Blacks around shopping malls on the debatable (not necessarily wrong) rationale that rates of petty theft and shoplifting are higher among African-Americans. But stopping and questioning all Arab-looking men and women about to board a flight is completely justified, Chavez argues, because passenger lives and aircraft safety are at stake. Even Arab women are inconvenienced because females were implicated in many terrorist incidents around Europe at the time. Keeping a wary eye even on women is doubtless the case in Israel, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan to this date because experience shows that females have also perpetrated bombings and terrorist incidents. Chavez presses her case convincingly because she herself has been singled out when flying abroad; her Hispanic looks do not exactly conform to the blonde and blue-eyed stereotype of mainstream Americans, after all. Moreover, she makes the case for justifiable racial profiling despite being chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity.
Dialectical Examples
“The problem is distinguishing between what is permissible, indeed prudent, behavior and what is merely bigotry…it’s not always easy to tell the difference.” (Chavez, 2002, para 2). This is Chavez at her most forceful, arguing that not all acts of racial profiling are morally or legally wrong.
For lack of space, the second quotation is provided below.
Literary Genres
This is nonfiction of the opinion-editorial type. Chavez is all the more effective setting out her thesis by diving right into the heart of the matter, “Racial profiling is an ugly business and I have been on record opposing it for years. But I’m not opposed to allowing no, requiring airlines to pay closer attention to passengers that fit a terrorist profile, which includes national origin” (Chavez, 2002, para 1).
Conclusion
Chavez succeeds in both holding the attention of readers and justifying her viewpoint. For one, she immediately concedes what police actions are pure bigotry. Doing so immediately deflects critics who see violations of constitutional rights in everything that is done to minorities in this country. Secondly, the author cites real-life examples, including her own, to show why racial profiling must be balanced against the imperatives of homeland security and the need of the public for security “in their homes and persons.”
References
ChaveZ, L. (2002). Everything isn’t racial profiling. Web.