IB Students-Help your participation grade
Great article that addresses some of the topics we covered yesterday in our graded discussion.
"FBI officials say they have helped safeguard the nation from another attack."
posted by Mr. Carlisle at 11:10 AM
4 Comments:
It does seem unconstitutional for the FBI to target groups based on race, but if their job is to look into and stop terrorist attacks I'm not sure how else they would do their job when it is commonly groups of the same race. The article said the FBI also profiles Russian, Chinese, and Black Panther organizations and I think the FBI should profile all suspected groups equally, which they probably don't and concentrate on Muslims or Middle Eastern people which I think needs to stop.
10:49 AM
The ACLU has an interesting take on the matter. Not their argument claiming that it is abusive, mind you (people seem perfectly willing to let that slide as long as the process works). But rather, their argument stating that it is ineffectual. The ACLU argues that the practice of racial profiling supplants the identification of suspicious behavior.
The FBI claims that racial profiling aids them in dismantling terrorist plots. They also claim that Michigan is prime territory for said terrorist plots to form. They keep a closer eye on Michigan and that helps prevent further terrorist attacks. I'm amused.
12:22 AM
The FBI does seem to be overreacting a bit to 9/11. I think profiling is okay to a certain degree. Like Haylee said, the FBI should profile groups equally. Otherwise, it wouldn't seem just.
4:25 PM
Are we racist? Let's make a hypothetical. Imagine that everyone living in America (a melting pot of race) has spontaneously become a vampire. Would it be wrong for the FBI/airport security to suspect all Americans of being vampires? Of course not. Everyone from there has become a vampire. Similarly, would it be wrong to suspect Middle Eastern people as terrorists? No, because we know that LOCATION has a higher extremist influence (just like now my hypothetical american had a higher vampire "influence"). Thus, to stop someone because they came from Iran is not a matter of racism (because we think people with X skin color will inherently be extremists) but of external influences (i.e. culture of where one lives). Equal profiling ignores this reality.
Also, moral absolutism is bad...(paradox).
#participation
11:30 AM
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