8O Wow, I'm probably going to be ducking stones after posting in this thread, but I've put on my Xena suit and am going in ... (BTW ... I am posting as a member, NOT as staff ... I won't be moderating this thread) ...
This is my
opinion. I'm sure I could Google studies and come up with all sorts of "facts" to back them, but truth is you can find info to back pretty much
any point of view from logical to nutso. The thing I most enjoy about forums is hearing opinions.
ITN ... I'm with you on this one, you big ole racist.
I freely confess, without shame, that I do find myself racially profiling people. Would I be more comfortable getting on a plane with a bevvy of Irish nuns than a group of Middle Eastern, male tourists? You betcha. It wasn't nuns or bunny huggers that flew planes into the Twin Towers.
Common sense and experience tell me that there are certain people whom I wish to avoid. Yes, if I see a JWitness coming to my door, I either duck out or prepare some preposterous story about being a devil worshipper ... and yes, it's based entirely on religious affiliation. That's biggotry. Period. But I stand by my right to treat strangers according to my experience with them.
On the flip side of all that, I'm not racist or biggoted on a personal, one on one level. I love talking to people of different cultures, faiths or lifestyles, learning how they think and why they believe as they do. Out of this, I have been able to arrive at some generalizations about certain groups of people. I call it educated opinion, but it could be called racism.
Irish folks are prone to drink. It's true. *shrug* I'm half Irish, I know. Cultural labels are often tacked onto people for good reason. Middle Eastern folks did some bad things on 911. It wasn't the Mormons out of Utah or the Jamaican gangs out of Toronto ... we know who did the dead. Is it fair to colour an entire culture by their extremists?
Ya, I think it is. Cultures spawn repeating characteristics in their peoples. That doesn't mean every single Canadian is polite and says "eh", but damn, you'll find that is frequently true. Frequently enough to be used to profile us.
If one sees a what appears to be a gang of young people on a corner, they're way more likely to cross the street than they would be if it were a flock of Hari Krishnas. Experience and survival instinct serve us well. We would be foolish to ignore it.
If people of a certain culture, say Middle Eastern, are going to travel by plane, they have to expect they will be looked at more carefully than the Jewish grandmother in line behind them. Is it fair? Nope. Is it prudent? Yes! I have yet to meet a Middle Eastern person I didn't enjoy talking to. I find the culture fascinating. It's unfortunate that they all get tarred with the same brush because of the actions of a group of extremists, but that's life.
Reality is that I'm more likely to be mugged by a crackhead than a computer geek earning $100 K a year so if I'm walking alone at night, I'm going to be far more wary of the former than the latter. It's fine to be politically correct, honourable to take the time to learn about other people on an individual basis, but it's foolish to be so invested in it that you put yourself in harm's way.
Ok ... I'm going to duck and cover now.
