There has been a lot of talk lately about profiling and whether it works or doesn’t; whether it’s right or wrong; or whether it’s legal or not. So, I thought I would put it my two cents.

In late 2002, I was flying back from San Antonio with my son, and he got randomized. For those of you who don’t fly, when the airline prints your ticket, it’s coded with a symbol designating whether you are to be searched or not. Now, this policy is good, because it’s supposedly completely random and free of controversy. So anyway, as we are walking through the gate, the flight attendant stops us saying, “We have to search him.” I asked my son jokingly, “Did you hide something in your SIPPY CUP?” So, my son, who was 14 months old at the time, was searched from head to toe! At the time, I didn’t think about it too much, because it was still relatively early after September 11th, and any deterrent was good thing. But the more I think about it today, the more I realize how idiotic that policy is. Don’t get me wrong, I think random searches are a good thing, but shouldn’t we focus our attention? When was the last time you heard of a 14 month-old homicide bomber? The typical terrorist is not a 76 year-old lady from Des Moines.

Here’s a little history lesson:

April 18, 1983: A member of Hezbollah, a Lebanese group of militant Islamic extremists, killed 63 people when he rammed a truck full of explosives into the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.

December 12, 1983: An Iranian backed group of militant Islamic extremists killed six and wounded more than 80, when it bombed several locations in Kuwait, including the US and French embassies.

September 20, 1984: Members of Hezbollah killed 24 and wounded more than 50 went they bombed the US Embassy in Aukar, Lebanon.

June 14, 1985: Members of Hezbollah hijacked TWA Flight 847, held the hostages for 17 days, and killed one American.

December 21, 1988: Two Libyan nationals were later convicted of bombing Pan Am flight 103 which killed 270 people.

February 26, 1993: A Kuwaiti member of al-Qaeda, killed six people when he detonated a car bomb in the underground garage of the World Trade Center North Tower.

October 12, 2002: Members of the militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiya in Indonesia killed 202 people at a nightclub in Bali.

Does anyone see a pattern here? Not only do I think that profiling should be legal, but it should be mandatory. I am not a mathematician, but it seems to me that there is a real high probability that the next terrorist attack will be committed by militant Islamists of middle-eastern descent. That’s not racism, that’s just fact.

If I was carrying a backpack outside an abortion clinic in the Deep South, I would expect to get stopped and checked, because, thanks to Eric Rudolph, there is a higher probability that a white male pro-life southerner will blow up an abortion clinic. If I pulled up in front of a federal courthouse in a large moving van, I might expect to get searched. Thanks to Timothy McVey, there is a higher possibility that a white male southerner might blow up a federal building.

So what’s the problem with profiling? We all do it. If you get on a bus, and someone of middle-eastern persuasion gets on behind you, you become more aware. If you see someone of middle-eastern descent is loitering around a national landmark, you watch that person a little closer than someone else. We all do it. It’s not racism; it’s personal protection. It’s not racism; it’s just common sense. If I happen to get stopped and searched, I will oblige willingly. I don’t have anything to hide, and I certainly don’t want anyone to get hurt.