Tim Wise: the Faulty Logic of Terrorist Profiling

Tim Wise: the Faulty Logic of Terrorist Profiling: "On the one hand, it is certainly true that 'suspicious behavior' is in the eye of the beholder. Furthermore, all available evidence suggests that law enforcement tends to 'see' dangerous or suspicious behavior more readily in the actions of persons of color than whites, even when the whites they ignore are more likely to be engaged in nefarious activity (possession of guns or drugs, for example). So on that level, searching folks based on their behavior may indeed lead to abuses, will not likley prevent terrorism, and should probably be considered as illegitimate as targeted profiling; but of course, it is not for fear of possible abuse that Sperry dislikes such searches. If anything, he would likely welcome them if such abuses could only be guaranteed.

Rather, Sperry thinks that searches based on behavior would be far less effective that his preferred method: focusing on people 'praying to Allah and smelling like flower water' Sperry suggests that suicide bombers douse themselves with perfume in anticipation of paradise, so this should be the basis for a search, but is he serious? With all the malodorous scents of a subway, how would one even be able to distinguish 'flower water,' in the first place? Or to tell it apart it from the overbearing scent of patchouli, slathered on the clothing of some white Deadhead in lieu of taking a bath for the past week?"