I’m confused as to how this incident “paid off.” Did terrorists get caught? Were criminals exposed? Were people doing innocent things left unbothered?
Where’s the reward?
The reward is knowing there is another human being on the other end of that telephone. The reward is knowing that they gave a sh*t to call back. That if they were meaning to do harm the right people knew about it.
The benefit is a slightly better sense of security for the first time in a while.
Yeah, that’s what I was wondering. Your friend reported a couple of people who looked like Arabs, and who were acting suspiciously. Turns out, they weren’t terrorists. They weren’t even Arabs. Isn’t this a better example of “Racial profiling wastes time and resources?”
“Racial profiling” is a made-up word or concept that is by definition an odious practice. Of course “racial profiling” is wrong, because it cannot be anything else.
What is at issue is best termed “criminal profiling” of which race or any other characteristic is a component. Nobody argues that criminal profiling is wrong (I hope) There is no point in worrying about this sort of thing, in fact - it is very likely that “evil doers” will resort to utilizing folks other than swarthy Ay-rabs, in order to dodge detection or suspicion.
So yeah. Better safe than sorry, esp. in this day and age.
That is not racial profiling. It was drummed into my head by watching some tape from a deputy AG. Criminal profiling is a valid tool. Race can be part of a criminal profile. Racial profiling is using race as the only or main factor in determining suspicion (and it’s illegal). Ignoring race as a factor is just as stupid as using it as the only factor. The main thing that made you suspicious was their actions. Their possible ethnic background need not be ignored.
ETA: yeah, what he said.
Who might take pictures of a nuclear power plant? Ever seen San Onofre in California? Two big titties with nipples on top!
And smack dab on top of a pretty damned good surfing beach, too…
And holy shit! It’s clothing optional! I never knew that! The Marines at Camp Pendleton must love that, especially the helo pilots… 
But they weren’t meaning to do harm. So your actual security was no more increased after this incident than it was before. (How secure were you “sensing” 6 years ago?)
As far as I can tell, from your description the FBI harrassed a film crew. Maybe if I really, really, really hated Spanish cinema I’d be able to see the profit.
Had they been terrorists and this incident made the evening news - as a foiled plot - people would be complementing the FBI’s response and happy someone called it in.
I fail to see your logic.
The reason the FBI called her back is that she would likely see these guys again, since they were gathering information to shoot a movie, and would presumably be around for a while. They didn’t want her to do repeat calls so they explained why the behavior was not suspicious.
I too am somewhat, minimally, assured that a citizen can call the FBI and have an investigation launched with results obtained in a week. At least citizens near High Threat Targets like a nuclear plant, petting zoo or popcorn factory.
As a somewhat androgynous, brown-skinned person who often finds herself in off-road environments, I’ve been profiled as “suspicious”. I was once working out in the Hackensack Meadowlands for my graduate research when a guy drove up and started interogating me. He wasn’t law enforcement (didn’t identify himself as such), I wasn’t on anyone’s land, and I wasn’t doing anything particularly creepy. But the guy was so intense in his questioning that I was too scared to work after he drove off (especially since I made the mistake of telling him my name*). I went home and told all of my coworkers what happened, just in case I “disappeared”.
No, I didn’t feel safer knowing Joey Butt-in-Ski is driving around looking for “people who fit the profile”. I felt like I had been labeled as the enemy just because I don’t look Nordic, and it hurt.
*Before he drove off, he told me he was going to “check out my story”. I don’t know why, but that made me afraid.
And that’s why they pay 90 year old Hispanic women to take pictures for them.
I don’t know that they are doing that, but there’s no shortage of people that would be happy to take pictures of power plants or whatever and not ask any questions for a couple hundred bucks.
It would have frightened me as well Monstro. The main reason I wrote the OP was to see if what happened was kosher with the many peoples of many backgrounds on these boards. And was in no way a dig on anyone of any skin tone.
Profiing in my opinion is heinous in it’s core, even a seemingly level headed person like myself has taken a second look at the situation described. The behaviour in itself was odd, but I cannot find it in myself to think she did anything wrong by calling and reporting what it was she thought she saw.
And had that been the real story, then yes, racial profiling would have paid off.
But that’s not the story, they weren’t terrorists, nothing productive toward keeping you safe happened. Racial profiling did not pay off in the story you told. Your thread title did not fit the contents of the OP.
Given the actual outcome, a better title would have been “racial profiling wastes the FBI’s time and distracts them from exploring leads found through more legitimate methods” or “racial profiling stalls filmmakers.”
Perhaps the title is misleading, though your assertions only seem to hold up because it was found out there was nothing wrong AFTER the fact.
Again, had it been something more terror orientated it would have been a different story. Rather safe than sorry, ya know?
I do not agree with your opinion. Profiling is not heinous. It is a tool. It can be misused like any tool. You can use a hammer to help build a house. You can also use it to bash someone’s head in. And like the hammer it can’t be the only tool in the box. You would build a shitty looking house if all you had was a hammer. Profiling solely on the basis of race is wrong, illegal and ineffective as a law enforcement tactic. Criminal profiling can be quite helpful in focusing resources where they are needed as long as it is not used in place of actual investigation and intelligence. As part of criminal profiling law enforcement should not have to put on blinders as to race. If the intelligence gathered points to meth production being in the hands of the Hell’s Angels in one area, you’re not going to look for black guys. If Bloods are responsible for crime in a neighborhood, you shouldn’t have to pretend to look for white guys. It’s a tool, it all depends on how you use it.
There seems to be a bit of confusion about what ‘racial profiling’ is. Racial profiling does not mean investigating suspicious people who are also Arabs; it means investigating people just because they happen to be Arabs.
No the confusion comes from the fact that people use the word profiling but don’t understand there is a difference between racial profiling and criminal profiling.
I reported this post to ask for a title change, because though I think Loach has a good point, in that the title is too misleading.
I won’t change the title; you expressed concern that your friend was racially profiling in the OP. But, seems to me, that that led to a good start on a GD thread here.
Moved from IMHO to GD.
Thanks Frank - agreed.