Parting Thoughts on Racial Profiling

Sometimes we Americans are the most un-ironic people on the face of the earth.

Take the controversy over racial profiling.  There is some concern we may tumble into the abyss of totalitarianism if federal authorities question people who partake of our hospitality illegally -- and oh, yeah, who also may harbor ambitions of killing us.

Critics don't like the fact that the government is looking at single males from certain Islamic states, like the punks who murdered nearly 4,000 people on September 11.

Well, guess what?  The United States has been in the racial- profiling business for decades.  Trust me.  As a white male, I know. So do millions of blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Aleuts, pick a group.

It's official policy in this country to profile professions by race, organize social programs by race, apportion government benefits by race, construct congressional districts by race, and even schedule executions by race.

Look, I hate racial profiling.  It's a nasty, stupid business. But many of the people complaining the loudest about it today were the ones who insisted on creating this race-conscious mess in the first place.