...so I'll just piggyback on Tac's post.

I'm not against racial profiling because it's proven effective. If you want references I'll provide them, but I'm not going to do so unsolicited.

However, it's a very slippery slope and I can provide you with anecdotal evidence of harrassment that I think should have been prosecuted as a hate crime. The problem with racial profiling is that there ISN'T any oversight and there's really nothing to prevent a police officer from venturing into unmitigated harrassment. Further, because racial minorities typically have a very negativistic view of the criminal justice system and government in general there's really no reason to fear litigiousness or any form of repercussions because the victims are unlikely to expect satisfaction if they were to pursue it. Call it a form of learned helplessness.

I was going to school within 3 miles of the Pentagon on the day it was hit. I had to evacuate Arlington on the very last train leaving the city on the Orange line. I know what fear caused by terrorism looks like firsthand. That said, I'm smart enough to realize that the true terrorists out there are the run-of-the-mill criminals wandering our streets on a daily basis. I'm far more afraid of being mugged (or shot by a crazed DC-area sniper) than I am of further terrorist strikes. The federal government has trumped up the threat to wag the dog and the unmentioned side effect is that increased monies for anti-terrorism initiatives steals monies from ordinary law enforcement and other public safety initiatives. We're all less safe as a result.

Sad but true.