What Does A Terrorist Look Like?

How do you feel about profiling terrorists? After flying to Florida via Philadelphia yesterday, my son made an interesting statement. “I thought that guy sitting across from me was a terrorist,” he said. Good thing the ACLU didn’t hear him.

Kids don’t know about political correctness. Many persnickety people would scold a child who observed the common appearances of people who commit acts of terror. I am not persnickety. In fact, even though he made the comment long after the flight, I knew exactly which passenger my boy meant. I had considered the same thing.

According to some folks, that makes me a bigot of some kind. I guess I am. I am morally opposed to terrorists and really struggle with that whole “love your enemies” command when it comes to those who wish to murder me, my family, and my country. I think they’re terrible humans and the world is better off with them dead. Forget water boarding by the way, chop off their fingers and toes one by one if such torture will result in information that will prevent future attacks and save American lives.

So I guess the part that makes me terrible is looking at a person of Middle Eastern descent and pondering whether or not he’s a terrorist. Yes, I said he. I have never looked at a Middle Eastern woman, child, or senior citizen and thought the same thing. I don’t assume these men are planning to kill me; I just pause to consider it. Especially when I’m on a plane and have been selected by a flight attendant to sit next to the emergency door over the wing in case we have to evacuate the passengers.

So do I think that all Muslim men are terrorists? Of course not. I just recognize that all the terrorist attacks over the past twenty years have been carried out by Islam extremists. To those of you who like to search old ladies at the airport, calm down. I also get leery of anyone throwing off a Timothy McVeigh vibe. I understand the Fourth Amendment protects folks from unreasonable search and seizure. Define unreasonable. America is unreasonable by coddling killers and offering constitutional rights to people who aren’t citizens under that document.

We can all take off our shoes and belts in security lines without messing up our schedules. You may know that you’re not a terrorist, but security officials do not. Anybody–white, black, female, old–can be recruited because they’re not obvious, but let’s not pretend that certain people aren’t much more likely to represent a threat.

My kid didn’t need to have conversations about racial profiling or indoctrination from me or a teacher to recognize the obvious. Terrorists usually look the same. There is nothing wrong with using your brain to recognize that basic fact.

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What do you think?