The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[Strangler Lewis]

The problem with outrage against the law is that it will lead to a push-back where Arizona thinks, "You know, all we wanted was to be able to campaign for reelection by saying we voted against the Mexicans. But you want racism? Here we go."

I don't get that upset about racial profiling. It either makes sense, or it doesn't depending on the magnitude of the problem. It didn't make sense with internment camps. It doesn't make sense to be randomly strip searching white grandmothers at airports. It doesn't make sense to be randomly hassling middle eastern passengers either given the rarity of terrorist incidents. Whether it makes sense in Arizona depends on the ratio of illegal brown skinned people to legal ones measured against the perceived harm caused by illegal presence, which, apparently, is not much since the crime has been declared a misdemeanor.