Profiling as Complex Philosophical Issue - Essay Example

What one says or does is sieved by the society through a very fine net of critical judgment, to analyze the flavor of racism, one-sidedness, and religion in it. In such circumstances, people especially those who have a close resemblance with the suspected group have to undergo immense emotional labor and have to adapt their actions and sayings as per the demand of the sensitive listeners and watchers. This does require an adjustment in the bandwidth of tolerance as (Varadarajan) has rightly depicted in his essay. People’s actions are shaped by their internal beliefs and are an outcome of their philosophies. They may or may not want to adjust their actions and reactions following the demand of the terrorism-phobic society. Emphasis on profiling is a result of the spread of terrorism which has, in turn, had many philosophical and spiritual impacts on society as a whole. Thus, profiling in itself becomes a fairly complex philosophical issue.

Profiling is not acceptable. Not at least in the current state of the social attitudes where people may show an immediate reaction to individuals whom they suspect! “Recall the fate of Cinna the poet, in the Bard's "Julius Caesar," who is killed by a mob that believes him, because of his name, to be Cinna the conspirator” (Varadarajan). Profiling is essentially a license to judge an individual and associate him/her with a specific group merely based on factors that are visible and/or noticeable. I believe that every individual in society is different even within his/her community and may not necessarily share his/her views and beliefs with the community he/she belongs to. Every human being has his/her ideology and philosophy of life and he/she takes decisions according to that. There may be little to no influence of the external factors on that. In light of this reality of life, it is irrational and inconsiderate to speak in favor of profiling. Profiling offers far more demerits than merits. It would be highly unwise of a potential criminal to commit the crime while being in such a getup that is conventionally associated with criminals of such like. Likewise, terrorists are too smart to show up in the suspected image. Therefore, profiling is in no circumstances, an acceptable practice because it is full of subjectivity and may lead the profiler to draw immediate and drastic conclusions about any individual.