Contra-Profiling

We missed this little snippet regarding airport pat-downs from Janet Napolitano. Ms. Napolitano is asked specifically about the treatment of Muslim women wearing traditional Muslim clothing. The only proper answer to such a question is "all persons subject to airport security procedures will be treated the same. We're not searching people because they are of this or that ethnic group, or because they're wearing particular clothing. The only relevant fact is that they wish to board an airplane and, to do so, they must submit to security screening."

But that's not what Secretary Napolitano says:

The implication is that the Transportation Security Administration is considering specific procedures to be followed with respect to screening traditionally-clad Muslim women. As a matter of pure logic, this could mean that such persons will be subject to special scrutiny, but we all know that's not what she's talking about.

Perhaps related, perhaps coincidentally, the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations recently advised Muslim women:

If you are selected for secondary screening after you go through the metal detector and it does not go off, and "sss" is not written on your boarding pass, ask the TSA officer if the reason you are being selected is because of your head scarf.

They are then advised:

Before you are patted down, you should remind the TSA officer that they are only supposed to pat down the area in question, in this scenario, your head and neck. They SHOULD NOT subject you to a full-body or partial-body pat-down.

The intent is obviously to provoke a "gotcha," and create an incident. That is, if the TSA screener responds "yes" or "yes, because I can't visually inspect your head and neck," any further pat-down that's not limited to the head and neck will be decried as religious profiling; targeting of innocent Muslims. Thus, CAIR does not encourage cooperation, but counsels provocation.

That a particular individual may have heightened scruples regarding being touched by a stranger can have no logical place in determining how airport security checks are performed. We crossed that line when we decided that what would in a different context be an assault is to be tolerated for security reasons. Put another way, if the TSA is allowed to grope the upper thighs of middle-aged white men, then TSA is allowed to grope the upper thighs of young Muslim women irrespective of their dress or religious scruples.

We set aside for another day the problem presented by the fact that a person presenting themselves at the security checkpoint as a young, female person wearing clothing indicating special religious beliefs (and therefore invoking special consideration) may or may not actually have any particular religious beliefs, and may or may not actually be a woman.  Not everyone wearing a habit is a nun.