Michael Leary - Racial Profiling

[Deskdiary]

Michael Leary has been accused of encouraging racism.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51596125

But he's right, isn't he?

When it comes to safety, what's wrong with profiling?

[Ellipsis]

What exactly have O'Leary's comments done for improving profiling or airport security?

[Mozz71]

//Why do you think ethnicity is relevant, Mozz//

I never mentioned ethnicity Naomi, I said Nigerians. Being a Nigerian national isn't dependent on race.

[naomi24]

Ellipsis //What exactly have O'Leary's comments done for improving profiling or airport security?//

I don’t know - and I doubt you do either - but that aside, it’s plain common sense to seek those planning harm from the most likely source.

[naomi24]

Mozz, ok, why do you think nationality is relevant?

[Mozz71]

Because you said 50% of Nigerians are Muslim. So surely, if lone, Asian men are to be profiled, so should lone Nigerian men? Surely they're as big a security risk as each other?

[Ellipsis]

Naomi, I'm surprised you're not admonishing O'Leary for making little children frightened of air travel.

> it’s plain common sense to seek those planning harm from the most likely source

Is that how profiling works then? Would that approach catch 100% of attackers?

[diddlydo]

How anyone can think that O'Leary's comments were anything other than racist and provocative I fail to see.

[naomi24]

Mozz, he didn’t say ‘Asian’. He said Muslim.

Ellipsis, I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about.

[Bobbisox1]

Well I’ll go a step further and say all burka clad women should be made to remove the part covering their faces ( not their head scarf as I appreciate to keep the head covered is part of their religion) but only seeing eyes ?

[naomi24]

diddly, //How anyone can think that O'Leary's comments were anything other than racist and provocative I fail to see. //

It's called common sense. The best way to find people intent on destruction in the name of Allah is to look in the most likely area.

[Deskdiary]

If you think his comments were racist, then you don’t understand what the word means.

[Bobbisox1]

Well Tuesdays my day to go out with pals, enjoy debating :0)

[Ellipsis]

> It's called common sense. The best way to find people

There you go again ... "common sense" and "the best way", when you don't have a clue how profiling works.

O'Leary's comments did absolutely nothing to improve profiling or airport security, quite the opposite, which leaves very few reasons for why he might have made them. One of those reasons is publicity for his own airline, which I hope has backfired as I'm certainly less likely to fly Ryanair now he's made it a bigger target and I hope others are too. Another reason is simple racism. I think he's more of a publicist than a racist.

[naomi24]

^Another one who doesn't understand the meaning of 'racism'.

[Deskdiary]

O’Leary was making a reference to Muslims. When did Muslims become a race?

[Ellipsis]

If you say so, naomi24. At least I know something about profiling ...

[naomi24]

Ellipsis, why do you object to potential terrorists being sought in the most likely place? What takes priority in your world? Public safety or religious sensitivities?

[Ellipsis]

naomi24, it's as I wrote earlier. Right now, this minute, there are over 10,000 flights in the air. That is always the case. More than a million people are always off the ground. The numbers are amazing.

In the last ten years there have been three successful airline bombings. There have been a few other non-terrorist incidents, like pilots going nuts or ground militia mistaking civilian planes for military ones and shooting them down.

When you compare the number of successful attacks to the number of flights, there are only three conclusions you can reach:

1) there aren't many attempted attacks
2) profiling and prevention is working very well
3) both of the above

O'Leary has added nothing to that.

[naomi24]

^That didn't answer my questions.

[Ellipsis]

Your questions are nothing to do with the OP ...