an Americans and Latinos agreed" that racial profiling in some form was okay. However, she also reminds us that few polls have been taken since the week of the attack, and wonders if those numbers have changed after some of the initial shock and fear subsided.New Terrain of Racial ProfilingWhat gave the Driving While Black and Brown campaign immediate resonance with many supporters was that it sought to address the institutional aspects of racism. The goal wasn’t to fire individual police officers for unfairly targeting motorists because of their race, but rather to put an end to a whole system of law enforcement based on racial stereotypes. DWB’s success came in part because of its narrow focus on racial profiling while driving. This was a strategic decision to address the way that race was used by law enforcement ostensibly to fight the war on drugs. The war on terrorism is creating a similar dynamic. "The war rhetoric is giving license to law enforcement to engage in racial profiling, just as it did in the war on drugs. Both wars create a ‘by any means necessary’ attitude that encourages law enforcement to target people based on race," says Alexander. She also recognizes the need to consider broadening the DWB focus in light of the recent increase in profiling of those who appear to be Arab. "Many Arab American organizations were not involved in the fight against racial profiling as we defined it before September 11 because we were not addressing the form of profiling that effects those communities."Michel Shehadeh was profiled recently on his way to Washington, D.C. He was pulled out of line at the Orange County, CA airport, questioned, and searched. "It was done in front of everyone’s staring eyes," he says. "That made it a humiliating experience. They want to give a message to non-Arab Americans, that they’re doing something about ‘it.’ This has nothing to do with security." Although...
