profiling

[Jonathan Lighter]

A friend's interpretation: "They were probably profiling each other. Each
one thought the other was acting suspicious."

JL

On Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 1:15 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: profiling
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The "affadavit of probable cause" filed in Florida states that Trayvon
> Martin "then walked back to and entered the gated community and was on his
> way back to the townhouse where he was living when he was profiled by
> George Zimmerman."   The he was shot.
>
> In this very formal, not to say official, case, "profile" seems explicitly
> to mean either "to suspect of criminality solely on the basis of appearance
> or behavior" or else "to suspect of criminality solely on the basis of usu.
> black appearance or behavior."
>
> SWAG: Current English is the only language in history that has a word for
> this concept.  SWAQ: If true, of what Whorfian significance is it?
>
> JL
>
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