profiling

[James A. Landau <JJJRLandau@netscape.com>]

On Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:15:11 Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

>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.

I would give a SWAG that a similar term exists in Afrikaans.

In 1995 I had a coworker who was an Israeli and formerly employed as an airline security expert in several non-English-speaking countries.  He used the term "profiling" with reference to airlines from non-English-speaking countries, making it fairly certain that the languages of these airlines included a word corresponding to "profiling".

I also refer you to Classical Greece and its use of the word "barbarian".  Was that or was that not "profiling"?

    - James A. Landau

P.S.  From the unofficial style manual of the Mainland Regional High School (Linwood NJ) literary magazine:

Avoid like the plague like the plague.

Overrated is overrated.

Yes, cliches are true.  That is whay they are cliches.



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