I’m so sick of the gripe that the new Arizona immigration law will result in “racial profiling” that I could scream. Of course it will. And why shouldn’t it? And how could it not? A cultural and racial profile describes where the problem is coming from so the situation can be remedied. It’s the smart way to go, unless, of course, you don’t really want to fix the problem. And the problem at issue in Arizona is people illegally crossing the southern border with Mexico — and it happens that virtually 100 percent of the people doing so are not Swedes or Eskimos. And the likelihood that Arizona police might catch an illegal Scot in the state is pretty much zero, so they don’t need to keep an eye peeled for people who sport a kilt.

Every day law enforcement work involves profiling. If you have a string of bank robberies and the witnesses in each case report that a short, red-haired woman with a limp was the main suspect, and someone matching that description was seen driving away in a red Volvo, would the cops check out everyone equally or would they look for short, red-haired women who limp and drive red Volvos? I think you know the answer.

My apologies, but Arizona didn’t create the problem. And, in response to the civil-liberties types, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer should tell that crowd that, until the border is properly sealed minus lawful entry points, they should either hit the bricks or come stand guard at the border and stop all people equally from coming in. Then even they might see a pattern.

Mike Gordon

Albert Lea