Political correctness and the Fort Hood tragedy

For a number of years Americans have become more politically correct, more sensitive as it were. Some of this has had a positive effect. Many really insulting terms have all but vanished from conversation. We tend not to make fun of people who are socially or physically disadvantaged, at least not publicly. However, like any social trend, political correctness has moved beyond reasonable civility to something approaching the emperor’s new clothes.

A case in point is Nidal Milik Hasan, the army psychiatrist who killed 13 and wounded 29. All the warning signs were there. His anti American comments and his odd behavior were noted by many, yet nothing was done. It would have been politically incorrect to profile him because he was a Muslim, that he might be a terrorist or just noting that he might be dangerously disturbed. As a result the military experienced a tragedy that could have easily been averted.

What will be the next step? Given human nature, it will be both rationalization and denial or over reaction, either of which would be a mistake. Those to whom political correctness is almost a religion will caution that this was such an aberration, that it should be dismissed as something unpredictable and never to happen again. The knee-jerk, quick to anger folks will be ready for an anti Muslim witch hunt. Somewhere between the extremes lies reason.

Social problems tend to have faces and don’t occur in a vacuum. Obviously, post menopausal women, old men in suspenders and toddlers don’t engage in gang activity. Therefore, politically correct or not, we tend to watch certain groups of young men. By the same token, when worried about radical Muslim, anti American activity, we don’t waste our time looking at girl scouts, Southern Baptist choir members or soccer moms. Yes, looking at certain people as more likely to be involved in these things is profiling, and profiling used to harass, intimidate and persecute an entire demographic group is wrong. However, when a society is subjected to particular types of crime, a certain cautious watchfulness, a less hysterical profiling, is reasonable and at times necessary.

In the real world, you don’t want to arrest everyone who looks like an Arab, but if several men in masks, holding a crate of dynamite, are standing in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge, you might just want to ask them what they’re up to.