The Impact of Belonging to a Certain Color or Class in Airports
The concept of belonging to a certain color, whether black or white or being affiliated with a certain class, whether rich or poor, has a significant impact on how people are treated and received in airports. The stereotypes persist, with the wealthy and white getting preferential treatment over the black and brown. The belief that blacks are weak still dictates how a person is handled. And if there are wealthy blacks and poor whites, the social status assigned to each is determined by their skin color. As a result, there is a direct association between the individuals' ethnicity, social status, and the care they receive at the airport. Racism has also led to the association of specific people, mostly the Muslims with wrongdoings. This has increased discrimination against them viewed as propagators of terror attacks.
Differences in Security Screening Based on Economic Class
Although security screening is, in fact, a necessary procedure in all airports, it has been observed in several instances that the poor are subjected to a more vigorous examining as compared to the rich. This has been cited as the main reason why the economic class queue is always longer as compared to the business class one. The difference in classes was evident during the TSA pilot test where those people, who regularly fly, of course, the rich, were to participate in a government public participation program while the poor were left out.
The Positive Impact of Racism and Classism
However, the debate on what exactly the meaning of racism and classism is quite relative. More so, even with a precise definition of the terms, a positive impact of both racisms has been recorded. For instance, since the airport attack in World Trade Center Towers on September 11, 2011, there has been an agreement that is profiling people depending on their class or race to enhance a good remedy for terror aggressions. The underlying assumption here being terrorists are more likely to attack people of a different race and class from them (NYLN, 2015). Addressing classism is also viewed as the only way to minimize poverty. Meyerson (2015) argues that appreciating classism is the only way to deal with the cycle of poverty associated with blacks. Racism, he cites, is the main reason behind the blacks being poor in the United States.
Racial and Class Profiling for Mitigating Illegal Substance Imports
Racial and class profiling has also been cited to mitigate issues of illegal substance imports. This has been considered fair, and an investigative object used to identify criminals. It is also argued that the segregation of people between their race and economic class has led to an improved economic status as most airlines seek to accommodate all people. This has necessitated the need for different airlines to accommodate the different races and classes. Currently, most airlines have struck a balance by having several airlines for the various persons.
The Ethics and Effectiveness of Racial and Class Profiling
Though screening and racial and class profiling is done in all the airports, America does not become any safer. The discrimination in no small extent communicates the war between the United States and the Middle East. More so an apartheid system is with time cropping up, and if not well managed, the differences in race and class will be a significant challenge in America with time. Racial and class profiling is not only unethical but also a violation of the individual's rights. The level of effectiveness of such profiling is unquantifiable and unproven. Therefore, it guarantees no positive feedback on either security or economic development.
