by Motivation Expert, Jim Cathcart
“Profiling”
What do you think of when you hear that word? Racial discrimination or intelligent decision making?
The media has demonized this concept over the past decade or so. They’ve made it popular to believe that one should never use profiling as part of decision making. I say, that is a foolish point of view. Absurd in fact.
Profiling; the act of identifying the patterns of difference that separate individuals into general groupings, is a vital life skill. I said “vital”, meaning that we cannot get through life without it. It is as natural and useful as thought itself.
When you look at a forest, it is in your best interest to distinguish between deer and bears, squirrels and rats, rabbits and weasels. That’s the only way you’ll know the appropriate reaction to each: threat or not. The same process takes place as you walk through a crowd in a public place. You identify the people who look threatening and those who don’t. And you should do this. It is in your best interest to do so.
Security personnel at political events have to use profiling to speed their identification of threats. If they looked at the bulk of the crowd in the same way they looked at the scary looking people then much time would be wasted and threats might be identified only after it was too late to deter them. The same applies to you and me.
Everyday intelligence demands that we develop the habit of identifying patterns, “profiles” if you will. The more we recognize patterns in behavior, in appearance, in language use, and in movement, then the more we will know about who to move toward and who to avoid. Our schools teach us to recognize patterns in all parts of life, mathematics/grammar/physics, so that we can predict where the threats and opportunities will be.
So, let’s get over this hyper-sensitivity to the concept of Profiling. It is the only efficient way to use our time, attention and resources wisely in any situation. Now, having said that, I also want to acknowledge that just because you look like you’re carrying a gun or angry at the world doesn’t mean that it’s so. So, even though I might identify you as a “likely” threat it doesn’t justify my treating you as an actual threat, convicted before found guilty. But it totally justifies me in paying closer attention to you until I’m sure that you’re not a threat.
The essence of intelligence is making distinctions, noticing more. So let’s encourage our security personnel, our law enforcement officers, our military and even each other to use our Profiling skills to the optimum, while remembering that appearances aren’t realities. They are simply indicators of likely realities.
Every person in America is innocent until proven guilty under the law and that is how it should remain. So, if you belong to a minority that has a track record of violence or crime, then I sympathize with your dilemma, but I’m still going to be more cautious around you than I am around others. It is a reality of life that how we look and what we do sends messages to others as to what we are probably like. Our choices tell others what to expect from us.
And now I have a personal request. Last week I traveled from Barcelona to Los Angeles. In doing so I went through several security check points. One of them involved a full body pat-down, the intimate and intrusive new procedure that is getting so many people outraged. Well, count me among them. If I had behaved in a threatening way, shown any evidence of belligerence or threat then I’d say, check me out thoroughly. But since I was randomly selected without the use of intelligent Profiling, then give me the treatment that is justified based upon my appearance, credentials and behavior. As a multi-million-mile frequent traveler on multiple airlines with plenty of credentials to identify myself, I think that less groping is needed to eliminate me as a threat. Let’s change the policies that our TSA officers have to follow. Let them single out the likely threats and treat the rest of us with a bit more dignity and respect. It will save them time and keep us safe.
Notice more.
