Advice re: border xenophobia

[the_fantastic_ms_fox]

Does anyone have any pointers on what to say to someone who has just said something to the effect of "why am I being hassled at the border? I'm White."

I don't want to "win" over this person. I want to change their minds. Or at least get zer to question what ze's saying and why ze's saying it. Or at least not just sit there and feel awkward... again.

I fear saying "what you just said sounds kind of racist/xenophobic/intolerant" or even "can you explain that remark" will cause zer to get defensive, which will turn this from a dialogue into an argument that appears to be over racial profiling but is really about egos.

I was thinking of leading with something along the lines of:

• Airport security doesn't actually make any sense. It's theatre
• The big threat right now in the US is from domestic terrorists (think: militia, the fringe of the Teabaggers), most of whom are White. (Implication - if you're in favour of racial profiling and you're White, get ready to wait...)
• While we associate the recent heightened security with terror fears, a lot of American border security actually actually has its roots in the "War on Drugs." Which is also stupid.
• Actually, a lot of people have problems with borders for no good reason. Although granted a lot of power, many border guards are never trained to question their own biases. The same goes for their superiors.

Is there an index somewhere of anti-oppressive etiquette? Some digital love-child of Emily Post and Leslie Feinburg? I could really use this.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

It's more or less just base rate fallacy - We live in predominantly white countries. There are simply a lot more white people that cross the border from the US to Canada (or into/out of either country individually) than any other demographic. Even if their probability of being involved in something nefarious is lower per person (which is an argument for another time. The point is that white people are capable of evil) there are -so many- of them that the raw number of villains will still be higher.

Border guards are human, and thus their 'instincts' for the job will be subject to their own biasses/stereotypes/imprints from fear mongering and/or sensational media. Left to their own devices they're going to ignore the above and focus on 'scary' demographics without even realizing it. It's a very human thing to do.

Someone upstairs knows this and requires border guards to check a certain raw percentage of 'less scary' demographics to try to keep cherrypicking down below the level where it actually compromises security.

Basically, "Why am I being hassled at the border? I'm White." is exactly the sort of attitude these regulations are in place to guard against.

It's also a check against someone exploiting those very human weaknesses. If they didn't check white people then almost all (successful, which is the worst kind) criminals and terrorists would soon be white people. Likewise for the elderly, military personnel, elected officials, children, the handicapped, law enforcement, or anyone else you care to name. Criminal enterprise is wonderfully adaptable.