Monitoring aka profiling

Monitoring the population these days has lead to measures similar to the patriot act. However, these measures are a huge breach of privacy and seem more like tools of racial profiling. This is one more place where I can be “randomly” picked to be monitored or questioned. I have been to the airport plenty of times and been the one chosen “randomly” to go through the machine that detects if you are carrying any explosive materials. The patriot act is basically to protect American citizen from terrorist by monitoring phone lines and other forms of communication in order to prevent a terrorist attack. This basically means to me that anyone that doesn’t have an American sounding name will be monitored. No one with the name of James Smith or Thomas Brown will likely be monitored. However, people with names more like Mohammed or Salim or Khan will be chosen to be monitored. This seems very unfair to many people who are US citizens to have to give up their right to privacy for this act. There are many innocent immigrants who have come here to escape the very thing that we are putting them through. It is just unnerving to think someone may be listening to me while I am on a private phone call. I can’t even joke around about something without thinking twice about the consequences. This breach of privacy somewhat puts pressure on the right to freedom of expression. If someone is miserable here and speaks ill of the country they will be monitored. Thus, they will think twice about expressing their feelings in fear of someone hearing to what they say. Thus, this form of “monitoring” just seems like another way to control the population and profile minority races.