Profiles In Chutzpah

Andy Savage, the Charleston, S.C., attorney for Youssef Megahed, one of the two indicted USF students, recently complained that his Muslim client was the victim of profiling. That’s, of course, as much a prerogative as it is a public ploy.

In do doing, Savage said this: “If this had been my son, if it was an Irish-American kid who had been stopped in Berkeley County going 60 mph, he might have been ticketed. More likely they would say, ‘Slow down, son. Keep on going.’ But they would never been viewed as suspicious individuals.”

Let’s put this into a broader, real-world context. Try this analogy.

Suppose you were an Irish-American kid traveling with a dubious itinerary, “fireworks” in the trunk, et al in Belfast, Northern Ireland during “The Troubles.” And you were stopped for speeding.

“Slow down, son” and “Keep on going” are not among the things that local police would likely say to the two Irish-American kids from Charleston. And an askance look of suspicion and a car search would be givens.

Nice try, counselor.

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