Michael Kinsley

About the author: Michael Kinsley is the editor of the online magazine Slate and a weekly columnist for the Washington Post.

Singling out Arab-looking individuals at airports to prevent terrorist acts or for other homeland security purposes is discriminatory, but nevertheless justifiable. In considering the legality of ethnic profiling, it is necessary to weigh practical considerations of harms and benefits. Inconveniencing Arab men through airport ID checks is justified because the small harm done, in the form of inconvenience and embarrassment, is outweighed by the benefit to public safety.

When thugs menace someone because he looks Arabic, that's racism. When airport security officials single out Arabic-looking men for a more intrusive inspection, that's something else. What is the difference? The difference is that the airport security folks have a rational reason for...