According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, racial profiling is “any action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection, that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin, or a combination of these, rather than on a reasonable suspicion.” (OHRC). The practice of racial profiling is often times criticized for utilizing prejudice – ultimately promoting false syllogisms about certain races (ie. All black people are involved with gangs). However, is racial profiling really an unethical practice? Many can argue that it is. However, according to Darwin’s view of human nature, racial profiling is justifiable due to the fact that: it is an act of discression and safety, racial …show more content…
To simplify, the species with the more advantageous genes (as opposed to species with less advantageous genes) are able to survive and reproduce more successfully. In correlation with racial profiling, a Darwinist will argue that the racial minority possesses less favorable traits; ultimately dictating the racial majority’s possession of favorable traits. In other words, the racial minority is the less advantageous individual as opposed to the racial majority – illustrating that it is inevitable for the minority to be profiled (survival of the fittest). This is exemplified in a recent study done on peel regional police. This study shows that it is three times more likely for a black person to be stopped by an officer as opposed to a white person. This illustrates that the Black person possesses the ‘less favorable’ trait (black skin colour) that is associated with criminal activity. Thus, as a result of this ‘disadvantage’, the white person is the more ‘fit’ individual – hence they are three times less likely to be stopped than a black person. In conclusion, Darwin’s theory of natural selection supports racial profiling because it can be argued that the racial minority possesses an unfavorable trait, thus it is natural for them to be at a