Racial/Ethnic Paranoia: The Latest Cat-and-Mouse

Todd Heisler/New York Times

For catching the flavor of America’s heightened paranoia over the undocumented, the would-be terrorist and, generally, anyone who could be classified as “other,” this is one of the better  photos I’ve seen in a while.  Though it’s crossing no borders, immigration officials have been doing (yeah, right) “random” document checks on runs like this one from Chicago-to-New York.  Besides Amtrak, Greyhound seems to also be seeing these kinds of inspections.

What makes the picture, though, is the wary look of the black conductor. In the current atmosphere, it’s hard to even know who “we” are.

Border Sweeps in North Reach Miles Into U.S. (NYT)