  Even those sympathetic to the position just outlined are likely to acknowledge the position must be qualified and hedged in some ways. Consider racial discrimination. Suppose we hold that the state should not engage in discriminatory conduct on the basis of racial classifications even to advance morally worthy goals—imagine that in some circumstances guiding police behavior by racial profiling would be a cost-effective measure to reduce crime. The reasons we hold it is wrong for the state to engage in racial discrimination would appear to carry over to private discriminatory behavior by citizens. It would be wrongful racial discrimination to choose my friends according to their race or skin color. Private action by individuals that expresses hatred of people on grounds of their race or skin color is wrong for pretty much the same reasons that it would be wrong for a state to pass and enforce laws and public policies that express hatred of people on grounds of their race or skin color.