Why are people so surprised about racial profiling?
musicismylife78
Posts: 6,116
Its good that its a national topic right now, but I am surprised by OTHERS surprise that this is an issue.
sadly I think its a regular occurance for Latinos and African Americans.
What kind of neighbor was this anyway? She didnt even know what her neighbor looked like? Hadnt she seen him enter his house billions of times in the past?
I dont know about you, but if someone who fits the description of my neighbor and looks like my neighbor is entering his house, my first thought isnt "gee this person is breaking in". And I certainly wouldnt call the cops to report it.
I think somewhere along the line, our society developed a mental picture of what a criminal and violent person looks like. What a rapist looks like. What a thug looks like. What a hoodlum looks like.
When people see a group of young african american males I think alot of people are afraid. A local tv anchor in Eugene even publicly on air, mentioned that if he sees a group of black males on the street walking around he crosses the street. He didnt make this statement in 1950's Alabama. He made it in the last few years, in Eugene.
I think it further illustrates, that to be a black person or a person of color, to be someone who is not white, you have to lead a fundamentally different lifestyle than white people.
What kind of world do we live in where a videotaped beating and assault of a black man Rodney King in 1991, was seen by a jury, and the jury found the cops NOT GUILTY. It wasnt like there was an accusation by Rodney and no evidence. People who are not blind could see him being savagely beaten. And they sided with the cops.
Or take the cases of Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo. New Yorks Finest raped Louima with a broomstick, and also shot Diallo 41 times, all because they thought his wallet was a gun. Wouldnt you think maybe after the first few bullets were shot, that maybe they would see "hey this guy doesnt have a gun!". Again, the juries, found the officers not guilty.
Or the police who shot that young black male 50 times or whatever as he left a strip club. Not guilty.
The threshhold for finding white people guilty and especially white police guilty of ANYTHING is almost unbelievable high.
sadly I think its a regular occurance for Latinos and African Americans.
What kind of neighbor was this anyway? She didnt even know what her neighbor looked like? Hadnt she seen him enter his house billions of times in the past?
I dont know about you, but if someone who fits the description of my neighbor and looks like my neighbor is entering his house, my first thought isnt "gee this person is breaking in". And I certainly wouldnt call the cops to report it.
I think somewhere along the line, our society developed a mental picture of what a criminal and violent person looks like. What a rapist looks like. What a thug looks like. What a hoodlum looks like.
When people see a group of young african american males I think alot of people are afraid. A local tv anchor in Eugene even publicly on air, mentioned that if he sees a group of black males on the street walking around he crosses the street. He didnt make this statement in 1950's Alabama. He made it in the last few years, in Eugene.
I think it further illustrates, that to be a black person or a person of color, to be someone who is not white, you have to lead a fundamentally different lifestyle than white people.
What kind of world do we live in where a videotaped beating and assault of a black man Rodney King in 1991, was seen by a jury, and the jury found the cops NOT GUILTY. It wasnt like there was an accusation by Rodney and no evidence. People who are not blind could see him being savagely beaten. And they sided with the cops.
Or take the cases of Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo. New Yorks Finest raped Louima with a broomstick, and also shot Diallo 41 times, all because they thought his wallet was a gun. Wouldnt you think maybe after the first few bullets were shot, that maybe they would see "hey this guy doesnt have a gun!". Again, the juries, found the officers not guilty.
Or the police who shot that young black male 50 times or whatever as he left a strip club. Not guilty.
The threshhold for finding white people guilty and especially white police guilty of ANYTHING is almost unbelievable high.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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I'm not American. Well I guess I am North American.
i just say that because there is someone from just about every country here, tho i am sure it is like that alot of places, but america is known as the melting pot. and i am an ass
hold on, are you saying there are double standards?
I handle the 3 occasions I've been pulled over for no apparent reason IMO with grace and politeness. All 3 times they ended with no ticket and on one the officer said my attitude was the thing that caused him NOT to give me a ticket.
Now I'm not saying this is easy to do but let's face they have the upper hand here and being angry with an attitude is what they're probably looking for.
Peace
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Let me present some hypothetical situations...
You and a date are leaving a ball game. As you cross the relatively empty parking lot, there are a group of 5 young men standing around a couple of cars... you can see they are smoking...
Would you do anything differently if they are:
Black men?
White men?
Latino men?
...
How about black men... wearing suits?
White men that look like neo-nazis?
Latino men in stadium staff uniforms?
...
Of course you'd act differently in each case. Black men in gigantic Raiders jackets, white men in wife beaters and Dickies shorts all tatted up with prison tags or Latinos that look like Cholos are scary... to everyone.
Suits, uniforms, work clothes... not so scary.
Does this always hold true? Absolutely not. Anyone is capable of doing you harm.
But, you go with the odds. And we calculate our odds by profiling. And we profile based upon our own prejudices... all derived by our own fears, experiences, etc...
...
My point? I guess it's that we ALL are prejudice.. to a point. We will pre-judge the 5 men in the parking lot before having any contact with them. Any one who does NOT possess these prejudicial senses... well, my guess is, they probably won't last long.
Hail, Hail!!!
True but that ignores history as well. Black men have since slavery, been viewed by white establishment as threats. Black males were viewed as sexual threats to white women, so they were lynched. This ties into the stereotype of the size of their genitalia. This goes way back. RIght now, we have over 2 million americans in jail. More people jailed than any other country in the world. Over 1 million are black males. I have heard the stat that 1 in 3 black males is in jail, or on parole. Thats a stunning figure. Most however arent in jail for murder or rape, they are in jail for non violent drug use and possession.
The stereotype involving hip hop ties into the history I just discussed. Hip Hop is the most dominant form of music out there right now. It sells more records than any other genre. It is global. And I think in general the white establishment is afraid of white kids and the effect hip hop has on them. So again, blacks are viewed as threats, and the hip hop genre is with a few exceptions, a male dominated art form.
I think there is something that makes white people shudder and worry and sweat when they listen to a Dead Prez or Mos Def or Public Enemy.
Black people, and especially black males are viewed as threats. To society. To the order. To white sexuality.
Is this Gates thing on the level of a Rodney King or Amadou Diallo? No, but its blantant racism. And it shows, racism isnt dead.
Ask a typical older white male about hip hop, and what they sing about and I think the response overwhelmingly is "guns drugs, illegal activities and women".
The image of a hoodlum, of a gang member, of a robber, a rapist, a murderer, usually the image conjured isnt some white 20 year old male from the suburbs. Its usually a black male from Cabrini Green or South Central or Watts. I think that tells you something.
There are a million examples, The New York Jogger Case, the Jena 6. Mumia. Assata Shakur.
Watch Crash. I think it shows every single one of our actions, is formulated around and based on race. based on this, I can never understand those who say "racism is dead" or that blacks just like to play the race card all the time. Ummm they play the race card, because its real and racism aint dead. Pretty simple.
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I understand every point you are making and agree with them. I KNOW racism is alive and well in America. As soon as i here some white dude start a sentence with, "If i was black..." I know that actually translates to, "I am a fucking ignorant dickhead who doesn't know shit about shit...", and i immediately make the assessment that they are a dipshit and their words are nothing but a waste to my ears. I'm profiling them.
My point is that we ALL make prejudicial assessments in certain situations... ALL of us. It doesn't matter what race or national origins, we all make these pre-judgements. We are all guilty of profiling at one time or another. Personally, I never pretend to know what it is like to be black in America. The ONLY people who can make that assessment are black people.
And i know that there are dangerous people that come in all shapes, sizes and colors. And you use your profiling skills to lessen the odds of becoming a victim to random violence. Of course, nothing is fool proof and violence can find you, no matter what. But, you can lessen your odds of becoming a victim by applying your prejudices to avoid certain situations.
And I agree... when profiling is used as an authoritarian tool, it becomes dangerous. My prejudices will make me decide to cross the street and scope an out in case there is a threat. I have no authority to make those 5 men in the parking lot disburse. And to those people hwho think profiling by the authorities in the name of national security is a good thing... remember, authoritarian governments use these same tactics to protect the government from dissidents.
Hail, Hail!!!
clothing? sure.
That's great... i guess that makes you a better person than i admit to being... because I would rasie the possible threat level if there were 5 black males between the ages of 17 to 25 wearing oversized Raiders gear hanging out between me and my car... than 5 white males of the same age range, in the same clothing. I guess it comes from my experiences of living 50 something years in Los Angeles.
i'm not claiming it proves me right... i'm merely admitting to profiling to lessen the odds of me and a bad situation.
Hail, Hail!!!
their are certainly specific cultures i tend to avoid, but i've found that all races have their own idiotic versions of these cultures. the dress or language may be different, but its all the same.
actually im not concerned what a group of people look like. if the person viewing wasnt weak minded and bodied, they wouldnt be "scared"
Great... if that works for you, Batman... awesome.
Me? I'm going to take my cowardly ass and continue to make those types of assessments that i feel will lessen the chances of the possibility of a bad situation. Sort of like the same prejudices I employ that tells me that it's not such a good idea to pin a 'David Duke For President' button to my lapel and walk into a liquor store in North Long Beach at 2:07 A.M.
Hail, Hail!!!