The recent tragic death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin has sparked national outrage among the black community. Many have claimed he was "hunted down", "stalked", and murdered because he was black. Just today mega rich entertainer Tyler Perry claimed he was a victim of racial profiling, despite admitting he was in violation of traffic laws. Activist liberals and CAIR cry foul in the "racial profiling" of Muslims by the NYPD. Everywhere all the time, there is someone out there claiming they are being profiled in some way.
I agree with them. And I agree with racial/religious/(any criteria you want to throw in there) profiling. It is effective and necessary. Let's get something straight. Racial profiling does not equal racism/discrimination. Profiling of any sort is a simple adherence to Newton's Third Law in some aspects. It is why in Israel, airport security officials target young, Muslim men from Arab countries instead of 70 year old women from Britain who are trying to enter the country. It is also why police departments in largely urban areas of the United States profile young, black males (and any person wearing "thug" attire for that matter) instead of nicely dressed Asian businessmen. In addition, it is why George Zimmerman immediately had suspicions of Trayvon Martin, after his neighborhood had endured a rash of burglaries and other crimes, all by young, black males.
For anyone reading who has not worked in law enforcement, security, or EMS, and lives near any major metropolitan area, I encourage you to purchase a police scanner and listen in for just one night. I will let you draw your own conclusions from there.
I would wager you have "racially" or "religiously" profiled someone before. Even the most bleeding heart liberal would be guilty of racial profiling, if they shared a flight with a turban wearing man of Arab decent any time since 2001. They give not a second cautious thought about the blonde haired, blue eyed German woman in the seat across from them. The citizens of Boston, Massachusetts most likely profiled British redcoats in the days, weeks, and months after the Boston Massacre took place. I doubt they profiled Dutch merchant ship sailors who docked in Boston harbor. In the African bush, lion prides routinely profile hyenas because hyenas routinely attack, kill, and eat lion cubs. But they don't profile flocks of flamingos. The old farmer down the road profiles every day. After all, it is coyotes breaking into his chicken coop, not squirrels.
The fact of the matter is that profiling, racial or otherwise, is a natural social reaction to another social action. It may not be fair in all cases and it may not be right in all cases, because we know not all people of any targeted demographic are guilty of anything. But it exists nonetheless, and there is a reason why it exists. The sooner people understand these simple facts of life the better. And until you make an effort to stop the action there will always be a reaction.
I agree with them. And I agree with racial/religious/(any criteria you want to throw in there) profiling. It is effective and necessary. Let's get something straight. Racial profiling does not equal racism/discrimination. Profiling of any sort is a simple adherence to Newton's Third Law in some aspects. It is why in Israel, airport security officials target young, Muslim men from Arab countries instead of 70 year old women from Britain who are trying to enter the country. It is also why police departments in largely urban areas of the United States profile young, black males (and any person wearing "thug" attire for that matter) instead of nicely dressed Asian businessmen. In addition, it is why George Zimmerman immediately had suspicions of Trayvon Martin, after his neighborhood had endured a rash of burglaries and other crimes, all by young, black males.
For anyone reading who has not worked in law enforcement, security, or EMS, and lives near any major metropolitan area, I encourage you to purchase a police scanner and listen in for just one night. I will let you draw your own conclusions from there.
I would wager you have "racially" or "religiously" profiled someone before. Even the most bleeding heart liberal would be guilty of racial profiling, if they shared a flight with a turban wearing man of Arab decent any time since 2001. They give not a second cautious thought about the blonde haired, blue eyed German woman in the seat across from them. The citizens of Boston, Massachusetts most likely profiled British redcoats in the days, weeks, and months after the Boston Massacre took place. I doubt they profiled Dutch merchant ship sailors who docked in Boston harbor. In the African bush, lion prides routinely profile hyenas because hyenas routinely attack, kill, and eat lion cubs. But they don't profile flocks of flamingos. The old farmer down the road profiles every day. After all, it is coyotes breaking into his chicken coop, not squirrels.The fact of the matter is that profiling, racial or otherwise, is a natural social reaction to another social action. It may not be fair in all cases and it may not be right in all cases, because we know not all people of any targeted demographic are guilty of anything. But it exists nonetheless, and there is a reason why it exists. The sooner people understand these simple facts of life the better. And until you make an effort to stop the action there will always be a reaction.
3 comments:
Well-written, Hack. Instead of complaining about police, law-abiding members of minority groups should complain about law-BREAKING members of those same groups. Profiling is, after all, simply applying historical trends to the prediction of future possibilities.
In addition, it is why George Zimmerman immediately had suspicions of Trayvon Martin, after his neighborhood had endured a rash of burglaries and other crimes, all by young, black males.
The fact of the matter is that profiling, racial or otherwise, is a natural social reaction to another social action. It may not be fair in all cases and it may not be right in all cases, because we know not all people of any targeted demographic are guilty of anything. But it exists nonetheless, and there is a reason why it exists. The sooner people understand these simple facts of life the better. And until you make an effort to stop the action there will always be a reaction.
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Brilliantly spoken, Hack. I wish, truly wish, that more Americans would simply concede to this logic and realize that if there is a large amount of crime in an area, and these crimes were committed by, say, white guys in their early 40's, that people would pay closer attention to someone like me walking through their neighborhood. It would only make sense.
People can racially profile the crap outta me. I don't mind, Because I am not guilty of anything wrong, and it is only natural to be attentive to such things.
Good post, Hack.
It used to be called "common sense."
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