Americans Support Racial Profiling

[*Robert* 2]

wow...

you sure know a lot...

NOT!

[Karen_L 1]

My husband has been in the US for 5 weeks. And in that short time, I'm 90% sure he's been "profiled" for terrorism both by a police officer AND by fellow passengers on the subway lol. He has a job with his uncle working construction so everyday he travels on the subway with this huge duffel bag full of stuff (clean clothes and shoes he can wear to his English class). Today he told me that a plain-clothes police officer stopped him in the subway to look in his bag. He also told me that he's caught regular people shooting him really nervous, suspicious looks and he's usually oblivious to things like that, so it must have been really obvious and there must have been a real tension that he took notice of or something. He doesn't fit the usual terrorist stereotype by any means (other than being a young man). So... perhaps the criteria for "what makes someone look like a terrorist" in people's minds go beyond skin color and ethnicity and it's more about posture and facial expression or something else entirely. He told me it's happened like 6 times so far lol.

My poor little guy... gettin' all profiled and junk... ...

[mawilson 2,133]

Welfare, section 8, etc. etc. have helped to DESTROY the black community and make them helpless.

Indeed. Welfare is a terrible idea - the essence of getting something for nothing.

It robs people of the ability to explore their talents and doesn't do nearly enough to

help them get off of it.

Affirmative action should also be eliminated and replaced with a system based on

economic need rather than race or colour.

[Marilyn. 340]

I'm dark. I'm male. I used to be in my 20s until recently, lol. I fly quite a bit. I've driven across the US-Canada border quite a bit.

I believe I've been profiled many times. More times than I can count.

With one exception, every time I believe I've been profiled, the officers were (IMO) thorough yet completely professional and courteous.

With one exception, I've never "felt like a criminal".

The VJ poll is now 32-9-5

my hubby was stopped and questioned quite a few times.... they didn't always treat him with courtesy... they would go through all his pockets and belongings etc.... He would always answer thier questions... etc... One time they even sent him to the immigration people because they were so supicious of him.. the lady there just kind of looked over his ticket etc.. and told him that she had no idea why he was sent over... and sent him on his way...

Edited September 2, 2006 by MarilynP

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Affirmative action should also be eliminated and replaced with a system based on

economic need rather than race or colour.

Affirmative Action is not about quotas nor is it racism. It's purpose, whether that purpose has been properly implemented, was to say in the case of employers is that the demographics within the community should coincide with the make up of employees with regard to race. It doesn't impose quotas for employers, but it makes legal clarity that if you don't have a staff that is as diverse as the community you live in, that could indicate racial discrimination. Then it would take someone who applied with that company to have been denied employment, legal footing if they believe they were discriminated against. So it can work for someone who is white, if they believe they were discriminated against because of the color of their skin - under the right circumstances.

As for colleges and universities - student admissions aims at populating the student body so as to have diversity. When it comes to applying for colleges, they use many factors in addition to looking at SAT scores. Choosing the highest test scores is not a sure indication of students who will be the best. It's the same with the NBA draft - the top draft picks don't always end up being the best players in the league.

Edited September 2, 2006 by Steven_and_Jinky

[Alex+R 0]

Charles, why on earth are all my "remarks" destroyed?

That is why a minority group member bothering a white person is not the same as the opposite; the insult is not loaded with potential for oppression.

not all your remarks, i'm pointing out this one in particular. what you are saying here is that a minority group member can bother a white person and it's not racism? or whatever term is pc today? you need to take a walk down most major cities and see how you might be oppressed. i can think of over half a dozen places within 20 miles of me that you'd be singled out just due to your race.

Well, let's see.

1. Racism is racism.

2. What happens when the whole system, and we're not talking about on the individual level, is racist? If it's racist against whites, one thing will happen. If it's racist against blacks and other minorities, another will happen. Sure, racism is racism, but the societal impact of who's doing the discriminating makes a difference, too.

It would be nice to say "affirmative action can discriminate against a white individual, so that's racism." Ok, doing anything based on someone's race could be construed as racist. But how well does that "living in a colorblind society" bull$hit work? Not very well.

[Fandango 1,439]

Affirmative action should also be eliminated and replaced with a system based on

economic need rather than race or colour.

Affirmative Action is not about quotas nor is it racism. It's purpose, whether that purpose has been properly implemented, was to say in the case of employers is that the demographics within the community should coincide with the make up of employees with regard to race. It doesn't impose quotas for employers, but it makes legal clarity that if you don't have a staff that is as diverse as the community you live in, that could indicate racial discrimination. Then it would take someone who applied with that company to have been denied employment, legal footing if they believe they were discriminated against. So it can work for someone who is white, if they believe they were discriminated against because of the color of their skin - under the right circumstances.

As for colleges and universities - student admissions aims at populating the student body so as to have diversity. When it comes to applying for colleges, they use many factors in addition to looking at SAT scores. Choosing the highest test scores is not a sure indication of students who will be the best. It's the same with the NBA draft - the top draft picks don't always end up being the best players in the league.

Well firstly, I agreed with everything Mawilson said except the quoted bit above. I don't believe it should be based on need....this is not a socialist country....and the most needy is not necessarily the most qualified.

As for Steven's post....I totally believe AA is racism. It is giving someone the oppty based on skin color...and on the flip side, it's possibly eliminating what COULD have been a more qualified applicant based on the lack of that skin color. I'm not wah wahing that it's 'not fair' (even though it's not)...but lets call it what it is. The assumption should not be that if the office isn't diverse, it's racist. This is why AA is not only racist in theory, but it perpetuates the idea of racism that 'big bro' needs to control an office to mirror the neighborhood demographics or else the big bad white man will discriminate. That's a load of bullsh!t right there.

And who's to say that the minority person getting this job did not do so soley based on his/her merits and NOT on the color of his/her skin? Maybe they WERE the most qualified candidate. But AA sends a message to minorities that without government intervention, they are not good enough to stand on their own. And that's bullsh!t too. No, I'm not saying that there are no white racists around anymore. There are racists of ALL walks of life. IMO they are the exception rather than the rule. But #######? It's not the 1800s anymore...we've evolved as a people. I'm not going to apologise for being white, but with being white, I'm certainly not going assume the guilt of society's ills long before I or any of my family got here. I'm not racist and I don't need to be told that without AA, I'm going to be assumed to be one if my office is primarily one race. That's insulting!

If getting a job/spot in college/etc has any basis on what skin color/nationality one is...then it's racist. Don't try to dress it up in fancy packaging. It is what it is...and what I think it is is bs

Edited September 2, 2006 by LisaD

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Yeah, you probably would. It's just too easy sometimes. Set the trap and someone is going to walk right into it. wink.gif

Wow You sure spent a lot of time in africa.

Try to adjust to US. No tribal stuff.

Hehehehehehehe

Trying to get a rise out of me? Takes more than what you got, buddy.

[Risto 0]

Americans OK with Passenger Profiling

Whats wrong with this?

All terrorist so far are muslims

[Fuzzness 2]

Americans OK with Passenger Profiling

Whats wrong with this?

All terrorist so far are muslims

Richard Reed and Tim McVeigh were muslims?

[Alex+R 0]

And who's to say that the minority person getting this job did not do so soley based on his/her merits and NOT on the color of his/her skin? Maybe they WERE the most qualified candidate. But AA sends a message to minorities that without government intervention, they are not good enough to stand on their own. And that's bullsh!t too. No, I'm not saying that there are no white racists around anymore. There are racists of ALL walks of life.

I think that's one of the biggest problems with AA--people feeling judged because they got into x school or got x job. I had a friend in college who was latina and she was always saying stuff to convince everyone that she didn't get in because she was latina. Well, duh, she was smart, but she carried that chip around on her shoulder all four years.

What I think your post misses is the idea of institutionalized racism, and what AA can do to stop it. Sure, individuals are not as openly racist as they used to be, but if you look at our society, you can still see segregation. Minneapolis is considered by most locals to be "nothing like the racist South" but yet we have one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country BUT one of the lowest Black graduation rates in the country at the same time. Institutionalized racism is still there, but it's just less apparent.

The fight against racism did not end with the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s, and the more undercover racism goes, the more challenging it is to change our society.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Whats wrong with this?

All terrorist so far are muslims

And yet the second biggest terrorist attack on US soil was carried out by a couple of white folks.

Clearly, if we are only concerned with Islamic terror.ism, that is all we are going to find. While that is certainly a tremendous problem that shouldn't make everyone go to sleep about other kinds of terrorism. Unless, of course, the so-called "war on terror" doesn't concern itself with terrorism, but only Islamic extremism.

And who's to say that the minority person getting this job did not do so soley based on his/her merits and NOT on the color of his/her skin? Maybe they WERE the most qualified candidate. But AA sends a message to minorities that without government intervention, they are not good enough to stand on their own. And that's bullsh!t too. No, I'm not saying that there are no white racists around anymore. There are racists of ALL walks of life.

I think that's one of the biggest problems with AA--people feeling judged because they got into x school or got x job. I had a friend in college who was latina and she was always saying stuff to convince everyone that she didn't get in because she was latina. Well, duh, she was smart, but she carried that chip around on her shoulder all four years.

What I think your post misses is the idea of institutionalized racism, and what AA can do to stop it. Sure, individuals are not as openly racist as they used to be, but if you look at our society, you can still see segregation. Minneapolis is considered by most locals to be "nothing like the racist South" but yet we have one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country BUT one of the lowest Black graduation rates in the country at the same time. Institutionalized racism is still there, but it's just less apparent.

The fight against racism did not end with the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s, and the more undercover racism goes, the more challenging it is to change our society.

Important to add that ignoring the very different socio-economic factors that pertain to different ethnic groups and suggesting that all such problems can be resolved by people simply "pulling their socks up" is also racist.

These days, there's arguably less of the KKK style overt racism as you say, but much of it is ingrained in certain institutions with many of the attitudes being 'subconcious'.

Edited September 2, 2006 by erekose

[Risto 0]

Welfare, section 8, etc. etc. have helped to DESTROY the black community and make them helpless.

Indeed. Welfare is a terrible idea - the essence of getting something for nothing.

It robs people of the ability to explore their talents and doesn't do nearly enough to

help them get off of it.

Affirmative action should also be eliminated and replaced with a system based on

economic need rather than race or colour.

[PlatyPius 5]

Minneapolis is considered by most locals to be "nothing like the racist South" but yet we have one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country BUT one of the lowest Black graduation rates in the country at the same time. Institutionalized racism is still there, but it's just less apparent.

The fight against racism did not end with the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s, and the more undercover racism goes, the more challenging it is to change our society.

What the hell does that have to do with racism? How are WE responsible for THEIR performance in school? I can't tell you about Minneapolis, but I can tell you about Indianapolis. Why do blacks have lower graduation rates in Indy? Drugs, gangs, laziness, and apathy.

I work with many blacks and many more Mexicans. Everyone makes the same wage, by the way, depending on what position they have. The Mexicans work hard. Us white guys work hard. The black guys (about 90% of them) are all congregated in a corner talking about who they scored with the night before, what "theys gonna do to pimp out they ride", how much white people suck, and why they should make more money at this job than anyone else..... the anyone else's who are DOING their damn jobs.

I'm not racist, but I WILL call a lazy arsehole, a lazy arsehole.

[Scott & Lai 12]

Minneapolis is considered by most locals to be "nothing like the racist South" but yet we have one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country BUT one of the lowest Black graduation rates in the country at the same time. Institutionalized racism is still there, but it's just less apparent.

The fight against racism did not end with the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s, and the more undercover racism goes, the more challenging it is to change our society.

What the hell does that have to do with racism? How are WE responsible for THEIR performance in school? I can't tell you about Minneapolis, but I can tell you about Indianapolis. Why do blacks have lower graduation rates in Indy? Drugs, gangs, laziness, and apathy.

I work with many blacks and many more Mexicans. Everyone makes the same wage, by the way, depending on what position they have. The Mexicans work hard. Us white guys work hard. The black guys (about 90% of them) are all congregated in a corner talking about who they scored with the night before, what "theys gonna do to pimp out they ride", how much white people suck, and why they should make more money at this job than anyone else..... the anyone else's who are DOING their damn jobs.

I'm not racist, but I WILL call a lazy arsehole, a lazy arsehole.

Yep...though I suppose the response will be that the fact they behave that way is proof of institutionalized racism....