Racial Profiling in America
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-16/racial-profiling-america
George Zimmerman was charged last week with the second degree murder of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Prosecutors claim that Zimmerman “profiled” Martin, assuming he was a criminal based on his appearance. They have not explicitly accused Zimmerman of racial prejudice, but Martin was black and many are asking the question. Such profiling would be illegal for a police officer. But rights groups say it often happens. They worry it will become even more common thanks to Arizona’s new immigration law, which is the subject of a Supreme Court hearing next week. Join Diane for an examination of profiling, and its impact.
Guests
Ronald Hampton
Washington representative, Blacks in Law Enforcement of America.
Margaret Huang
executive director, Rights Working Group.
Michael Dougherty
director, Decision, Attention and Memory Lab at the University of Maryland.
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
elcentro3m,
Not insidious, stupidious. Racial profiling takes place, not because of different behavior but because of a HISTORY of behavior by individuals of a certain race or ethnic origin. We are suspcious of individuals with turbans or dark-skinned middle-eastern looking people on airplanes because murdering hijackers have been historically Muslim extremists, not grandmothers or white teenagers. We are suspicious that non-English speaking Hispanic individuals may be illegal immigrants because almost all illegal immigrants are non-English speaking Hispanics. Do these individuals deserve the benefit of the doubt? Perhaps you can make that argument. But when Federal crime statistics show that a criminal is almost 5 times more likely to be black than white, if I have to weigh hurting someone's feelings by profiling based on race against putting myself or my family at risk, the decision isn't that hard. However, my decision IS going to be guided by circumstances. If I'm approached by a black teenager in a hoodie, in the middle of a mall, I'm going to react differently than if that same kid approaches me on the parking lot.
And, sorry, no matter what you may think, that does not make me a racist, because my judgment isn't based solely on race or on that individual or on his intent which I cannot possible know, but on the statistical probability that, given the specifics of a situation, I could be placed in danger.
Father3: if you think the DOJ report support your point of view, you need to review the argument. It's not a debate on whether blacks kill more blacks or other combinations, it's the simple fact that blacks commit a disproportionate share of crime. Black representation in the crime statistics is much higher than black representation in the population. It's that simple. And if you read the entire report, you'd see that whites have been victims of black crime significantly more frequently than the other way around. So when it comes to expections/profiling/initial assessment, black males have created an image problem for themselves through their behaviour. It's a fact, not an opinion. As for protests, you will never see anyone in the street protesting about black-on-anyone-else violence, like the boy who was chased and set on fire for being white. It doesn't incite the same feelings of outrage. Out.
Making an exception.
For you and everyone else here who relies on the statistics.
Suppose, hypothetically speaking, I have a statistic that tells me that people matching your general description are statistically more likely to engage in criminal activity. That makes you more likely to be stopped, suspected, taken in for questioning, followed in department stores, put on watch lists. You say, the statistic doesn't apply to you personally. Which of course is of no consequence because the statistic matters MORE than the reality. Better to be safe than sorry. So, in spite of the fact that you are the exception to the statistic, you continue to be stopped, suspected, charged, arrested. Doesn't matter what you wear, where you go, who you know, you're still a suspect.
Hasn't made a difference to the overall crime rate anymore than the disproportionate number of jamaican women stopped as a result of the statistical reporting on drug smuggling compared to the actual arrests and convictions. That notwithstanding, you're still being stopped disproportionately. Statistics don't lie.
Every other hispanic is an undocumented worker (or could be). Every other muslim is a (potential) terrorist.
SMART money is bet regularly on the outcomes of baseball, football, basketball games on the basis of STATISTICS. SMART money is bet regularly on the advice of numerous financial advisors and their STATISTICAL predictions.
If statistical is the way to go.
I'm not saying you're a racist. I do believe you're naive if you believe that acting on the basis of the statistical information is MORE likely to make you safe rather than relying on tried and true methods of behavioral analysis that allows you to separate this INNOCENT black from that GUILTY black OR white OR what have you.
Go with the statistics.
Ignore ALL evidence to the contrary.
elcentro3m wrote:
"I'm not saying you're a racist. I do believe you're naive if you believe that acting on the basis of the statistical information is MORE likely to make you safe rather than relying on tried and true methods of behavioral analysis that allows you to separate this INNOCENT black from that GUILTY black OR white OR what have you."
This seems to be the crux of your argument.
At the risk of being accused of argumentum verecundiam, my undergrad in psychology (experimental emphasis, not behavioral to be sure, but plenty of electives in the latter, as well as a lot of life experience) tells me otherwise. Unless you think you can read someone's mind, you CANNOT separate the "innocent" person from the "guilty" with 100% surety which is what you need when you and your family are being approached in that parking lot. I'm going to use every tool at my disposal when that happens. That's going to include processing the visual and situational clues that are provided. And part of that is going to be the race of the individual - again, depending on the circumstances.
When that middle-eastern person gets on an airplane that I'm about to get on, I pay attention - but certainly not when a black person gets on ... who cares? The black guy, or the middle-eastern guy in a beater with the low-riders I'm not going to think is likely illegal. Race is a contextual clue, not a sole determiner of action or even suspicion. This is not that hard.
There is nothing to explain. The point here is that Racial Profiling is not good police work based on the stats or on the reality of who does the killing. 86% of the whites killed were killed by whites. How is profiling of black men going to solve that issue?
Who said anything about "black men". (Assuming your statistic is accurate), if 86% of whites are killed by whites, then look at whites. That is STILL racial profiling.