In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin trial, the endless national conversation about race has turned to racial profiling. Profiling has been condemned as prejudicial, discriminatory and outright racist. It is not that simple.
There are two types of people when it comes to profiling: those who actually do it, and those who do it — and claim they don’t. In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin trial, a national conversation has ensued regarding the concept of racial profiling. Huge generalizations were made claiming that all profiling is prejudicial, discriminatory and outright racist. It is not that simple.
There are many types of profiling –some that are indeed insidious by wrongfully subjecting persons of a particular demographic to experience inappropriate, inexcusable, and the possible illegal diminution of their rights because of their race, gender or creed. Certainly, it is hard to justify how African Americans are to this day often incapable of hailing a cab in a major city. And, as the President noted, there still may be folks who hold their purse a little closer to their bodies when an African-American male enters an elevator. But it’s hard to say that all profiling is discriminatory and born out of prejudice or leads to discrimination. Some profiling emanates from simple common sense.
Envision the following scenario:
You went to see a Broadway show with your family that ends well into the early morning hours. You are all walking back to the parking garage, but you’ve lost your bearings. You know that you have to get to a certain point, but you have one of two alleyways to walk down. Looking down the first alley, you see four African-American chambermaids, ages thirty-five to fifty, hovering together outside of a door, smoking cigarettes. The other alley has four white males, approximate ages eighteen to twenty-two, dressed in torn clothing and hosting scruffy beards and long stringy hair.
If anyone tells you that he or she would go down the alley with the four white males as opposed to the four black females, he or she is probably lying. Almost everyone of right mind would choose to go down the alley with the four African-American chambermaids.
What you basically would have done in such a situation is make a calculation based on the odds. Young males are without question the most violent demographic in our society. Does that mean that all young males are going to be committing crimes or have a violent streak? Certainly not, but the chances of getting attacked by four white males in their teens or early twenties, is infinitely greater than being attacked by a group of African-American women of an older age. That’s not acting on prejudice; it’s acting on common sense.
Likewise, the Israeli security teams that protect its citizens at El Al Airlines routinely and admittedly engages in profiling at its checkpoints. Though they interview all passengers, they understand that a conspiracy to take down a plane is far more likely to originate from young males from the Mideast than a 75-year-old Hispanic woman in a wheelchair. The Israelis don’t play the politically correct game, which is one reason that they have perhaps the safest airline in the world.
Of course, this issue is so prominent at the moment because of the fact that George Zimmerman was tracking the moves of Trayvon Martin. Was he racially profiling? We will never know completely what was in Zimmerman’s head at the time., but it is safe to say that law enforcement should give a closer look at young males than they would older females. And by the way, that pertains to all races. Young white males are far more likely to commit a violent crime than an older Asian, Latino or African-American woman.
Attire, outward appearance and hygiene all play an important role in forming our judgments of others. And it’s often for good reason; it’s simply the odds. Indeed, a young male of any race in a hoodie (or a hat and sun glasses for that matter), where his identity is going to be obstructed, is going be given the twice-over in a community that has been the host of numerous burglaries in the recent past.
Now that doesn’t mean that young men are not protected with their constitutional rights as much as anyone else. Certainly, a young male should not be randomly and indiscriminately searched on the street without reasonable suspicion, but it’s not illogical that law enforcement would keep a closer eye on those within the demographic that is most likely to commit a crime. (Of course, Zimmerman was not professional law enforcement, which opens up a whole different conversation.)
Without question, some profiling goes over the line, but just because something is deemed as profiling, doesn’t in and of itself mean that it is necessarily illegal
or even improper.. The facts matter in each particular case, and there shouldn’t be a rush to judgment or over-generalizations as we see happening in the present debate.
It has become common in this country to attempt to stifle the voices of African-American and Hispanic conservatives. Minority conservative voices come in for extra harsh abuse, as Justice Clarence Thomas did from the left-wing commentariat after he joined the Supreme Court’s majority in striking down a provision of the Voting Rights Act.
August 8, 2013Sometimes, something is worse than nothing. Such is the case with the remarkably tepid changes that have been made by the State to the woefully expensive mandatory arbitration process. Published in the Albany Times Union
August 26, 2013Some Profiling is Just Common Sense
August 12, 2013
by Steve Levy
Published in The Washington Times (accessed via The Wayback Machine)
There are two types of people when it comes to profiling: those who actually do it, and those who do it — and claim they don’t. In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin trial, a national conversation has ensued regarding the concept of racial profiling. Huge generalizations were made claiming that all profiling is prejudicial, discriminatory and outright racist. It is not that simple.
There are many types of profiling –some that are indeed insidious by wrongfully subjecting persons of a particular demographic to experience inappropriate, inexcusable, and the possible illegal diminution of their rights because of their race, gender or creed. Certainly, it is hard to justify how African Americans are to this day often incapable of hailing a cab in a major city. And, as the President noted, there still may be folks who hold their purse a little closer to their bodies when an African-American male enters an elevator. But it’s hard to say that all profiling is discriminatory and born out of prejudice or leads to discrimination. Some profiling emanates from simple common sense.
Envision the following scenario:
You went to see a Broadway show with your family that ends well into the early morning hours. You are all walking back to the parking garage, but you’ve lost your bearings. You know that you have to get to a certain point, but you have one of two alleyways to walk down. Looking down the first alley, you see four African-American chambermaids, ages thirty-five to fifty, hovering together outside of a door, smoking cigarettes. The other alley has four white males, approximate ages eighteen to twenty-two, dressed in torn clothing and hosting scruffy beards and long stringy hair.
If anyone tells you that he or she would go down the alley with the four white males as opposed to the four black females, he or she is probably lying. Almost everyone of right mind would choose to go down the alley with the four African-American chambermaids.
What you basically would have done in such a situation is make a calculation based on the odds. Young males are without question the most violent demographic in our society. Does that mean that all young males are going to be committing crimes or have a violent streak? Certainly not, but the chances of getting attacked by four white males in their teens or early twenties, is infinitely greater than being attacked by a group of African-American women of an older age. That’s not acting on prejudice; it’s acting on common sense.
Likewise, the Israeli security teams that protect its citizens at El Al Airlines routinely and admittedly engages in profiling at its checkpoints. Though they interview all passengers, they understand that a conspiracy to take down a plane is far more likely to originate from young males from the Mideast than a 75-year-old Hispanic woman in a wheelchair. The Israelis don’t play the politically correct game, which is one reason that they have perhaps the safest airline in the world.
Of course, this issue is so prominent at the moment because of the fact that George Zimmerman was tracking the moves of Trayvon Martin. Was he racially profiling? We will never know completely what was in Zimmerman’s head at the time., but it is safe to say that law enforcement should give a closer look at young males than they would older females. And by the way, that pertains to all races. Young white males are far more likely to commit a violent crime than an older Asian, Latino or African-American woman.
Attire, outward appearance and hygiene all play an important role in forming our judgments of others. And it’s often for good reason; it’s simply the odds. Indeed, a young male of any race in a hoodie (or a hat and sun glasses for that matter), where his identity is going to be obstructed, is going be given the twice-over in a community that has been the host of numerous burglaries in the recent past.
Now that doesn’t mean that young men are not protected with their constitutional rights as much as anyone else. Certainly, a young male should not be randomly and indiscriminately searched on the street without reasonable suspicion, but it’s not illogical that law enforcement would keep a closer eye on those within the demographic that is most likely to commit a crime. (Of course, Zimmerman was not professional law enforcement, which opens up a whole different conversation.)
Without question, some profiling goes over the line, but just because something is deemed as profiling, doesn’t in and of itself mean that it is necessarily illegal
or even improper.. The facts matter in each particular case, and there shouldn’t be a rush to judgment or over-generalizations as we see happening in the present debate.
Steve Levy
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