By Alexis Carr, Editor in Chief
OPINION
On a chilling winter night in February 2012, a 17-year-old boy decides to stop by a local gas station to purchase a few items and return home. He walks into the nearest 7-Eleven, grabs a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea, walks up to the counter, reaches in his pocket, pays the clerk, then leaves. Soon after, he gets on the phone with his girlfriend and continues walking home. The teenager then tells his girlfriend that he has a feeling of being followed and quickens his pace from walking to jogging, and from jogging to running. Panting and sprinting as fast as he can, he loses connection with his girlfriend via his earpiece. Knowing he is near his destination, he feels slight relief, then “BOOM!” Gunfire crackles in the air.
On Feb. 26, 2012, less than 100 yards from the door of the townhouse in which he was staying, Trayvon Martin was tragically murdered by his pursuer, George Zimmerman.
This is one of numerous examples of racial profiling that has occurred here in the United States. Racial profiling is defined as the discriminatory practice (usually law-enforcement related) by targeting particular individuals for suspicion of crime based not on the individual’s behavior, but their race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.
“I think racial profiling occurs because people exaggerate differences,” said Megan Meyer, an Indian Trail High School & Academy sociology, psychology and history teacher. “Some people tend to generalize and stereotype the characteristics of a few and magnify that to an entire group.”
“…racial profiling [is] the targeting of individuals and groups by law enforcement officials, even partially, on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion… that links persons belonging to one of the aforementioned groups to an identified criminal incident or scheme.”
–Amnesty International USA
Racial profiling is a longstanding and deeply troubling national problem despite claims that the United States has entered a “post-racial era.” In fact, various studies have shown that racial profiling is at an all time high.
“People have to be open-minded and treat people the good way they want to be treated. Stop being fearful. When you meet people don’t pre-percept.”
–Alpha Seisay, IT security
After a series of public hearings throughout the United States, Amnesty International released a report documenting what it says is large-scale and increasing racial profiling. The yearlong study titled “Threat and Humiliation” says that racial profiling has been on the rise since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and legislation to protect against profiling has been insufficient.
“I personally believe that racial profiling has increased over the years, especially after the recent election,” said Fernando Vargas, a Communications senior at Indian Trail. “Since this is an issue that mainly affects minorities, there hasn’t been much attention from the media and in general.”
Various protests have even taken place across the United States to bring attention to this ongoing issue, protests ranging from “Day Without Latinos” in Milwaukee to the “Black Lives Matter” protests in Atlanta.
“I went to Milwaukee and took part in the Day Without Latinos protest. It was created in protest of the recent bill that was passed, stating that police officers can now act as immigration officers,” Vargas said. “Dozens of other protestors and I walked the streets of Milwaukee to bring attention to issues that immigrants face, such as racial profiling.”
The drive to end racial profiling is aimed primarily at law enforcement activities that are premised on the erroneous assumption that individuals of a particular race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion are more likely to engage in certain types of unlawful conduct.
Alpha Seisay, an Indian Trail security guard, is one of the many people in America that has faced racial profiling due to preconceptions.
“When I moved to Whitewater in ‘96, my first day in town I went to explore and decided to go out,” said Alpha Seisay, IT security gaurd. “I signaled to turn somewhere and I realized it was the wrong turn and then I turned my signal off and kept going. Then I signaled again and turned into the right place. I got pulled over.”
The police officer gave Seisay a sobriety test which he passed. The officer then told him to wait in the back of the squad car.
“He searched my car. There was no reason for him to do that. He then told me that he was going to drive me home and that tomorrow morning I could come back to get my vehicle. I told him I was perfect to drive, but he did not listen,” he said. “He dropped me off and I went back for my car soon after.”
A solution to end racial profiling is interaction, Seisay said.
“People have to be open-minded and treat people the good way they want to be treated. Stop being fearful. When you meet people don’t pre-percept,” he said. “Open up, interact, and ask questions. If we take these steps, it’ll go away.”
“In the end, everyone, regardless of race, relies on law enforcement to protect us from harm and promote fairness and justice in our communities. However, racial profiling has done the opposite of just that.”
–Alexis Carr, Communications senior
In the end, everyone, regardless of race, relies on law enforcement to protect us from harm and promote fairness and justice in our communities. However, racial profiling has done the opposite of just that. It has led to countless people to live in fear, casting entire communities as suspect simply because of what they look like, where they are from, or what religion they adhere to or class.
Speaking for the countless innocent lives that have been murdered, the outrageous amount of honest incarcerated individuals, the numerous law-abiding people of color that have been stopped, and the honest beings that want to live their lives in peace but instead live in fear due to this horrific reality, this must stop. Enough is enough. Let’s abolish this thinking, hold law enforcement or individuals accountable for their hate crimes, and end racial profiling.