Racial Profiling Essay

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Racial Profiling What is racial profiling? Racial profiling is the targeting of individuals of a particular racial group, on the basis of the supposed propensity of the entire group. (Author, page number). Racial profiling happens more than you think. People are victims of racial profiling every day. Everyone does it, not just law enforcement. A lot of people don't even realize it when they do it. When you are out in public, especially at night, and you see a person of a different race, you tend to have a fear that they are going to harm you in some way. People tend to profile other people based on their race and not their actions. Racial profiling is wrong. It sends a dehumanizing message to our citizens that they are being judged simply by their color. (Racial Profiling, 1). Racial Profiling makes the assumption that an individual of one race or ethnicity is more likely to engage in a misconduct than an individual of other races or ethnicities. (Racial Profiling, 1). Racial profiling can be humiliating to the victim. As stated in Black Men and Public Spaces it made the young man feel surprised, embarrassed and dismayed because the woman ran away simply because he was walking behind her on a street late at night. When people see a black male or group of black males out on the street after dark they tend to automatically jump to the conclusion that they must be up to no good. They automatically lock their car doors if they are in their car or cling on to their belongings and pick up their pace if they are out in public. “I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver-black, white, male or female- hammering down the door locks,” states Brent Staples. (Staples, 2). This type of discrimination is committed by law enforcement as well as regular citizens. When law enforcement commits racial

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