Racial Profiling Not Apart of Your Community

ERWC

09 May 2019

Not Apart of Your Community

Following a routine is pretty common, however for people of “different” races or backgrounds, routine involves profiling and harsh words. Everyday. Racial/ Criminal profiling is so common, that nothing has been done to stop it. People become animals because of their skin color. Criminals, no matter the crime, are nothing more than their small offenses. They are not human because they are black, Muslim, Arabic, etc. Who is, anyone really, to determine the worth of another human being. It happens, everyday. Is there anything that can be done to stop judgement, punishment, or harassment that has been going on for years? No. There is no solution to years of damage. It has been going on too long, all the movements and organizations in the world have done nothing, and because society has made it socially acceptable.

All it takes to be arrested as an African American is, a trip to a local starbucks. “Last Thursday, however, two young black men named Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were arrested and forcibly removed by police from a Starbucks café in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of Philadelphia while waiting to meet a (white) colleague for coffee.” (Ibraham.2). This is one of many stories in 2018 alone. In the year 2018, people are still being treated like they are less than. Racial profiling and categorizing has been around since the 1700s, over 300 years ago according to an article on History News Network.org. For 300 years, people of color have been verbally and physically attacked on an everyday basis. The ultimate question is, if it is continuing now, will it continue forever? Well, why would it ever stop after being a continuous snowball effect? It takes approximately 13 days to build a habit. In 13 days, if society has already decided its okay to profile, a person can become accustomed to being verbally or even physically abusive to someone they believe deserves it. Society decided years ago, during the time slavery started, that it was okay to hate and attack people they form opinions on. The starbucks story is a perfect example of how petty the situation can be. “..many calls about a "suspicious person" don't really involve suspicious activity -- just a person of color walking down the street.” (Yan.21). No one should feel scared to walk down the street like that. I believe people need to be taught to quit judging and being evil to those who have done nothing to them. It is odd though. Society is so in tune with anti-bullying now, but only if they are not of color i guess. How dare they believe they have rights like other humans, and how could they possibly think they are anything more than their complexion after 300 years? These people are living beings, exactly like anyone else on this planet. They do not have hope of profiling ending, because they cannot see it ending. They are just used to it.

In most movies the storyline involves a hero and a villain, whether that be metaphorically or literally. In today's society, there are protests, rallys, and organizations. Do they really make a difference in the minds of those who simply cannot understand how unacceptable profiling is? As children it is taught to us to be kind and accepting, now. When slavery first started however, kids were taught segregation and superiority. They were taught that with their skin color, comes power. “A Class Divided,” a PBS film, is a great example of the natural way of thinking for those who are not colored or profiled. A teacher of a class in Iowa, experimented with her children by dividing the class between brown eyed and blue eyed students. She explained that those with brown eyes were less superior in comparison to the children with blue eyes. (5:30-6:16). Throughout the entire film is a great example of how racial profiling becomes superiority fairly quick. (0:24-51:09). These children had no idea at the time, but they were being put in the shoes and lives of those who deal with segregation and judgement on the daily based off of something they have no control over. What everyone can take from this film, is the simple fact that it will not matter how many people empathize with people of color. They are not them and that is all that matters. Neglect to change after having accepted the

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