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Current Events » in reply to The witness was racial profiling?

Absolutely. She called to report "two big black men" trying to break into a house
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Fact: Professor Gates is only 5' 6", weighes only 150 lbs., walks with a cane.

Fact: Professor Gates and his driver were making no effort at all to conceal themselves or their activity, and this happened in broad daylight. In fact, their behaviour was typical for someone who belonged there, a homeowner attempting to fix a jammed door.

Fact: Identifying the individuals as "big, black men" serves no apparent or practical purpose in aiding the police. What does that do, narrow down the suspects to just a few million people? On the contrary it reveals a lot about the state of mind of the witness, and what kind of sterotypical images bring fear into her mind. Obviously, she's afraid of "big, black men".

Conclusion: The witness harbors racial stereotypes that cloud her judgement and impair her observational abilities. This kind of racism, while not as overt and ugly as other types of racism, nonetheless was the root cause of all the trouble last week.

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