Arguments Against Racial Profiling

Jazmin Lara

Ms.Matlen

ERWC, Period 1

15 September 2016

Racial Profiling

In the United States of America today, racial profiling has violated everything the United States of America stands for and represents. Authorities do not have the right to be allowed to stop, arrest, disrespect or harass any individual in America based on their appearance. The general statement made by Timothy Garton Ash in his work, Behind the ban, is that burkas in a free society is a form of expression and it needs be allowed. More specifically, he argues that both men and women in a free society need to be permitted and be free to wear what they like. Ash asserts , “Let us defend free speech against violent Islamist intimidation”(LA Times Ash). In this passage,

The general point made by Stephanie M. Wildman and Adrienne D. Davis in their work, Making Systems of Privilege Visible, is that white people feel more privileged for being white. More specifically Wildman and Davis argue that colored people are the only ones allowed to make racist comments. Wildman and Davis claim, “...they [whites] become concerned with how to avoid that label , rather than worrying about systematic racism and how to change it”( 91). In the passage, Wildman and Davis are implying that if white people make racist statements, whites will automatically be labeled as racist because of their white privilege. As well as white privileges contributing to the idea and practice of racial profiling by whites relying on their white privileges. Wildman and Davis point out, “Second, privileged group members can rely on their privilege and avoid objecting to oppression”( 92). Wildman and Davis state that white colored people rely on their white privileges in order to be able to avoid being racially profiled or oppressed. Minorities seem to not have a good level of education in juxtaposition to white people. Wildman and Davis state, “...everyone knows that money brings privilege. But the myth persists that all have access to that power through individual resourcefulness”( 91). Wildman and Davis are stating that since white people have a higher education, they have an advantage to class privilege,

The generic debate made by Bob Herbert in his work, Jim Crow Policing, is that stops are a representation of cops being racist and harassers as well. More precisely Herbert feuds that racial profiling has become a tool of harassment. Herbert states, “Rather than a legitimate crime-fighting tool, these stops are a despicable racially oriented tool of harassment”(NY Times Herbert). In the passage, Herbert is specifying that blacks and Hispanics were commonly stopped and frisked for their race. Not to mention that the NY Police would not always do a report on all the stops they made. Herbert stated, “These encounters with the police are degrading and often frightening, and the real number of people harassed is undoubtedly higher than the numbers reported by the police”(NY Times Herbert). Herbert is simply stating that cops insult and strain a majority of blacks and Hispanics, but the percent that would be reported by the cops did not match the actual percent. Also, the Police Department was in agreement with the frisks by the authorities. Herbert stated, “The Police Department insists that these stops of innocent people-which are unconstitutional, by the way-help fight crime. And they insist that the policy is not racist”(NY Times Herbert). Herbert is stating that the Police Department have no problem with the cops frisking people. The termination is