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More on Racial Profiling...Logic vs. Experience
So, here's a question...what do you do when logic and experience do not agree?
Personally, speaking I have had numerous experiences in my life during which I have been minding my own business, walking in a public place, and have been heckled by a group of men (and I will say it has always been by black or Hispanic men). I know people might not like me stating this, but it is fact.
Logic and rational thought tells me that not every group of black or Hispanic males is going to do this, but based on numerous personal experiences, it's hard to think otherwise when faced with it.
I know that thinking every group of black or Hispanic males I walk past is going to heckle me is racial profiling, but when pretty much all experiences under these circumstances have turned out this way, how does a person NOT rely on prior experience to make a judgment call to avoid an area or go back the direction one came from?
There was a poster in another thread who also hit on this by asserting that perhaps TM, based on prior personal experience, could not have called the police as GZ did.
I just think it's really, really hard for most people to separate the logic from the experience. I want to be able to - I'd like for all my decisions to always be logically motivated, but when serious experience leads me another direction, isn't it sometimes wise to follow that lead even if it comes off as "racial profiling?"
I do this as a mother too. I know that nearly 70% of people who molest children are white. So when I see a male white guy lurking around my childrens' play area, I get a little nervous. Yep. I'm guilty of racial profiling here too. But honestly, I don't care. My kids' safety is more important to me that being PC.
Does anybody else understand this?
Re: More on Racial Profiling...Logic vs. Experience
all profiling isn't inherently bad. Law enforcement uses profiling when sifting through evidence and motives to look for criminals. In general, if I'm out late somewhere or by myself somewhere without a lot of people around I tend to avoid groups of males regardless of race/ethnicity. It's more the gang of teenagers up to no good stereotype than anything about race. It's still "wrong" according to our culture but it makes me feel safer. I don't think it's any different than avoiding strange dogs. Not all dogs are vicious but if I see one in the sidewalk I'll usually give it a wide berth. I'm not casting any ill aspersions on dogs or people who own them but rather that if I don't go near it then none of the bad things that might happen if it weren't friendly could happen.
I hear you on the impact of experience too. If your only experience with Christians was people who beat you over the head with Jesus and point their fingers at your sins, you are likely to cast off the whole group and their opinions as invalid. I work with a lot of realtors and honestly the majority of them are just sucky people. It's almost an uphill battle for me to like someone new when I find out they are one because in general the profession makes me nuts. I treat them all fairly but I'm not gonna lie and say I haven't said something out of earshot that wasn't kind.
Bolded. Yes. I think if each of us is honest with ourselves we can truly see instances in our own lives where it is definitely tough to separate the logic from the experience whether it comes down to age, race, religion, or gender.
I remember a poster on this board mentioning months ago how she has a hard time not being judgey when she observes a driver on the road with one of the "Christian Fish" bumper decals or stick-ons on the rear of their car.
This is profiling, is it not?
As a Christian myself, I wasn't angry about it, but I honestly understood how based on peoples' prior experiences and interactions they develop perspectives on others. It made me a little sad...but I can see how I do the same thing in other ways.
Really though, when it comes down to safety what is one supposed to do? Ignore the intuition based on prior experience or follow the logic no matter the end result?
I honestly think that most people will act based on experience rather than logic. Perhaps it's a human flaw, but I'm just trying to be honest about it.
I think this is where people's tendency to self-segregate is so harmful. If the only experience you've ever had with, say, 17 year old black boys is what you've seen in the media, you're going to see a 17 year old black kid in a hoodie walking down the street differently than if you personally know a bunch of 17 year old black kids and you know that hoodies are just the popular style.
You make a valid point.
I guess the one distinction though is that "experience" with one race, age, gender, or religion via a 3rd party vehicle such as the media, as you mentioned, is not the same as first-hand, first-person experience, which is the sort of experience to which I am referring as with the groups of men I described or the Bible bashing-over-your-head Christians another poster described.
I think that we DO need to watch ourselves carefully as to not wrongfully adopt inaccurate perspectives on others based off TV, social media, or radio positions.
But, it is really hard to divorce the first-person type of experiences from our own decision making processes when it comes to race, age, gender and religion.
Geraldo's post was spot on. Self-segregation is so dangerous even if it's because of some personal experience.
I'm also posting a link to a video made by Howard University students last year. Not sure if this is the best thread to post this in but I found it very powerful.
http://drewgihart.com/2012/03/30/howard-university-responds-to-trayvon-martins-death-with-a-do-i-look-suspicious-video-campaign/
::standing ovation gif::
Agreed! I do think that thoughts are important though. When people racially profile, even if just in their thoughts, after a while those persistent thoughts become that person's reality and eventually leads to behavior that they feel is justified based on those thoughts. At the very least, those thoughts, I think, might cause someone to subconsciously act inappropriately.