I remember coming across the Colorado State University story and empathizing with the Native American teens who were profiled by a racist helicopter mom. I didn’t react with anger based only on a headline. Like I said in my last article, I listened to the 911 call so that I could fairly judge the woman, who is still blessed with anonymity that she doesn’t deserve.
These sorts of stories, where a law abiding minority is singled out for looking “suspicious”, “out of place” etc. always strike a chord with me since I am no stranger to these experiences. I have had security called on me and I have had a flight attendant assume I was sneaking into first class (when I was actually in first class). There was a time when I stopped looking forward to going to nice restaurants or living in nice areas, because the potential scrutiny I would receive from my neighbours and law enforcement weighed on my mind more than all of the benefits.
My parents recently moved into a new home in Whitby, and on my first visit some neighbours passed by while I was with my parents on the driveway. What followed was an interrogation. How many people living here? Where are you from? My parents were polite and went along with the routine, but I wouldn’t have blamed them if they refused to answer, just like the Colorada State University students refused to answer questions from a racist helicopter mom.
In this case, a helicopter neighbour saw a group of black women leaving an Airbnb. Apparently she waved, they didn’t wave back. So she called the police and reported a robbery. Which then led to multiple cop cars being called to stop the group. The cops also warned that a helicopter was on its way.
https://www.facebook.com/directedbykells/videos/vb.759090120/10160498802620121/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab
I gave the cops some credit in the Colorada State example, since the body cam footage showed them doing a decent job of deescalating the situation and listening to the people they were called to report. In the case of this video, the sergeant apparently said he doesn’t know what Airbnb is, which comes across as someone feigning ignorance to give a group of minorities a hard time. Even if he genuinely didn’t know it shouldn’t take that long to Google it. This did not require a 45 minute police stop with a street blocked off.
Again, I seriously believe that callers should be fined in situations like this. They should not be able to hide behind anonymity and receive no penalty for their profiling. Initiatives like Neighbourhood Watch and the whole “see something, say something” mentality can be a good thing in principle, but these initiatives are still vulnerable to biases. In the Colorado State example, some suburban mom saw people who “looked Hispanic” and was already on the alert. In this case, a group of well-dressed black women with luggage are assumed to be stealing from a house.
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