Malibook said:
Powell's quote reminds me one from Royson James of the Star, when he was describing a similar case of racial profiling, almost 20 years ago. It wasn't called profiling back then, just a personal incident in his life of prejudice, or pre-judging based on race, and was part of his articles thesis, on how every black person has experienced it.
He was just a young cub reporter for the Star, his story goes. He rings a ladies door bell in Forest Hill, for a prearranged interview.
"She goes, "Are you here about the pool?"
Young Royson is shocked. Shocked. Him being in a suit and tie and all.
See, it "Seems the old racist was waiting for a Star interviewer, and a pool guy at roughly the same time. And despite his tie, it was obvious that she couldn't conceive that the black man ringing the bell might be the reporter.
Royson, big fellow that he is, sucked it up and did the story.
But it scarred him. Scarred him for life.
I remember thinking then, as I did now, "WTF? That's your beef?"
For some reason, I used to wear a biker jacket and black clothes during my university days. As a skinny white kid in a biker jacket, I probably experienced more cases daily pre-judging and profiling by cops, mall guards, and little old ladies in one day, then Royson and Collin did in their entire lives.
Frankly, I think Royson's lame story is the more shocking of the two. I'm just glad the two of them didn't have a freak attack on the perps, and end up getting arrested over it.
In a related incident, I just saw a security guard take down a shoplifter outside Walmart last week. It took literally six people, two undercovers, and four bystanders to hold him prone, while the guards got cuffs on him.
He was a tiny little bastard, but wiry, and was bucking and squirming like a wet lizard.
In the crowd that gathered to rubberneck with me, was a black broad who was going full bore, rabid, "Gates" on the guards.
"This isn't right! Yes he stole, but you shouldn't treat him like that! This is racism."
"Shut up lady, and let us do our jobs."
"Don't you tell ME to shut up. He's black, I'm black, this is racism!" On and on, non-stop, Blah, blah, blah....
Other black people in the crowd are nodding approval and muttering.
Judging by her accent there was no way she was born in Canada. But now she has a story too.
