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The Reality of Racial Profiling
"Cops are supposed to be there to protect people, not harm them."
By Abdullah Hussain
Pretend you are a white person walking with a person of color, or a person of color walking with a white person. The two of you are on your way home from school and are both participating in something illegal.
A cop comes up to the both of you and sees the two of you engaging in something illegal, but both of you stop. He goes up to the both of you and just passes on the white person, as if the cop didn’t even see him doing the same thing, but searches the person of color. In the end, the cop punishes the colored person. The white person wasn’t at all bothered, so he gets to leave unharmed.
The colored person, on the other hand, has to pay a fine and criminal charges. That’s called racial profiling. Answer these questions: is that being racist? Or is the cop using poor judgment? I believe that it’s racism. Cops have been targeting teens of color ever since I can remember. People believe that they have changed by now, but have they really? I don’t think so.
Cops are supposed to be there to protect people, not harm them. It’s as if history is about to repeat itself except for one thing, there are more people from different cultural backgrounds this time. The more the world starts to become diverse, the more equal we become. The more knowledge we gain about human rights, the more equal we can become. What I’m trying to, is get ready for the day you will have to face a cop because of racial profiling.
Let me tell you what you need to know if a cop confronts. If you are arrested, the cop must tell you the reason of why you are being arrested, and they must call a parent or guardian as soon as possible. If they are unreachable, they have to call an agency like the family and children’s services. Lots of teens don’t know about their rights, so you should look it up, so that you could stay safe out on the streets.
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