Police targeting and racial stereotyping in American society

¶ … Race Story

Something that should not be news to anyone is that race is a very prominent subject in the United States right now. Whether it be the anthem kneeling protests of Colin Kaepernick and others or whether it be the disturbing amount of blacks (many unarmed) that are shot and/or killed by police every year. There are certainly other important things going on in the United States and this is even true while looking only at law enforcement. However, the treatment (or maltreatment) of black people is certainly among the biggest problems and it is certainly something that the author of this report is focusing on. While racial relations and such are much better than they were in the 1960\'s, the United States certainly has a long way to go.

Analysis

As for the issues and problems that pervade American policing and other parts of society, there are a few things that the author of this report shall focus on. The first thing will be the way in which police sometimes target and harass black people for being black. Indeed, there are times where black people will be caught in the act committing crime. However, targeting and centering on black people only because they are black is less than ethical, moral or legal. Throw in the idea that many of those black people are current or former military that have served their country and the proverbial (or actual) slap in the face that can happen can be all the more insulting and worse.

The above is a part of the wider and more expansive paradigm that many black people feel that they are perpetual targets irrespective of how good a life they live. Indeed, those people are paying the prices for what other people have done and what the police think that the rest of the black public could do or will do. Regardless, police have no business harassing or inciting black people in any instance unless it is clear that a crime is in progress or is about to be committed.

As for interacting with other racial groups, there are difficulties there as well since there are som many ill-conceived notions and stereotypes about blacks that pervade other cultures. Some of them are not even evil on their face but are still subtly racist. For example, any group assuming that a young black in a store is going to steal is racist unless it is clear that the young black is doing precisely that. Even if he is doing that, he is not racist. A more subtle example is talk of a young black man that is \"so well spoken,\" as if that is somehow beyond the pale or impossible. Beyond that, there is clearly suspicion and acrimony between different racial groups that go back a long time.

Being in the Army has been a huge asset for the author of this report. While the racism and other issues that exist are still there, the author is better able to react to racism and deal with it when it happens to the discipline and maturity that is instilled and impressed upon people in the military, including the Army. Conversely, there are plenty of blacks that are raised in dug-infested and/or gang-infested areas and this tends to make the aforementioned interaction with other racial and cultural groups harder to pull off well, assuming it can be done in the first place.