Racial profiling is real. Racism still exists in America in a big way. That much is clear. Denying it is, in my opinion, immoral.
This is a US Senator. He has been in Congress or the Senate for six years. And in the last year, he has been pulled over or stopped by police seven times. I haven't been pulled over seven times in my life. Now, he admits twice, he was speeding. But there are some pretty ridiculous reasons he was pulled over aside from those two times. Again, this is a United States Senator. So, obviously, he has also received calls from police chiefs (he says three times in the last year) apologizing. But what if you're a 20 year old kid who works in retail? You aren't getting any apology.
I've mentioned before that this is the real issue, not black men being killed by police. Certainly, that is tragic and horrible when they are innocent of wrong-doing. But that's just a symptom of a problem. It isn't an epidemic. But you know what is? The institutionalized racism, the systemic racism in America. You'll note I didn't say "in law enforcement." Because I don't think it is a LE issue as much as it is that general racism and bias in our culture is most easily demonstrated through actions sometimes taken by LE. Because what they do is so public and so glaring that it shines a light on it.
But if a US Senator is profiled by police. If he is doubted. Then what of a teenager walking through Wal-Mart? What about a recent college graduate who just got his first new car, one he's really proud of? What about someone trying to get a job without the right name or background? What chance do they have? I don't know the precise answer. But I do know it is not as good of a chance as I had and have. And that's not right. That's not fair. And that's the issue that has to be targeted and addressed. And I think the starting point is criminal justice reform.
