I was racially profiled at Disney Springs. What to do if it happens to you.

[NYCgrrl]

Yes, but the problem is the police never know if you are unarmed, that is why you should follow every command and not resist. They want to go home to their families also. No one innocent should die but unfortunately split seconds decisions can be wrong sometimes, that's why it's best to just show your hands and not resist and the police will not perceive you as a threat.

My husband is in law enforcement and he always told me if you get pulled over, keep your hands on the steering wheel where the police can see them and follow any commands the officer gives you.

His is a job I just could never do along with working in the medical field (hate the sight of blood) and teaching (haven't the patience). Too many people have died making split second decision in law enforcement and I fervently wish the training for use of guns becomes better soonest. Hard on all concerned. I also think LEOs' jobs would be easier if less people had guns for anyone to worry about.

 

[sasywtch]

I use to work for a large LE dept and went on hundreds of ridealongs. Many times that stopped people in their cars, walking on the sidewalk, etc. i could never figure out what made the LE want to talk to them. I did not see them do anything. I asked once and was told their training and experience taught him to watch for expressions, mannerisms, etc. it was a mix, white, hispanic, african american. Im thinking a pp on page 3 was right. He was making eye contact and the officer wanted his dog to get a smell. If when they got closer and the dog alerted, he would have been searched. It is not a new technique. I am white and was stopped i believe due to the type of car. The officer came up, looked around the car in all windows then came to me, pointed to my safety sticker on the windshield and said “i thought you’re sticker was expired”. Not a chance since the # are huge but I knew they come up with something.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

For those on this thread who don't believe he was profiled, I am taking a wild stab in the dark, but my guess is, you are white. I am a white female, and I have NEVER been asked if I was carrying a gun. EVER.

We, as white people cannot tell a black man that what he perceived happened did not happen. How can we? He is a straight edged, clean cut black man going form point A-to point B at Disney Springs. The police dog, I can almost guarantee did not alert to anything about the man, the same way I would not have alerted the dog. The officer was looking for a reason to get close to the man. Since he looked like everyone else in the crowd, albeit the color of his skin, he got asked if he was carrying a gun. WTH?

 

[Starwarsfan2]

I don't know if this has been mentioned (long thread) but sometimes in order to not use bias, a formula is used, such as, an order is given to stop the 8th individual that comes around the corner starting now, which could account for a person being stopped even though a long distance away.
I know this has been used by TSA in order to prevent bias at airports.

 

[pahoben]

Whoa! So much to absorb.

Let me start my addressing some posts by @pahoben

Firstly, let me congratulate you for rising above your childhood environment; you are not alone in this accomplishment yet it is still impressive. Did your parents decide to join a back to the land movement, build a rural home, or was this just how things stood in your part of the US? I faced adversities of a different sort growing up and it mostly boiled down to being poor- not that I knew it in my early childhood, LOL. You mentioned the possibility of reparations for your early living conditions - was this caused by government policy or design? If so, I think you've a good case for legally requesting them.


Based on your experiences living in Africa during a work contract, it's seems some of your experiences and observations are atypical.
I know people in the expat communities of Nigeria and Qatar. Specifically, for Africa, most lament their inability to converse on an equal basis with natives of the country, in Abuja and Lagos. They live in company compounds, shop in markets accompanied by the cook/nanny, and are generally driven back and forth by security and/or driver. They accept that their relationships are generally limited to that of employers and employees and when they wish to expand their interaction in the country participate in various charity projects which still does not afford true equality. This is not the basis for an unvarnished look at the country or it's inhabitants and they know it. Their observations mirrors my visits to Doha where the house staff is not native but mostly composed of Southeastern Asians.

Most everyone would love to move to a 1st world country, to improve their educational and/or socioeconomic standing. Those that can either because they have the funds or the proper visas, do. Certainly that is why all my biological grandparents emigrated here having been emancipated a good 25 to 35 years before the US slaves.

As for white privilege, which was mentioned by more than one poster, the thinking behind the term dates back to the late 16th/early 17th century when various social and spiritual advocates noted the hypocrisy and immorality of slavery.

Slavery was known and practiced on the continent of Africa before the European traders arrived however the form of servitude was much different. By sheer volume the Portuguese enslaved via trading most but it was the Brits who imported more to the New World. Many of the first slaves in North America had the same status as the European indentured servants however in time this became a lifelong servitude through the generations. The New World natives also suffered the vicissitudes of slavery under the Portuguese and Spanish; don't think any were allowed the status of indentured servants.

Didn’t live in a compound and didn’t work for a multi-national. Everything I said is true. Thank you for questioning honesty. If Disboards has the feature please put my posts on ignore in your settings. You don’t have to put me on ignore because no more posts for me. This board has far too many insular American oh so smart and oh so virtuous progressives to enjoy the board. Also many of those people that live in the compounds in 3rd world countries make me nauseous.

How these people think they know more about my life than I do life based on their limited experience ideological pigeon holing is beyond me but that is exactly one of their key features. They know better for you then you do even though they don’t have a clue. I hope you get the society you hope for so you know it is not what you thought it would be.

 

[sam_gordon]

So...... does anyone else find it odd that grillman89 starts this thread which is his only thread/post and then disappears....

I don't find it strange at all. He made his statement, came back once to clarify, and decided it wasn't worth a "back and forth". Nothing wrong with that.

For those on this thread who don't believe he was profiled, I am taking a wild stab in the dark, but my guess is, you are white. I am a white female, and I have NEVER been asked if I was carrying a gun. EVER.

We, as white people cannot tell a black man that what he perceived happened did not happen. How can we? He is a straight edged, clean cut black man going form point A-to point B at Disney Springs. The police dog, I can almost guarantee did not alert to anything about the man, the same way I would not have alerted the dog. The officer was looking for a reason to get close to the man. Since he looked like everyone else in the crowd, albeit the color of his skin, he got asked if he was carrying a gun. WTH?

Lot of assumptions in your post.
First, I don't think anyone has said he definitely wasn't profiled. People have offered possible other reasons on why he was questioned, but no one knows for sure other the police officer. That includes the OP.
Second, how do you know he was "straight edged" and "clean cut". You have no idea what he was wearing or what he looked like. And no, I'm not saying he wasn't, but you're still making the assumption he was.
Third, we don't know that he was the only minority in the crowd. Honestly, I'd be surprised if he was.

Is it possibly he was racially profiled? Sure. Was he definitely racially profiled? No. Did he have good suggestions on what to do if another guest thinks he's improperly stopped? Yes.

And your statement that white people can't tell blacks that what they PERCEIVED happen did not happen? Really? Then blacks can't tell whites that what they perceived happen didn't happen? Either everyone can comment on everyone else's perceptions, or no one can comment. Saying only a certain race can comment on that race seems racist to me.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Didn’t live in a compound and didn’t work for a multi-national. Everything I said is true. Thank you for questioning honesty. If Disboards has the feature please put my posts on ignore in your settings. You don’t have to put me on ignore because no more posts for me. This board has far too many insular American oh so smart and oh so virtuous progressives to enjoy the board. Also many of those people that live in the compounds in 3rd world countries make me nauseous.

How these people think they know more about my life than I do life based on their limited experience ideological pigeon holing is beyond me but that is exactly one of their key features. They know better for you then you do even though they don’t have a clue. I hope you get the society you hope for so you know it is not what you thought it would be.

I did not question your honesty merely pointed out differences in other people's experiences in similar circumstances. As well I validated and lauded certain portions of your life experiences. To my way of thinking this thread has been for the most part a thoughtful dialogue as opposed to a mindless rivalry of who can talk more trash than the other. The world would be a boring place if we all agreed on everything.
I respect and admire your ability to communicate on this and other topics even when I do not agree with all your conclusions and will miss reading your thoughts.

 

[vacationer1954]

You know absolutely nothing about me or my life

Just like you don't know the additional impediments that others face based on factors that you don't need to even worry about and perhaps don't care to pay any heed to.

 

[bellebud]

I don't know if this has been mentioned (long thread) but sometimes in order to not use bias, a formula is used, such as, an order is given to stop the 8th individual that comes around the corner starting now, which could account for a person being stopped even though a long distance away.
I know this has been used by TSA in order to prevent bias at airports.

I don't know if this (what's described here) is what happened to OP, but I feel like this happens to me a lot. And not randomly. I ALWAYS get pulled to walk through the metal detector at Disney. I'm a middle aged white woman, usually with my 19yo white daughter. I think I'm pulled because I look so average and "white", I'm a good example for them to say they're not profiling.

 

[nkereina]

For those on this thread who don't believe he was profiled, I am taking a wild stab in the dark, but my guess is, you are white.

That's a poor assumption to make, and almost profiling against white people. FWIW, I'm in the skeptical camp on the issue and I'm 100% Native American. While I have not faced the same issues as African Americans, I'm still considered a minority. But IMO, we simply don't have enough information to possibly know whether the OP was profiled because of his skin color. And frankly, the OP doesn't have enough information to know either.

 

[J-Dog]

For those on this thread who don't believe he was profiled, I am taking a wild stab in the dark, but my guess is, you are white. I am a white female, and I have NEVER been asked if I was carrying a gun. EVER.

To me, this isn't the point. The point is that the OP describes an incident where a person (who happens to be African-American) was approached by a police officer and asked a question - and nothing more. But then, he titles this thread "I was racially profiled at Disney Springs".

He certainly may have been racially profiled, but the OP, or me, or you, can't know for SURE what the officer was thinking just from the incident that the OP describes.

We as a society need to be less racially-sensitive and stop assuming the worst - that only perpetuates hate and stereotypes.

But, of course, that's just the opinion of a white guy...

 

[Lilsia]

For those on this thread who don't believe he was profiled, I am taking a wild stab in the dark, but my guess is, you are white. I am a white female, and I have NEVER been asked if I was carrying a gun. EVER.

We, as white people cannot tell a black man that what he perceived happened did not happen. How can we? He is a straight edged, clean cut black man going form point A-to point B at Disney Springs. The police dog, I can almost guarantee did not alert to anything about the man, the same way I would not have alerted the dog. The officer was looking for a reason to get close to the man. Since he looked like everyone else in the crowd, albeit the color of his skin, he got asked if he was carrying a gun. WTH?

None of us where there and can only go on what the OP posted. What officers are trained to do is look at behavior. How many times have you gone to DS and noticed the K9 officer and then made eye contact with them? I can tell you that I never have. I see that there are officers there patrolling but never have I paid any attention to them because why should I. The OP clearly stated that he noticed the officer and made eye contact, and also took the time to see what direction the K9 was looking. I can see how that could be conceived as suspicious behavior. Maybe you are special and live a charmed life where everyone bows to you as you walk by. But many of us have experienced some form of discrimination in our life. I am not going to jump to conclusions that the officer singled him out because of his race. If the officer really had it out for black people, then he would have done more then just asked him if he had a gun. He could have hassled him quite a bit if he had wanted to. Many people here have posted their experience being singled out. But I guess you choose to ignore them because it does not fit your agenda.

 

[Kaleidodad]

One of my personal rules is to NEVER make eye contact with a cop on duty (unless they are speaking to you directly). They are very aware of who is aware of them.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We, as white people cannot tell a black man that what he perceived happened did not happen.

I wish you could have heard all the philosophical conversations over the years I've had with my mom's friend who was like a father figure to me. He would most def. take objection to your usage of racial bias and would say how utterly obsurd it is for one person to be representative of an entire race of people. At least in the conversations we had he would be willing to discuss all the different venues rather than reduce his opinion to the color of his skin. Not that it should be relevant to the discussion nor could I say it would open your mind but he is a black man.

 

[morgan98]

One of my personal rules is to NEVER make eye contact with a cop on duty (unless they are speaking to you directly). They are very aware of who is aware of them.

Quite frankly, this is how I operate as well.

 

[NYCgrrl]

One of my personal rules is to NEVER make eye contact with a cop on duty (unless they are speaking to you directly). They are very aware of who is aware of them.

This is an interesting observation and one I never thought about. This maybe because I live in NYC and rarely make eye contact with anyone who isn't known to me. I think it's part of how we create our own personal space, LOL.

 

[Skywalker]

For those on this thread who don't believe he was profiled, I am taking a wild stab in the dark, but my guess is, you are white. I am a white female, and I have NEVER been asked if I was carrying a gun. EVER.

We, as white people cannot tell a black man that what he perceived happened did not happen. How can we? He is a straight edged, clean cut black man going form point A-to point B at Disney Springs. The police dog, I can almost guarantee did not alert to anything about the man, the same way I would not have alerted the dog. The officer was looking for a reason to get close to the man. Since he looked like everyone else in the crowd, albeit the color of his skin, he got asked if he was carrying a gun. WTH?

Your wild stab in the dark guess is wrong in my case. Personally I am biracial...I like to think of myself as impartial lol. So help me out here I don't know if I'm black enough to be listened to or if you consider me too white to have a valid opinion?

But IMO, we simply don't have enough information to possibly know whether the OP was profiled because of his skin color. And frankly, the OP doesn't have enough information to know either.

Exactly. This seems so blindingly obvious to me lol.

 

[Searc]

One of my personal rules is to NEVER make eye contact with a cop on duty (unless they are speaking to you directly). They are very aware of who is aware of them.

I am always aware of where cops are when I am out and about. Everyone should be.

 

[sam_gordon]

I am always aware of where cops are when I am out and about. Everyone should be.

You can be aware of the police without making eye contact. I might make eye contact with one, but no different than when I'm seeing anyone else. Eye contact from 300+ feet away (the length of a football field)? Not so much.

 

[DeniseJH]

Exactly. This seems so blindingly obvious to me lol.

Of course it is - which is why it is so ridiculous when posters say it was unlikely or doubtful that it was profiling. They don't know that it wasn't. Same goes for the other side: no one should say that it was profiling (With the exception of the OP. He was there, it happened to him. He has the absolute right to call it as he sees it.)...but to deny that it's a possibility is just ignorant. If your opinion is that it just doesn't happen you've got your head in the sand.