So many issues around this it is hard to make any determination based on a small sample size. That being said do people sometimes suffer undue amounts of attention based on their "look"? Sure they do. Is this a systemic issue due to unseen policies put in place by Disney? I don't believe that at all. The reality of the world we live in is that every person on the planet comes with a history and that history prompts a set of thoughts and beliefs that turn into actions. So when I go through the security line at WDW I am excited to be there, anxious to get in the park and have fun. Based on that I try really hard to not let anything that happens going through security ruin my day, and generally I don't. However I do observe certain things. Upon entering Epcot one day during or trip last week we do what we always do and looked for the shortest line. My wife found it and we then proceeded to watch lines twice as long get into the park before us. The line was multi aged, multi raced and so I do not think there was profiling going on. When we got close enough to see who was checking bags, I saw a young male, Hispanic security person checking bags. In all the years we have been going to Disney since the implementation of bag checks I had never seen a more complete search. Every zipper no matter how small, opened every sunglass case, every bag, I even saw him a clear ziplock bag and sniff the contents. Was he profiling? When I got close enough I looked at his name tag and forget the name but do remember he had a language tag for Spanish and a home listed as Bogata, Columbia. Now I don't want to profile in reverse but my mind immediately thinks, oh that's why, he comes from a place where violence has been previlent and he understands the importance of what he is doing.
On another occasion entering MK wife and I clear bag check and go to the metal detector where there is a big backup. Security starts picking people to bypass the metal detector, he tells my wife to go on through and I start to follow her, he grabs my arm and says "not you!". So I wait and as I put my bag down to go through I also put my phone on the table and the security person says "you keep your phone, the machines have been adjusted!" Now mind you everything I have on me is in the bag, so I have nothing in my pockets, only a Magic band on my wrist, and the phone in my pocket. I go through and the alarm goes off. Enter security who told me "not you!" with a metal detector. He says empty your pockets which I do and it is only my phone. He then says ,"No take everything out of your pockets!". I tell him I don't have anything else. He then proceeds to grab at my pockets and feels nothing. I get the wand and it shows nothing, never goes off. He then looks at me like he wants to proceed to a full body cavity search. He finally says, okay and waves me off. The worse incident I have ever had getting through security but I shook it off and enjoyed my day.
By the way I am a 60 year old white man that is 6'1" and weigh 275 lbs. Was this guy profiling me or just pissed because I tried to follow my wife and by pass the metal detector?
