Racial Profiling or Racial Whining?
The media sensationalism caused by police responding to a 911 call over a break-in has caused the media to go into a turning-criminal- into-victims frenzy.
National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” aired this piece by King Anyi Howell who whines that he is often pulled over and has his car searched by police because he is guilty of “driving while black”. However, buried in Mr. Howell’s tirade is an admission that he is often guilty of violating noise requirements, briefly admitting that after the cops leave he “[turns his] music back up”. If Mr. Howell really wanted to avoid being pulled over he should keep his music down and let others live in peace rather than automatically assume that he gets stopped by police just because he is black.
The turning-criminals-into-victims mentality doesn’t just lie with racial excuses. Barbara Ehrenreich of the New York Times wrote an op-ed this weekend criticizing laws that are designed to reduce vagrancy. Ms. Ehrenreich laments that police search shelters to look for fugitives with outstanding warrants and that random drug tests in shelters are conducted. If the police catch somebody and send them to jail, they have to go to the back of the waiting list to get back into the homeless shelter. Ms. Ehrenreich fails to mention that this allows someone in line, who presumably has not run afoul of the law, to get a spot in the shelter.
If a city is giving away free housing, is it that much to ask that the housing goes to those who deserve it the most and are down on their luck looking to rebound rather than drug addicts and criminals?
The mainstream media’s focus on individual “sob stories” while glossing over several important details. such as why these “victims” have these “sob stories” grossly distort debate over real issues.
User Comments
adam
August, 2009
You forget to mention that being a drug user should not be a crime and that nonviolent offenders should not be grouped into such a stigmatized category. All of your preconceived notions about drugs are cultural constructs. People have the right to do unto their bodies as they so please. Please try to be objective and logical next time.
Josh
August, 2009
I’ll leave the “Driving While Black” part alone, noting only at the DWB phenomenon exists even if it did not honestly apply to the particular case that you cite.
I’m a bit troubled by your analysis of the Ehrenreich article. Your argument here really doesn’t respond to the crux of her analysis at all; what’s she’s saying is that there exist laws in a number of cities that effectively criminalize homelessness. Vagrancy laws are just one example; the article lists many. What I would add is also that we can’t talk about policy towards those who are unhoused without understanding why many of them are there to start with. Though I freely acknowledge that there are a number of exception, I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to say that many people who lack housing aren’t to blame for their situation. Some got put out on the streets when funding for mental hospitals was cut, some ended up where they were because of war wounds that made it incredibly difficult to return to their prior jobs, and some simply had incredibly bad fortune.
The bottom line is this: those without housing, just like the rest of us, are human beings and, according to traditions such as Christianity and Judaism, are children of God. Are some homeless people dangerous to others? Certainly. I would argue, however, that with the laws of many states as they are today, a criminal record does not automatically entail dangerousness, and the apparent need to open shelters only for those without criminal records simultaneously refuses to help some of those who need it most and highlights the enormity of the problem. Regardless of whether the solution is government or the private sector or both, I’d argue that the current situation has some serious problems that need to be addressed