Racial Profiling: a Modern Day Epidemic
Racial Profiling: A Modern Day Epidemic Did you know that an appalling, unconstitutional and pernicious attack happens continuously in today’s society against innocent citizens and nobody does anything about it? This practice is called racial profiling. Mr. Bob Herbert, a journalist for the New York Times, discusses this in his article, “Hounding the Innocent”. This article is an insightful and informative. He informs his readers about many actual situations of innocent citizens becoming victims of this cruel practice. Mr. Herbert is correct, racial profiling is unnecessary and hurtful or is sickening and should not even exist. Racial profiling is the practice of using one’s skin color as evidence for grounds of suspicion. How can one say that this practice is fair? Racial profiling should be eliminated; it is insensitive, unconstitutional and has a detrimental effect on society. My friend Tony is an American citizen of seventeen, born and raised in the United States but he is of African American descent. Once when his mother needed eggs, she sent him to the grocery store. On the way, he was pulled over by a police officer and questioned, after fifteen minutes the police officer let him go. Was he speeding? Driving recklessly? No, there was nothing wrong with his driving. The only reason he was pulled over and questioned was because he was African American. The whole situation was humiliating and debasing for Tony. This ordeal and others like it happen against citizens because of something they cannot even help, the color of their skin. Someone who shares the same opinion on this matter is Bob Herbert. In “Hounding the Innocent”, Herbert stated, “Ethnic profiling by law-enforcement authorities in the United States comes in many forms, and all of them are disgusting.” Self-respect, worth and dignity will certainly suffer a loss as a result of this practice. No one can say that racial profiling is constitutional. Amendment 14 of the