Is it still Racial Profiling if the Shooter is Black?

By now you've probably heard about the horrible incident that occurred in a Queens neighborhood last weekend. A young black man and two of his friends were the victims of a horrific police shooting. The details are still sketchy, but what is known is that after leaving a strip club where he was celebrating his bachelor party, 24-year old Sean Bell and two friends got into his car. He then allegedly ran his car twice into a minivan holding plain-clothes police officers. What happened next is unclear, but when the smoke cleared, Bell was dead, his two friends wounded and 50 gunshots had been fired from the police. Bell and his friends were unarmed.

Of course everyone is in shock and angry. Amadou Diallo immediately comes to mind. Why is this still happening? Black men can't be in the streets without being targeted as criminals and gunned down like animals? Racial profiling seems to be alive and well despite the painful lessons of the past. BUT, what happens when the guilty officers are Black, White and Latino? Did the White guy make the others pull the trigger? Can Black people be accused of racial profiling against their own race? Do Latinos profile Blacks the same way Whites do?

There is no doubt that 50 rounds of ammunition on unarmed suspects is excessive. The New York Times has an article today that addresses that issue. NYT Article .

But getting back to the issue of racial profiling. When we seek to address the problem, we have to ask, who is really guilty of that sin? It's obviously not just Whitey. Black people know Black people are capable of some heinous crimes. And my Latino brethren know their peoples can be down with the dirt as well. And let's not leave out the Asians, the Native Americans and big bad Whitey himself. The point is, we all profile. I'd be lying if I didn't say I experience a moment of panic when I see an Osama Bin Laden look-alike on my airplane post 9-11. It is a feeling I am ashamed of and try to vanquish. I berate myself for sinking so low and try to imagine how that person must feel or better yet, what they might be thinking of my chocolate face and nappy hair. But I can only imagine what I'd do if I had a uniform and a weapon and I could act on my fears.

How do we heal those fears? Nobody is without them and our police officers are just people like you and me. Only they have that uniform and the gun.

I hope this doesn't sound like I'm promoting racial profiling. I'm not. I've been the victim of racial profiling in airports and on the streets and it sucks and is degrading and humiliating. I'm just pointing out that when you think you're going to die, your fears fly first. How do we calm those fears? How do we make them go away? Maybe it begins when we can all collectively put down our weapons. When we stop treating life so carelessly. Wishful thinking I know. But it has to begin somewhere.

Peace Out!

I'm Not A Racist, but I Play One in Real Life

Okay, Mel Gibson is not an anti-Semite. He just got a little too drunk and those hateful antisemitic words just came tumbling out of his mouth. Not his fault. And now former Seinfeld cast member, Michael Richards is not a racist. He just got flustered on stage at a comedy club when some audience members heckled him for being terribly un-funny and a sitcom has-been.

In case you don't watch Entertainment Tonight as diligently as I, or you don't scour the entertainment gossip blogs every half hour, the latest celebrity gaffe has been committed by Richards. Last weekend he got onstage at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood and when he got taunted by some Black audience members who didn't find his act funny, he responded by calling them niggers and making rude off-color comments. Note to Richards: If you're not Black, you can't do that in a room full of people who have paid money to be entertained.

Let it be known, I've never found Michael Richards funny. In fact, I found his Seinfeld character, Kramer, super annoying. I don't think he's a skilled actor either. So it doesn't surprise me that when confronted with a heckler in the crowd, he got flustered and then let his anger cloud his judgment. He didn't have the comedy chops required to deal with the dissatisfied crowd. He didn't know how to include the heckler into his act. Lame!

And it doesn't surprise me that three days later Richards went on the Dave Letterman Show to apologize where he said, " I'm not a racist." But I did find that funny. In fact, I'm still laughing. How are you going to go on a public rant in front of hundreds of people, calling Black people niggers and then say, "I'm not a racist." (Ha-Ha Hee-Hee)

I just don't think Hollywood celebrities understand what racist means. Just because Michael Richards parties with Bernie Mack (and I'm not saying he does, this is just an example) he thinks he's down with the colored folks. And likewise, Mel Gibson, just because the Jewish people produce and distribute your films doesn't mean you have a great love and respect for the Chosen ones. When these guys become unhinged, and start baring their souls in anger or drunkenness, that's their truth. Too bad they can't admit it, to the public or themselves.

I just hope they know we're not buying their bull!

Peace Out!

Mass Appeal

I'm usually more into pop than politics, but the Meltingpot has to give big ups to the citizens of Massachusetts for electing Deval Patrick, as governor. For those of you who might not know, Patrick is the first Black governor of Massachusetts and only the second Black governor in the entire history of this country. (Does anybody know who the other one was/is?)

Sometimes I get a little irritated when people make a big deal out of the first Black person title, like we need a special slap on the back for doing something White people have been doing all along. But I think this victory is different because it's more indicative of people's changing attitudes than anything Mr. Patrick has said or done. I mean Patrick could be Jesus Christ himself, but if he was a colored man in a racist state, nobody would give him the time of day. To me, Patrick's win means the people of Massachusetts really followed Dr. King's advice and judged Patrick on the content of his character and not the color of his skin.

Now if we could all just remember that when Senator Obama steps into the light in '08!

Peace Out!