Humiliated, Angry, Ashamed, Brown.
I feel for this guy. I know I’ve dealt with stuff like this and it sucks.
Sometimes people need to be reminded that 9/11 happened in my country too. Last time I checked, not all brown people with cameras are trying to terrorize anyone.
Humiliated, Angry, Ashamed, Brown.
June 30th, 2005 at 12:59 pm
It’s a catch 22. If he was a terrorist, and he was doing reconn, and no one did anything about it.. we would be stupidly pissed at the hick cops who can’t do their jobs.
I was pulled over in Kansas by a cop, asked if I had bombs or guns in my trunk.. I just laughed and said no, but I do have clothes. The cop asked me to pen my trunk and I did, he went through my suitcase with a dog and that was that. Granted, that was 5 months after 9/11, and I was a stranger in town… but I didn’t see anything wrong with the way the cop asked me. I guess it’s all in the body language/tone of the oppressor/oppressee.
I think we need to make judgements after we know if the DHS was on high alert at that time of the year, and there other notices out for people like this.
Or rather if someone from the public files a report, and then finds out the cops/dhs didn’t do anything about it. Imagine if you were some guy who filed a report about some guy taking pictures, and you reported it.. and the cops just ignored you.. you would be within reasonable right to not call the cops next time, and do some Batman vigilante action yourself.
I think this photographer dood should just take a chill pill and stop thinking of himself as a victim of racism, or be less pissed at the cops who were just doing their jobs.
June 30th, 2005 at 1:09 pm
Just to clarify:
I realize that security is on everyone’s minds these days. I don’t have a problem with the officer doing his job to check us out… but it’s when those same officers seem to go on some power trip.
Vid makes a good point about the whole “hindsight is 20/20″ and in that sense, I agree… maybe this kid is taking it too personally. Although, after reading his story, I can understand his point too.
I suppose we just need to suck it up and deal with it. All of us. And to the few “bad” brown people out there that cause everyone else to doubt the rest of us “normal” brown people, you all are full of suck.