I believe there are racial overtones nonetheless.
The racial overtones to this issue were raised by the Professor...not in actions by the cop.
The question I gotta ask is if the officer would have demanded id from a person doing the exact same thing, in the same place, of the same age but Caucasian?
Yes...it's called doing your job responding to a 911 call about a potential B&E..
I do know from personal experience that people in general, and law enforcement in particular, have been known to view non-white people engaged in a given activity with a higher level of suspicion than whites.
Such as?
That this happened is symptomatic of several things:
The mindset that non-whites are more likely to be criminals.
This is a stereotype propagated by many different sources, for many different reasons. I don't have the energy to list them all, but it is certain that some segments of society have an advantage to gain by perpetuating this fallacy.
Yes, I agree...the NAACP, the ACLU, Minister Loius Farrakahn, Jessee Jackson, Al Sharpton and others are the ones who have perpetuated this "fallacy", by victim-stancing and claiming that everything negative that happens to a black person is a part of a grander conspiracy...
The lack of community policing.
True, I agree with that...I dont see them in my neighborhood either.
Neighborhood cops that know the local folks are being replaced my mindless robots who do exactly as told by superiors without regard to morality. Had this officer been familiar with the home and its residents, he would have recognized that this was the owner, and probably asked if he needed assistance rather than suspecting him of wrongdoing.
Yes, I agree 100000%...but its not the cops fault that there arent the funds or manpower to conduct community policing as we would ALL like to see it.
The right of law enforcement to demand identification. Nowhere is there a law that says I have to carry a state issued id document while at home, or walking down the street minding my own business.
Yeah...check local laws, many of them stil carry "vagrancy" laws, which and although archeic, can still have aperson taken into custody if they cannot proprely identify themselves but, only if stopped during the suspicion of committing a crime...btw...the Professor did NOT obey a lawfull order given by an LEO, in MOST cases, grounds for arrest.
I am required to identify myself when asked, but stating my name is all that is necessary. Granted it is in my best interest to have an id with me, but that doesn't give anybody the right to demand it.
See prior paragraph and research your local, county and sate laws before you can attest to this 100%...
Innocent until proven guilty.
Amen.
Saying that anyone, in this case a Black man, should be subservient to law enforcement's demands when having done nothing wrong is akin to telling a woman not to wear a revealing outfit because she may get sexually assaulted.
My friend...thats a ridiculous statement to make... heres your first mistake..
your statement: in this case a Black man, should be subservient to law enforcement's demands
subservient: Definitions on the Web..
compliant and obedient to authority;
implemental: serving or acting as a means or aid; "instrumental in solving the crime"
WHY would you choose THAT word, mind you, inherently slanting the definitive towards an oppressive connotation? Is YOUR mindset such that you think or believe the "fallacy"?
Just my .02, not knocking LEO's as a group, or this one in particular.[/QUOTE]
here's my 2 cents...
we will NEVER get past the morality, oppression, discriminatory issues that exist in society untill WE choose to see our interactions with others with better eyes than we currently have...if you think everyone's out to get you, you will believe that they are, thus hindering and sadly stiffling your perceptions, actions and feelings towards your fellow human beings...
make no mistake... I DO respect your opinion, and its your right to have it, I was simply expressing mine too..
Cheers