Althouse: Racial profiling in NYC: "We looked for *white* people."

August 3, 2009

Racial profiling in NYC: "We looked for white people."

"That's all you really had to do. Cruise Broadway or Amsterdam Ave. or Riverside Drive in an unmarked car, spot the white guy driving the vehicle with the Jersey plate slow and deliberate, watch him park and shuffle to the sale location, watch him walk back to the vehicle with the pep in his step shortly thereafter and bingo. Most times you had a collar. That's what you were paying us for, wasn't it? The good people of Washington Heights have a right to live in a neighborhood free of cretins driving over the George Washington Bridge to Manhattan for the sole purpose of buying drugs, don't they? Is that not good police work? Of course it is."

34 comments:

The Dude said...: Funny how that works. Where I live the police used to pull over mexicans, and invariably got drunk drivers. That was just wrong, regardless of how effective it was.; 8/3/09, 12:03 PM
Jeremy said...: Yeah, we really need to stop harassing those poor white people. I mean, damn...day after day, we treat them like...oh, never mind.

Good lord...; 8/3/09, 12:07 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Yeah, a white person can't catch a break in this country. We're all so oppressed.

What Gates has to do with this is a mystery. but Althouse needs to drag him into it.

Where I live the police used to pull over mexicans, and invariably got drunk drivers. .

OK. Let's get the thread started with some racism right off the top.; 8/3/09, 12:12 PM
Once written, twice... said...: Don't you get it? There is a reason that Ann has done more posts on the Cambridge affair than any other topic this year. She needs to feed some red meat to her Althouse Hillbillies who need a steady diet of racial resentment.; 8/3/09, 12:20 PM
garage mahal said...: Yea what's with the Gates tag.; 8/3/09, 12:24 PM
Balfegor said...: Haha -- I thoroughly approve of this instance of racial profiling.; 8/3/09, 12:24 PM
TWM said...: "Get whitey."; 8/3/09, 12:30 PM
amba said...: Seems like a bad link.; 8/3/09, 12:39 PM
Elliott A said...: Profiling is how you look for and catch bad guys. How is a police roadblock at night looking for DUI's any different? You can't look for drunk drivers at 10 AM. You can't look for drug purchasers in cutesy cafes in idyllic little towns. Etc. You can exclude women from a hunt for a serial rapist.

"Profiling" is just another facet of the insidious political correctness which robs all of us of our freedom, reduces us to the lowest common denominator, and absolves groups of people from the responsibility they should have for their actions.; 8/3/09, 12:40 PM
Balfegor said...: "Get whitey."

Well, yes, if he's committing a crime. That said, the way the text displays in the post, pep and collar appear in close proximity, to the point that the image that appeared in my mind's eye was of a popped collar. "Get preppy," as it were.; 8/3/09, 12:40 PM
amba said...: Oops, nope. Went through that time.; 8/3/09, 12:41 PM
amba said...: I saw "pep" as "perp," then did a double take.; 8/3/09, 12:41 PM
TWM said...: "Well, yes, if he's committing a crime."

Does that apply to all races, colors, creeds, etc.?; 8/3/09, 12:44 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: She needs to feed some red meat to her Althouse Hillbillies who need a steady diet of racial resentment. .

She doesn't, really, but seems to feel compelled to do so.

I haven't been around here much. Has The Law Professor opined on whether or not a police officer can enter a citizen's home without invitation or warrant?

She seems fine with that, far as I can tell.; 8/3/09, 12:47 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: I prefer to be called an Althouse Psycophant. Can I get a t-shirt with that on it? (the misspelling is intentional); 8/3/09, 12:51 PM
TWM said...: "I haven't been around here much. Has The Law Professor opined on whether or not a police officer can enter a citizen's home without invitation or warrant?"

It's called Exigent Circumstances.; 8/3/09, 12:59 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Or should that be spelled
"Psychophant"?; 8/3/09, 1:04 PM
Bissage said...: Back around 1982, I knew a guy who was restoring a Chevy Nova. It was jacked up and it had mag wheels. No paint. Just patching compound and some grey primer.

In idle, the floor shifter would rattle and vibrate and the engine would go WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP,WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP, WOMP!!!

He told me that cops would pull him over constantly but never issue a citation. One cop ordered him never to drive through town again.

This same guy told me that he never, ever, got pulled over when driving his father’s Cadillac, which he did fairly often because the Nova was often in pieces.

He thought of himself as some kind of an oppressed minority.

Wait a minute. I think I just forgot the point of this little story.

Oh, now I remember!

That's right!

He was BLACK!!1!!!!!!!!!!; 8/3/09, 1:04 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: "Exigent Circumstances" means not being obsequious to a police officer? Disagreeing, however angrily, with them is now cause for our Constitutional protections to be dumped in the shitter?

So if you criticize the police you deserve to have your home invaded, be shackled and carted off to jail.

Bizarre.

Tell us more about this "freedom" that doesn't apply to citizens interacting with police.; 8/3/09, 1:06 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Sickophant.; 8/3/09, 1:06 PM
rhhardin said...: Thank God they spelled cretin correctly.

The public editor has enough to do without apologizing to yet another interest group.; 8/3/09, 1:11 PM
Joseph said...: Well that explains the disproportionately high number of white people in prison on drug charges. Oh, wait...; 8/3/09, 1:18 PM
TWM said...: Alpha said: '"Exigent Circumstances" means not being obsequious to a police officer? Disagreeing, however angrily, with them is now cause for our Constitutional protections to be dumped in the shitter?'

Huh, you asked about "whether or not a police officer can enter a citizen's home without invitation or warrant?" Not how he or she acts while doing so. The answer is yes they can under certain circumstances. Sorry you don't like that but it's just the way it is.

An officer while responding to the report of a break-in can enter the house if he or she believes that the homeowner may be saying everything is alright while under duress or if they believe a crime is being/has been recently committed and the person is trying to conceal the crime and by their leaving such evidence of that crime might be lost.

As to the rest (treating him rudely - oh my - or carting him off in cuffs - double oh my), we've about beat this dead horse to dust, don't you think?; 8/3/09, 1:22 PM
KCFleming said...: In which the usual gang of knee-jerk lefties fail to understand the article at the link.

When Henry Louis Gates' daughter Elizabeth wrote up her interview with her father, he said he worries about "the 1 million black men in the prison system", and claimed that "America is just as classist and just as racist as it was the day before the election".

More, Gates agreed with and quotes my friend Cornel West that we “are recovering racists”.

Are they all in jail because of racism? Is that what he's claiming?

Shit. What can you say?
Me? I'm done talking about race. It's just another Democratic constituency, it's focus is always that nothing has changed and that whites are racists and therefore blacks need to be paid off.

Not worth any of my time anymore.; 8/3/09, 1:27 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Alpha:

Sickophant. I love it! Way better than Hillbilly.; 8/3/09, 1:47 PM
Revenant said...: What Gates has to do with this is a mystery.

It wouldn't be a mystery if you actually read the article before mouthing off about it. The last two paragraphs are about the Gates incident.; 8/3/09, 2:56 PM
MJ said...: "AlphaLiberal said...
Yeah, a white person can't catch a break in this country. We're all so oppressed."

This is really a sad comment. It says that some people don't deserve to be treated fairly because some other people who share the same skin color are priviledged. It's no different than claiming actual instances of racism against blacks shouldn't be addressed because Obama is president.

Each case deserves to be judged on its own facts and circumstances.; 8/3/09, 3:04 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Hi, I'm The Crack Emcee - can anybody introduce me to that white guy with the bop in his step?; 8/3/09, 3:11 PM
Synova said...: Heh... I was going to say "wow, you should see the comments" but the comments here are almost as bad.

The article had three points...1) In some situations profiling by race is the logical thing to do and is good police work. 2) In black neighborhoods with massive crime rates the criminals, and victims, are black. And 3) "Here's my ID, thank you for responding so quickly, Sergeant, because black people deserve police protection, too."

Absolutely nothing untoward or horrible. Nothing that is not demonstrably and obviously a true statement.

The comments after the article seem most concerned with denying points one and two. Unsurprisingly the leftish sort here at Althouse dislike number three, because they figure it's their god given right to abuse their servants without repercussion.; 8/3/09, 3:19 PM
The Drill SGT said...: On the subject of Profiling, Heather McDonald has written some good pieces. The short version:

1. PC crowd call it profiling when the percentage of stops/arrests of people of a certain group exceeds their % of the total population.

2. McDonald uses NYC as an example abd cites statistics (appr these numbers).

a. blacks in NYC = 25%
b. arrests for gun violence 80% black
c. most victims are black

sounds like racial profiling on its face.

what is ignored is:
d. race of shooter from victim statements, 80% black

so the police are just doing good work and going after crimes that harm minorities.; 8/3/09, 3:22 PM
TitusIsInLoveBaby said...: Fellow republicans my weekend was glorious.

My Indian husband with the British accent who has huge arms and tits and small waist, came to my timeshare in Ptown.

We had dindin at Cafe Edwige which was divine. Then we walked along the ocean, dipped our toes in the water, pretended to throw each other in the water, laughed, hugged and then made out intensely.

We told each other we loved each other just when we were ready to blow our loads.

At one point he told me to lay on the bed with my head hanging off the bed while he stood up and fucked my mouth. Then I did it to him. It was so romantic. And then we held each other tightly and told each other how amazing we were. Next I told him I wanted to blow in his face which I did. I also really enjoyed his balls in my face. They just had a "hint" of sweaty ball smell and I found it intoxicating.

He likes having his tits bit hard too. As I was biting them he kept saying harder, I was like hold on Bombay Wedding I don't want to hurt u.

Did I mention he has huge arms and tits and a small waist and ass. Yummy!

Oh and the rare clumbers were pissed by the entire encounter. They were circling the bed, howling and freaking out. They have a fit when I talk on the phone but when a guy comes over they get especially nasty. The next morning, and I am not kidding, I found my Prada shoes ripped apart. Aren't they bitches?
Thank you.

His hog is somewhat small but I am ok with that. I can actually blow him and I don't generally like blowing guys but I like him so I will blow him. No hummus smell to the hog which is refreshing.; 8/3/09, 4:02 PM
Chase said...: Garage,
Jeremy,
( I should have included Alpha Lib, too, darn it!)

I left you a message; 8/3/09, 4:27 PM
tim maguire said...: Personally, I'm all for harassing and arresting the bridge and tunnel crowd. They're always on the side walk drunk and shouting at each other at 4 in the morning, completely oblivious to the fact that people live there and have to get up and go to work in a few hours.; 8/3/09, 5:22 PM
Anonymous said...: "This is really a sad comment. It says that some people don't deserve to be treated fairly because some other people who share the same skin color are priviledged. It's no different than claiming actual instances of racism against blacks shouldn't be addressed because Obama is president."

Actually, I don't think it says that at all. What it really says is that he was too stupid (or willfully stupid) to understand the point. So you're actually responding to a non-answer.; 8/3/09, 9:47 PM