Racial Profiling

Is racial profiling an issue in law enforcement?  Yes.  Is racial profiling an issue in Cambridge, MA?  Undoubtedly.  With that said, I think Prof. Gates was wrong in how he addressed the issue, and Pres. Obama was wrong to say the police acted stupidly.  Law enforcement officers are forced to make split second decisions multiple times a day.  They will not always act perfectly.  They will not always keep their prejudices out of their decision-making; they are human just like us.  This is not to say their decision-making should not be challenged or questioned, but if the person being “profiled” is not at physical risk or harm, the time to do that is not during the incident itself.  The damages to his rights, if proven, can be rectified through the legal process; the risk to public safety cannot.  If Prof. Gates was an intruder, the presumption of ownership and/or rightful occupation that Prof. Gates would have liked to have been applied, would have imperiled the ability of the police to control and resolve the situation.  Prof. Gates has had ample opportunity to protect his rights and raise consciousness as to the issue after the incident and that will usually be the case.  The ability to maintain peace and security does not usually lend itself to such after-the-fact resolution.  As a dark-skinned individual who has been presumed to be a member of the Islam nation, I know that if I am pulled aside in an airport security line, the best way to approach it is to cooperate.  Raising a scene offers no additional protection to me and only raises the likelihood that I will be further delayed from moving on.  I have every right to challenge the search at some later point.  I know the social contract protects my rights, but it does not protect me against every perceived slight.  And it does not allow me to dictate unilaterally the process as to how my rights are protected.