Also, the two examples you used are just genuinely strange to me- if someone says "My house was robbed" vs "My house was burgled" do they not colloqually mean the same thing? Would you stop and go "Well ACTUALLY it's only robbery if they stole something because burglary is breaking and entering with the intent to steal, not stealing itself"
"is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing is perceived to belong to rather than on individual merit."
If racial profiling, in the colloquial term and ignoring it's less used meaning applying to something like "The suspect is a so and so tall man of so and so ethnicity" is singling out someone purely based on their ethnic background to check for suspicious activity, how is that not textbook discrimination? Textbook racism?
To start off, yes: robbery and burglary are two separate charges and crimes. Let me explain. Burglary is when someone enters a premises (some cases could be a vehicle an open area) and steals something without intent of violence. Robbery, on the other hand, is the use or threat of violence to steal from someone, and does not necessarily need to be on a specific locale to occur. Likewise, you will most likely ever hear of 'armed burglary'. Yes, burglars can be armed, but the intent of Burglary is to avoid contact in most cases. Burglary is also most associated with B&E.
The point I am trying to make is that there are key differences between actual racism and racial profiling. One does not equal the other and I believe that ishe what you and others are missing.
For example, if you are an officer on a beat in a predominantly Asian neighborhood, and spy someone of a different ethnicity (let's say white) walking down the sidewalk with a flat-screen TV wouldn't that thrive you as odd? Would you not stop and at least ask him if he needs help?
As an officer, appearing friendly goes farther initially than being violent. I can't recall any department promoting brutal or harassing stops. If you have not encountered police at least on a regular basis or delved into the inner workings of our justice system you may have missed out on these classes.
Dismissing the fact that racial profiling and racism are two separate things, I think, is counter productive. I shouldn't have to do your research for you and hold your hand. If you refuse to educate yourself on proper departmental law, penal codes, civic law, and your rights as a citizen then it makes it very hard for people to want to work with you.
There is a difference between robbery and burglary. I urge you to ask your local court about the differences. There is a difference between racism and racial profiling. Again, talk to your local court. I even have difficulty explaining the differences sometimes but it works like this: you do not have to be another race to practice racial profiling.
Racial profiling is actually used to solve crimes. If you personally were assaulted by a white female (or take your pick of gender/color), wouldn't you be concerned if the police looked for every color and not just white? That is what racial profiling is. People make it sound dirty, but in most cases it isn't.
Further more, if you were asked to identify the suspect (typically they'll have six) and they have a Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Orangina, and one white woman this would technically be illegal.
Let me explain further. If one suspect in a line up is wearing a hat, all suspects must be wearing a hat.
Distinguishing features such as these cause false accusations and have even landed innocent people in prison. Do you see the problem at hand? Racial profiling is not racism. I cannot stress this enough. If a suspect is black, the suspect is black. Not white, not Latino, not orange, green, blue or whatever fuck colour people want to be these days. If the police get a description off the air that's what they go with. Not "let's stop the black guy just because a'hyuk!" The world doesn't work that way.
Not all cops are white. Not all cops are racist. Some of the best cops I've met are black. Crafting the illusion that all cops are killers and racist is a poisonous idea that prevents any actual work being done.
Edit: I typed this on my phone. There are some errors that have been 'corrected' by my phone. Ishe? Really?
