Saturday, May 12, 2007

Detroit Bans Profiling of White People

On the very heels of the successful bust of the Fort Dix jihadists in New Jersey, Detroit’s far-seeing City Council unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting city officials from “profiling people based on their appearance, race and other factors,” nor asking about immigration status, unless an individual is involved in a serious crime. (“Anti-profiling law passed in Detroit”). Presumably, the serious-crime exclusion kicks in only after one has been involved in a serious crime.

Why is this necessary? Because, as City Council president Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. explains, he “still hears stories of young African-American men stopped because they are driving expensive vehicles, and white people stopped because they are in certain neighborhoods at certain times of the day.”

As a person of noncolor (i.e., white), I for one am greatly relieved that I will no longer face being stopped for being in certain neighborhoods at certain times of the day.

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