Is Racial profiling wrong, if it is used for a greater good?

Question

I can see the side of the argument where people say it is wrong to classify people based on their race. But you cant deny that most of these racial profiles are right. 3/4 of the population in the American jail system are African American. But of the American population only 12% are African American. How can a logical being, such as humans, not come to the conclusion that African Americans are worse people compared to the rest of the population.

Answer 1

On first sight thats quite a circular argument but even if one is to argue that more black people COMMIT offences one should not necesssarily see it as a cause and effect relationship but possibly a correlation based on a deeper set of social relations in society.

African Americans have a history of social disadvantage and oppression in american society so these could be reason for theft deviant behaviour etc. If you were to look at this as a sociologist you cant really argue this unless you control for phenomena emerging from the history of black people in america such as the social class and political power which people who are born african american tend to have.

I think it has been proven a this stage that black people for historical reasons i believe tend to have lower socio-economic status than white people. So high crime rates may have a lot to do with poverty, educational disadvantage and unemployment but not necessarily race so for the greater good one should address the issues of poverty etc in order to solve these problems.

Answer 2

Whoa there, Socrates.   You need to take another crack at your Logic textbook.

Like with all statistics, there are two (or more) ways to look at the ones you cite.  For example.......You could use the statistics to back up the idea that African-Americans are more likely to be criminals, yes........OR you could use the very same statistic to back up the idea that African-Americans overpopulate the prison system because racial profiling causes them to be arrested disproportionately.  Do you see what I mean?  If they are being profiled, then they'll be pulled over more often, and maybe some white criminals are being let go because the cops are concentrating on the blacks.

Then you could make the case that the justice system is prejudiced against black defendants.  For example.......It only takes one person on the jury, secretly holding a belief like you expressed ("....African Americans are worse people...") to bring about a "guilty" verdict.

Now, am I saying that the majority of black prisoners were wrongfully convicted?  No.  Is there a problem of crime in black communities?  Absolutely.  But before anyone starts saying that they've got the reasons for this all sewn up, and spouting out ignorance as fact, I think they should examine all sides of the issue and consider everything that might be playing a role.  Racial profiling can be like a self-fulfilling prophecy....You expect someone to be guilty of something, so they seem guilty to you.  

By the way, white guys in their teens and 20s with long hair are profiled too.  Cops expect to find marijuana on them.  And often it happens!

Answer 3

The reason so many blacks are in jail happens to be the result in disparity of sentencing laws, especially for drugs. A white person who is caught with powdered cocaine is likely to only get probation while a black person with a few rocks of crack cocaine is looking at several years of prison time. What's the difference? None, except that powdered cocaine is mainly used by whites while crack cocaine is favored by blacks. The two drugs are chemically identical otherwise.

Answer 4

Yes. It is wrong. Period.

Answer 5

using your argument, could a person say that every white person is as bad as Hitler, Stalin and other white guys who have been responsible for killing millions? If you seriously take a look back in history the most egregious crimes were committed by white men, comparatively speaking. What do you consider whites? good or bad? How about the Unabomber or Timothy McVeigh? Should whites be looked at as terrorist b/c of the actions of these cats? The list goes on and on...white cats have committed more mass murders in the history of man than any other 'race' of ppl...please tell us, should whites be considered the worse ppl based on the actions of their brethren?

Answer 6

Racial profiling sometimes makes good sense.  The demographics of jail population have a lot to do with socio-economic status.

I'm a white guy and I'll say this:  If you're looking for a serial killer, go ahead and question me, but don't waste your time talking to black guys.  Black guys aren't serial killers.

Answer 7

And it's thoughts like that that keep people from seeing past skin color.  Racial profiling is wrong!  Not all black people are into crime and gangs and all white people don't want to live in suburbia.  This type of stuff upsets me.

Answer 8

I don't think racial profiling is wrong. There is a far, far greater chance for example, that a man of middle eastern descent of the ages 20-35 is a terrorist than, say a Chinese woman who's 60+.

Answer 9

...maybe the cops who put them in jail are the racist ones...did you ever watch cops? Hello...