Reports Suggest Racial Profiling at Boston Airport
From "stop and frisk" to "behavior detection", these race related programs seem to the rise giving cause for concern to many people, particularly those of color. Who is policing those who police? How does one define crime? Problems on a plane, crime. Wall St. antics that lead to economic devastation, eh, not so much. But as the U.S. become more and more "brown", we will find larger collective voices making new types of demands around such issues. Watch the comment-sphere for further indication of new ways this voice will organize itself.
Officers, passengers and internal complaints in the Transport Security Administration asserted that the “behavior detection” program at Logan International Airport in Boston leads to racial profiling. According to reports, people in the category of Hispanics traveling to Miami or blacks wearing baseball caps backward are much more likely to be stopped and questioned for “suspicious” behavior. Racial profiling as a result of the program has also been reported in New Jersey and Hawaii. People think....
What Others Are Saying...
If you are black and dressed casually, you look suspicious. … If you are black and wear expensive clothes … - suspect. And if you dress practically and casually for a flight … and you're black, … you're still suspect. What should black folks wear that won't make them suspect? …
… I really hate going through Boston's airport. I gave the ID checker my government ID to check and he looked at me and said "What kind of ID is this". … He called another checker over to look at the card. … He said “How does he know about the smartcards and you all don't.” … I knew it was because I was black. ....
… That’s how you catch the bad guys...It isn't 86-year-old white women blowing stuff up. Let’s check out the criminals. …