Tyler Perry gets Racially Profiled

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a Tyler Perry film, huh?

The story goes Tyler Perry, very wealthy black male was pulled over and aggressively (my opinion) treated in a way that suggest racial profiling. He then goes on to compare the Martin case and two other cases no one has heard of. Did he make this all up to draw attention to the plight of prfiled people everywhere? He does have quite an imagination.

If you have FaceBook the story is here, scroll down to April 1st. 5 Days later and there are over 23,000 comments. Many seem to knock the cops for the aggressive behavior, but (SURPRISE) many white people started hating on Tyler because, like, it's HIS fault he is black, he is rich and when the cops found out he was let go (assuming because he is rich he would not have to pay for a ticket. Tyler Perry FART$ money. I doubt an illegal turn citation would break his bank). YOU BROKE THE LAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.... bullshit, he committed a civil infraction, a code ordinance infraction, not like he committed murder. Apples to apples, please whitey!

So White Folk generally condemn him, and some go out of their way to make some pretty stupid racial remarks.

Is this classic Group Mind, Herd Mentality? This tendency too often seen in humans to line up in divisions of race and see the same situation in two entirely different lights? Could a white male make the same accusation if everything was reversed racially? If not, what is different, besides the history of white on black hatred?

Knowing what I know about Atlanta, I speculate he was profiled (if it happened the way he described). No matter what, some of the comments by some white posters on FB, especially young ones, makes one pause "where do kids learn this racist shit?" My parents were openly racist against blacks and Mexicans, but I was able to overcome the stupidity and see things in quite a different view than them. Why are these people so goddamn insanely hateful of anything not white?

If I had time, I would research each comment, divvy it up as either generally positive or negative and compare any declared political view (liberal or conservative) and report what we already know. Most open racists are also open conservatives. But I don't have the time so I'll leave that last comment for the rest of you to fight over.

Happy Dead Jesus Day.

Comments

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

I'm frankly surprised this immediately became "racial profiling." Anyone who makes a turn like that, with tinted windows, who then says "yeah, I'm afraid of being followed" is going to get a bit of a hassle, no?

The "racial" angle, I believe, is more that Tyler Perry is a black celebrity who makes movies for a black audience, and is virtually unknown among white people on a whole. I'm trying to figure out what white celebrity would be a good parallel for this in terms of a recognition angle.

Or, to put it another way, replace Tyler Perry with Chris Rock. Think Chris Rock is treated this way? Of course not, because the story would make sense. Of course Chris Rock would have tinted windows and have an issue with people following him. On your way, sir!

This is a great example of the danger of racializing every incident.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

This is a great example of the danger of racializing every incident.

The danger being, we are a bunch of racists looking for any excuse...

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

Actually, if you watch Chris Rock, you would know that he WAS treated this way - he got pulled over by a white cop who kept asking if HE STOLE HIS OWN CAR! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwXV1O7R8zs)

I'm guessing you don't watch much Chris Rock though, do you?

I'm about as white as it's possible to be and even I know that DWB (Driving While Black) is a real thing, mostly because I've had people who were POC TELL ME IT IS!

Someone with whom I work told me that she (who is Asian with dark skin) and her husband (who is African-American) both lived in "white" neighborhoods and would literally get pulled over every single time they drove home in their own neighborhoods...

Until all of the cops got to know them, anyway, and then they were fine.

Getting pulled over until every cop knew them seemed to me to be a pretty good indicator that they weren't really driving that badly, especially since they didn't, y'know LOSE THEIR LICENSES! This isn't about law - this is about racial profiling.

Period.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing you don't watch much Chris Rock though, do you?

I do not. I also know nothing of this story, so I'm withholding much else.

I'm about as white as it's possible to be and even I know that DWB (Driving While Black) is a real thing, mostly because I've had people who were POC TELL ME IT IS!

It very well may be. What I'm pushing back against is the assumption that this specific time was.

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

Last year, Melissa Harris Perry from MSNBC was whining on her Twitter feed about getting pulled over in NOLA for having her stereo too loud. Then she complained that she wasn't blasting rap music or anything, she was listening to talk radio. Oh horror of horrors! You got pulled over by cops who were enforcing a general noise ordinance and YOU wanna chalk it up to "they pulled me over cause I'm black"‽

Cry moar. I don't care.

When my mom was pulled over last summer by a black cop and a Hispanic cop, neither one of us raised a stink about racial profiling when she was given a ticket for going all of 3 miles over the limit. She acknowledged she was in the wrong and paid the damn ticket.

Maybe next time she should just cry "racism" and see if people are more sympathetic toward her than they are to minorities who do the same...

that makes sense

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

So the cops didn't keep screaming "what's wrong with you?" OVER AND OVER at your mom? After all, the infraction was on the same level in the eyes of the law (a traffic infraction with no injuries).

*nods* well that certainly shoots down HIS point.

apples are not pickles. Try not to compare the two.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Oh look, there you are on this issue again.

going all of 3 miles over the limit

"Cry more. I don't care."

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Happy Zombie Jesus Day to you too Sir!

I was told, transubstantiation means you are eating his body and drinking his blood....


Is this classic Group Mind, Herd Mentality? This tendency too often seen in humans to line up in divisions of race and see the same situation in two entirely different lights?

Yes.

(*Ducks out of the race war*)

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Happy Zombie Jesus Day to you too Sir!

Would you make fun of Buddhism the same way?

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

I would hope so, at least the silly parts, I suppose that means no perfect nirvana for me!

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

Would you make fun of Buddhism the same way?


Why yes, yes I would. The Jooz too.

[cinchntouch.livejournal.com]

Interesting that a post that seems to want to decry one form of prejudice (racism) would then go on to use phraseology designed to offend Christians.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

Only if they're trying really hard to be offended.

[cinchntouch.livejournal.com]

Wow, blame the victims. That's so enlightened. I guess you would make the argument that racial profiling is only racist is the person being profiled thinks it is.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

You would get upset if someone made fun of Buddhism, so why is it bad to get upset if someone makes fun of Christianity?

[dwer.livejournal.com]

Rick is a conundrum.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

*checks your userinfo*

Nope, you don't live somewhere where Christians are in the minority. In actuality, you live in a place (the U.S.) where so-called Christians are trying to take away my autonomy as a human being because I might place host to a potential human being, where elected officials say that if I'm raped and get pregnant, I should accept it as "God's gift," and where other elected officials say that if my husband beats me, I shouldn't leave him and instead should try to remember all of the good things about him.

Nope, sorry, can't feel sad about offending Christians, especially not U.S. Christians.

[op-tech-glitch.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Happy Jesus Poon Tang Day instead.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

Christians are so frequently the oppressor, I feel that poking fun at them is entirely warranted.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

pulling him over for turning left from the right-hand lane isn't racial profiling.

Treating him the way he says he was treated -may- have been racial profiling.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

[rimpala.livejournal.com]

Funny, but OMG the audio quality X.x

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

If you have FaceBook the story is here, scroll down to April 1st

[suwiel.livejournal.com]

That's the only thing I could focus on.