But the devil is in the details. It’s famously easy to make bad decisions based on “flawless” calculations that simply don’t interpret data right or don’t take all factors into consideration. Statistics is known for this peril even in mundane business situations, but with problems that are controversial, and affect people’s lives, it’s even more perilous.
Here basic profiling would tell me you are male, correct? Did you know people like you commit 99% of murder and violent crime? Can you really blame me for crossing to the other side of the street if I see you walking toward me at night?
In case anyone was curious, the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics believes that men are responsible for ~90% of murders and ~80% of violent crime (in the US).
Cross the street! Safety is more important than a stranger’s feelings of acceptance and comfort. This is common sense.
Because if not, this sounds like a fancy way to dress up racial prejudice.
And even if they did, it would be dumb statistics. If I am murdered, it's 80% likely it'll be by a white guy. But that doesn't mean I should just assume all the white guys I meet are probable murderers. It doesn't even mean that I should take precautions around white guys, however dangerous they are to me, because the odds of a given white dude being a murderer is still very low.
As studies and Nextdoor's experience show, people will racially profile strangers entirely in absence of actual experience. Indeed, as I mentioned elsewhere, people from all-white areas are much more likely to profile, and to do it in exaggerated, hysterical fashion, precisely because they have no real basis to form useful inferences about an entire race of people. Racial profiling is mostly just dressed-up tribalist nonsense. And it has been used in the US to kill thousands of black people [1], at least.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_the_United_States, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundown_town. E.g.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_riot
Take a look at FBI crime statistics by race and gender sometime. Witnessing a Asian woman committing a property or violent crime is statistically speaking like winning the lottery. If I was to assess the risk of an Asian woman walking down the street I'd rate the risk as lower than any other demographic group, is that racist and sexist?
If you treat people negatively because of their race, yes, that's racist.
There isn't a universal definition of racism, but racial profiling is certainly a historical tool of racists and racist policies.
But still, let's assume you can reliably see this things: sure! It's very reasonable to suspect someone who is acting shady. Because there is likely a reason why they are acting shady. Race doesn't work like that, and that's why it's different. A black person didn't wake up in the morning and decide to dress or act in some way that makes some people suspicious of them. They had no choice in the matter - just simply existing is enough to make you a suspect in some people's eyes.
BUT, if someone who looks very suspicious based on their appearance and behaviour (mannerisms, language, choices of clothes, tattoos, etc) it's normal and dare I say _healthy_ for residential (family type) neighborhoods to be suspicious of them.
If they also happen to be black, they might want to use the race card "OMG You suspect me because I'm black? Racist! How dare You!" etc, but who cares.
I am honestly surprised by the down votes my comment received.
If you let criminals into your neighbourhood because you're scared of being called a racist, something is wrong with you.
I'd say this might be an interesting moment for self-examination. If their primary reaction is outrage then they're probably not a criminal after all. Maybe think again at why you suspected this innocent person of acting shady. Maybe learn from it so you don't make the mistake again.
"who cares" isn't really a very community-minded reaction when you've just accused one of your neighbours of being a criminal.
Also let's keep in mind that this is the safest the world has ever been especially in America meaning statistically if you're assuming someone is up to no good based on their appearance or dress you are almost guaranteed to be wrong.
And, really, "dressing suspiciously" is often bullshit no matter who's involved. As a white kid I got hassled for wearing a trenchcoat, and that was just as stupid as anything else. Adding race into it only makes it worse.
And if you have an issue with (as the parent you agreed with) their language, clothing choices, tattoos, then frankly, you need to do something about it - and "encouraging people to keep a watch on them", calling the police for suspicious behavior (where "suspicious" is this vague hand-wavy synonym for "I don't like them") is not it.
And trying this emotional appeal to "well, my family's safety is more important than some rando's feelings" (your exact words) is BS caging your words. Maybe you should move then? Much as you'd like them to move, and are trying to make it uncomfortable for them to be around. Hint: you have no more right to be there than your neighbors do.
And lest you suggest that maybe I need to be exposed to more mental illness, violence, sociopathy or otherwise, like you say you have, to come to a 'better' understanding / enlightenment, well... I deal with all those things, all the time, working in EMS as well as IT.
Which folks? The ones who dress funny and have tattoos? We don't want you as neighbors either. The difference is that I don't call the cops when I don't like the way my neighbors dress.
I don't know. Are you going to pretend like there are no way for people to act suspicious now?
"Suspicious" is walking up to the front door of your house and checking if it's locked. It's walking into your backyard without permission. It's looking in the windows of your house without permission. It's checking the doors on your car to see if they're unlocked. I'll even grant you that suspicious could be hanging out in a running car in front of an empty house for 30 minutes or so. However, it's not dressing flashy and being loud. (Though feel free to call the cops if they're being super-loud at 1am in a residential area. That's just rude.)
If your definition of "suspicious" includes "this person doesn't act like me" with a dollop of "this person acts like the cartoon black people I see in movies", then you should absolutely be prepared to be called out.
That pretty much just describes teenagers.
People can act suspiciously, sure. But that doesn't mean that behavior is actually correlated with committing a crime.
People are suspicious of a lot of things they shouldn't be. As other people mentioned in this thread, just being black and walking through a white neighborhood will get you plastered all over NextDoor.
Are you going to pretend like most people have an accurate, objective way to determine which behaviors are worthy of suspicion?
They were all white, though. Perhaps it's only the black drug dealers who dress up special, eh?
I.e. Every individual I talk to has a fresh, blank slate with me. Stereotypes and "profiling" only really apply until you start getting a concrete instance of said group, and deal with them in getting "fresh" data that is unique to them.
I thought it was its own category because it's not a form of prejudice, but instead refers to the use of race based statistical reasoning.
I'd rather we keep the line drawn. and not muddy the racist card.
e.g. RacialProfilistDoor is more apt