Let's take a good look at the brother in this picture. His name is King Downing, and he is the National Coordinator of the ACLU's Campaign Against Racism.
It seems King was trying to get on a plane at Boston's Logan Airport and was profiled in a way usually saved for those of our A-merry-can brothers of Arab decent. Now go on and say it, because I know you all are thinking it: This is the type of treatment that only the light skinned field Negroes among us have been getting lately. Dark brothers like yours truly have been getting a pass at the metal detectors at our nation's airports.---Driving is still a bitch, but flying has been pretty cool. Now for you brothers like Chris....I don't know. I have a friend from Jamaica (I will call him Fred again). And I have blogged about him before. Fred is Indian (or as we call him on the rock, a "coolie mon") and he has been catching hell post 911 because he looks just like one of those Egyptian mother fuckers who wanted to play demolition derby with a plane and some A-merry-can buildings.
So anyway, my man King is now suing the folks at Logan because of the screening technique that they use. They claim that the shit is based on your behavior; but you, me, and Stevie Wonder can see that it's based on your profile. So of all people, these idiots choose an ACLU attorney to fuck with. I bet they thought that the poor brother was Middle Eastern.
How tough is it in A-merry-ca these days, when even a light skin brother can't catch a break?
Doesn't it just make you wish for the good old days?
~
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it just make you wish for the good old days?
field negro at 10:52 PM
Depends. Are there ACLU National Coordinators who are as black as the wind driven coal dust?
Or, are all of their high position, high paid Negroes yella?
`
It's a trip if you're light-skinned, but let him wear a turban and see how far he gets. lol.
ReplyDeleteI have a family member who's a commercial pilot and he's caught alot of slack b/c he looks alot like Saddam Hussein. When he would greet passengers before boarding the flight people would be afraid to shake his hand or they stare him up & down. One time, I saw a passenger even ask a flight attendant what was his 'background'..and she replied, 'human' and walked away.
ReplyDeleteRight after 9/11 I remember one of the hip-hop mags (I think it was Source, but not 100% sure) did a full page spread where they put head shots of like 30 different random men and asked readers to guess which were Arabs.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of different ethnic groups that look like Arabs. Shit was hard!
People forget Arabs come in all shades and varieties. Growing up, I knew a number of fair-skinned Arabs who look nothing like what profilers are looking for.
ReplyDeletewhat boggles my mind is how quickly people can believe stupid generalities such as these...all arabs are not terrorists, just like all arabs aren't muslim and all muslims aren't terrorists...
ReplyDelete...if my memory serves me, the last few school shooting rampages weren't carried out by arabs...the majority of killings, disappearances and defilement of americans aren't committed by arabs...a few extremists carry out an attack (and honestly, for me, the jury is still out on who really orchestrated the attacks) and blim, all of america is afraid of all arabs...amazing...indeed...frankly, i'm more afraid of my so-called 'fellow american' than any arab...
...the stupidity in that rationale is equal to the one used by the lady who grabs her purse when she sees a black man approaching her, because afterall, all black men rob women, right?...
...in fact i remember a news report shortly after the attack on the twin towers where they were discussing the racial profiling of people of arab descent...some black people had the audacity to say they were glad that some other group got to feel what they experienced on a regular basis...the stupidity in that statement astonished me...and now arabs are black tooo...i wonder what those fools' thoughts would be now...'well, i ain't light skin'...wait and see...
...and field, as far as i know, and i may have missed a memo, the suicide bombers associated with that particular attack were from saudi arabia...so where did the egyptian comment come from?...and again with this distinction of blacks...somehow, light skin blacks have it easier in the us than dark skin blacks?...when i talk to my 'light skin' friends, they are still black...they deal with bullshit just like darkies do (i'm a darkie-it's a term of endearment)...*jumps off soapbox...too much other stuff to do today*...
My father is as coolie as you can get without crossing harry belafonte with Gandhi. Actually, he looks like the late Yasser Arafat or King Hussien now. Even when he's wearing his best threads from the brotha who hooks him up at uber preppie Jos A Banks, security folks think he's an aging mullah. I get nailed too unless I open my mouth.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of turbans, for-real Hindus and Sikhs are probably catching more Hell than we redbones. Some were plain shot by crackers after 9-11; even in the new "Harold & Kumar" movie some white women screams when she sees Kumar on the plane.
Now, the flip side is yeah, there are too many Muslim men who have bought into this Jihad shit or who sympathize because, like our young men murdering each other in the hood, their lives and hearts are empty (and touchy-feely mentoring alone won't fix that). There's an cogent and reasonable argument that we should get mad at Five-O or the American Gestapo and rather get mad at these clowns--just as my nephews might howl at store security guards or cops yet hold their real venom for the thugs who ruin everyday life for a regular young black man just trying to roll up to the drive-thru for a shake and burger, or buy a pair of jeans, or ask for directions.
Yet again, there's another facet. back int he 60s and 70s many terrorists allied with Arab or PLO nutcases had blonde hair and blue eyes, like the Red Brigade or Bader-Meinhof Gang, or the infamous Carlos "The Jackal." Now some modern Islamist lunatics might not want to associate too much with such political anarchists, but I'm sure there are a few misguided white chicks who might just be coaxed to load a dirty bomb down at some port facility, a power plant, an Eagles game...or do the old fashioned trick and destroy a plane. Then what do you do? Or even some fat Asian dude with a terminal disease and a beef--why not recruit him?
I say do screening the way the Israelis do. Believe it or not they DON'T "profile" every swarthy person coming through the airport. They use common sense and actually ask your ass real questions. Where are you flying today? Oh really--so you're grandmother lives in Istanbul? How long? Does she come here to Tel Aviv to see you ever? Where do you work? Oh, its nice that a migrant worker/plumber/lemon farmer gets to go on a round trip excursion to Los Angeles...you must save you money, eh? Okay, have a nice flight..but first will you accompnay this gentleman with the machine gun here, Thank you...
With that surprisingly low tech method they've managed to avoid having their airports and planes blown up. It's only in Europe where Israeli planes have been jacked or destroyed.
"It's so nice to know that no matter what happens to you or how you try to help your race there will always be someone darker behind you telling you that they have it worse and snickering behind your back. Thanks for making us 'prove it' every day. Appreciate it."
ReplyDeleteIt's all Mr. Charly's fault!
The news article stated:
ReplyDelete"The first trooper to ask Downing for identification was black, and three of the four officers who arrived later were also black, according to court documents. The first trooper said he became suspicious when he saw Downing watching him."
Now, what was the significance of mentioning the troopers were also black? Think about it, in this particular situation this is not just about profiling black people or other minorities. In all fairness, Downing wasn't stopped because he looked black, but more so Arab. What's their point by bringing in the "black up" defense? Wrong is wrong. They're always trying to confuse the issue on hand. Nothing to doubt some head "Charlie" somewhere give them the orders to begin with. Just my opinion.
The fact is that mmost of the terrorism carried out in the country is carried out by white people. And whites are the first ones to scream about getting pulled at an airport.
ReplyDeleteOK Field, my father just saw my comment and bitterly objected to the "King Hussien" comparison. But hey, such is the coolie's burden hahahaha. Hey, he could've been one of those Chinese-Jamaicans or Trinidadians. Now those are some truly interesting-looking folks. Don't go to the Phillipines or Indonesia looking like that...
ReplyDeleteAnd I stand behind my assertion that usuing the Israeli model will eliminate this profiling mess. But the airlines are too greedy, overextended and full of crap, and as usual there's no political will among the regulators or Homeland Sec. They'd much rather invade you damn privacy in secret rather than ask a couple of simple questions.
I always end up in that line. It's me, some Indians, some other ambiguously brown person and an old white lady so they can say there is no profiling going on.
ReplyDeleteTwo of my friends started getting screened immediately after they got involved in union organizing. It's like their names automatically went from an I-9 form onto a federal watch list.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't beat the time I heard someone suggest that Muslims are hiding bombs in their turbans.
ReplyDeleteWoozie said...
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't beat the time I heard someone suggest that Muslims are hiding bombs in their turbans.
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*dead* The stupidity just kills me.
"OK Field, my father just saw my comment and bitterly objected to the "King Hussien" comparison."
ReplyDeleteChris, you better hope pops did that will already :)
You're right Field--I gotta be careful because you know how these Jamaicans are. I probably have a bunch of step brothers and sisters up in de country somewhere who'll come out of the woodwork Bob Marley's brood style and try to bogart what's m-fing mine! LOL
ReplyDeleteJust kidding, pops...
Actualy he's got to get on a plane tomorrow and he said the profiling doen't bug him as much as the price, the delays, the sardine conditions. Everything is relative, but given the misery of air travel these days the cherry on top is getting fucked with by TSA or dumbass cops...
is it just me or does this dude look EXACTLY like vlade "vlade daddy" divack?
ReplyDeleteI'm a white guy with very dark features. . . dark bushy eye brows and dark wavey hair. I always get pulled over at the security checkpoints. Almost never fails, especially when I'm with my wife and a couple kids who all make me scowl and act impatient.
ReplyDeleteMy kids say it's because I stand around looking intimidating.
TSA employees are a bunch of cop wannabe police academy rejects. Considering the ones that get through the academies, that makes them pretty damn pitiful group. They are a national disgrace in my estimation.
Ever since I worked at Al Jazeera, my luggage gets searched. And, apparently, so does the luggage of all the bloggers I read when I worked there: Take that bitches! Ahahaha!
ReplyDeleteBut dont worry Field, we'll be bringing "redbone" back very, very soon.
L