I think it's clear from most of the posts here, from members of all colors, that ethnicity does factor in negative LEO encounters. no one here called the police Nazis, or think every cop is a racist. but, there is a disparate number of bad experiences between caucasians and non-caucasians. i've denied it for years, because i didn't want to be one of those people who "threw out the race card"; those people irritate me. but when things happen enough, you begin to see the pattern.
when i attended the OC meetup in Dickson City (Old Country Buffet), i was the first person targeted by the police; they bypassed two tables of armed men to ask me to step outside. for a week, my family kept telling me that, but i denied it. i didn't accept the fact that i was singled out because of being the only brown skinned guy there, until other people who were there told me the same thing.
i was depressed for a few weeks about it. i wasn't dressed hood, or gangsta, or street; i dressed like i was going to a job interview in an office building. i think it says something when my caucasian friends realized i was racially profiled before i did. i guess i didn't want to accept it.
afterwards, i realized that it wouldn't matter what i dressed like; if i dressed like a gangsta, a skatepunk, a lawyer, or a cowboy, my ethnicity was always going to be a factor in how i was treated by others. it's sickening, it's sad, but that's how it is. so, i no longer worry if my mode of dress will put some people off. if i decide i want to cornrow my hair, and wear the baggiest jeans i can find, it'll be the same if i wear an outfit i bought from L.L. Bean. so, i dress how i like.
and, no, i wouldn't really wear huge jeans with no belt; where would my holster go?
i am glad this thread didn't devolve into a total disaster. usually, someone says something ignorant, people get pissed off, and it gets shut down. it's nice to see people being civil with this topic for a change.:hand10:
