Dear Future President,

Well, you may think most high schoolers are obnoxious and don’t pay attention to the outside world and the issues that exist in our society and that we only pay attention to the new Jordans that come out or what new lip color Kylie Jenner will sell next. Well, that’s not what all of us care about, some of us actually do know what’s going on with the majority of the issues we have in our world and most of us actually want to speak on them and do something about them. We may not realize that racial profiling occurs in our society due to the fact that it happens so often, we’re blind to reality that Racial Profiling is slowly tearing the world apart and we need to do something to stop it before it ruins society completely.  We need to come together as a whole and stand up to Racial Profiling itself.

Remember 9/11? The tragic day where terrorists flew into New York and flew right into two popular buildings, the Twin Towers? That day, America as a whole, felt a loss in all of our hearts due to the hundreds and hundreds of people that lost their life that day. The terrorists that committed the act, were most from the Middle East. Usually, when there’s a tragic experience that has occurred, people start to come up with many opinions and assumptions. When people found out who the terrorists were and what race/ethnic group they came from, it started a huge debate on whether or not Middle Eastern people bring danger with them or not. That is what we call Racial Profiling, when people make assumptions based off of the race a person is. There were still some cases of profiling but the 9/11 event it made many more people start to look at Middle Eastern people with terrified looks on their faces. There is also a term which is known as, Islamophobia. Where people dislike or prejudice against Muslims. The fact that some people have actually stated that they don’t respect Muslims in the United States and even outside of this country is horribly sickening. “Globally, many Muslims report not feeling respected by those in the West. Significant percentages of several western countries share this sentiment, saying that the West does not respect Muslim societies. Specifically, 52% of Americans say the West does not respect Muslim Societies” "Islamophobia". There’s a percentage higher than 25% of Americans, who do not respect Muslims. Due to the statement these people have made, it fears me to even think about what they would do to a Muslim in public and interacted with one. They are people too, so why not show them respect as well?

Now, another example on how Racial Profiling is a very popular occurring issue today. Some Officers use Racial Profiling in order to help when it comes to finding a suspect or just serving for the community. But someone profiling another person to help keep the community safe, IS NOT keeping them safe because not everyone is safe if they’re the ones being accused of a crime or suspicion. Have you heard of the #blacklivesmatter movement? The movement has helped call a lot of attention to the awareness about the unfair treatment African-Americans receive from law enforcement. You learn about the events of many young black males dying and most cases they were innocent. They show how police have been using their power of force to profile these young black males because of their skin color. For example, Eric Garner, an African American who was targeted for a petty case of selling loose cigarettes was put in a choke hold, while screaming “I can’t breathe” "Racial Profiling". He may have been selling loose cigarettes but does that give police officers the go to put him into a choke hold while he's screaming that he cannot breathe until his last breath. Also “In a 2011 report, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights found evidence of widespread racial profiling, showing that African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately likely to be stopped and searched by police, even though they’re less likely to be found possessing contraband or committing a criminal act”  "Racial Profiling has destroyed public trust in police".This means that police are taking advantage of their rights of power and taking it out on innocent individuals. Police officers can be sending two different messages to the people, one message is that people will start to think profiling is okay and start to do it while the other message is that since they have a right of power and that they’re higher in their community, they can do anything to people and that it’s okay. These messages both give out a negative message to the people in the community. Police enforcement needs to stop using their power for racial profiling against innocent individuals.

You may think to yourself, “I haven’t experienced any signs of racial profiling, but think about the people around you that have actually has gone through it and consider how it has affected them and how it can affect you. There have been researchers who have studied the victims of racial profiling and how their experienced affected them. "The American Psychological Association notes that research psychologists have studied the psychological effects of racial profiling and found that “victim effects” of racial profiling include post-traumatic stress disorder and other forms of stress-related disorders, perceptions of race-related threats and failure to use available community resources” "Effects of Racial Profiling". This shows that even though racial profiling can be looked at as a small little thing, the impact that it has on people can leave them emotionally scarred for life, they will always remember the experience of being looked at or assumed as a suspect.

People may say that racial profiling can help discover people who actually plan on putting people in danger and take them away before they can put anyone in danger. I do agree about taking the person who is trying to commit an act that will put people in danger but I do not agree with using racial profiling especially when there’s no visible evidence except their skin. Unless you have ACTUAL possible evidence, DO NOT assume they’re going to cause chaos, that’s just incredibly disrespectful.

I am convinced that Racial profiling is tearing this world apart each time it occurs. As a community and a country we should be protecting each other instead of tearing each other down due to the color of our skin or which background we come from. Racial profiling is taking away individual’s respect, rights and it’s putting our people in danger.In order for this issue to come to a stop, we need to come together as one and stand up. Meaning, if you see any sort of Racial Profiling or anything that can lead to it, speak up, because the person who might experience the horrible thing will probably be silenced and scared to have a voice. You, being the president, can call action to this issue by spreading awareness and even acknowledging this issue your country is going through. I believe we can accomplish so much by standing up and speaking our voices about this issue and make it come to a stop. 

Sincerely,

Taylor L