Why I Don’t Get Racial Profiling (Stories from the Trenches)

One day over my morning coffee I read an article in a National Newspaper about the struggles of immigrants and why someone would walk into a tourist mall and unload bullets from a hand gun.  It brought to light the “racial profiling” and how being a different colour automatically makes you a suspect.  I guess it happens but I found the article shocking.

Here’s the deal from an average Canadian (me).  In my work as a mortgage broker I see, and in my mind profile, a very different immigrant.  While all the events were taking place and the up roar was going on I was working with a young family who had emigrated here from Kenya.  They had worked hard in average paying jobs, saved money, built credit and were buying their first home.  They drive a nice car, have three young children going to school and live a very normal life.  And such is the case with anyone I meet that moves here from somewhere else.  Yup that pretty much sums up my profile.  I see immigrants as brave, because I can’t imagine moving somewhere totally foreign, they are hard working and accomplished.  They have what it takes to succeed.  

So when I read articles like the one in the paper I’m shocked.  I am not disputing so called facts and figures but I am wondering why we don’t get to hear the success stories as well.  Or maybe they are just too “average”.    In my world the average are the normal and the only profiling I would consider is of a criminal who walks into a crowded area with a hand gun to extract revenge no matter what colour. 

Now here’s an idea for a future article.  Why not try to explain why all the high profile psychopaths in the Kingston jail are white males.   Really, that would be just as stupid.