Quite a lot of fuss has been made over the past week regarding the question of racial profiling and the role it played in the arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. President Obama now regrets weighing into the case with his remark the officers “acted stupidly”, and he has since back-peddled on that statement (though not apologized). While I don’t think Obama should have commented on the Gates case without knowing all the facts, I do appreciate that he is attempting to diffuse the racial tensions that have emerged.
Here in Ontario it seems, the same cannot be said. Here we have the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, who have just ruled against a Toronto police officer for questioning and following a black mail carrier following a report of phone lines being cut in the area.
In spite of the fact there was no evidence to support the claim of racism, the Tribunal has found the officer guilty:
The two officers testified Mr. Phipps’ skin colour was not a factor in their actions and they did not discuss it.
“I accept their evidence that (Mr. Phipps’) skin colour was not discussed between them,” Ms Joachim said. She did find that on a “balance of probabilities” the fact that Mr. Phipps is black was a “factor, a significant factor, and probably the predominant factor, whether consciously or unconsciously” in Const. Shaw’s actions.
This is a disturbing ruling. It essentially states that if a case of racism is brought before the Tribunal involving a person of colour vs. a white person, the white person will be assumed guilty despite a lack of evidence. The white person must have been racially motivated “whether consciously or unconsciously”.
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I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised this case has received remarkably little media attention, but I did find this column by Margaret Wente in The Globe and Mail.
I am not familiar with this particular case. The report indicates there were 2 police officers but only 1 guilty of racism? Was the other from a minority group? This is far from a surprise and overly typical of modern society. Now this officer Shaw will have to undergo sensitivity training and counciling until he can show he now understands he did wrong and is a closet racist. Then he can begin the healing process. That is just one way the left has implimented a system of brainwashing of our society. This has gone on for far too many years now and there must be a return to real values by the people to correct this.
I can’t view the course, link isn’t working
But just reading what you have put here is so disturbing. How can the tribunal say that they accept the officers did not discuss the mail carrier’s color, but then turn around and say it was a factor either consciously or unconsciously?? So not citizens can be found guilty for ‘unconsciously’ thinking something – when you can’t prove that they unconsciously thought it? I can’t even wrap my head around that! What about the dreams I have at night of ‘removing my ex husband from the face of the earth’ in a ‘possibly violent manner’? Should I be arrested for attempted murder? After all, I made the plan in my head – unconsciously in my dreams but still…
This surprises me, but then again, it doesn’t surprise me.
Hello Kez, and thanks for the comment. I’ve fixed the link above, and here it is again:
http://www.yorkregion.com/article/94903
Thanks
I had found a link myself afterwards at http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/671141 and was having a fun time reading through the comments. A lot of people seem to miss the point – being found guilty of racial profiling when there was no proof of it, admitting that even, but going with ‘a balance of probabilities’ and ‘unconsciously’. HUH?! I know it exists, I am not stupid – just like it exists for a young white male walking the streets at night – chances are he could be stopped as well just for being a younger guy wandering around at night. Or a young woman wandering along the street (white or any colour) could be stopped in case she is prostituting herself. My bf’s brothers have been in trouble with the law in the past (they are all white), but my bf would get hauled around by the cops too just for being associated even though he had never been arrested. My best friend (white) in high school was an avid shoplifter, so I got followed around in the stores ALL the time whether she was with me or not. I was 100% profiled by association and for being a teenager, but I never stole anything. I would stand in the changing room while seeing that their security guard entered the cubicle next to me pretending to try on pants – but I could see his legs and he never did change lol. I knew they were following me and sometimes I got ticked off because my friend had never stolen anything while I was around, it’s not MY fault she did it in the past. Every time I went to the drugstore for YEARS, the security guard would watch me in the mirrors. I eventually got sick of it and would wave at him and blow kisses, but I didn’t run for the nearest Tribunal to present my case. It was unfair, but it happens and I could list a reason why they were following me – my friend… so maybe I realized they were somewhat justified to be wary of me. However in this article’s case, they admit that there is no proof of profiling, and still find the guy guilty. There is a separate case coming against the whole police dept too….
I read comments that the police were looking for a white suspect – that’s all well and good. Maybe people jump to the racism reaction because of that – however did the police know full well that a white man was definitely cutting the lines, or was there a possibility it could be anyone? Man woman black white asian etc? If they did not know 100% for sure that a white man was seen cutting the lines, and was acting alone for 100% positive, don’t they have to check everyone just in case?
People need to turn it the other way around – what if the cops assumed that because the man was a Fed employee of Canada Post, he could not possibly be the guy they were looking for and moved on… only to find out later that he had stolen the uniform, or was a valid employee but was up to no good? Gee, hasn’t anyone used the term ‘Going Postal’? In reference to federal post office employees committing grievous acts of violence? Hello? Postal Employees are human and can be up to no good just the same as anyone else. Stealing money from birthday cards, stealing cheques from Income Tax Returns, and so on. It’s been in the news periodically over time when Fed Employees have committed crimes, so I don’t get some of the comments at thestar where people say he was a mail carrier and that should have kept the cops from questioning him right off the bat.
Let’s see those same people say that if a meter man turns out to be a robber and ransacks their home, and the owner finds out later that cops wandered right past him hours earlier because he was a Municipal Employee. They would be suing the police service for not doing their job.