Retired MLB player: "I was racially profiled in my own driveway."

[gollygee]

I post this because I've often read here that people think the only real problem is classism. This shows how racism is also a huge problem, in addition to classism, and affects people of all classes. (Though I imagine the fact that anyone listened to him at all about the racial profiling is due to classism and his status as a celebrity. I mean this stuff happens All The Time and is so normal that it is unusual for it to get any response.)

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/04/i-was-racially-profiled-in-my-own-driveway/360615/

It was an otherwise ordinary snow day in Hartford, Connecticut, and I was laughing as I headed outside to shovel my driveway. I’d spent the morning scrambling around, trying to stay ahead of my three children’s rising housebound energy, and once my shovel hit the snow, I thought about how my wife had been urging me to buy a snowblower. I hadn’t felt an urgent need. Whenever it got ridiculously blizzard-like, I hired a snow removal service. And on many occasions, I came outside to find that our next door neighbor had already cleared my driveway for me.

Never mind that our neighbor was an empty-nester in his late 60s with a replaced hip, and I was a former professional ballplayer in his early 40s. I kept telling myself I had to permanently flip the script and clear his driveway. But not today. I had to focus on making sure we could get our car out for school the next morning. My wife was at a Black History Month event with our older two kids. The snow had finally stopped coming down and this was my mid-afternoon window of opportunity.

Just as I was good-naturedly turning all this over in my mind, my smile disappeared.

[safeinOhio]

1. Thanks for posting the article.

Very good look at our country.

[marmar]

2. k/r

[1StrongBlackMan]

3. Posted to for later reading.

[LiberalFighter]

4. Why was the police outside their jurisdiction?

Hartford police should be upset that West Harford was in their jurisdiction. West Hartford citizens should be upset that he was not in their city doing his job.

[malaise]

6. I'm betting that on at least one other occasion he followed this man home

Must have had a vehicle that was way to fancy for an African-American.

Sick of this shite!

[tclambert]

7. The article explains the officer was pursuing a lead on a potential suspect

for the heinous crime of door-to-door solicitation. Apparently, they had run out of more serious crimes to investigate.

[PRETZEL]

8. That was my first question also,

all this cop had to do was contact Hartford police for them to investigate. But, that would only have been the case is someone from the neighborhood had called.

No reason for this cop to be in this area.

[NewJeffCT]

21. The area where Glanville lives

is basically right on the border of Hartford and West Hartford. I agree that the cop was 100% wrong to approach Glanville and question him as it was obvious profiling, but it could have been the cop was in West Hartford, continued down the street to turn around and entered Hartford while turning around. Then, the cop saw Glanville shoveling while black and questioned him.

The street where the Governor's mansion is located is a half-circle with one end in West Hartford, and the other in Hartford. So if you're in West Hartford on one end of the street, you'd need to continue down the street entering into Hartford and then turn back to re-enter West Hartford at the end of the street.

[PRETZEL]

23. Good point,

but given that, wouldn't it make sense for the cops of both municipalities to have an idea of who lives in this neighborhood?

If it's an exclusive neighborhood, I would hope the cops have a pretty good idea who lives there.

[NewJeffCT]

25. you'er right

if you're right around the corner from the Governor, the cops in both towns probably know that many of the residents there on both sides of the border are pretty wealthy. A former baseball player and ESPN analyst moving in should have been noticeable.

[Blue_Tires]

28. But that's the point

even if he wasn't a former player and ESPN talking head, the cop still has no right to pull that bullshit "You ain't from around this neighborhood, are you?" shtick; which is the mindset that got Trayvon killed...

FWIW, incidents like this used to be much more commonplace...Even though things are a little better than they used to be in recent years, law enforcement in New England has had a disproportionate number of run-ins with black athletes who lived in certain neighborhoods or drove expensive cars...

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. As is the case with any such article, don't read the comments: they're full of racist trash

The article, however, is excellent.

[NewJeffCT]

24. yes, outstanding article

He even has hope for the young officer to one day be an advocate for unbiased police practices in the future. I hope he is right.

West Hartford is also pretty liberal for a wealthy suburb - they made news back in the late 80s or early 90s, I think, in charging abortion clinic protesters under the RICO laws - so, I would expect action on the part of West Hartford as well.

[uponit7771]

9. Nah, it's not about Obama's skin color when it comes to how he's treated. The well known MLB

... player just had an "incident" with the cop... no way shows the "incidences" with racist ass'd GOP....

Not at all /sarcasm <--- cause that's needed in DU these days

[msanthrope]

12. Calling the President a POS used car salesman had nothing to do with

his race. Nothing.

Just like the situation described in the article....nothing to do with race!!!! NOTHING!!!!!

Screaming "You lie!" at the SOTU.....nothing to do with race. Nothing!!!!!

[uponit7771]

19. What's disconcerting is the number of liberals who don't believe the pervasiveness of this

[msanthrope]

29. If they believed they would have to examine their own conduct.

Self delusion has its purposes.

[heaven05]

10. who would have figured

more racism with a AA POTUS? I truly didn't, but not surprised at the upsurge of ignorance and stupidity shown by a 'sub group' of amerikkkan idiots.

[Brigid]

16. I don't think it's *more* racism.

It's an uncovering of the racism that is already there.

[heaven05]

17. well yeah

Last edited Tue Apr 15, 2014, 01:46 PM - Edit history (2)

I somewhat agree. A certain 'sub group' of amerikkkans who have always been there are feeling more justified and encouraged by the likes of Ryan, Cruz, Beck, Limbaugh, Fox news, Palin, Bachmann. They are venting their racist bile in the open and are goddamn proud in doing so. Yet I do stand by the opinion that because of the likes of ones mentioned previously, that the number of racists out of the closet and newly created are legion in this country. Not to say that decent folks aren't legion also, it's the only thing holding this fragile conglomeration(union) of states together. Wisconson GOPers are voting on succession from the union next month. What do you think race might have to do with that?

[nyabingi]

11. Every adult Black male I know...

...(and I'm one of them) has a story about some humiliating encounter with law enforcement at some point in their life. And I can speak from firsthand experience that you never ever forget whatever the incident happened to be, from "what you are doing in this neighborhood?" inquiries to door latches being shut as soon as you're sited from the occupant of a parked car. You walk away feeling violated, angry, bitter and later wonder why your blood pressure is borderline too high.

In my humble opinion, a lot about this country's relationship to Black people is still very much what I call the "plantation code". The police heavily monitor the movement and actions of Black people, cruising the neighborhoods and reacting suspiciously to any gathering over two people and generally intending to intimidate with their presence rather than offering a sense of security and safety. Police actions towards Black males (even from Black police officers in some cases) often times end up as barely-veiled efforts at emasculation, particularly if a female is present (something, again, I've experienced personally).

[heaven05]

15. +1000

right on the mark. very barely veiled these days especially.

[uponit7771]

20. +1

[LittleGirl]

13. excellent article

thanks for posting.

[Chakab]

14. ...but, but, but I'm told by obtuse DUers on a daily basis that most

Last edited Tue Apr 15, 2014, 05:13 PM - Edit history (1)

discrimination these days is simply down to social class and not race.


On this note, let's not forget the story of Robbie Tolan, son of former baseball player Bobby Tolan who was profiled and followed home by the police in Bellaire, Texas because he was driving an expensive vehicle and then shot in the chest in his driveway after reacting when an officer pushed his mother.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Tolan

[bettyellen]

18. they think that because the class situation is @ themselves-so it is worthy of consideration...

you will find exactly the same people here say the same shit about women's treatment in society. Not a problem they care about- or even want to tolerate posts about. It's ignorant and disgusting.

[Marrah_G]

22. The entire article is well worth the read

[safeinOhio]

26. Might fun to file a

FOIA on police calls for "man going door to door" for that day. If nothing, file a lawsuit.

[Blue_Tires]

27. Sadly, many DUers will see nothing wrong with that incident

k+r

[Warpy]

30. Racism is classism

because anyone who isn't lily white is automatically put into the underclass and everybody "knows" what criminals the underclass produces.

It's infuriating to see it in action. I can't imagine having it happen on a daily basis simply because one has earned enough money to be able to live in a yuppie suburb.