Nov. 30,2000
• Focus •
Page 11
State troopers keep an eye on race minority motorists
Rady Large
Asst. Opinions Editor
I was just minding my busi
ness, roiling along in my car (and
obeying the speed limit) on my way
home from school, when I saw blue
lights in my rear window.
I stopped and followed all
the proper procedures one is sup
posed to follow when being pulled
over by a member of the law en
forcement community.
When the officer ap
proached my window, he said that
I had some “proactive bumper
stickers” and asked if he could
search my car.
I replied to the officer, “My
father told me never to let anyone
search my car.” He then checked
my license and registration and bid
me adieu. In essence, I had been
pulled over for driving while lib
eral.
It is not uncommon for police
officers to sight Phish and Grateful
Dead stickers as reasonable cause
for searching your vehicle.
I just want to say that this
occurrence, although not isolated,
does not reflect the behavior of all
law enforcement officials. Through
my years as a social activist, I have
known and even labored alongside
sheriffs and state troopers who were
great and honorable people.
Yet, there is a virus infecting
the police community. It has al
ready been established and is seen
by its symptoms of an over
whelming percentage of routine
road stops being exercised on
minorities and liberals.
It has been admitted by
law enforcement officials that
more Black and Hispanic driv
ers are stopped than motorists
of any other race. According to
a recent article in The New York
Times, titled “Racial profiling
was the routine, New Jersey
finds.” New Jersey state law en
forcement used race as reason to
pull someone over.
The documents released
read that the New Jersey state
highway patrol used “race-based
tactics” in their policies. Four
out of five of the people pulled
over and searched on the New
The COINTELPRO Papers
The COINTELPRO papers are legitimate documents providing detailed
information on how the F.B.I. attempted to undermine United States social
movements in the 1960s and 70s. Below are brief points detailed int he
documents.
In Dec. 1964, the F.B.I. secretly sent a letter to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., encouraging him to commit suicide.
The F.B.I. authored articles and editorials which “cooperative news
media” ran as their own.
The F.B.I. made secret deals with drug dealers to flood black
neighborhoods with illegal drugs.
The F.B.I. victimized over 200 black, elected officials in Alabama, Georgia
and North Carolina through smear campaigns, false criminal charges
and elaborate “sting” operations.
information compiled by Rady Large
Jersey Turnpike were black or
Hispanic.
Do black people have lead
feet? Do hispanic people con
stantly swerve down the highway?
No, the simple fact of the matter
lies in certain minds of the law
enforcement community, “Every
nigger and spic is a drug dealing,
gang banging, thug.”
They see the rap videos and
O.J. Simpson trial as evidence
that the black people of this coun
try are out to destroy American
values.
This couldn’t be farther
from the truth. The black Ameri
can is the embodiment of Ameri
can spirit of perseverance, deter
mination and victory. The
hispanic American is the embodi-
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ment of America’s ability to tran
scend culture and language to
bring freedom to everyone.
The truth is that everyone
out on the road has but one pur
pose: to get somewhere, to get to
their families or friends, to get to
work, to get away for a while.
People of all colors are just
moving. So, why can’t we all just
move freely? After all, isn’t that
what this country is all about?
Why work to help others?
Stephen Dignan
Focus Editor
It may not be necessary for
people to save every tree, free every
slave or right every wrong.
So what’s the point of trying
to better the lives of others when
you know it’s a futile exercise
doomed to end in frustration, sad
ness and possibly even failure?
An old parable of uncertain
origin comes to mind. A man was
walking on the sandy beach when
he spotted another man picking up
starfish off the sand and throwing
them into the ocean.
The first man became very
curious as to what this starfish
thrower was doing, so he ap
proached him and asked, “What are
you doing?”
“When the tide comes in,”
the man responded, “some of these
starfish are stranded on the beach.
The starfish need water to survive
and if they stay here on the beach,
they’ll all die. That’s why I’m throw
ing them in.”
The first man commented,
“You know you’ll never save all the
starfish on this beach.”
The second, tossing another
starfish into the seas, replied, “Yes,
but I just saved that one.”
It may not be possible to res
cue all the children laboring in
sweatshops or all the farm workers
living in diseased conditions.
But if you have the opportu
nity to help even one person, isn’t
the improvement of one person’s
life worth the effort?
The Pendulum staff extends its appreciation to Elon’s
Students for Peace and Justice for their contributions to this
issue’s Focus Section. Their research and writing
contributions have made this issue’s section a true testament
to nationwide, social activism efforts.
Next Issue’s
Topic:
The Pros
and Cons of
Greek Life
at Elon
College