I wanted to comment on this story earlier this week, but didn't have the chance. In it, some members of the press complain about having to provide their race for background checks for their access to the presidential debates. Those who are complaining have obviously led a sheltered life. Most police departments, when they run a warrant check on a subject, will run them through the FBI's National Criminal Information Center. Obviously, most of us share our name with a lot of other Americans. When information is entered into NCIC's database, race is used to help narrow down what 'John Smith' a warrant may actually be issued for. Reporters who are actually concerned about this are either ignorant, race obsessed, or they are looking to use race to push a non-story into a story. They do not ask for race so they can "Ah ha! A black male! Flag him." They do it because it helps them determine whether John Smith from the New York Times is the John Smith who has 30 warrants or not.
No comments:
Post a Comment