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December 22, 2007

When racial profiling doesn't matter in media eyes

Thomas Lifson
Media pop quiz: what does it take to get a liberal newspaper like the San Francisco Chronicle to ignore the racial implications of ethic profiling seriously violating the rights of minorities?

The answer, of course, is that the victimizers must be members of another minority felt to enjoy superior status as society's victims. That is how laughably-written stories like this one  get published.

Police in the East Bay are searching for at least two men who have terrorized dinner patrons and staff in a string of armed takeovers at Asian restaurants in Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro.

The robberies began in August and the most recent one was a few days ago, authorities said Friday. Eight restaurants in Oakland, one in Berkeley and one in San Leandro have been robbed, all at dinner time.
Nowhere in its story does the Chron bother mentioning the suspects are black, and that they are preying on Asian restaurateurs and predominantly-Asian customers. Discerning readers know, of course, that when no race is ascribed to a bad guy in the liberal media, the likelihood of African-American heritage is high. But in this case, the suspects continue their crime spree, and, as a patron of many of the restaurants robbed, and patron of any number of other Asian restaurants in the general area, it might be useful to have an accurate description of the known facts about their appearance. If I see them walking toward a certain restaurant, I might want to dine elsewhere while calling the police.

The local weekly Berkeley Voice newspaper (not available online) had no trouble noting that police describe the robbers as black, nor did the Berkeley Daily Planet, which wrote: 

The suspects are described by police as two black men in their late teens, with dark blue or black jeans or pants and dark black or blue hoodies, wrapped around their face to conceal their identity.
This is very personal to me. The robbers fleece patrons as well as the restaurant till. I do not relish the prospect of such a confrontation, and I love Asian food. These guys are hitting my neighborhood.

I am sickened that Asian restaurants are targeted. Most of these restaurateurs are very hard-working immigrant entrepreneurs. 80 hour work weeks are not uncommon among them. Patrons range from affluent folks to people who cannot afford to lose the contents of their pockets after a hard day at work and payment in cash.

I guess the San Francisco Chronicle subscribes to the notion that black people are so oppressed by whites (and Asians?) that they should not be subjected to any unfavorable publicity, at least until they start bumping off black reporters. 

A little honesty about race would be refreshing. Or maybe shocking, come to think of it.

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