DWB

In today's Washington Post, columnist Eugene Robinson wrote about the latest study on the instances of minorities being pulled over by the police, i.e., Driving While Black (or brown) - DWB. A reader responded to him today by asking,

what's the big deal? If you're not hiding anything, who cares?

My response to that is here:

The big deal is that a lifetime of people crossing the street when they see you coming, of women on elevators clutching their persons when you get on, of salespeople following your around a store, of people questioning why you're living in a certain neighborhood, of assuming you're in college because of a sports scholarship, these things add up to an incredible feeling of helplessness, anger and frustration. 17 years later I still remember my 1st experience of DWB. I was driving to the Outer Banks right after finals my fourth year in college, with my (white) girlfriend. We were on I-64, moving along with traffic, when a Virgnia State Trooper pulled up alongside us, gave us a long, hard stare, passed us on the left, pulled over on the side of the highway -- and once we passed him came back onto the road behind us and pulled me over. Said I was tailgating the car in front of me. The closest car to me was a good 25 yards ahead. Here we are in 2007, and every time I think about it, I still start shaking with anger.

To quote Jay-Z - "Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for? Because I'm young and I'm black and my hat’s real low? Do I look like a mind-reader, sir? I don't know."