has anyone ever been the subject of profiling

[Katie_thehappywife]

myself and another lady at an amusement park have been profiled as *bleep*'s because of having a german hertiage. out of the 100s of people we were the only 2 whose purses were searched. both of us said we won't be returning to the theme park. we both wanted to enjoy time with our families. we didn't have anything in our purse that was even searchable worthy  wallet, maxi pads and midol. we were very upset.

[BATISTAGIRL663]

i am so sorry you and your friend went through this --why can't everyone just love each other and get along ?

[Katie_thehappywife]

thank you very much.  I have no idea why there is no sense in that kind of thing.

[Nancy5]

Sorry you and your friend had to go through that.  I didn’t know German backgrounds were cause for a search.  How sad this is becoming.

[Katie_thehappywife]

very sad indeed. we won't be returning to that theme park

[jwkelly]

Yeah and I'm white  and a guy but have long hair so I must be on drugs ?

[vickysue]

Yes, one year when living  down  near the Mexican border I was pulled over by the  Border Patrol, they were on the look out for a Mexican woman driving a white station wagon heading  toward the same city I was, of course it was  still early dawn, I am was tanned because of the summer sun and had long  dark hair. But as soon as he heard me speak he knew I was not her with my Texan accent, She was wanted for fraud.  Was going to 3 different  towns  collecting welfare checks and was not even living  ln the U.S.A..  Yep they caught her though and the BP wished me well with my doctors appointment and went on his way.

[breazybu]

I definitely understand profiling. I do not agree with people using it to make others' lives miserable or singling people out for no reason. The woman from Texas is a great example of how profiling should be done. They saw a woman that matched the description, stopped her, apologized when it wasn't her, and let her on her way. To me, profiling is a great tool but it is completely over used.

Stopping people for no reason, based on their race, age, or religion is absolutely unacceptable. Stopping anyone who looks Middle Eastern in an airport is an example of extreme and terrible profiling. Sheiks, Muslims, etc. It's the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Everyone who watches the news knows that terrorists have gone underground and try to assimilate their surroundings so they can go undetected until their mission is complete. It makes no sense to stop a Muslim woman in full Hijab in the airport and go through her things. It makes even less sense to force her to be searched by a man. Sheik's aren't even the same religion but they're getting stopped as well. It makes me so mad.

Profiling is supposed to be used to help people and keep them safe. It's a natural human defense to pick up on something that doesn't fit. When I worked in retail, a lot of people would be surprised when I asked them where they were from. They were always curious how I knew that 'they weren't from around here.' I live in a small southern town and I've always enjoyed learning about other cultures. My only intentions were to ask where they were from and hear their stories if they were interested in telling me. I met so many interesting people and learned so many cool things. I've seen Canadian plastic money, heard a southern German accent that sounded French, been given many foreign recipes that were just delicious. My favorite was to be tipped in foreign currency. It was usually the equivalent of a nickel or quarter, but I still have all my tips proudly displayed on a bookshelf. To me, it wasn't the amount, it was the fact that someone was offering me a piece of their culture to keep.
To sum up, Profiling can be a good thing and is supposed to be used for good. In this day and age it seems like Profiling is only used to put people down and make others feel they aren't welcome without explicitly telling them so. I don't know what state or country the theme park was located in, but I can def see a company doing that so that you don't feel comfortable going back because they didn't want you there in the first place.

I'm sorry you were made to feel uncomfortable, you shouldn't have had to go through that for no reason. I highly urge you to write the company and tell them your experience. It is not right to go through that. Unless your feminine hygiene products were in the shape of a weapon of mass destruction, you were in the right and should fight for that.
Good luck.

[countrygirl12]

myself and another lady at an amusement park have been profiled as *bleep*'s because of having a german hertiage. out of the 100s of people we were the only 2 whose purses were searched. both of us said we won't be returning to the theme park. we both wanted to enjoy time with our families. we didn't have anything in our purse that was even searchable worthy  wallet, maxi pads and midol. we were very upset.

Curious as to what was bleeped out.  Also curious as to what theme park you went to where anyone thought they had the right to search your purse. I have been to several and no one has ever tried to search any one. I did go to a basketball game right after 9-11 and they had cops at every door but they used the wand thing on every one that went in and they looked in every purse bag or whatever before they were let in. Done it to me, my whole party, and everyone before and after us.

[Segun15]

I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I am German and I don't wish that to happen to me or even anyone. God made us as equals and I don't know why this is still happening still. That amusement park should be sued for discrimination.