ABSTRACT
Living is difficult in a society filled with fear. People fear death, the fear of death is a universal fear (Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross), they fear the police, they fear each other. Police, the “eyes and ears of a community,” the protectors, also have fears. They fear death; they fear public scrutiny; they fear being labeled “cowards” or “yellow”; they fear “doing the wrong thing with right intention.” People learn to fear what they mistrust. Society’s stereotypes of police, police stereotypes of non-police citizens, and racial stereotypes all raise issues of mistrust. Mistrust and stereotyping result through ignorance of the “other,” someone who is different. In society it is always the person who is different (the stereotype) who is misjudged and singled out. Stereotyping, ignorance of others, and singling out those who are different from the mainstream lead to character and racial profiling. It is an ethical and moral issue, not to mention illegal, to single out a person simply based on a stereotype or profile.
