By Raoul Lowery Contreras
October 14, 2000
 

Remember when Vice President Al Gore berated opponent Bill Bradley for representing New Jersey in the U.S. Senate, a state, Gore said, where "racial profiling" started? Another Gore exaggeration, or little white lie?

Racial profiling is the use of a person's skin color or ethnicity as a reason, perhaps the only reason, for law enforcement officers to stop people on public roads and places.

Racial profiling actually originated in Tennessee. In 1865, in Tennessee, the Ku Klux Klan was founded by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forest. Then, right after the Civil War, Forrest and his fellow thugs - many of them sheriffs -- terrorized Negroes and started the long lasting tradition of lynching Negroes that continued until the 1960s.

Today, Al Gore, Tennessee son and candidate for President is part and parcel of egregious "racial profiling" in California that has targeted Hispanics.  Yes, Vice President Al Gore is an active member and supporter of the Clinton-Gore administration. The question is: Does Gore stand by illegal targeting of Hispanics in Northern California by the U.S. Forest Service?

According to an Associated Press report in the Los Angeles Times (October 13), a U.S. Forest Service supervisor issued a written directive to his officers.  It stated:  "If a vehicle stop is conducted and no marijuana is located and the vehicle has Hispanics inside at a minimum we would like all individuals FI's (field interrogated)."

Forest service officers denied that this is racial profiling.  The question is what kind of fools do these pistol packing forest rangers think we are?  Do they think we are as dumb as their superiors in the Department of Agriculture and its secretary, defeated Kansas Democratic Congressman Dan Glickman.  If the directive specifically mentioned Hispanics and didn't mention non-Hispanic whites, Anglos, if your will, or Blacks, just what do they think racial profiling is?

Do they stop Whites and Blacks, willy nilly, and search the cars and then "FI" them if they DON'T find marijuana? No. They single out Hispanics for full field interrogation even if they don't find marijuana in the car.  That means, readers, that they stop cars with Hispanics for no "probable cause" or reason, or even suspicion.  They stop cars with Hispanics for the simple reason that the car includes Hispanic passengers. THAT IS WRONG!

Phebe Brown, public affairs officer for the Mendocino National Forest states the directive has been withdrawn and that officers have been directed to field interrogate everyone who is stopped for questioning using "probable cause" as the basis for the stop.  Another lie?

Let's examine the situation.  Jerry Moore, Special Agent in Charge of the October 8th-14th blitz in the Mendocino National Forest, says the blitz comes from reports that more marijuana cultivation in the Forest is attributed to Mexicans.  Excuse me! When a 100% of Mendocino and Northern California marijuana cultivation was done by Whites, Anglos, if you will, did Forest Service pistol packing rangers stop Whites and Field Interrogate them despite not having any evidence of marijuana in their cars? No.

So, what is it with the Clinton-Gore administration that causes them to issue directives blatantly ignoring the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution? The administration managed to appoint a handful of Hispanics to various posts within the federal government, then issues a directive to violate the rights of any Hispanic they can if within a specific national forest. That-away Gore!

So, what do we have here? We have a President from a state that has the Confederate flag as part of its state flag and has a state holiday honoring the Confederacy and prohibits anyone from using a Confederate flag (the same one Democrats raised above the state house in South Carolina) to make a profit.  No such law exists about the American flag.

Then we have a Vice President and candidate for President that comes from a state that honor the founder of the Ku Klux Klan and also uses the Confederate flag.  These two men whine about "racial profiling" as a law enforcement tool, then countenance the use of it as official policy in California by federal officers who can only obey their boss, the President of the United States-Bill Clinton.

We have a man, Al Gore, who chastised his opponent Bill Bradley for living in a state where state troopers used racial profiling to hassle people whose only crime was having dark skin color now being part of a massive violation of the civil rights of Hispanics in California. Does Al Gore care? No.

Does Al Gore know about racial profiling against Hispanics in California by federal officers? This egregious racial profiling and violence to civil rights is done under the authority of the administration he is so proud to be a part  - the Clinton-Gore administration.  This is just one more reason why Hispanics should vote for George W. Bush.
 

Raoul's controversial talk show is on San Diego's KCBQ-1170AM, Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

Contact Raoul at raoul@raoul.net

Raoul Lowery Contreras'columns are syndicated by the New York Times Syndicate, New American News service.

Raoul's controversial talk show is heard on San Diego's 50,000 watt KCBQ-1170AM on Sunday's at 11:30 A.M.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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