the art of boredom

publicshaming:

Some of you may know actor Kal Penn from the Harold & Kumar movie series. For those who loved his stupid stoner character, Kumar, I’m sorry to do this to you. But from now on, you will probably forever know Kal Penn as the stop-and-frisk supporting racist.

For those unfamiliar with stop-and-frisk, it is a practice supported by NYC Mayor Bloomberg where the NYPD can basically stop and frisk anyone in the city of New York. Literally. You do not have to be doing anything wrong. A police officer can just chose to tell you to put your hands up against the wall and look through your shirts, pants, etc. Almost nine out of every 10 people stop and frisked are found to be innocent and 87 PERCENT of all those stop and frisked are black or Latino. In fact, more black men have been stop-and-frisked than the number of black men that LIVE in NYC. It is, without a doubt, a racist program. And this week a judge found the NYC stop-and-frisk program to be unconstitutional. 

You would think Kal Penn, being a person of color, would have been happy to hear that a program that practices racial profiling would be put to an end. Either you thought very wrong or Kal Penn is very high.

It pains me to see anyone agree with Mike Bloomberg on such issues. Under billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg, New York City has become increasingly unequal. But, ok. I guess it’s not all that surprising that someone of wealth and status would support someone else of wealth and status. I also didn’t read Bloomberg’s piece. Fine! Maybe there’s more to it…

Yuck. No phrase makes me cringe quite like “activist judges.” It’s become a right wing talking point and a way for many to simply attack a judge for coming to a decision they don’t agree with. And, of course, you’ll never hear noted Conservative judges like Antonin Scalia being called an “activist judge.” Kal Penn could have left it right here and I would have already completely changed my view of Kal Penn. But, he didn’t!

So, because Kal Penn was once mugged, back in 2010 in DC, everyone must now be treated like a criminal? Funny enough, in 2011, Kal Penn gave an interview where he spoke out against racial profiling at the airport because he was profiled and it happens to “almost every brown dude I know.” He also added, “it goes against the notion that something like that makes us safer.”

If the fact Kal Penn is a stop-and-frisk supporting hypocrite wasn’t bad enough, here comes the kicker.

Kal Penn not only supports stop-and-frisk, he specifically supports the racial profiling aspect of it because BLACK PEOPLE COMMIT CRIMES! Kal Penn was once mugged, so now all black and Latino people must be treated as potential muggers.

Kal Penn brushes off the fact that statistics don’t back this. Kal Penn brushes off the fact that crime was dropping in NYC before the stop-and-frisk program was implemented. Crime is also dropping in other major cities that do not have a stop-and-frisk program.

Kal Penn does not feel safer when you stop him at an airport. Come on, he’s no terrorist, guys! That’s racial profiling! But blacks and Latinos? They’re the criminals. And Kal Penn fully supports racial profiling as long as he’s not the one being profiled.

I can’t wait to hear what he has to say about drone strikes!

Kal Penn ruined my night.