He decided to start filming the episodes, so he mounted a cam on his car and regularly posts his experiences on You Tube.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Stop Stopping Me
He decided to start filming the episodes, so he mounted a cam on his car and regularly posts his experiences on You Tube.
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Absolutely sickening. This world will never be free from discrimination. I understand taking safety precautions, but seriously? Something like this? Impeaching on someone's right to be a free individual? It sickens me. I understand he may be wearing the "terrorist" look (kind of?) like he said in the video, but in no way does this give any right to any individual to discriminate against him. He has a freedom to do what he pleases with his appearance, lifestyle, and religion, and curse those who try and defy him. Cops have always had corrupt individuals among them, and while they may not be corrupt in defying the justice system, they definitely have something wrong with their personal values. The sad thing is, is that this won't stop. You can't make a person change unless that individual wants to change. It just won't happen. You can scold those cops, fire them, never give them a job again, but until they understand that what they are doing is absolutely disgusting, they won't change. That goes for any individual. I wish people today would stop and think about how their actions affect others. Many of us make decisions thinking that absolutely nothing bad will come from it, but is that entirely true? I've done things where I thought I was making the right decision, but turned out I couldn't have made a worse one. I understand people have bad pasts, and that should make us cautious. But treating someone with utter disgust all of the time because you simply don't agree with them? I'd laugh in your face. You definitely have some growing up to do.
ReplyDeleteThose who would dare commit such disgusting and stupid actions as men and women in uniform are deserving of imprisonment, for the abuse of their position. You have to be an insecure, and uneducated human being in order for you to discriminate based on religion. I am a Christian and I say this is wrong. I just don't have the words to fully articulate my disgust in these actions!
ReplyDeleteI know, it makes my blood boil seeing someone with "authority" take their power and use it the wrong way. I think imprisonment of the corrupt police would definitely help the situation.
DeleteI really don't understand why he is still being stopped? Racial profiling happens and you are a fool to believe it doesn't. It may not be right, but it does happen. When the vehicle inspections were done away with in the US the police do not need a reason to stop you. They can pull you over at any time. He mentioned you don't have to consent to searches, and that is absolutely correct. However, the police can use probable cause to infringe on your right to deny searches. Probable cause is a VERY big grey area... Clearly he isn't doing anything wrong but yet they continue to stop him. I don't understand why the police continue to waste their time. He isn't breaking the law. Maybe him filming it will make the public aware of this type of behavior and somehow help others that are experiencing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteJohn C.
Good question. you'd think the videos would make the cops start to look pretty dumb, and some of them might even FEEL pretty dumb after a while.
DeleteI would like to know what is going on in the heads of the officers, and I wonder about the same question. Also what is it that makes these "peace keepers" to act this way and get more physical while he is actually remaining peaceful?
DeleteI think probable cause is just another way for them to abuse their power and violate us as civilians, I definitely think that filming it is the best way to give it a chance to make it visible to enough eyes around the world.
DeleteThere is a big problem with Racial Profiling in the United states. But seeing it done in England i would say England has jump to number one. The man in this short film was a family man who was a honest person just trying to get by, but he was consistently pulled over by police because he practice a religion that is looked on as poorly in England i think its because of recent attacks against England. He is right when he says being free. The police in England profile this one man because he is Muslim. I like the idea of how he looked a birds as an example of himself. Birds come in all different shapes and colors, but you don't see police in any country pulling birds over because they are a different color.
ReplyDeleteI want to talk about the line "but he was consistently pulled over by police because he practice a religion that is looked on as poorly in England i think its because of recent attacks against England." I really want to know what you mean, Sir!
DeleteWhen did we start looking down on an entire religion because of the actions of a few bad people? Those "attacks" were done by some people who happen to be associated with Islam, I don't think any holy book tells you to go and kill people, but sadly enough, people are too ignorant to understand that.
Racial profiling and/or discrimination is a sad fact about police departments all over the world. If one thinks its not true, well that person is naive or stupid. My question, like John Coleman's, is why is he getting pulled over? I am not sure if it is because of his prison record or because he is a Muslim. It is sad to say that the "probable cause" is a grey area which can either benefit or hurt the society. It can benefit if, for example, a police officer is at the door of persons house and hears a scream, that gives them probable cause and could possibly save a life in the process. The problem with the probable cause idea is when it is enacted by people who discriminate others by race, religion, or sex.
ReplyDeleteI have to give props to this guy because even amongst all this profiling and harassment he has kept calm and not once retaliated with violence with the officers. For the officers, they deserve to lose their badges or at minimum be suspended. It is sad to see when someone that has been given the trust of the people, in his words, "...to uphold the Law of the Land", and then betray that trust by doing stuff like this.
The non-fiction film about Sean O’Sullivan, brings up the controversy over where the line between personal freedom and community security should exist. It is in my opinion that the police officers clearly overstepped this line and were intruding on Sean O’Sullivan’s personal freedom to frankly just live peacefully. Although there won’t likely be much dispute that Sean is in the right and the police are in the wrong I would like to make a comparison to another controversial issue in which I assume the response won’t be so one sided. The controversy to which I’m referring is the gun debate raging in America right now. Although these two topics may seem unrelated at the moment with a little digging they began to show many similarities. First, the whole reason Sean has been stopped much more now after his conversion to Islam, is his appearance. He looks like what many people picture when they think of Muslim men. Now there is nothing wrong with looking like the typical Muslim man but when he is in a place with a low percent, Muslim population people began to take notice of him much more than they would your average man in Britain. The simple facts that there are few Muslim looking men driving around in Britain and that many violent attacks are carried out by Muslim extremist groups leads people beyond the point of concern that they would attempt to take away Sean’s personal freedom. A simple freedom that according to him can be achieved as long as he doesn’t see or come in contact with any police. Now let’s relate this to the gun debate in America, a few acts of violence that involved guns, specifically an assault rifle, have caused some Americans to overlook the main problem and has pushed them to try and take away a personal freedom of every American.
ReplyDeletePlease do not think that I am in anyway trying to diminish the severity of any act of violence involving a gun. I am just trying to make the point that in the midst of these violent acts the guns aren't the problem, the people holding them are.
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ReplyDeleteI feel sad after watching this. It almost made me cry. It's really sad how, even in this day and age, with all the "educated" people around, we still judge each other on the basis of their looks or what they believe in, instead of judging them for their actions. Like he mentioned that he was never stopped when he used to be a criminal, but now that he is following something he believes in, and has a beard, he is a bad guy.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, I will never understand why Islam is hated so much?
Just because some terrible guys came and attacked you, it becomes the entire religions' fault?
How absurd is that?
"Hey! a Christian guy shot people at the mall, lets all hate on all the Christians that exists on this Earth"
Though, no we don't do that, but when it comes to Islam, oh yes! we are gonna hate every single Muslim and make their lives as difficult as we can. I have read the holy Q'uran and trust me there is NO mention of "violence" anywhere in it. It sickens me how uninformed and uneducated these judgments are.
A comment about your ...lets all go hate on the christians." for one thing the Catholics were persecuted so its not like they weren't hated on. Now I'm not saying its ok. in matter of fact its the opposite, its never alright. Also people always uses God's name in vain when they say "OH my GOD!", but you know what i never hear? i never hear "OH my Budda" or "OH my MUHAMMAD!"
DeleteReligion is arguably the biggest instance where we will see severe cases of discrimination. It 's going to happen, and it's simply because it can. People don't think about how their actions may affect other people. It's sad to say, but we live in a world where people simply don't care. They definitely doesn't give a justification for the issue, because it is certainly and totally disgusting, but it's the sad truth.
DeleteThroughout history, religions have done things to make people cautious. The Catholics used to extort people for repenting for their sins, so people have bad judgments about them. The Catholic church is no where like that today, but it's crazy how many opinions arise from things that have happened in the past. That's what is happening to all religions. Go to Google and type in "Islam Terrorist Attacks". Like you said, just because one person did something doesn't make it right to discriminate against one person. You are absolutely correct. But because of the past, and because the world functions with what I talked about above, caution and discrimination will take place.
Steven, I like that point you raised about God's name being used in vain. That's why I included all religions, and not just Islamic. Religion can really tick some people off, and it can drive people to do some crazy things. It's the world we live in, and it sadly has no solution.
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ReplyDeleteteven, really? tell me ONE example where a Christian was discriminated against for what they believe in.What you are saying has nothing to do with what I said. and please choose an example recently, 'cause i'm pretty sure this film wasn't like 25 years ago, or even earlier in the age.
ReplyDeleteGarett, you completely proved what i said in my comment by saying "Religion can really tick some people off, and it can drive people to do some crazy things"
I am sorry but NO religion tells people to go kill others..none.
It's pretty ignorant of people to say or even think that religion ticks people off.
Its the action of certain people that you are blaming on an entire religion. HOW absurd is that?
You are talking about the straight base of religion. Yes, no religion goes and tells somebody to kill someone else, but there are definitely individuals that go and do just that. That is what I'm getting at. I'm not trying to disprove you, anyways. It would be ABSURD to think that there are not any individuals who do bad things and claim a form of a higher being "told them to do it". That's what I'm getting at. Also, I'm talking about every religion. Because of these individuals, they have given their religions a bad name. Again, talking about the image here. No where did I imply that religions go around killing each other, but the killings are linked to the religions! People are scared of the Islamic religion. A lot of people discriminate against those who aren't a Christian. It's going to happen! And I'm sorry, but religion does tick people off. Ever tried to talk to someone about religion who doesn't want to hear it? I have. And I tell you, I have never seen people get as mad as whenever you try to talk about something that requires as much faith and a particulate lifestyle as a religion does. It happens.
DeleteI never said that the religion makes people kill people. Never said that. But the killing gets pinned to a religion, and there are people who DO kill, and say it was because of their religion. This is what gives the religion their bad names, and this is what causes the discrimination. And it's no just Islam! It's EVERY religion. Some maybe more than others, but it is EVERY religion. People just don't wanna hear it. People don't wanna agree or give it any time of day. There is an estimation of 7 billion people in this world. Not even half of them, I bet, agree with you and I.
I wasn't trying to disprove you. That should have been showed through the comment that I used and you posted in your reply. I'm giving the reason for why this has happened and evolved into what it is now. Like I said, there's simply no solution for it. The past has been extremely distorted, and it is affecting EVERYTHING with religion today.
Garret, I'm going to ask you the same question I asked Steven. Give me an example of recent times when a Christian was discriminated against for having a beard or praying to a god they believe in, and I'll stop arguing. The FACT remains that no, none of the other religions are, if i may use the term "harassed" as much as Islam. In 2014, is what I am talking about. Also, the rest of it is your opinion, which i wont argue against, because I cant change mindsets of people, just like of those police officers.
DeleteNO other religion suffers as much as Islam does today, not even one-fourth of it. So, don't even get me started, and don't you DARE compare. -no offence or rudeness intended-
And obviously you never read my comment carefully before replying, I never said you disprove what I said, on the contrary, you proved what I said completely. And thank you for that, fellow classmate!
DeleteAdrishi you want evidence of Christians being discriminated against, fine I'll give something better. Christians/Mission Workers are killed in the middle east for praying to their God or just for simply being there! It's very obvious that everyone agrees that what happened in the video is wrong, but you had to go and make a point that is tangent to the overall lesson that should be received in watching this video. Discrimination is wrong period, It doesn't matter what group it happens to the most. It is wrong! There are examples of Christian being discriminated against. I'm sorry to say this, but your argument lacks validity. You are debating over the wrong issue. And by the way, you should never silence another individual the way you just did. "and don't you DARE compare. " You can't tell someone what they can and cannot say or compare. This blog is an open discussion about presented issues. You were rude in your comment, and I'm feel personally offended when someone can sit and say what I should and should not dare to say! You should present your case in a respectful manner.
DeletePlease omit the following errors: I'm should be I.
DeleteI left this point out Adrishi, It also does not matter what time period discrimination occurs, it is still wrong. So your request for instances of harassment towards a religion other than Islam in 2014, is also null and void. And I'll say this again, discrimination is wrong no matter when, where, or who it happens to the most! Got it?
DeleteAnd again, religions haven't done anything. Its practically impossible for a holy book to kill people. Its the people who take and use the context in wrong ways.
ReplyDeleteOweee! Girl, you got mad!
DeleteWatching this video has completely disgusted me. It is absolutely degrading to me to even claim to be an American and be in the land of the free when this is constantly going on. I mean do people have that much ignorance in their hearts to harass and degrade a person because of their beliefs and/or looks. Its down right wrong and there isn't anything right about it. Its insulting for America to claim the land of the free and there is constantly prejudice going on. Why can't people just mind their own business and accept that everybody is different and may not view things as they do. It isn't that hard at all. I completely got upset with this video as if it were my own family member. I'm Christian and I wouldn't dare judge another person because of their religion for that is a sin in my own religion. People just don't and never will understand and America is never going to uphold the land of the free.
ReplyDeleteUmmmm...it's England. Listen to the accents.
DeleteThat is terrible. The whole time I was watching that video I was sick and disgusted by the way this man was treated. I knew America was bad for discrimination and racial profiling, but seeing this done in England made me realize how big of a problem it is around the world. Why should anyone get constantly pulled over and harassed by the police for how they look and their religion? I understand that he may look suspicious, but they treat him like he has murdered many people just because he is Muslim. Just because someone is Muslim does not mean that they are automatically a terrorist. Only a small percentage of Muslims truly are terrorists. The rest are actually peaceful and lead normal lives just like the rest of us. The discrimination against them is cruel and unfair. It needs to be stopped. I want to live in a world where no one is judged for the color of their skin or their religion. We are all human beings and deserve to live a peaceful life.
ReplyDeleteYes, there is a much greater scale to look at when talking about unfairness in the world. I agree with your responds after watching the insulting authorizes harass him. I don't think he looks suspicious at all though, just because he appears to be Muslim doesn't he is a criminal. There should be lines drown when stopping someone over a traffic violation.
DeleteThis video is disturbing but not surprising. I’ve never felt like police do their jobs to the fullest or in the right way. Of course some police have a good heart and want to protect the community, but many of them just get high from the power they have and abuse it. This man is targeted for ridiculous reasons, I don’t know much about religion so I’m not going to say anything about that. Like he said, when he was actually a criminal he could roll through the streets perfectly fine, that’s ridiculous. Stuff like that happens all the time all over the world. Some police are just harassing innocent people to kill time, when theirs real criminals they should be looking for. I feel sorry for this man and his family, I would fear for my life if I was him. I respect that he keeps calm in the situations and doesn’t overreact, if this happened to me all the time I would either go crazy and hide or go off the deep end. I have my own reasons to have a twisted perspective of law enforcement, but this video is very disappointing. Makes you wonder about the world and society. A man who made a personal change, who is making an honest living as a plumber and working to move up and better himself even more, is being targeted more than most criminals.
ReplyDeleteIts a sad day in the world when you realize that there will always be discrimination no matter were you go. Its really messed up that this man has to put up with it everyday. It is bad enough when everyday people discriminate against you, but it is another thing when you have the cops doing it everyday. Its sad that people feel that they can misuse a badge. I feel that everyone should be treated with respect
DeleteI thought the police are supposed to make us feel safe and protected. However, O'Sullivan is finding himself on the other end of the law and at the receiving end of police harassment. Harassment by the police is difficult to prove, but is there not police harassment laws in place to protect you? He has substantial video evidence to file a charge.
DeleteI agree that the video is very disturbing and it is a pity to see people abuse power in such a way. This is not the first time that someone with a badge has abused or mistreated people. its just one of few that has been caught on tape. This video make me more cautious on who i put my trust in. No matter how you look at it discrimination is wrong and it only makes nations weaker by doing so. No one should be judged by following their heart. This man was trying to better himself by converting to Islam. Better this than him being a criminal in and out of jail every so often.
ReplyDeleteYou make some great points John. It makes it very hard to decide who you should trust in this world especially since police officers are supposed to protect the people not abuse us because we are different. It is quite sickening because we are supposed to be past discrimination as a nation and worldwide. I also agree with when you say discrimination only makes a nation weaker because it is true you basically go against what you advertise to the world and that is diversity and opportunity. He should be congratulated because he is trying to become a better person by becoming Islamic, but instead he is being abused which is so ridiculous. I am glad he has this on tape because this is happening around the world, but nothing can be done until we have prove like this tape. It is also quite ridiculous that we have to go to these measures of trying to catch stuff on tape to make people aware of the wrong doing that is happening worldwide.
DeleteJohn I totally agree with you, especially your last sentence. However, once your labeled as a criminal and felon that has gone to prison several times it's hard as "HELL" to get your family to view you and look at you as a reformed person. So, imagine how society views you as a repeated offender. That alone is hard to fathom. Then 5.0 ! And on top of that you have turned into a Muslim with a long beard and your white! They already can't stand you because of your criminal history and then you have the audacity to be Rep. Al- Islam in their eyesight not only are you a felon target but your now totally going against the grain with the enemy. Real Talk! Police brutality is an issue all over the world not one of us are exempt. That's why we must always be aware of our surroundings and actions. Always remember this motto: "To Be Aware Is To Be Alive"! Flat-Out! I can speak about this situation because I'm living it not because of what I heard or someone said but because it's my struggle as well. You just have to stayed steadfast in prayer and tell the enemy to flee from you. Anything in life worth having is a constant struggle if something comes easy trust me you don't want it! And Sean along with myself our striving for excellence and to continue working diligently to accomplish our goals, while taking care of our family. And the only way you can to is by what? Being a humble servant of God. The Arabic word Muslim means: One who submits his will to Almighty God- who's name in Arabic is ALLAH. If you don't believe me look it up. The reason why we as people are so ignorant and judge mental of others is because we lack knowledge. But I'm gone keep it one-hundred most of them are just straight up HATERS! Peace, Love, and Soul Dullah
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video, I was kind of surprised, not because of the discrimination but how severely it could get in Sean’s situation. The problem about discrimination has been there since forever because we human have a tendency to watch out and feel uneasy toward something or someone that are different from us. Some people begin to find the difference interesting and want to know more about it, but on the other hand, there are also people who form a feeling of dislike or scared toward it. In this case, I think polices go overboard and abuse their power to do whatever they want, and yet this greatly affect the life of a civilian just because he is Islam and have his beard grows. We need to be more open mind and ready to accept the new, differences so we won’t treat people with terrible attitude.
ReplyDeleteYou are right were on point Thuy ! The problem about discrimination does seem to be existing forever. We always seem to stumble upon society looking at a specific race,religion, etc. as different and wrong. I also agree on who some police ho overboard with there power and act as fools at times while making civilians feel terrorized.
DeleteYOU SHOWL RIGHT!!!
DeleteWe hear about discrimination and profiling every day, but I would never think that it is still this bad during this time period. This video is very alarming and bothersome. I just would want to hear the police men and women reasons for stopping and searching him. Is it that he is a white Muslim, the type of car he drives, his look, or his background record. I hate that people think that different religions are bad. No there are just some bad people. I believe that you have the right to exercise your religion and freedoms as long as you are not harming others or yourself. This man is clearly trying to live a regular life and provide for his family. I also hate how the authorities always believe that they have the upper hand in everything they do. A badge and a uniform does not make you almighty. They try to over do their job all the time. How in the world do you just pull a man out of his own car like that without giving a true probable reason for his arrest or search. Do they not recognize him by now? I applaud O'Sullivan for standing up for his rights, but I don't think I would have the courage to go through this type of harassment two or more times a day.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what you are saying, I really want to know their reasoning on stopping him. I also thing that it is a shame that people are judged because of their religion and people believe that certain religions are more superior than others when in reality they are all the same. Quite frankly why does it matter what religion you stand for that doesn't only judge what type of person you are or at least it shouldn't. Whatever happen to abiding by the First amendment?
DeleteRIGHT! Searching him for nothing! I bet they were looking STUPID when they didn't find anything. -____- It's people out here in the world that aren't a part of ANY religion, and they're not getting stopped, searched, questioned, OR bullied! UGH!!
DeleteAfter watching this video it made me so mad because we are living in a world where this should not be happening especially since the time period we are living in. How are we supposed be make this world a better place when people still racial profile individuals due to their race, creed, origin, religion, sex etc. I could see if he was actually doing something illegal while he was driving, but he wasn’t and the worst part is this happens to him a lot because he is Islamic. People really need to get through their heads that no religion is better than the other, each religion is equal, and they are all worshipping someone of a higher power. Another thing that made me so mad was the comments people we leaving especially because they are wishing bad upon him which is quite ridiculous because he has did nothing wrong but share his experience with others to make them aware of what is really going on in this world. I also see where he is coming from because I came from a place where there was so much diversity and I loved it. Many of my friends were of a different race, had a different religion, and were all of different ethnicities, but they were all my friends because we shared common interest. It is a shame that people still feel like it is right to racial profile, but how are we supposed to excel as a human race if we cannot look past our differences.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right! We ARE living in a world where this is happening, and the people who are doing KNOW it's wrong! I'm so glad that this video is out, as proof to what's happening, because I really didn't have knowledge of it. I know I'm not the only one who's heard of this stuff going on, but has never witnessed it.
Delete
ReplyDeleteSo the guy in the video was stopped by the police because he appeared to be “suspicious” but yet his actions are those like any other person being stopped. What makes him more likely to be a suspect? I ask my self and others. I think that events like this happen all the time in america and all over the world simply because people are ignorant. We all stereotype thats a fact and it is disappointing to see the video and how the police officers harraz the guy with child in the car. Making accusations without probable cause “how do we know this car is not stolen?” is wrong so many levels. Maybe if did not have a beard he or appeared to Muslim he would be at better odds with getting harassed.
Some could argue that some of the cops that pulled him over might know that he was a criminal at one point in his life and that he has has been to prison before so that might be a reason for him being targeted by the police. Although he does have a past there is no sign on his forehead that says “felon” the cops that don’t know his past might be alarmed by his beard and appear to be Muslim therefore he might be link to terrorist because the two seem to be associated. This a very well organize and good movie though because it shows its points.
This video made me SO mad! The police couldn't even tell Sean why they were stopping him! This is a form of discrimination AND bullying. I believe that it's the Constitution that says everyone has freedom of religion, therefore, Sean can be whatever religion he wants to be. This reminds me of the 60's, when the Civil Rights Movement was going on. I know that those two events don't relate in terms of religion, however, they do relate in terms of unfairness. During the Civil Rights Movement, blacks were "picked" on and judged for no reason. Like Sean was stopped "for no reason." Blacks were limited to where they went and who they talked to, because of their race. Sean is limited to where he goes, because of his religion. Even today, blacks are prejudged simply for walking up and down the street. No, it's not as bad as it was back in the day, but it still goes on. Sean is in the same unfair boat.
ReplyDeleteThis video also taught me some things. Sean's tips made me realize how much of an advantage we have, when it comes to police officers. I had no clue that we weren't obliged to answer any questions, but police officers are. That surprised me! But yea...this video ticked me off, man. I'm glad Sean still sticks to what he believes and knows in his heart, in spite of how he is being treated.
I know! Tell' em!
DeleteFirst of all, i would like to be begin my comment by thanking every single person who commented on my last comment. You all COMPLETELY proved my point. Thank you. I mean all of you didnt even try to understand what i said in my comment, but the fact that you all ganged up on me only because i said, Christians do nof get harrased for the way they look, offended you all. When i just said the truth. And Aliyah, yeah you would think i got "mad" or angry, or furious, because i supported Islam. Lol
ReplyDeleteAnd Rashad, jeez, did you even read my comment and understood a thing i said. Its pretty evident by your reply that you didnt. The only reason i mentioned everything i did in my comment was because of the video we saw. I really couldnt care less about changing anyone's opinions here. And again, time period because no, nowhere in the world are Christians as harrased as much Islam is. Fact. Also, the example you gave wasnt clear or evident enough, like this video. So well.
And in the end, it's pretty sad how biased everyone is, because not one person tried to understand what i meant(and it wasnt even an opinion, but a fact) but the moment i said the word Christian, and because i was supporting Islam, Four people just jumped on my words. Lol.
Hence, point proved.
-Leverise Evans
ReplyDeleteThis video actually in all ways disturbed me. I knew the world and some people in the world were stuck in their ways but this was absolutely ridiculous. How can you expect to respect those who are suppose to protect us when they do disgraceful things like this. How are we suppose to look a policeman in the eye and be thankful for people like them for protecting our streets and us; when in reality they're the ones harassing. I am totally upset with this video by all means necessary.
I always believed that you cannot trust everybody even if they are in uniform.What this guy was going through was way to much.I wasnt aware of the amount of racism and abuse that police can give anyone.In the video the police were insulting him and threatening him wishing he would die.Right in front of his son.This video was very upsetting and when I think about the situation its hard to trust anyone.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this, and others I have seen in the past, it goes to show you why many do not like to trust the police or any other type of law enforcement. It has become quite apparent that profiling is becoming a big issue. Racial profiling among law enforcement is a steady issue talked about especially with African Americans. Now it appears to be the same with Sean here. However he is not profiled based off of his race but off of his appearance (beard) and religion. Just because someone is Arabic or they converted to Islam does not mean they are a terrorist. I believe he was stopped without valid reason. In order to make a traffic stop or any stop in that matter, the officer first must have probable cause. They have said he looked “suspicious” but what evidence is there to support such behavior. It appears to me, that he in fact did not show any sign of suspicious behavior what so ever and that the officers acted in violation to Sean by not telling him what he had been stopped for.
ReplyDeleteI find this quite disturbing. I've always known that there was a strain between religions in England, but I never thought it was this bad. I mean damn. I'm kin of surprised that this didn't happen in America. It probably does, but I haven't heard any stories yet. Also I'd have to agree with Adrishi about how you wouldn't see this happening to any Christians and that Christians aren't ever really harassed like other people with a different religion. I hope the world changes soon cause this is just unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteThis video is quite shocking, but it actually represents our reality. Today people are persecuted because of their religion or skin color. And it is not getting better, it is just going worse. Because of our actual society, people live in fear of everything: losing money, losing a job, even being killed. And most of the time this fear is turned in fear of people who are "different" than us, like they say. If you live in Europe or in the USA, and you are not white-skined and Christian, you can be sure you'll have someone to remind it to you sometimes in your life. Is it fair? Can't we be free to choose our beliefs and values without thinking about what people would think about it? I think Sean made a good decision recording these videos and showing them to everyone. People need to be aware of it. Plus, they make the police look ridiculous and stupid. So maybe some of them will think about it and change their behaviors? I like the fact that Sean seems to go over the bad comments and acts of police and people. He is a good example for everyone who wants to fight against discrimination.
ReplyDeleteIt sucks to know that after 9/11 Muslims are the symbol of terrorism. It's the new racism that seems to be okay to other people, I think it is unethical and un-American. Anyone can be a terroist; white, black, asian, mexican, purple; it doesnt matter your color, the size of your beard, or what you wear on your head. The kids who murdered goal oriented students at Columbine High School weren't Muslim, they were was white. The guy who decided to take his mothers life, and along innocent little kids lives didn't have a turbin on his head. So the decrimination against muslims needs to stop because anyone can be a terrorist.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad but to me it's not shocking at all. People are always looking for someone to hate, someone who isn't the norm to pick on. Especially the police, they are supposed to be the people who protect us but most of them abuse that and end up being the one hurting us. It's a shame when someone has to ask themselves if they should call for help because the skin or religion might prevent them from getting the help they need. And for a police officer to still try to harass this man while his son is in the back seat is terrible, I mean how low can you get?
ReplyDeleteThis video was really shocking. I feel that is racial profiling because he was being stereotyped for having a beard and being Islamic. Just because he wears these things doesn't mean that he is carrying around a bomb, ready to kill people. I think that this is the root of a basis for a problem in America. People being stereotyped for what they look like, rather than who truly are. Because this man is a changed man, I feel that everyone deserves a second chance. Who grants the law the power to decide who is just and unjust when they've clearly changed their ways and harass them? Keeping a low profile and tabs on an infamous person is one thing but openly harassing someone, even when they have their children in the car is all wrong.
ReplyDeleteHe's not a Muslim but a sovereign citizen.
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