reasonably expect that Obama himself has likely been subject to similar types of racial profiling at various points in his life (and without a doubt, he knows people who have been).
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-gates-analysis24-2009jul24,0,2990550.storyBut Obama was surprisingly emotive and unequivocal when answering the question and concluding that the Cambridge, Mass., police had "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates, who is black, after he tried to pry open a stuck door to gain entry to his own home.
Obama said he did not know what role if any race played in the matter. But he also seemed to welcome the opportunity to teach a larger racial lesson. Obama used the question to recall his sponsorship as an Illinois state legislator of legislation to crack down on racial profiling, noting that "there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped" disproportionately by police.
"Race remains a factor in this society," the president said. "That doesn't lessen the incredible progress that has been made. I am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made. And yet, the fact of the matter is that, you know, this still haunts us."
With his comments, the country's first black president all but ensured wider attention to the simmering racial dispute -- and also risked overshadowing the main purpose of his press conference, which was to drain controversy from his ambitious plans to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system.
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I got irate when a grocery store insisted on searching a backpack I always carried with me (my main transport was a bike). They had a sign only visible *upon exit* that said they search all customers' bags.
I seriously considered refusing to allow them to search it, and letting them call the police (and thereby, waste the police's time). The only reason I didn't was I didn't have hours to sit around.
I never entered the store again (it was an Aldi - and it was the first (and last) time I had gone there. My backpack remained on my back throughout my quick trip through the store).
I didn't bother to waste my time writing to their corporate headquarters because I didn't care enough, nor did I expect it to make any difference).