Racial profiling is something that can never truly be proved. As people know, there are three sides to every story: what was said by one person, what was said by the other person, and the truth.

However, the bottom line is, no one should have to live in fear that there will be a consequence for being who he or she truly is.

 It is obvious throughout the decades that black citizens have been oppressed; and racial profiling is an ongoing issue. Though people will try to deny it, it’s a problem that continues to happen in many communities.

 Hair Stylist Marissa Rullan from Los Angeles, said, “I can’t tell you how many times I have been followed by a police officer because I have an Afro. I am probably the least threatening person, considering I’m 4’11” tall and I look like I’m 14, even though I’m 24,”

 It is very common for people to profile in society or make assumptions about someone because of how they look, but it is when the situation gets confrontational and possibly threatening, where it is a true problem.

 Mireya Smith, a local member of the community, relayed her encounter with profiling. “My friend and I were driving home through Shadow Lakes in Brentwood, CA and a police officer pulled me over. He asked me where we were going and I told him that I was dropping my friend off and then going home.”

 The cop then asked about the owner of the car, proceeding to asking for the I.D.’s for both her and the driver.

 “Usually when you get pulled over, they just ask for the driver’s ID. The officer had never told me why I was being pulled over and after he left, I knew that I had just been profiled and confronted by a police officer for the first time, which was something I would not have expected to happen living in Brentwood,” said Smith.

 Though police officers are being seen as the enemy in society as of right now, not all police officers are heinous people. The job of police officers is to protect and serve and some do just that, while keeping in mind a person’s natural rights and that people have actual problems and needs.

 “There were some African American middle school students that I saw when I was driving up American, who, as I drove by, put their hands up. Honestly this made me not so much angry, but sad that with all of the events happening, this is how some people are now beginning to view me,” said Officer Mitch Brouillette, a Brentwood police officer.

 People are beginning to treat police officers like they are all terrible people, when in fact this is not the case. It has become the norm to blame reasons for traffic tickets on law enforcement because of how they are portrayed by the media. People have been recently saying, “I was pulled over because I’m not white, and my windows were tinted.”

Though this may be true that it is becoming more acceptable to blame problems on law enforcement, citizens should not turn a blind eye to what is going on in society and need to realize that yes, racial profiling may not always be the case, but it is the case more often than it should be.

 Racial profiling will continue to exist in society, like many other social problems, but the only thing that society can do is work toward the equality of all people, and stop living in fear of change.