Entertainment / Kal Penn’s Stop-And-Frisk Controversy

Kal Penn’s Stop-And-Frisk Controversy

Entertainment Aug 17, 2013

by Anokhi Admin

Recognized for his movies such as Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, The Namesake, and How I Met Your Mother, Kal Penn is currently working in the White House Office of Public Engagement as the Associate Director and has been recently caught in a twitterversy with his views against the stop-and-frisk policy.

The controversy began when Penn tweeted, “Great op/ed by @MikeBloomberg on the merits of “stop-question-frisk.”

Shortly afterwards, however, the actor faced judgement and a debate ensued that focused on the policy. Being caught in crossfire between scholars, South Asian community leaders, students, artists, and lawyers.

Penn followed up and clarified his decision to tweet in the Huffington post where he said, “As people of color is this effective? Does it have merit? How do we make our own communities of color safer (since we are collectively more often victims of crime)?” He apologized for not being clear and conceptualising the reason behind his tweet. Which seemed like changing sides in the heated moment.

As a response to Penn’s question, ARC President Rinku Sen and SAALT Deepa Iyer have both opposed and released statements in the midst of the controversy.

According to them, “Our unequivocal answers to these questions are: no, no and not with stop-and-frisk.

Stopping, interrogating, detaining or searching people based on characteristics such as their actual or perceived race, national origin, immigration status or religion is racial profiling. In a democracy, there has to be a reason to stop and search someone. Being a person of color isn’t a good enough reason.

Stop-and-frisk sounds so benign yet it covers up the violent humiliation experienced by many young black and brown men annually. It involves being thrown to the ground face down. Cops dumping your belongings on the street while they taunt you with predictions that you’ll never amount to anything. Experiencing the humiliation a dozen times before you’re 16 years old and continuing into your adulthood. This type of police enforcement not only hurts the individual, but also entire communities whose members are treated as “others” and automatically deemed unwelcome suspects in their own neighbourhoods.”

For them, the stop-and-frisk policy is not effective and does not reduce crime rate but instead it perpetuates the epidemic of racial profiling especially for the South Asian communities who have also been racially profiled alongside the Latinos and Blacks in New York.

The South Asian leaders and Kal Penn both mentioned that since September 11, 2001, many South Asians have been the unfortunate targets of would-be terrorists in many settings.

Plenty of South Asians including Muslims and Sikhs have encountered racial hate crimes, harassment at airports and borders, interrogations and detentions by immigration authorities in the name of national security.

There is also a constant tension due to the surveillance of Muslim mosques, restaurants, and Muslim Student Associations. NYPD is also facing several lawsuits of their surveillance in Muslim communities. Many young working class people become targets of stop-and-frisk policy not just in airports but also in schools.

Kal Penn clarified furthermore, and extended his support to their statement and said, “I support the statement from South Asian community leaders on the impact of racial profiling. I have and still do oppose racial profiling in any form. I want to thank SAALT and Colorlines for reaching out and starting to educate & dialogue with me about these issues. I plan on being in regular contact with these great community leaders and allies around the issue of racial profiling, and to dialogue with and engage others about it. It’s important for all our communities to be educated, informed, and mobilized.”

The South Asian leaders have urged South Asians to join the growing multiracial movement to remove the stop-and-frisk policy and other policies that target persons of colour in New York city and across the nation.

_{Feature Image: http://rollingout.com

Images & Source: colorlines.org, Rebekah Spicuglia/ARC, and bigstory.ap.org, and media.tumblr.com}

COMMENTS

Ajay Devgn and Kareena Kapoor attend UK Trailer Launch of UTV Motion Pictures' Satyagraha

IIFA 2013: IIFA Celebrations Begin At Macau

'Jatt & Juliet 2' Takes International Box Office By Storm!

Priyanka Chopra Soars High In 'Planes'

IIFA 2013: DAY 2 IIFA Rocks Pays Tribute To 100 Years Of Indian Cinema

IIFA Awards 2013: The Winners Are Finally Here!

Summer Fun Facts

Priyanka Chopra's Video 'Exotic' Released

Film Review: Lootera Is Not Your Typical Song And Dance Bollywood Love Story !

Jay Sean Releases His New Album 'NEON'

RAMAIYA VASTAVAIYA - World Premiere This Friday July 19

Famous Celebrity Tantrums

Couple Jailed for Ripping Off Sikh's Turban

Preview: Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Again!

Mira Nair Boycotts Haifa Film Festival

Famous Celebrity Babies

'Burka Avengers' Pakistan's First Female Super Hero

Celebrity Birthdays in August

TIFF 2013 Lineup Announced

Karen David Releases 'Daydreamer', First Track From EP 'Dust To Stars'

Dumb World Records

TD Mosaic 2013 Comedy Night

'Krrish 3' Official Trailer

Nandita Das Campaigns For Dark Skin!

Popular Myths Busted

Lee Daniel's 'The Butler'

Q&A With Imran Khan

Famous Celebrity Relatives

John Abraham's Madras Cafe Stirs Up Controversy!

2013 MTV Video Music Awards Wrap Up.

India's Rape Pandemic - A Global Perspective

Celebrity Birthdays In September

TIFF Celebrates '100 Years of Indian Cinema'

Signs Of Cell Phone Addiction

Throwback: A look At Calgary Stampede 2013!

India's Supersize Kids On BBC Two!

Akshay Kumar's 'Boss' Trailer Is Out!

Nargis Fakhri's Item Song 'Dhating Naach'

Phrases Made Famous By TV Shows

Unveiling Toronto International Film Festival At 'TWIFF'

TIFF 2013: The South Asian Connection

Celine Dion's 'Loved Me Back To Life' Music Preview!

'DIANA' World Premiere: Stars Defend Their Roles!

Siddharth Film Review

Six Years Old Rape Survivor Asked To Marry Rapist's Son

Interview With Ritesh Batra, Director Of 'The Lunchbox'

India's 'Abused Goddesses' Campaign Condemns Violence Against Women!

SAIFTA 2013 Highlights

Fun Facts On Useful Inventions

TIFF amfAR Inspiration Gala 2013

Parineeti Chopra Starrer 'Shuddh Desi Romance' Gets Audience Nod!

South Asia's Beauty Pageant Winners

TIFF 2013 Wraps UP!

Ranbir Kapoor's 'Besharam' Trailer

Sridevi & Meryl Streep Team Up For A Hollywood Film

US Screening Of Oass At Chicago South Asian Film Festival

Jennifer Lopez & Harry Connick, Jr. Join Keith Urban As American Idol XIII Judges

Unusual Restaurants

Besharam In New York City

Ranjana & Naeem Khan Raise $18,000 For Wishwas

Kal Penn’s Stop-And-Frisk Controversy

by Anokhi Admin

COMMENTS

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE