Why is it often considered racist to describe a criminal as "of Middle Eastern appearance" ?

Question

In Australia there have been calls by the Muslim and Arab communities (which are plentiful and politically powerful) to stop using this as a description because it will incite hate.

These are usually for crimes like drive by shootings, gang rapes and other very violent criminals.

Answer 1

Its not if your in the middle east, they all look middle eastern.....

Answer 2

At the risk of being called a racist I will answer this question.
If most of the crimes in our country were committed by Polish people would there be a problem with describing a person as Polish looking? I doubt it. If most of the crimes in our country were committed by blonde, blue eyed men, would it be a problem
to say, describe a suspect as "regular white person"? Or call that suspect a "white gang banger"? No. In Milwaukee where I live, sometime ago a black leader wanted the news media to not identify the race of suspects. How unreal can we get?

Answer 3

Many groups have apologists/defenders that want only good things said and don't want negatives even if they are the truth. If a shooter looks Middle Eastern then the shooter looks Middle Eastern, that is a fact (arguments about exactly what Middle Eastern looks like aside).
This is no more inciteful than describing a shooter as tall or bearded or wearing a gray shirt.

Answer 4

For the better part of a year following 11 September 2001, any person with slightly darker skin, dark eyebrows and black hair was viewed as being suspicious. People who normally never noticed "strangers on the street" became very aware of people meeting the dark hair, dark eyebrows and all-over tanned complexions as being "suspicious" for the first time in their lives.

It continues to a slightly lessor extent to this day with Jews, dark-haired individuals and even Mexicans. Why? Because the average person wouldn't know Middle Eastern from Mexican from Italian. They have the dark hair and eyebrows and that's what is causing the problems.

I feel sorry for them all.

Answer 5

because people are so much of a ***** nowadays trying to be politically correct that anything someone says will be politically incorrect if some idiot says so. also this politically correctness is gonna end up screwing over people like preachers with fags running around bitching about preachers saying what they do is abnormal and wrong (although this isnt open for the altat boy debate) but no fags should be able to hold a position in a religion that strictly states that what they do is wrong no matter what

Answer 6

It would be fine if people also described Jesus prophets & disiples as "of Middle Eastern appearance". but they don't.
Or what about describing a white male criminal as "of US republican party appearance"?

from the above example it is clear that where the term is often used prejudicially to portray middle eastern apearence as criminal, it is racist

Answer 7

Like du-uh-uh-uh. You practically saying that all persons of "Middle Eastern appearance" are criminals and/or terrorist.

Remember what happened to the Brazilian chap in London? They bloody hell shot him down because:

1. He looked "Middle Eastern.
2. He looked "Middle Eastern".
3. He looked "Middle Eastern".

People should think twice about limiting negative **** to particular race/s.

Answer 8

The swing of things, we are coming from a very PC era,,

It is now moving back toward the middle, so not to worry

Answer 9

Racial profiling is a great tool as long as it is used correctly. I am sorry that middle easternerns are targetered by so many however they have only their fellow countrymen to blame.

Answer 10

lmao ... you go EGO boy you go lol


I'll answer your question with a question ... are you sure that is what was said ... or was 'of Middle Eastern appearance' actually something along the lines of 'that rag..blahblahblahblah' ... myself personally ... if something was taken as racist ... it was probably leaning more to the later.