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President Bush’s re-election campaign insisted on knowing the race of an Arizona Daily Star journalist assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney. The Star refused to provide the information.

Danny Diaz, a spokesman for the president’s re-election campaign, said the information was needed for security purposes.

“All the information requested of staff, volunteers and participants for the event has been done so to ensure the safety of all those involved, including the vice president of the United States,” he said.

Diaz repeated that answer when asked if it is the practice of the White House to ask for racial information or if the photographer, Mamta Popat, was singled out because of her name.

Die kans is niet onbestaand natuurlijk. Maar om daar meteen een racial issue van te maken. Door de subjectieve berichtgeving van de Arizona Daily Star (ADS) beschikken we waarschijnlijk niet over alle informatie, maar een bezoekje aan het discussie op sportsshooter.com geeft ons het volgende:

Our newspaper is right across the courtyard from them and it could be easily assumed that we would be covering VP Cheney’s visit -and we did. The fact is, we were also telephoned by the Bush-Cheney camp to verify my race and gang, my name is as anglo as they come. When I arrived at the event, I was subject to name verification. I was searched, they used a metal detector on me, two secret service guys searched my bag and a bomb/drug dog inspected my bag as well. I do not believe race had a thing to do with it.

En nog:

I don’t like these invasions anymore than the next person, but saying that this was racial profiling when our reporter is a white male and I am a white male, well, I just don’t see it, folks.

Ik vraag mij af wat het meest verontrustende is: dat je, wanneer je om distinctive features vraagt (en huidskleur is dat, mag je toch wel aanneemen), meteen van racisme beschuldigd wordt, of het feit dat iedereen die controles zomaar for granted neemt.

Read my lips: no more privacy.