My Racial Profiling Experience on the St. Louis Metrolink Train

The recent attack of a white passenger on the Metrolink train by a group of African American young men made me reflect on the racial tensions plaguing the St. Louis region. It also reminded me of an incidence when I was a victim of racial profiling by one of my fellow passengers on the train. It was much more subtle, and much less violent, but telling nonetheless.

It was a day like any other day when I was taking the train home to my car parked at the Richmond Heights Metrolink station. I was just standing there minding my own business, positioned just a yard or two away from a young, clean cut looking Caucasian fellow with a St. Louis College of Pharmacy backpack. I easily guessed he was in his early 20's and a student there (it is a rigorous 7 year program to complete the full doctorate degree), probably commuting home. On the train, we both noticed a middle aged African American man making his way through the train, stopping to ask one of the other passengers if he could borrow some money for some food. He said that he was really hungry and had not eaten all day. That passenger said he was sorry he did not have anything to give him so the man walked on towards us.

The man looked at the college student and at me, and then first spoke to the young man, "Hey, do you have a few extra dollars you could give me? Just so I can get myself something to eat?" (Probably not his exact words, but you get the general idea.) The polite, young man responded he was just getting back from school and he did not have much cash on him. I prepared in my head what I would tell the beggar when he asked me the same question so I would be ready to respond.

Then the beggar looked at me directly in my face and was about to speak. But instead he passed me by, sat down next to a well dressed, Caucasian woman and asked her for money instead! I then realized I had just been racially profiled by this man begging for money. He obviously thought I would not give him any money, based on how I looked. Was it my too long 1980's haircut, or the fact that I was carrying a Walmart purchased lunch bag? Or was it simply because I looked Asian? He thought a 20 something white, college student was more likely to give him money than a middle-aged working Asian guy? I bet I had a lot more money in my wallet than that pharmacy student, but the beggar did not even speak a word to me.

I know that had not always been the case, and that reminded me of another occasion when I met a different African American panhandler many, many years ago...

On that occasion I was a college student myself, about the same age as that St. Louis College of Pharmacy student. I was in New Haven, Connecticut visiting my one cousin while she was attending Yale, and I came to visit with her sister during the period when I was an engineering co-op student working at IBM near New York City. On that day I believe I was actually wearing a sports coat, so I probably looked pretty dapper, and since it was the 1980's, my same 1980's hairstyle was actually not out of style! While we were walking to go to dinner in New Haven, a middle aged African American man approached us, three young Asian adults, and ignoring my two female cousins asked me specifically for money. Being my usual, easy going self I hemmed and hawed, taking my good time replying, when my much more blunt and city savvy cousin responded something like "Beat it, he's not giving you anything." The man looked a little agitated and said something to my cousin like "Hey, I was talking to him, not to you." He obviously thought I might give him something, whereas my cousins would not.

Wow, so this panhandler must have thought a well dressed Asian man was more likely to give him money than a young Asian woman! Maybe I looked like the older, wealthier Asian brother visiting his two college student sisters or something. I bet the students at Yale are used to the panhandlers and know to just ignore them, and he was hoping I was a more naive visitor. The really funny part of the story was the beggar was wearing a Brandeis University sweatshirt and my one cousin who told him off actually graduated from Brandeis. As we walked away from the beggar, we asked her if she knew him from college. Was he a student, or faculty member? (we were guessing not!)

So it seems that African American beggars probably are guilty of racial and gender based profiling themselves when it comes to selecting who to ask for money. I find it interesting from these two cases that one beggar was more willing to specifically ask me for money when I looked 20 years old, when in reality I was worth pretty much nothing, but another one passed me by 30 years later when I was much better off and actually had a lot more money to potentially give him (and a lot more than any college student would!)