Racial and ethnic discrimination is still predominant in the United States despite the existing legislations that discourage it. The individuals with an origin from the middle east and African Americans are often the primary targets of racial profiling. The security guard in this case was probably following orders but went overboard with his questions. The statement given by Georgetown University administration implied that there was a threat of violence some few days earlier.
Therefore, the institution had to take precautions to avoid incidences like that of Virginia Tech. However, it is not clear whether or not Kambiz Fattahi behaved suspiciously. If I were this individual, I would probably just follow the orders given by the university administration and ask Mr. Kambiz Fattahi to come with me. I would then follow the procedures that the University rules have prescribed in the questioning of ‘suspects.’
However, I would not have gone deep into making racist or ethnic comments or asking questions that may have been considered as racist. The furthest that I would have gone with the process of interrogation would be to ask the individual for proof of citizenship and other identification documents.
The cases of racial and ethnic profiling by law-enforcement officers is not new in the U.S. There have been several claims that Caucasian law enforcement officers have been using their powers to undermine individuals from other races especially the African Americans.
Therefore, the case that was discussed was not an isolated incident. However, there have been demonstrations against the issues of ethnic and racial discrimination with campaigns such as ‘black lives matter’ popping up. Different states have also come up with laws that prohibit such cases.