How do you feel when you are a victim of stereotype ?
Please answer fast, it is very urgent.
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Answer:
I was walking with my hands free set in my ears, with a ¾ length hooded jacket on through my local area of Leeds. I met with a group of friends, approximately 4 people (3 males and 1 female) who were sat on a wall in the estate. One of them sparked a cigarette as the rest laughed and joked and began to play fight. I sat on the wall and put my hands in my pocket as a police van drove slowly into the street. 2 officers, a male and female, left the van and walked towards us. The policeman asked if we were alright, to which nobody replied, the female officer then approached me and asked me to empty my pockets, to which I declined. I was then told if I didn’t do as I was told she’d have to conduct a formal search. I asked why it was just me having to show what I had in my pocket, to which she replied if I didn’t stop arguing she would arrest me. The male officer was asking the same of the boys and the other female was told to stand back. I then began questioning the female officer as to why I had to empty the contents of my pocket. She began telling me a mobile phone had been stolen in the area.
The male officer asked if I would like to have a word in the back of the van. I then decided to just allow the female officer to search me whilst persistently explaining that it was a waste of time and that I had just come from my house. She then asked me if was aware of the incident, to which I replied no. The male officer also searched my other male friends.
After the search I was then free to go. I felt embarrassed, inferior, angry, and a victim of a negative stereotype of young ethnic minorities from an inner city area.