UPDATE:: As of 2pm on Tuesday, July 21st – ALL CHARGES HAVE BEEN DROPPED against Dr. Gates and the City of Cambridge called the arrest “regrettable and unfortunate.” -via NY Times
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Named by Time Magazine as one of the 25 Most Influential American’s, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, famed Harvard Professor, is one of the most respected historians and scholars in the world. As an African American Studies major @ Morehouse College, I read almost every book he wrote or edited and learned to admire his gentle spirit and tireless work ethic. I respect him about as much as I do anybody in the world.
When I learned that he was arrested yesterday, it was a major WTF(udge) moment for me. It’d be kind of like hearing that your mother was arrested.
After arriving back in Boston from doing a PBS documentary in China, Dr. Gates and his driver discovered that it appeared someone might have damaged the front door to his home. After they attempted to enter it and couldn’t, Dr. Gates went to the back door with his keys, let himself in, disarmed the alarm, and opened the front door from the inside.
To his surprise, a plain clothes officer soon arrived at the house, said that a neighbor called the police to report that “two BLACK men with backpacks were breaking into the house next door” and demanded to see identification from Dr. Gates – which he provided (both state ID & Harvard ID).
Instead of treating Dr. Gates as if he was a victim, the officer proceeded to question Dr. Gates, who walks with a cane, as if he was some type of perpetrator. When Dr. Gates became agitated that he was being questioned in his own home, he was arrested, handcuffed with his hands behind his back, and taken to the police department in a squad car for four hours.
They said they arrested Dr. Gates because he was “making a scene” but how can a man that has produced his ID in his own home be making a scene?
Here are some other questions coming to my mind:
How many White Harvard professors have been arrested in their own home in Cambridge?
Why do two Black men with backpacks, in spite of the fact that they are senior doggone citizens, look like robbers instead of students or scholars to some people? (Maybe for the same reason Amadou Diallo got shot for shooting a gun that was really a wallet)
Why didn’t the officer just leave the home and apologize after Dr. Gates produced his state ID (with the same address) and his Harvard ID?
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It’s not right. Tell me all you want about never arguing with a police officer. I understand that. Trust me…I know. But you don’t arrest a Senior Scholar @ Harvard University in his own home for making a scene. Period.
I know President Obama is a Black man. I know racism isn’t what it used to be. But doggone it – it’s still real. It still hurts. It still sucks. I’m tired of it.
I’m listening to a little Bruce & E-Street to let off a little steam and thought I’d share it with you. 41 Shots is one of the most powerful songs recorded in the past 20 years IMO.
{ 39 comments }
An epic embarrassment and travesty. Actions communicate the true values of a nation.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWW !!!!
How long will this go on…enough is enough
we have to put the foot back to the pedal…..and let those who practice this type of behavior must be punished….
Perhaps this injustice would be avoided if we took the time to REALY get to know our neighbors.
Perhaps the sadder commentary here is that neighbors no longer know neighbors! I agree with the WTF moment – especially when your own neighbor doesn't recognize you going into your own house. After all, there must be hundreds of elderly gentlemen with canes out robbing people these days!
Shaun, I live in MA, And what is being reported on the news (tv, and radio) is that he was not cooperative. In the reports it says that the first thing out of his mouth was "What because I'm a black man… Your messing with the wrong guy." The reports say that he refused to produce id and attempted to push officers out of his house. In an interview with the neighbor they said they saw 2 men attempting to force the door open with there shoulders. and when they were unsuccessful they went around to the back, so they called the police. You and i would have done the same thing, if our neighbor was away on vacation and in the dark of night we saw 2 people trying to enter his house using force. "911 what's your emergency"
The image you portrayed is in sharp contrast to the image the Boston media is portraying. I'm sure the truth lies in the middle.
Personally I am tired of "the white side" thinking that racism is a non issue. While on "the black side" everything is racist. People like Al Sharpton spouting off on everything has just as much impact on furthering the racial tension as the bigoted white people. I'm pretty sure he has never convinced one single white person to stand up against racism with his comments. The term "because I'm black" needs to be stricken from our vocabulary. Yes racism exists, it's real, it's ugly, and we need to move on from it. But this isn't the way!
Billy
Ok, I am not passing judgment or coming to any conclusions because there is good bit of he said/he said going on here, but there are two sides to every story. So I am just going to offer a few comments and make some corrections as well.
A. The woman who called the police was 77 years old. Gates is only 58 and we have no idea how old his cab driver was. To a woman that is nearly 80 years old, 58 is young and may not have realized who it was. The front door apparently was jammed shut and the woman witnessed the cab driver attempting to force the door open with his shoulder. It was at that point, Gates went around the back. Was it wrong for this woman to just assume two black men were up to no good in that neighborhood? Sure. But her biases cannot be a hindrance to police investigating the call. If a call comes in there is a possibly burglary or robbery taking place, the police must investigate. That is their job.
B. It was not a plain clothes policeman, but a uniformed Cambridge PD sergeant.
C. The stories differ as to the issue of identification. Gates claims the showed the ID and that the officer did not believe him. The officer claims Gates didn't show any id at first but then did after allegedly yelling at the officer.
D. Gates was not handcuffed behind his back. There is photo here: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07212009/news/nationa…
E. Gates was not placed under arrest inside his home. but outside. Once again, this is where the story differs. Gates claims that when he walked outside he was immediately placed under arrest. The officer claims Gates was continuing to yell and make a scene at which point the officer warned Gates, not once but twice that he was behaving in a disorderly fashion and it was at that time he placed Mr. Gates under arrest.
Again, I am not saying the cop was right and Mr. Gates was wrong or vice versa. I am just saying we should be cautious about what conclusions to make until all of the facts are out.
Ok, I am not passing judgment or coming to any conclusions because there is good bit of he said/he said going on here, but there are two sides to every story. So I am just going to offer a few comments and make some corrections as well.
A. The woman who called the police was 77 years old. Gates is only 58 and we have no idea how old his cab driver was. To a woman that is nearly 80 years old, 58 is young and may not have realized who it was. The front door apparently was jammed shut and the woman witnessed the cab driver attempting to force the door open with his shoulder. It was at that point, Gates went around the back. Was it wrong for this woman to just assume two black men were up to no good in that neighborhood? Sure. But her biases cannot be a hindrance to police investigating the call. If a call comes in there is a possibly burglary or robbery taking place, the police must investigate. That is their job.
B. It was not a plain clothes policeman, but a uniformed Cambridge PD sergeant.
C. The stories differ as to the issue of identification. Gates claims the showed the ID and that the officer did not believe him. The officer claims Gates didn't show any id at first but then did after allegedly yelling at the officer.
D. Gates was not handcuffed behind his back. There is photo here: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07212009/news/nationa…
E. Gates was not placed under arrest inside his home. but outside. Once again, this is where the story differs. Gates claims that when he walked outside he was immediately placed under arrest. The officer claims Gates was continuing to yell and make a scene at which point the officer warned Gates, not once but twice that he was behaving in a disorderly fashion and it was at that time he placed Mr. Gates under arrest.
Again, I am not saying the cop was right and Mr. Gates was wrong or vice versa. I am just saying we should be cautious about what conclusions to make until all of the facts are out.
Ok, I am not passing judgment or coming to any conclusions because there is good bit of he said/he said going on here, but there are two sides to every story. So I am just going to offer a few comments and make some corrections as well.
A. The woman who called the police was 77 years old. Gates is only 58 and we have no idea how old his cab driver was. To a woman that is nearly 80 years old, 58 is young and may not have realized who it was. The front door apparently was jammed shut and the woman witnessed the cab driver attempting to force the door open with his shoulder. It was at that point, Gates went around the back. Was it wrong for this woman to just assume two black men were up to no good in that neighborhood? Sure. But her biases cannot be a hindrance to police investigating the call. If a call comes in there is a possibly burglary or robbery taking place, the police must investigate. That is their job.
B. It was not a plain clothes policeman, but a uniformed Cambridge PD sergeant.
C. The stories differ as to the issue of identification. Gates claims the showed the ID and that the officer did not believe him. The officer claims Gates didn't show any id at first but then did after allegedly yelling at the officer.
D. Gates was not handcuffed behind his back. There is photo here: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07212009/news/nationa…
E. Gates was not placed under arrest inside his home. but outside. Once again, this is where the story differs. Gates claims that when he walked outside he was immediately placed under arrest. The officer claims Gates was continuing to yell and make a scene at which point the officer warned Gates, not once but twice that he was behaving in a disorderly fashion and it was at that time he placed Mr. Gates under arrest.
Again, I am not saying the cop was right and Mr. Gates was wrong or vice versa. I am just saying we should be cautious about what conclusions to make until all of the facts are out.
I that really makes me PO'd!
I agree with you Steve….we don't take the time to get to know our neighbors and to watch out for each other anymore. Shaun, while I can see why you would be so upset, I do agree with Jay in that all the facts should be obtained and checked before you post something that is liable to only fuel the fire of hatred. I too have been guilty of speaking before I know the facts and Sunday my pastor spoke on assumptions (assumptions of things we think about others was one of the points) and this hit home for me.
I grew up in house where my father used racial slurs left and right and I HATED it! I never understood why he had so much hate in his heart and why he felt the need to use such ugly words against other human beings. My two best friends were black, one guy and one girl. The guy asked me out and I had to tell him that I couldn't even though I wanted to badly because my father had warned us that if we ever brought home a black boyfriend that he'd kill us both. If you knew my Dad at that time you would have believed him too. I have a brother-in-law who I feel is racist and he and I have had many a discussion about this subject. One of our last conversations was comparing Jews to Blacks…he says "You don't hear the Jews bringing up the Holocaust all the time, but why is it the Black people keep saying that things are done to them because they are black and that everyone is racist?!". I replied "Because racism still exists and simply because of the color of a Black man's skin he will be treated differently. In places like LA for instance a black man can be pulled over for just driving down the street; this will not happen to a Jewish man." I can't imagine what it is like to be a black person in the world because I am not black, but I can only pray that this disease called bigotry/racism will be cured soon because it is killing us all. God created us in His image…Black, White, Yellow, Red and everything in between.
Hey Jay,
Have you read the official police report?
Shaun
Hello Kim,
I didn't make any assumptions at all. I based everything I wrote on the police report and on the personal account from a man that I have respected for over 10 years.
Hey Billy,
What does Al Sharpton have to do with anything that I have said today? Talk to me and about what I have said.
Shaun
Shaun, when you say the official police report, are you saying the report the officer wrote up or something else? I read the report the officer wrote up. http://www.scribd.com/doc/17512090/Gates-Incident…
Shaun,
as a pastor, you know we live in a fallen world. I am a white guy from Florida and the story is sad. Now i understand that there are conflicting reports on what happened regarding his "refusal to comply" so maybe the story will be different when all the facts are out…I dont know.
But I was wondering do you think this is an isolated incident of bad judgement on the cops part? Or do you view this as a fair representation of society's view towards African Americans? I would love to hear what you think!
I guess I dont know how to process it or stand against racism of that kind, because we both know there will always be racist jerks who are both black and white, it is a product of our broken nature as humans
thanks for sharing
cal
Yes. This official report.
If you read it, you would have found that the officer did handcuff Dr. Gates with his hands behind his back until he screamed that he would fall without his cane.
Only after that did they move the cuffs to the front.
No one disputes that Dr. Gates showed his identification. Nobody. He showed his state-issued drivers license and his Harvard ID.
Even the picture you showed from the NY Times, which was taken after the officer moved the cuffs to the front, clearly shows Dr. Gates right on his front porch. Play semantic games if you want about whether or not he was arrested in his house, but the police report lists the arresting address as the residence of Dr. Gates.
Thanks for your comment Calvin. I appreciate your question too man.
Here is what I think….
1. At the very least, it was terrible judgment call on the part of the arresting officer to arrest a dignitary like Dr. Gates in his own home. Terrible.
2. It may be an isolated incident for this officer, but these things happen to Black men across the country ALL OF THE TIME. I hear sad and devastating reports from families about mistaken arrests on a regular basis.
3. Dr. Gates, who is known to be a very moderate and gentle man, felt strongly that he was wrongfully targeted. He is not Mr. Protest – that is part of the reason why he has been so successful in the mainstream of Harvard University.
I am not sure about your account, Shaun. This posting is obviously biased, and is missing some important, more objective information. I think this was an ego thing on both of their parts. Gates was tired from traveling, likely frustrated from the door situation, and probably was less than respectful. This probably prompted the officer to flex his muscle.
It is important to consider the factual discrepancies in this case. The police report does not mention that he furnished his state issued ID. Only Ogletree's statement makes this claim, but the Harvard ID is not disputed. How does an Harvard ID (undisputed) establish ownership of a property? Also, you are making the assumption that this officer knew who Gates is — this is not certain and still that would not have precluded him from being capable from committing a crime. Ogletree's statement says he was calling someone about the door, while the police report made it sound like he was calling the Chief of Police, which would make sense given that Gates did ask the officer for his name and badge number. Why else would someone go so far to ask for that much information if (as it reads in Ogletree's statement) the interaction up to that point was relatively benign?
Also Shaun, I don't think you can simply shrug off the "inside vs outside" of his house piece as "semantics" — that would make a huge difference, legally speaking. Do I think the officer baited him outside so he could make the arrest? Yup. But I am also fairly certain that Gates had something to do – whether he initiated the conflict or simply exacerbated it, I don't know.
In the end, I think Gates was playing the "I am HLG, a prominent Black Harvard Professor..how dare you?" card and you know how the police can get when their authority is challenged…I believe he did tell the officer he didn't know who he was messing with, but the officer did bait him outside the house. Either way, people need to know not to antagonize the police because in the end, it's their word versus yours…and being a Dr. Gates will not always protect you from their wrath, and it certainly won't protect most of us
Also, I do not remember if the lady was a neighbor, either.
I didn't say he had anything to do with what you said. I thought I was adding my part of the dialog you hoped to create here.
Allow me to put accent on you last statement where I am hearing them then please correct me if I'm wrong. Talk to -ME- and about what -I- have said. If I'm interrpriting what you wrote correctly the only way we can have any discourse is if we stick to the words in your post. I did respond to what you wrote by telling you what I am hearing in the media… and how I feel you and I would have responded the same as the neighbor. I then elaborated on what -I- feel is a big problem in dealing with race issues in this culture.
Now allow me to ask you an honest question… would you have responded with that statement if my avatar wasn't a white dude? I'm not claiming to know the answer I'm honestly asking…
I love reading your posts and following what you do down in ATL. I think God is really going to work through you in a unique way. I don't want people to think I just picked this to comment on. I follow you on twitter, and I have left comments here before. I'm not one of those blog haters that wants to see you fail or do things my way. like I said I love what your doing. I just expressed my frustration same as you.
He had been away in China. it's possible that they didn't know he was back…
Shaun,
I read the report and have a few thoughts on your post and other comments. I hope that this is truly a safe place.
1. There is no reason to fault the neighbor that called the cops. If this happened to me (a white guy) I would be thankful that my neighbor was trying to look out for me and my family. It is a shame that she didn't recognize her own neighbor, but she is not the one who should be faulted for this incident.
2. This was not a "plain-clothes'" officer as you assert. It was a uniformed office in an un-marked car, there is a difference.
3. The office followed correct protocol by placing Gate's hands behind his back. When he was informed of Gate's disability he had the cuffs moved to the front. You cannot fault the office for following protocol. He did what he was trained to do.
4. Here's a "what if?". What may have happened if, as soon as Gates saw the officer on his porch he had opened the door and said, "Hi officer, may I help you?" When the office told him why he was there things would have been resolved with a simple, "Officer, thank you for coming to check on this, my name is Henry Gates and this is my home, here's some ID since I don't expect you to take my word for this. When I arrived at home my door was stuck and I had trouble getting in, would you mind taking a look at it to see if you think someone may have tried to break in? I may need to file a report."
Had that happened we would have never heard of this. In my opinion this did not start out as a racist incident. If I called to report someone trying to break into my neighbor's home I would give the Police a description of those people. I might say, black men, african-american men, hispanic men, white men, etc. In no way is that racist, it is simply a description.
5. "Why didn’t the officer just leave the home and apologize after Dr. Gates produced his state ID (with the same address) and his Harvard ID?" According to the report he began to leave, only to be followed out of the door by Gates, yelling and screaming at him and accusing him of being racist. Had Gates closed the door behind the officer this would have been over.
Let me end by saying that I know that racism happens. It happens in a bad way sometimes and that makes me mad. BUT, I don't think that this is one of them. If this had played out differently, had Gates never uttered the words, "because I am a black man" this story would have never been published. This is really a story of a man (who happens to be black) not using good judgement. I would think that if an officer showed up at my house and asked for ID, that I would have been arrested if I refused and followed him from my house yelling and screaming.
All in all this is unfortunate, but not racist.
For the record Boston/Roxbury/Cambridge police officers have ALREADY had a stigma for practicing racial injustice towards African Americans.
My in-laws are from Boston/Rox/Cambridge & this type of treatment is NO SURPRISE!
My AA father in-law is a MIT Engineer grad/Pastor & has been harassed. My 25 yr old AA Harvard Law grad friend has been harassed.
My 32 yr old AA MIT engineer friend has been harassed. One of my mentors who's a well known AA Harvard Business grad/pastor who's appears on FOX/MSNBC/CNN often, has been harassed.
These guys all love God, are married with great families, and have never been a threat to anyone.
Scorsese's Oscar Award Winning movie-Departed was true to form when he depicted some of the racism/prejudice that exist within BPD.
No explanation needed for injustice.
I'm mexican & jamaican.
thoughts?
what's sad is stuff like this probably happens everyday all around our country but we never hear about it because the victims aren't as notable as dr. gates. makes me ill.
on a side note- the other man you mentioned, amadou diallo, has the same last name as one of my brothers and the link you posted said they are from the same tribe in west africa. small world. i had never heard of his story before, thank you for sharing it with us. an unimaginable tragedy.
Regardless of the specific details as to how things went down in this case, I would not see this as an isolated incident because something similar happened to me, and I am sure many African Americans have stories along the same lines.
In 2005, when I was a high school student (at the time living in Indiana in a 98% percent Caucasian affluent suburb of Indianapolis), I was driving home from babysitting. As an African American in that area who who drove a very old, beat up car, being followed by the police was not uncommon. That night, a cop had been following me very closely for a few miles. I was less than a mile from my home, when I noticed flashing lights in my rear view mirror. I knew this was a signal to pull over, but I checked my speedometer and knew that I was driving below the speed limit. For my own personal safety as a young woman, I decided it would be best to continue to drive slowly home (we're talking 10 mph), and to call my father to make sure he would be outside the door when I arrived.
By the time I arrived home, there were multiple squad cars following me, despite the fact that I had been driving literally 10 mph since the cops signaled me to pull over. When I arrived home and got out of the car, the first cop asked me, "What are you doing in this neighborhood at this time of night?" I explained to him that it was my home and showed the ID to confirm it. He then proceeded to go on and on about how someone should always stop when they see flashing lights. I politely explained that I was afraid to stop since I had violated no traffic laws and that I had noticed that I had been followed closely for a few miles before being signaled to pull over. The cop continued to say that he was doing me a huge favor by letting me off with a written warning. Needless to say, the backup squad cars that were called were thoroughly embarrassed when they found out they were called in for a high school babysitter. When my father told them simply "I don't like this" in the calm manner he speaks to everyone, they couldn't even look at him.
Would the cop have arrested me, or would the situation be looked at differently had I appeared more agitated or made a scene by telling him what I was really thinking (which was along the lines of……."Driving while black in a beat up car in a white area is not a crime")? Would the cop have arrested me if the backup officers had been there to witness the situation and emphasize with me? I don't know the answers to these questions, but what I do know is that I behaved appropriately and respectfully as possible yet I had multiple squad cars in my home in the middle of the night and was being told that I didn't belong in my own neighborhood.
I don't know what the true details of this particular case being discussed are, because I wasn't there. What I do know is that patrol officers having a racial bias is not uncommon, and I am sure there are many regular folks out there with stories similar to mine.
charges have been dropoped
UPDATE:: As of 2pm on Tuesday, July 21st – ALL CHARGES HAVE BEEN DROPPED against Dr. Gates and the City of Cambridge called the arrest “regrettable and unfortunate.”
@Billy. While you made some great points in your post I have to disagree with you on this one statement "The term "because I'm black" needs to be stricken from our vocabulary. Yes racism exists, it's real, it's ugly, and we need to move on from it. But this isn't the way! " The term "because I'm black" does not need to be stricken from our vocabulary but I can say that it is over used in some instances. You stated yourself that racism still exist and that being said the term does have some validity. The unfortunate reality is things do happen because of someone's race. What would you suggest people say when they are singled out simply because of their race. Once again I will admit that the term is over used, however to say that it needs to be stricken is highly incorrect.
I am currently completing a doctorate degree in social justice and what I have been researching and learning is being illustrated through these posts. The bottom line is that the majority should not make decisions for the minority. The fact is that being a black male in America is still a constant challenge. It appears that you are choosing to lean towards the side that depicts the situation to be "less" racist. Perhaps it is because it would be more difficult to accept the fact that being black in America regardless of socioeconomic status and education.
I believe that the "silver lining" in this cloud is that incidences like these cause people to dialogue about the elephant in the room. The responses that I have read from bloggers of different races are a microcosm of what takes place in US society. Some people are outraged, saddened, searching for answers, and in denial regarding race issues. The conflicting stories as well as what has happened historically in the media prove that the media cannot be seen as a valid source. The fact that the charges have been dropped and an apology was issued indicate that perhaps it was not such a non-racial issue as some of the bloggers here tried to interpret.
Your last statement "The term "because I'm black" needs to be stricken from our vocabulary. Yes racism exists, it's real, it's ugly, and we need to move on from it. But this isn't the way!" On the one hand, you say that people should not use race as a reason for mistreatment, while on the other hand, you admit that racism is real and ugly. What would you suggest a person who finds the 'N' word sprayed on his/her door to say is the reason for that incident? How should anyone who experiences racism explain the incident? Striking the words from the vocabulary does not take away the experiences. Where does your suggestion end?…If a gay person and his/her partner are beaten outside of a gay club by people who call them the "F" word, can they not say it is because their "gay?" What if a woman experiences sexual harrassment from her male co-workers and /or boss? Can she not say it was because she was a woman? Also, do your realize that by stricking that phrase, you completely obliterate the idea of offenders being charged for hate crimes?
@Jay and BIlly McGuiness
Consider reading Tim Wise' book, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son.
Unfortunately this type of situation is not uncommon.The ONLY reason we’re hearing about it is because Henry Gates is a prominent African American. It may have been an innocent situation that got out of control.Whether he showed his ID or he didn’t. Whether he cussed the officer out or not, to me none of that is relevant.That is not the problem. In my opinion the problem is that everytime I (as a young black woman) see a sales clerk follow me around a store in this day and age I have to wonder if she wants to help me or is it b/c she thinks I’m going to steal something because I’m black. I have to wonder if the police who blocked my path and asked me if I needed help when my daughter and her friends (we live in a predominantly white community) played in front of the poplice station after a girl scout field trip really wanted to help me or if they did it because I was black.The fact of the matter is that as black people we have experiences that could be considered racism almost EVERY DAY but it depends on the “perpetrators” intent (which we are not privy to know) so excuse us for being on high alert. Bigots were a lot easier to spot when they wore sheets.
Ok, understood. But just to be clear, this is what you wrote:
"When Dr. Gates became agitated that he was being questioned in his own home, he was arrested, handcuffed with his hands behind his back, and taken to the police department in a squad car for four hours."
You implied he was taken in the squad car with his hands cuffed behind his back and that wasn't the case. The people reading your blog may not go and read the entire story or the police report, so as somebody that is writing, you should take care to make it as accurate as possible and not leave something to the imagination.
You're right that nobody disputes Mr. Gates showed his ID. There is however, a dispute as to when Mr. Gates showed his ID and what ID he did show. The report clearly states that at first Gates refused and only produced his Harvard ID. Gates claims he showed the officer both his drivers license and Harvard ID. Again, he said/he said.
As for where he was arrested, it's not a game of semantics as I am not arguing over the insignificance of exactly where Mr. Gates was standing when he was arrested, but rather as to why. Again, you're the one doing the writing here and you wrote, "When Dr. Gates became agitated that he was being questioned in his own home, he was arrested,…" According to the report, the officer was leaving. Gates continued to yell and scream at the officer (according to the report) who warned him two times (with the second warning telling Mr. Gates he would be arrested) that his behavior was disorderly. Gates claims nothing like that happened and that he was just arrested when he stepped out on to his porch. The issue isn't the address but why he was ultimately arrested. Gates basically contends he was arrested for no reason. The officer says Gates was arrested for being disorderly.
Ultimately, I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion by both sides. Thankfully, I just saw something that said the charges against Mr. Gates were going to be dropped.
** And let me just add that I am sure that Dr. Gates anger at what happened was justified. Since I am not a minority I will never know what it feels like to be discriminated against or to be a victim of racism. I remind people who don't have kids they'll never be able to understand how a parent feels until they have their own children. I am saddened that we still have these kinds of issues in our day to day lives and can only look forward to the time when we're glorified in Christ and there will never ever again be racism.
I hope I didn't overstep any bounds here and thanks for giving me the opportunity to express my thoughts.
It seems to me that Dr. Gates was pretty quick to imply the officer had racist intentions. This could only inflame a situation and put the officer on the defensive. I can't imagine that there would be much racial tension in Cambridge to warrant Dr. Gates racial "chip on the shoulder" but perhaps I'm wrong.
Stephanie my point was that people are throwing that phrase around to librally. It's like saying "I starving" The Vast majority of people in this country have no idea what it is to starve. Yet we miss lunch and we are all of the sudden wasting away like the children on the side column. Of course the horrible situations you described are an appropriate place for the term. Perhaps I should have been clearer.
Now you bring up the issues of hate crimes… All hate crime laws do is support the idea that we are different. it serves to further divide the races, genders and creeds. It flies in the face of the equality we seek.
I have no doubt that it's hard being black in America. But don't blame every white guy for that. Don't cry race every time something happens. I've been hassled by the police. Ive been beat up for being different, I've seen breaks given to minorities while strict standards and consequences where handed down to non-minorities. It's time we take personal responsibility in this country. for as many times as a black man has been passed over for a job, or a gay man harassed, there are people crying racism when asked to produce id.
My point is simply this. If we don't want race to be an issue lets stop forcing it where it doesn't belong.
This is still bothering me… Why do we assume the officer was racist? Just because Gates and the President said so? Why do we assume he was profiling? Even you seem to think that it's a little weird that he would assume 2 Senior citizens with a cane would be robbers. what profile do they fit?
Why do Gates and Obama get to go on the air waves and spread there version of the events, while I have heard only 1 interview with the police officer (on a sports talk program)??? All they are doing is further drawing a line and tell all black Americans to get on there side because the people with Power are going to abuse it and you. As you said WTF!
Shaun I would love to hear your thoughts on the remarks the president made yesterday.
As I read the comments, it amazes me the obvious privileges that are extended to non-blacks. Every day, black folksare accosted in fundamentally racists ways. Some of the racism is intentional, some is not it is just plain old fashioned ignorance. Since you are not privvy to the daily experiences of a person of color – not hispanic, black, asian etc. you do not get the glorious experience of seeing humanity at its worst- so even though I do not understand that way of living I do GET that it exist. I imagine it is realllly nice. What disturbs me as I read some of the responses is that since it is not a part of YOUR experience the constant overt and covert racism that POC's live with daily should be down played, folks should get over it, or that the racist acts must be irrefutable to EVERYONE & not just the victim in order for it to be discussed or be a factor for society at large. Having not experienced the constant demeaning nature of this -ism you have no frame of reference to understand why AA's and other minorities are angry or disgusted with this situation with Mr. Gates. Must be realllllyyyyy nice. Wish I and others on this site could so blithely say the same.
Although i agree racism is VERY real, I think this incident comes down to two wounded ego's in a battle of wills. While in the end, it was probably the officer who took it too far (with the arrest) both parties handled the situation very poorly.
I am sick and tired of everyrtime a black man isn't treated like he's royalty, he screams racism. I agree that this should have been handled differently, but god damnit. And as for your comment that the police should have left after gates produced his ID, they were leaving, only after gates harrassed them for doing their job. And it was when they were leaving that he followed them to the porch, insulting the cops, as well as Crowley's mother. As for apologizing, When is Sharpton going to apologize for his remarks when that black girl "claimed" to have been raped by white officers?