Blogs and Stories
Skip's Racist Wakeup Call
This booking photo released by the Cambridge Police Dept., shows Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who was arrested while trying to force open the locked front door of his home near Harvard, July 16, 2009.
The arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, the country’s most important black academic, in his own home means America can forget all the post-racial nonsense, The Daily Beast’s Touré writes.
It could’ve happened to any black man. This sort of thing happens all the time. But this particular instance—legendary Harvard professor Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr., arrested on his own front porch—tells you that even if a black man is a brilliant, famous, rich, classy, Harvard professor who’s 58 years old, walking with a cane because of hip-replacement surgery, and ensconced in his own Cambridge home during the day, he can still be arrested.
After the arrest of Skip Gates, the most important black academic in the country, we can put all that kumbaya we’re-post-racial crap in the toilet.
That’s because Malcolm X’s 40-year-old quote is still true: “What do you call a black man with a Ph.D.? A nigger.”
Some people were thinking, “We’ve got a black president, America is beyond racism, we’re post racial now.” Some think racism has become a boogie monster that only blacks fear is under the bed, but there’s nothing but paranoia.
Well, after the arrest of Skip Gates, the director of Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, the most important black academic in the country, we can put all that kumbaya we’re-post-racial crap in the toilet.
In the hours after the story broke, the actor/playwright Sarah Jones tweeted, “Do we still need our Free Papers?” Yes, the incident sent shock waves so deep that people felt echoes of being post-slaves and having to prove their liberty to anyone who asked. Gates told me in an email, “I am outraged.” Many are.
Being a black man is often Kafkaesque, and this situation definitely is. The facts agreed upon by the Cambridge Police Department’s report and the statement released by Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree, who’s serving as Gates’ counsel, are these: On Thursday, July 16, 2009, around 12:44 p.m., Gates forced open the door to his Cambridge home. Someone called 911 to report breaking and entering. An officer approached Gates’ home, when Gates was inside, and asked him to step outside. Gates declined. The officer went into Gates’ home, where Gates showed him ID that proved Gates lived there. Gates asked for officer’s name and badge number and Gates did not get them.
Gates was handcuffed on his own front porch, where several officers had amassed. He was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to the Cambridge Police Station, where he spent four hours locked up. Those are the points of agreement, but the differences between the two accounts are so many they suggest two entirely different sets of people interacting.
The police account paints Gates as belligerent and tumultuous from the encounter’s beginning, while the officer is polite and accommodating in the face of an unruly person. A neighbor sees a man breaking into a home and calls 911. When an officer shows up at Gates’ home he says he’s investigating a break-in in progress and Gates responds, “Why, because I’m a black man in America?”
The Right Dumps Carrie
Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
What's Joe's Problem?
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Geithner's Stock Plummeting
Jeff Madrick is a contributor to the New York Review of Books and a former economics columnist for the New York Times. He is editor of Challenge Magazine, visiting professor of humanities at Cooper Union, and senior fellow at the New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. He is the author of Taking America, The End of Affluence (Random House) and The Case for Big Government.
Upset for the Ages
Touré is a columnist for The Daily Beast. He's also an NBC contributor and the author of Never Drank the Kool-Aid, Soul City, and The Portable Promised Land. He is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, was CNN's first pop culture correspondent, and was the host of MTV2's Spoke N Heard. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker and the New York Times.
Do Bold Outfits Win Matches?
Touré is a columnist for The Daily Beast. He's also an NBC contributor and the author of Never Drank the Kool-Aid, Soul City, and The Portable Promised Land. He is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, was CNN's first pop culture correspondent, and was the host of MTV2's Spoke N Heard. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker and the New York Times.
Lessons of the Beerfest
Touré is a columnist for The Daily Beast. He's also an NBC contributor and the author of Never Drank the Kool-Aid, Soul City, and The Portable Promised Land. He is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, was CNN's first pop culture correspondent, and was the host of MTV2's Spoke N Heard. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker and the New York Times.
IT is perfectly normal that when you insult and abuse a policemen who's come to investigate something, and call them names and tell them how important you are, and act as though they are your inferiors, they will arrest you for disorderly conduct.
Gates is just another Harvard professor but seems to think that because he[s black he can treat people like dirt. He got what he deserved not because he is black, but because he is arrogant, obnoxious and...engaged in disorderly conduct.
And is this journalism? Tina Brown hires a friend of a guy to write an objective article? This is silly. Toure is a pompous college dropout who went to a rich prep school and never got over his atitude. Toure isn't a journalist, and has no business covering stories involving his personal pal.
Tina, decide whther you're the Star or whether you're a journalist.
Thanks RTL for giving us the insider's perspective of the author. Spot on, we need you to out more of these fake journalists.
If we don't stop black people more, how will we know if they are innocent or not? I hate it when people get all high and mighty over percieved slights over the "racial profiling" from the last 300 years.
We are a post racial society (I personally don't even see color)- the police would have done the exact same thing if a white woman of the same age was at that door.
It probably would have been even worse for her- the police wouldn't have had to worry about getting sued over racism.
wow. These two posts are very disturbing. It is *not* illegal to yell at a police officer. It is perfectly understandable to be upset when you are accused of breaking into your own home and when the officer refused to identify himself.
And this would not have happened this way to a white woman, at all. First, the likelihood that anyone would have called is so much less. Second, the officers would have demurred after seeing her id, if they bothered to even look at it at all. I know, because I've been there. Women actually get away with a lot when it comes to the police. I watched my mother flirt her way out many a speeding ticket in her day.
"If we don't stop black people more how will we know if they are innocent or nor?"? Is that snark?! How do we know if anybody is innocent. Let's just stop everybody all the time. Let's have a police state. What are you talking about?
It wasn't that the police came after the call was reported. It's that they arrested the man after acknowledging that he was in his own home! When he posed no threat to anyone. Was this a racist incident? Likely and probably unprovable. I would also argue that it might be a classist incident. Cops are not always friendly to those they consider "arrogant" or more affluent. If they were in a blue-collar neighborhood and had seen the man's id and acknowledged he was in his own home, would they have arrested him?
Still, racism runs so deep and the scars are so painful, it is understandable that this incident evokes 300 years of fear and anger. We need to keep processing this as a culture an not pretend that these feelings are invalid.
Please tell me that this is sarcasm.
Good Lord. "If we don't stop black people more, how will we know if they are innocent or not?" And then in the next breath you claim not to see color.
Have you ever heard of the Fourth Frigging Amendment to the Frigging United States Constitution? The guarantee against ureasonable search and seizure? Do you even have a goddamned glimmer of what you're talking about?
How would you react if I said we should stop old white ladies to see if they're innocent or not? And you say you don't see color.
I can't believe we're in the 21st Century. This incident may, indeed, have been a simple case of miscommunication, but your response puts us back in 1955!
The rickjr82 response has to be satirical. Has to be.
Wow, some people can't tell when they are reading satire. The poster was obviously kidding. They were actually making fun of the first poster.
RTL212 raises excellent points Just think of Dr Gates as having a "melt down" and of course we have been worned about melt downs of Latino women and minorities by our estemed Southern Senators. Why wouldn't the police enter your house and demand ID and demand you "step outside" It is only your house! We didn't fight a revolutionary war to stop the king from entering your house for unlawful seach, just taxes that is right just taxes.
"If we don't stop black people more, how will we know if they are innocent or not"???? WTF!!!
If that dosen't show people what black folk are up against, then i don't know what does? My lord!
To roger37: I'm pretty sure rickjr82's post was complete snark. The irony of following "I personally don't even see color" with "done the exact same thing if a white woman" did it is pretty clear. And if it isn't snark, then this person is too far gone to even respond to.
Well, I'll concede the point IF he was being satirical. But it wasn't obvious in this context. We've been getting a lot of serious racist commentary on TDB recently, and since I live in the South I am a little more sensitive to it than many people.
I personally think that the anonymity of the internet is encouraging the wackos out of the woodwork, since they float emails around positively reinforcing each other.
No, it was obviously satire. You're just a dolt.
Up yours.
Do you think the police would have done the same thing to a white woman married to a black man or would she be able to flirt her way out of an arrest as asnevitt comment suggests?
To roger37
You are decidedly NOT a dolt (as one unkind post described you).
In my opinion, if rickjr82 was aiming at being satirical--and he probably was, or at least I HOPE he was--then he failed. And it probably has more to do with the medium (i.e. blog postings) than his message. Colbert can deliver such a message and pull it off because you can see the smirk that comes with his delivery of the message. It's much trickier to convey the implied "smirk" in prose. People miss it all the time.
In the case of rickjr82, there just wasn't enough of the "wink and nod" in the wording of his response to allow a reader to confidently recognize it as satire.
How can you say you do not see color, when you feel more black people should be stop. I thought we were to assume a person is innocent not assume they are guilty.
If the officer is telling the truth (it is possible), then it is the professor, and especially the author of this article who should be ashamed of themselves - we need to understand that. Of course - if the prof is telling the truth, then we have a problem with the officer - no doubt. The issue here is the authors assumption of innocence on the part of the professor (That's racist, right?). The black community will quickly lose the support of the middle class if they cry wolf too often.
re: jomama: The black community will quickly lose the support of the middle class if they cry wolf too often.
I don't understand your statement. Um, are you aware that there are black people in the middle class? So what are you really, really saying? Because your assumptions are sounding a lot like that of the officers.
And as for Toure assuming (or not) Gates' guilt, could it possibly be because he does know him and thus doesn't think he is capable of the acts as described by the officer? For the comment to add in race is more telling of the commenter than anything Toure wrote.
You guys seriously don't get the tongue-in-cheek nature of this piece? It's dripping with sarcasm! I knew our schools had gotten pretty bad - but my 5 year old has the critical thinking skills to recognize rickjr82's comment as satire.
I'm rather amazed that there was more than one person remotely confused as to the intention of the post!
Seriously?
If you follow this board every day, you will see racist thinkers, in all seriousness, post comments similar to what rickjr82 posted. They're emerging from the woodwork.
I'll admit I should have spent more time considering the post, but when you consider context you should be able to see my response was understandable, if incorrect.
lol okay PUMA
you two sound like you have Nazi stockholm syndrome - we pay those cops... they deal with irate people on a daily basis -
You personally don't see color? Oh, I think you do. I'm hoping that you wrote this little piece as pure irony. Too bad they don't have emoticons for this. of course, there's always the possibility that your post is racially motivated. And no, I'm a white woman even older than Skip Gates, and the police --ANYwhere---would not treat me like that. In fact, they'd probably offer to help me unstick my front door.
If a police officer has entered your house because he suspects you of breaking and entering and you've shown him your id which shows this is your residence, the police officer should then leave, period.
The police officer at that point knew breaking and entering wasn't an issue, so why stay around to argue with a homeowner. As a matter of fact, the man should have been able to request that the officer leave his premises.
Do you know how many officers let people know that they are cops when off duty, to let them know - I am important, I am a cop.
The article says there are a lot more facts to come out on both sides. While you criticize the peice, you also act like what was said by the police department is obsolute truth. If we could always trust that, then gosh, there would be no need for a court of law because the police would just always tell the unbiased truth (not just as they see it or slanted to fit their objective).
If you are saying the article isn't journalism, then how can you take part of it as truth?
It's interesting to me that the regular commentors who post at this site
from a Right wing perspective are the very same ones who take a white
racist view of this situation. I'm trying not to connect those dots, but it's
almost inescapable. Has anyone else been struck by this
??
well, southernborn.... the article said the Officer DID leave and Gates, very angry, followed. lt did say that, speaking of "truth". personally, l think it's totally overblown, exacerbated by a jet-lagged gent who was not up for anyone messing with him ("yo mama".... classic black verbal aggression).
l doubt any Officer, responding to a local report, would leave on the word of a person who, indignantly no doubt, simply said l live here!!. they would pull in their horns upon 'seeing' the obviousness of the statement, but to not ask for proof is nothing less than dereliction of duty. and...............
following a Police Officer, berating him / her, threatening, etc, IS a crime: verbal assault. lt's against the law to 'laze' an Officer or to project ANY threat towards them.
still, Gates WILL have his pound of flesh in a situation he worsened. l'll bet that, normally, most people would laugh it off: l did.
replying to:
jdx60009
It's interesting to me that the regular commentors who post at this site
from a Right wing perspective are the very same ones who take a white
racist view of this situation. I'm trying not to connect those dots, but it's
almost inescapable. Has anyone else been struck by this
??
As I heard Bill Maher say the other night... Not all Republicans are racist, but if you meet a racist, you can sure as hell bet that he is a Republican. I for one have never met a Democratic Racist.
jdx60009
yes everyday. You may not want to connect the dots but I will: Republicans are racist. If you are a con and claim not to be racist then you need to prove it and switch parties. Otherwise, your a racist. Period.
palecon44
judging by your name of course the police are sweet and nice to you. That's the point the author is trying to make. Black men live an a whole different world than yours. Your refusal to recognize that is racist.
Can someone please explain to me what palecon44 meant by "classic black verbal aggression"? Hey, palecon, your racist slip is showing. Bastard.
@djanimaequeen
"Republicans are racist."
What a frightening broad sweeping statement.
What about Democrat Robert Byrd, former KKK member ?
Republicans don't have a monopoly on racism.
Perhaps some Democrats are more "subtle" in their "racial tone,"
a condescending tone if you will.
For example:
Check out the condescending Barbara Boxer from last week,
and her confrontation with Black Chamber Of Commerce President
and CEO Harry Alford.
Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu-x9Bjq6QI
@RTL212
@rickjr82
Gosh the two of you are quite a venal pair!
Again and again it's been my sense (borne out statistically) that the police in the United States are by far the most aggressive and thin skinned in the Western World. They genuinely seem to have little idea of the actual law as it applies to "disorderly conduct" or they choose to define it in a given situation.
Equally "resisting arrest" for some reason seems to occur statistically at levels far far higher than in any country in Europe or Australasia.
Personally in my experience (as a white man), I have found the police in several cities in the United States to be very culturally insular exhibiting an us vs. them mentality to the general public. One sees a multitude of examples that in total create a distinct pattern. For example, a week ago in New York, a speeding cruiser crashed into a car backing out of a garage. The police claimed that their lights and sirens were blazing however all eyewitness accounts contradict this. Moreover 2 cellphone conversations that recorded the impact in the background did not have any sirens immediately prior. several bystanders were struck by the careening police car however when the police arrived on the scene, they ignored them completely - not even to establish triage or asses the situation. Instead they only attended and removed their injured fellow officers. When people called on the police to help the civilians, they were sworn at and threatened with arrest or actual violence. Like the actual crash itself, the police later refuted these accounts - although cell phone video documents it. Again and again the police have been caught out in a lie to the point it's almost a given to question the veracity of the police and believe they feel they are above the law.
In the circumstance the article's incidence, it is perfectly legal to feel anger and RIGHTFUL INDIGNATION. The police may not like it but it's criminal of them to punish a man they have treated disrspectfully.
Whether one was an acclaimed black academic or a nondescript white man, natural hostility and human dignity would make the best of us very angry. It's the human condition. Policemen are as prone to natural reactions but they should have received sensitivity training and learned how to use discretion and defuse situations. This seems sorely lacking in countless situations and instead lies and cover-ups seem a matter of routine.
I hope this poor fellow sues the heck out of the police and the officers in question and their superiors are censured if not simply fired or tried.
I grew up in a family of Cops... My grandfather was a Sheriff, My grandmother was the first woman to work in the Jail for a major county in Washington state, my mom was a 911 operator who became the first civilian supervisor in that center, she married a motorcycle cop (my step dad) and she had dated several cops along the way. My aunt is a meter maid and my cousin now works in the 911 center. I feel this gives me ample exposure to the whole "Police Department" mentality. I went to the Police picnics, the christmas parties, and new them as my mom and stepdads friends.
Cops have it the worst attitude wise, but the attitude permeates the entire Department. They are racist. Period. My mom about had a heart-attack when she saw me, at 17, riding on the back of a friend's (who was black) bicycle. My parents are Rush and Newt and Bush/Cheney worshipers... 99.9% of cops are are. To become a cop you either have to have the most sincere desire to do good and put yourself in harms way to do it, OR... (and this is the majority), you already have a personality disorder. Megalomania, narcissism, superiority complex, never wrong, ASSHOLES.
I know. I grew up with them. I give the police respect for putting themselves between me and crime (if they ever come when I call), I give them respect when I come across their paths... MOSTLY, not from respect for THEM, but for fear that they are FREAKS as people, and I don't want to die or go to jail for their trumped up reasons.
I don't know the truth of the facts in this story, but I'm leaning towards a mixture of both stories with the cops being racist over-reacting cowboys.
I agree with @lmktacwa completely.
I worked for a police department in an affluent area for several years, and behind closed doors they were racist and the "us against them" mentality pervaded everything they did.
Ugly stuff.
I agree with you. When I lived in Washington I had a fender bender in Puyallup and the cop who responded did not even listen to my side of the story and became angry when I insisted he document it. It was clear he had issues with women. I called his supervisor. They had a female officer talk to me and tell me he was not sexist and she had worked with him forever and he was such a great guy. There is a fair in Puyallup in the fall every year with a lot of traffic and people crossing the street. He was assigned to work that area. There are tons of people walking by and a large number of them are children. He was sitting there watching porn on the computer in the police car. He got demoted and suspended, then appealed it. Now, I am sure I was not the only woman who complained he had issues with women. That was not the only time he got caught using the patrol car computer for porn. They simply protect each other. Here in Alaska I have been harrassed, wrongfully arrested (tortured) and threatened to be arrested for disorderly conduct when I was the one wronged. They can use that charge to fit any situation where they want to retaliate against an educated person who knows the law and their rights. Yes, they do have an it's us against them attitutde. If they can't handle angry people they should not be cops to begin with.
And where is the discipline of Psychology in all of this? Aren't these the consultants who develop testing to help Police Departments screen out the control freak wackos in the hiring process?
I think the problem is basically that the nature of the work attracts personality types that are authority freaks. The Police drunk-with-power syndrome leads to much more than an occasional misunderstanding, IMO.
I would like to see some data on whether or not police authority freaks figure prominently in police shootings and beatings. I'd be willing to bet a considerable sum that they do.
Why can't the psychologists figure this out? I don't trust a cop--in any town in this country, even for a traffic stop. It's getting scary.
And BTW: I'm not a lawyer. I generally hate lawyers. But I'll never talk to a cop outside of a traffic stop without one.
Toure writes a quote using the word "nigger" and it's actually printed while the rest of non-Black writers are censored. Which only goes to show how overused and overplayed the whole race and racism tangent has become. Gates was clearly arrested for being disorderly not because of color; to yell racism is like shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre when there is none. I 'm done listening to fake shouts of racism--it's racist.
so, if you get racial profiled in your home - you had better be polite to the cops.
Your a racist.
Ok SpeakEnglish.....if you care to read the article again, Toure was referring to a quote by the honorable Malcolm X, I believe. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
You're not only a racist; you're a dim-witted dolt who knows nothing of nuance.
And you guys are what, exactly? Eleven-year olds? "A dim-witted dolt who knows nothing of nuance" is the petulant grown-up of "poopiehead."
dj - Would you like to back up your accusation or just accept the approbation of everyone who will agree with you without thinking?
So let's see. It's perfectly appropriate for a policeman to arrest a person for being rude to him? Incidentally, Prof. Gates most certainly IS superior to them. They demonstrated THAT by their abhorrent behavior. You have demonstrated yours in this despicable response,
The man was in his own home and showed them his ID. That was affront enough to him. The initial insult was that he was being treated as a suspect in his own home. Imagine if you will, what happens every day to less powerful black citizens.
Ignoring the racist overtunes, even your premise is wrong. Black, white, Red or purple, a person has the right to act angry and curse and throw insults inside his or her own home. Once the officer established the identity as the homeowner if he didn't like how he was being treated he was free and obligated to leave. If he was physically assualted that would be another matter, but its not against the law for a person to say whatever the heck they want to in the privacy of their own home. They aren't obligated to treat the officer with deference or respect. A disorderly conduct charge is completely inapplicable. And the fact that he refused to show idea should be punishable. Period.
This is true, but in the interest of civility, couldn't Dr, Gates have used a little more common sense? How would he (Gates) have responded if the officer had been African-American? (And conversely, how would the officer have responded if Dr. Gates had been white?)
I think the fact that as the officer was leaving a crowd gathered and both parties were afraid of losing face in front of their "audience" at this point.
(Did not one person who stopped think to film this altercation once it moved outside?)
Pragmatically speaking, Dr. Gates (and the officer) were safer outside, where there were witnesses and where the officer had access to back-up assistance. The request by the officer for Dr. G. to move outside may have been procedural. If , however, as I suspect, the officer was pissed enough at Dr. Gates after talking with him inside, then his request for Dr. Gates to step outside (so that he could arrest him "more safely") was a ridiculous request. He already had Dr. Gates' identity as the homeowner established at that point so there was no need for further interaction.
Still, all of this seems bizarre given that his house had just been broken into and the officer was responding to a potential break-in. Adrenaline does run high in these situations and cops deal with a lot of crap, too.
I suggest that Dr. Gates use this as a platform for raising awareness of how these types of incidents escalate so quickly, particularly when the element of race is thrown into the mix. It could be a fascinating look at how race, gender, history, class, language and ethnicity all play a part in our (humans) perception and misperception of police intervention.
Get a grip. This is a blog entry. It does not purport to be investigative journalism. I guess that you would be okay with having to prove to a police officer that you are in fact your home. Then likely be harrassed by same officer, who decides that even though you did not break ANY law, that you should be arrested.
I digress, however, because it seems clear to me that your PERSONAL attack on Toure is just that - personal. Jealous?
How convenient of you to omit the fact that Gates showed identification: "An officer approached Gates' home, when Gates was inside, and asked him to step outside. Gates declined. The officer went into Gates' home, where Gates showed him ID that proved Gates lived there. Gates asked for officer's name and badge number and Gates did not get them."
BS and you know it. You were not there, neither was I, but no matter what he said, he said it in his own home.
RTL212, you showed so many biases in your letter it is breath taking.
This is a very interesting perspective and shows how far we still have to travel towards full racial equality in this country. I have known Skip and have admired his work since we were undergrads at Yale University. Regardless what you think about Harvard professors, this incident, under any reasonable standard, should not have resulted in an arrest. Out here in California, it is pretty much standard police procedure to comply with a request for a badge number and name. I am curious why the same would not apply in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Hemingway, who was usually not very politic--in fact he was usually a loud mouthed boor--advised people to treat police and minor officials like customs officers with exaggerated deference and politeness. It is simply not worth while to get on their bad side. It would seem that Prof. Gates does not know this.
That being said, the officer was really stupid. He might also be racist, but stupidity is the main thing. First of all, burglars do not usually answer the door when a cop rings the bell. Second, Gates had an ID. Burglars usually don't offer cops IDs. Third, Gates had a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Not the kind of person a smart cop pushes around, black or white. No matter how obnoxious Gates might have been, a policeman of even dull-average intelligence would have known enough to walk away. Maybe he thought Prof. Gates was Bill Gates.
Toure is correct that racism has not ended. It will largely end with the death of my generation (age 60). My children were born into a different world. Of course, there will always be some hate mongers. But things have improved tremendously over my lifetime. I never expected to live to see a black president.
I really don't see race having much to do with this case. Stupidity trumps racism.
Absolutely true.
I'd venture to say that the security guards at our local Wal-Mart would probably have exhibited more finesse and restraint in encountering a potential law-breaker. (And they come up against some real pieces of work in their daily duties.)
And regarding the whole "post-racial" thing...It's a romantic notion, at best.
As a country, we're making incremental, positive progress when it comes to eradicating bigotry. But it's one step forward; three or four steps back--even to this day. I just keep hoping we can continue the push forward.And I believe that we will--each younger generation reacts with overall bewilderment at the notion that people deserve to be treated differently based on their skin color or ethnic background.
Out of the mouths (and hearts) of babes....
An excellent post, and thanks for the quote from Papa Hemingway (who, when he wasn't consumed with macho posturing, was capable of wise observations on human nature).
so true. i had 6 police in my house with guns drawn after the mailman told them he thought something was wrong because i didn't come out side when he honked with a package delivery.(i didnt answer the door because i live alone so they thought it was a hostage situation) they walked me outside with hands behind my back. then one went inside to find my purse with an ID. when i told this story to my friends they all said,' I would have....' . i said,' I didnt want to go to jail. so i was nice!'
Notwithstanding black or white issues community police are far too empowered with draconian statutory tools and techniques that are not reflective of the American civil liberty guarantees. Society continually rewards police behavior as heroic and noble and community police officers seemingly always evolve into self-serving ennobled civil servants with extraordinary immunity and arrogance notwithstanding collective, individual and departmental ignorance of actual civil liberties. Professor Gates was entirely within his civil rights and had obvious cause too cuss and demean the officer regardless. In reality, the bulling officer, (had he been professional), would have profusely apologized and departed as courteously and quietly as possible.
No doubt! This isn't about race this is about a jerk!
"It is perfectly normal that when you insult and abuse a policemen"..thats if your black...jump back
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/photo-taken-neighbor-Thursday-July-16-2009-He nry-Louis-Gates/photo//090721/480/0fb799e524bc46ddab7ba290713aec51/
Best pic I could find of the arest. It wasn't one cop. There were three there and one was black. This prof. does have an attitude. I'm not surprised he lost it. The whole episode could have been averted is he had just kept his cool.
This will be clear once the dust has settled.
I remember in one of Dave Chappelle's shows, he said he wouldn't call the police if someone broke in his house, because the police would not believe a black man lived in his house. His house wasn't super nice, but too nice for police to believe a black man lived there. The police would hit him over the head and then say " I can't believe the robber was still here. Look he even put up pictures of himself and his family. Let's sprinkle crack on him and leave." Very funny bit. A colorful and exaggerated take on how black men feel when dealing with the police. I heard another comedian tell a joke about the police showing up to his home because of a reported "suspected" break in by a concerned neighbor. The cops walk in without invite, guns drawn. The guy who lives there asks them what they are doing in his home, they ask him for ID, the cops become offended by the guys anger at their entry into his home, they ask him to step outside, the guy makes a crack about "I'll go out side to talk to YOUR MOMMA", cop arrests guy on his front porch. Another colorful, exaggerated story about how black men feel when dealing with the cops....wait....that one actually happened.
RTL212, you are white I presume? Obviously you have little to no experience with the police when you are with your black friends. I'm going to take another guess and say you have no black friends. Maybe black people who live near you, or work in the same building, but NO black FRIENDS!! IF, you had a black friend, maybe 2 black friends so you don't get the one black friend who doesn't know any black people, you could ask your black friend to tell you about the time the police treated them unfairly. Outside of color, there are other reasons to become angry when a cop walks into your home and refuses to leave even after you show identification to prove the home is yours. It's NOT perfectly normal that when you insult and verbally abuse a policeman who's come into your living room to investigate, you breaking into your house, and continues to question you after he's verified that you do live in the home, and you ask him or his name and badge number and insult him, to arrest you or public disorderly conduct. I remember Ron White telling a joke about being thrown out of a bar and then being arrested for public intoxication. His response was," I don't want to be intoxicated in PUBLIC, I want to be intoxicated in the BAR, they threw me out into the PUBLIC'.When you are a PUBLIC SERVANT, and your SALARY is paid by the PUBLIC, and your whole purpose is to serve the PUBLIC, that means you have to deal with jerks, idiots, racists, arrogant, obnoxious, professors, doctors, lawyers, burger flippers, unemployed....AKA "The PUBLIC".
as a white older woman, I too would be angry at someone accusing me of breaking into my own home and my mouth might get me into trouble..who can blame the guy for being pissed. the officer should have provided the info demanded and apologized profusely...call in a community mediator...it's needed
This is where the system doesn't fairly represent all the people all the time. Once Mr. Gates showed his identification there should have been nothing further. The officer(s) should have responded that one of the neighbors thought the home was being broken into and they apologize for any inconvenience.
As a neighbor, had that my a home was being broken into, I would have called the police too. What I would have hoped would happen is that the police would have been the professional he's being paid and proported to be. The fact that the stories are sooooo different, tells us that there needs to be a thorough investigation in order to reveal the truth.
As a nation of peoples of varying experiences, nationalities, cultures, etc., we have to get past this foolishness of "color barriers". In the military, those men and women are fighting for Americans, not black americans, white americans, hispanic americans, native americans or asian americans JUST AMERICANS !
This user is no longer registered.
This user is no longer registered.
That's why I like the video camera's in the police cars.......the video won't tell any lies. It can either help or hurt them.
From what I have read, Gates has admitted to giving the police an angry earful well before being cuffed. I don't know if his behavior merited arrest or not, but to paint it as if Gates was entirely respectful and calm prior to that point does not mesh with what I have read so far.
This user is no longer registered.
I think a community mediator should be called in whenever a black man is arrested.
OK, fine. Let's just say that the cop was completely out of line. But sometimes an a*hole cop is just that: an a*hole cop. It's not necessarily a racist incident. I'm fairly certain that the same day this happened dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent people of all races and ages had unpleasant encounters with cops throughout the country. But this is not a national story. If the professor had been white this would merit no mention anywhere.
tealec: WTG!! So far, you've made the best suggestion!! a mediator (for conflict resolution, right? NOT damages) is the right way to go. l hope someone thinks of that before things get too far....... hm. probably too late.
still, gr8 idea.
Why would you be angry that police show up when a possible break-in was reported at your home? Should the cops not show up at all? After they show up, should they just accept the explanation that the unknown person actually resides in the house? How would you feel if you came home to a robbed house in which the police had seen the burglar but not asked for proof of residence?
I have no idea what happened after the police showed up and requested ID, other than testosterone flowed liberally on both sides. But let's be honest, nobody other than the participants does either.
I'm not surprised and this is not unusual. My boyfriend spent a night in jail because the police said he was trespassing in front of his own apartment building on his way to his car. He showed his license and told police he lived there but they arrested him anyway. Nothing has changed in America.
I am 62 years old, live in the birthplace of George W. Bush, and am white. I would have to work to get arrested, in my home and without another person bleeding. Cambridge, the birthplace of Harvard, you would hope would be different. I teach at a University and maybe education is not the answer..I am about to give up on an answer.
OK, I'm an "ethnic" and an immigrant. The only racist experience I've had in America has been in the bastion of liberalism, Boston -- I was told to go back to my own country without provocation. I have a problem with police officers who go off on power trips. And, yes, I voted for Obama.
You'd think I'd agree with the author of this article. Heck, no!
Most semi-intelligent people don't jump to the grand sweeping conclusion that America has become post-racial just because Obama has been elected president. There always were racists and bigots and there always will be. But has America changed and is it changing for the better? Of course.
How shockingly awful that the cop didn't know the eminent personality that Mr. Gates is and that he was in his own house. Mr. Gates really should have quietly shown the office his id and thanked him for stopping by to check. Every encounter with the "man" doesn't have to be turned into a referendum on race relations. Please, we have more important things to worry about than Mr. Gates fragile ego.
What we need from the media is absolute facts. Yes...there are biases from all sides. But we need facts...not emotionalism.
Facts were provided. I bet you also need facts that prove Obama is a natural born citizen too.
Agreed. This article admits there are two conflicting sides to the story, yet immediate adopts one, draws damning conclusions and starts bandying about inflammatory words like "nigger"--despite the admitted fact that the word was never even used. More yellow journalism from the Daily Beast, and more inappropriately sloppy writing from Toure.
Is this the National Enquirer? Ridiculous. I stay away from this silly site for weeks, then I show up, only to again find idiocy like this. Screw you, Beast. You expressed some sort of mandate to create a dependable news magazine on the web, but you're failing miserably.
Titillating photo spreads and irresponsible articles by race baiters. Great work.
Since the election of Obama racism is on the rise again in America. There are those that want to return to the 1950's. I believe Fox News and conservative talk radio is responsible for the palpable incidents of racial discord we are experiencing today. What happened to Dr. Henry Louis Gates is an outrage. The neighbor that reported the incident I believe was doing a good thing. He knew Gates was out of town and reported what he thought was a break in. Once the indentity was confirmed, the cop should have left Dr. Gates home. (Period) How dare a Black man stand his ground against a perceived injustice.
I agree with you, superhifan.
I'm waiting for the left to summon the image of a resurgent KKK. It consists of ignorant trailer trash without enough teeth among them for a full set, but they have been a bottomless source of fund raising for the ACLU and other lefties for decades.
Are you leading the KKK resurgence, Banjo?
The left doesn't need to call up the KKK. Palin did it- along with men in white bed sheets and pointy head masks marching in Arkansas during the election.
Banjo,
As usual, you are misinformed or uninformed. The KKK are a conservative group, in fact a Christian right group. Here's the quote from page 1 of their website:
"America, Our Nation is Under Judgement from God!
There is a race war against whites. But our people - my white brothers and sisters - will stay committed to a non-violent resolution. That resolution must consist of solidarity in white communities around the world. The hatred for our children and their future is growing and is being fueled every single day. Stay firm in your convictions. Keep loving your heritage and keep witnessing to others that there is a better way than a war torn, violent, wicked, socialist, new world order. That way is the Christian way - law and order - love of family - love of nation. These are the principles of western Christian civilization. There is a war to destroy these things. Pray that our people see the error of their ways and regain a sense of loyalty. Repent America! Be faithful my fellow believers. "
National Director of The Knights
Pastor Thomas Robb"
The KKK was recruiting in my neighborhood last week. I've lived there 30 years and have never seen the like. Yes pick-up trucks gun racks and a distinct lack of hygiene
Cheap victimhood. And by a "Pastor." What a hoot.
This user is no longer registered.
To paraphrase Clemenza in "The Godfather": "Oh, Banjo? You won't see Banjo no more."
superhifan: you're the 4th writer, l've seen, who has failed to see (better than "ignored", right?) that the Officer DID leave.
So then it begs the question: How did gates end up arrested? Even if Gates called that officer everything but a child of God, he did nothing illegal that merited arrest.
I agree wholeheartedly too!
this article is a cheap shot. there are no facts. if I thought somebody was breaking into my neighbor's house, I too would call the police, black, white or red...what difference would it make? The cops are trying to do a job. To Mr. Gate's credit, he is a very successful (rich) black man. Good for him. But this does not give him the right to be a wiseass with the cops and then cry. The police would have handled this the same way no matter what the person's color. It may not be right, but this is the world we live in and the police are semi thugs, hired by the rest of us, to do our dirty work, so yes, they are rough. Maybe Mr. Gates should leave a spare set of keys with one of his neighbors (errrr, isn't that what we all do??)
Yeah, I called the cops for my neighbor once- someone was prowling around his front yard during the day.
Luckily for him, it turned out to be him getting the mail.
Actually, Prof. Gates had his keys, and got in the back door because the front door was jammed. He and his driver (from the airport) then went around to the front to try to fix that door. He was on the phone with the property management company about the broken door when the police arrived.
"I don't see color. I only know I'm white because police call me sir"
@nystan
"It may not be right, but this is the world we live in and the police are semi-thugs, hired by the rest of us, to do our dirty work, so yes, they are rough."
NO. NO. And NO.
It's absolutely WRONG--not just the wimpy "it may not be right"(as you put it)--for policemen to behave in this way.
Policeman enforce the law and, as such, act as representatives of the rule of law. They are not "semi-thugs" (whatever the hell that classification means in ethical--or any--terms?) "hired...to do our dirty work."
Your attitude seems to confer some "Mercenary-Assassin-Force-meets-the-Crips-and-Bloods-(and ain't it cool?)" legitimacy to cops who take the law into their own hands. Stop providing them with a license to behave no better than thugs. It ain't cool, inevitable or forgivable. It's low.
I think that the problem is so much more complicated than race. It is a problem that stretches across all races and all sectors of our global society. The problem is one of civility, or a lack thereof. Mr. Gates might have been miffed at the indignity, but as an educated man, he should know that life is fraught with indignity. The officers involved were probably angered by Mr. Gates' response but they could just as easily shown the sort of patience and restraint that the officer in this film showed ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHZMoPV1rog
I'm not saying that race is not a factor in these sort of encounters. One might ask if this officer would have been as patient if this fellow had been a black man and that would have been a fair question. But I digress. My point was to use this fellow as an example of how the Cambridge officers could have behaved.
People are just too aggressive these days and feel that indignity has no right visiting their doorstep.
Anybody else think its a bit racist to refer to somebody as "the most important black academic."
I don't think it's racist, but I do think it's wrong - what about Alice Walker? Toni Morrison? Cornel West??? I mean, please: the MOST important?
Well neither Alice Walker nor Toni Morrison are professors; ergo, they are not academics. Skip Gates is a tenured professor and department head at Harvard University. Cornel West is tenured, but not the head of a department (at Princeton it is only a program). So by this account, Gates would probably win the title of "most important black academic."
I dunno, is it gender biased to say " first woman vice presidential candidate "
"First" is an objective term. "Most important" is subjective. Its not racist to say Barack Obama is the first black president but, it would be racist to say he's the best black politician. When you're discussing a superlative like "best" or "most important" don't qualify it with racial or gender divisions.
Just talk about the "most important" academic.
This is a very complicated story. As noted there are huge discrepancies between Professor Gates version of events and the police reports filed by the two officers. As Prof. Gates admits, his house had been the target of an attempted break-in. The police appeared to be responding to a legitimate concern of a neighbor about a possible forced entry. And Prof. Gates did appear to berate the officers and did appear to racially profile the attitude of the officer without cause.
The interesting thing to me is that Professor Gates appears to be exhibiting the typical sense of entitled outrage so endemic in the academic community. The answer to the question "Do you know who I am?" is rarely met with deference by officials sworn to uphold the law. This seems to me to be less of a racial issue, despite Prof. Gates' attempts to make it so, than a matter of a wealthy, arrogant intellectual who is used to be the only one talking in the room. I believe that apologies are in order, perhaps on all sides.
"Gates appears to be exhibiting the typical sense of entitled outrage so endemic in the academic community"
are you academic profiling?
After reading both the police report and Professor Gates' lawyers reply, I have to agree with Seamus. This is a complicated story. I don't know that either side is without fault. if someone reported two "white guys" (clearly I'm a " white guy") breaking into my house and a uniformed office showed up and asked me for some ID and explained why he was there, I'd probably thank him for taking the time to make sure that my home was secure (especially knowing that someone had already tried to break in previously). Now, all that said, I didn't grow up in an African-American home with the weight of prejudice surrounding my everyday life, but I'm pretty sure that whether the cop was a "racist MF" or just your run-of-the-mill police officer, he WAS just trying to do that which was right. I'm also quite sure that the cops view of the world is skewed by dealing with the under-belly of society on a day in, day out basis and so is Mr.Gates viewpoint through his being cosseted in academia and the self-importance invested in him as a Harvard professor.
Both sides need to cut the rhetoric, sit down and clear this shit up. This all serves to fan fires on both sides of the fence. In the immortal words of Rodney King: "Can't we all just get along?"
There are two sides, and we don't know all of the facts.
As someone on another site pointed out, though, when's the last time a white guy was had 41 rounds fired at him for taking out his wallet? When's the last time a white guy had a plunger shoved up his rectum while he was in police custody?
You and black men, including the esteemed Dr. Gates, do not live in the same world.
Thank you for a clear and balanced posting. TDB needs more level headed readers like yourself.
BTW, my best friend is black and she is followed around by store clerks when she goes shopping and that is not something I would experience. She is an investment banker and can afford whatever she wants, so there is no leaving the projects/ghetto/hood behind for her regardless of her accomplishments. The black experience is not one that the rest of us who are not black should go around judging.
An officer's response to a possible crime scene is fraught with tension. He/she never knows if walking through a door or confronting an individual may be the last human act he performs that day, or ever. If Mr. Gates were to come home and discover a neighbor's report of a break in hadn't been vigorously investigated he'd be livid, to say nothing of likely litigious. Yes, African-Americans have every right ot be leery of law enforcement based on hundreds of years of abuse and oppression. Expressing their suspicions and fears through surliness and a beligerent lack of cooperation every damned time they're asked for an ID or a simple explanation of what they're doing is still going to result in trouble. Regardless of what slights their great-great grandfather suffered at the hands of some plantation owner in Alabama they need to meet an officer half way in a tense situation. Gates, if guilty of boorish behavior, should have just STFU and chilled for a couple minutes while the police figured out what the hell was going on.
nystan, I agree. Being a successful black man does NOT give Mr. Gates "the right to be a wiseass with the cops and then cry" when he's arrested and incarcerated. The right to be a wiseass to the cops is given to him in the First Amendment to the Constitution...the right to free speech. Nowhere in there does it say 'except to police officers'.
As for the 'crying' part...if a representative of the State subverts someones civil rights, it is incumbant upon every one of us to 'cry' about it. As ol' Lenny Bruce once said, "Take away the right to say "f*ck" and you take away the right to say "f*ck the government."
The sergeant responded to a 911 call of a break in at a residence. The sergeant said to Gates I'm investigating a break in and Gates responds "Why, because I'm a black man?" How about, "Thank you officer, I was locked out and had to force my way into my home. Thanks for responding but it is not necessary.Here is my ID."
Gates seems to have set the tone into a racial one all because HE forgot his keys and HE forced his way into his home prompting a neighbor to call 911.
He did NOT forget his keys. The front door was jammed, he used his keys to get in the back, then he and his airport driver worked together to open the broken front door. Please get the facts straight.
Then why are you the only one on this page with that "fact"?
Aqualuna is right. It's in the statement released by Gates' lawyer.
Whether Gates forgot his keys or the door was jammed is irrelevant. Ozone's proposed reply would have been far more reasonable and respectful.
that a lie get you fact rights.. alwsy trying to protect the one that IS wrong , the COP handle it WRONG after Pro Gates stated that he had id to prove he live int he the residence...and provided them... the COP didn't believe him still..that is when it got RACIAL..as if a black man can't be living in this neighborhood and carrying a BACKPACK.. he was racially profile PERIOD..and as blackman i would be pissed too// questioning who I was AFTER I proven who I was.. SGT crowley is a moron..how he handled this issue..I hope Pro Gates SUES and if he does he will WIN..
Do people read the whole article or post based on the headline and first paragraph?
"Shortly afterward, an officer arrived and Gates told him who he is and provided ID. But when the officer walked out of Gates' house, saying nothing, Gates followed him, asking fruitlessly for his badge number."
The officer left the house. When Gates went outside, wanting his badge number (which the officer is required to give him), THEN he was arrested.
Did you read the entire post? that is the version Gates gave, but not the version as reported in the police report. Gate's statement makes no sense.
http://www.theroot.com/views/lawyers-statement-arrest-henry-louis-gates- jr
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/gates_incident_report_red acted.pdf
Yes, I did read the entire post. The officer actually SAID:
"While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence ...."
He has admitted he knew Gates owned the house.
So, a policeman, doing his job, responding to a 911 call deserves to be berated, attacked and insulted and called a racist, just for doing his job?
Well since the prosecutors dropped all charges, it's pretty clear who the DA believed -- Professor Gates!
Why did the neighbors think he was breaking into his own home? How do people not know their own neighbors? Weird.
I'd hope that, if one of my neighbors, or even a passerby, saw someone putting their shoulder to my door to open it they'd call the cops and, I'd hope that when they turned up they'd insist that whoever it was (including myself) produced ID and explained why they'd felt it necessary to break into the house as opposed to simply opening it with a key.
Reality is, the prof got done for being a jerk, not for being black. Implicit threats of the "do you know who I am" and "you haven't heard the last of me" variety aren't going to win any arguments nor is continuing to yell at the officer.
The question remains, why did the cop stay after it was clear to him that it was Professor Gates home? What right does any cop have to arrest someone because they don't like what a person says? We don't surrender our right to speak(even if angrily) just because a cop is involved. Frankly, I'd be pretty damn upset myself.
That this story is some kind of wake up call is overhype. Yes, there is a problem regarding the Gates arrest, but I think to focus on a racial aspect is over the top. There was clearly a disagreement between Gates and the police, and two very different versions. In Gates' place, you could insert almost anyone regardless of color or sex.
Bull. If it was a white woman there probably would not have been a call to the police. And why the hell doesn't the neighbor know Gates in the first place?
maybe he is an elitist snob who doesn't mingle with his neighbors.
I don't know all my neighbors.
Whether or not there would be a call is irrelevant to the issue of police racism; they responded to a call, and cannot respond to a call that doesn't come.
Imagine how simple the situation would have been resolved had Gates walked outside and identified himself as the owner of the house. He should have also thanked the police for responding so quickly to a call that his house was being robbed.
I imagine had he in fact came home to find his home robbed, he would have cried racism because no one called to report the break in and that the police didn't protect him.
If I saw anyone bashing in the door of a neighbors home, at night, I would call the police, too. And I would be thankful that my neighbors cared to keep an eye on my home.
The police were called to investigate a potential robbery. They were doing their job. Gates was in the wrong by refusing to identify himself, refusing to exit the home, and getting belligerent.
It's about right and wrong, not black and white.
The reports state that Gates provided his driver's license and Harvard ID to the officer. How did he fail to identify himself? The article says the time was 12:44 in the afternoon, broad daylight not night.
I live in a college town. A woman in my neighborhood reported a black man going door to door "behaving suspiciously" and didn't respond when she shouted at him through her closed door. She posted this to the hood e-mail list and called police. Turns out he was deaf and soliciting for a charity. Which happens here every day, and yet it wasn't the white guys or kids that got called in to the police. And they don't get shouted at through a closed door because someone thought they looked "scary."
Having had a friend be pulled over for driving while black I am loath to summarily jump in on the side of the police. Having lived in college towns I'm familiar with the tension between town and gown, Cambridge was blue collar till it started gentrifying in the last decade or so.
Not having been present and witnessed Gates behavior I can't say whether he became overly belligerent. I can however say I 've seen rich powerful white men get away with berating police and not be arrested, and even the cop apologize for disturbing them when no apology should have been offered.
Gates may have been out of line. That doesn't mean that police weren't using bias. Just that Gates can't successfully use the defense that powerful white men get away with bad behavior and he couldn't because he was black. Time will tell.
I think you need to read the police report again. He refused to exit the home, he did not show his ID until he had made a phone call, yelled repeatedly at the officer, and accused him of racism. There were several witnesses, and his story was corroborated in a second police report. However, I did misread the time of the report - regardless, she saw someone breaking into a home. Which, by bashing in a door, they were.
Perhaps your neighbor has been robbed or attacked in her past, that has made her overly paranoid. Not all fear is rooted in racism...
Her "paranoia" was suspiciously selective. The wealthy college town I live in is overwhelmingly white, and her fear was very selective by the absence of her not filing a complaint about any other solicitor who has come to her door. Just the one black guy who came through.
My neighbor did not call in, email the list or freak out over any of the other numerous door to door solicitors in the neighborhood on weekly basis. Some of whom were far more intimidating in appearance and manner than this older deaf black gentleman.
as you stated, she was scared when he did not reply to her. Yes, it is sad that she felt the need to even feel fear. But I assume all of the other solicitors replied to her when she spoke to them? Just as all fear is not racist, it isn't all rational either.
i read that dr. gates was the renter of the property, not the homeowner. this may have caused some confusion with the officer - and with the neighbor who might not have recognized her/his own neighbor.
that being said, in no way should a police report be mistaken for the truth of a situation, especially if he has other officers "backing him up." the report generally serves as "back up" only to the officer's version of the story - and sometimes is very far from the truth of the real situation.
to me, this is a case of clashing egos with neither one giving in. what is particularly disturbing is the officer had every opportunity to walk away without making any arrest. being yelled at, on a person's property whether rented or owned, is not normally an arrestable offense. one would think a police officer would have thicker skin; surely this can't be the first time someone has yelled him. if the boston area media will do it's job, they can access this officer's file to see what other incidents he has been involved in, if any.
Part of your post makes no sense whatsoever.You're upset because a woman in your neighborhood reported a man going door-to-door and stated that he was "acting suspiciously" because he didn't respond when she shouted at him through her closed door? Hell yea she should have reported this guy to the police! And she was right in alerting her neighbors about him!I've worked with criminals and it sounds like the guy was casing the neighborhood! Hint: Deaf people -regardless of race-don't go soliciting door-to-door in this day and age. And smart people don't answer the door to people who don't respond, or to solicitors in general.
"Would you step outside please?" "No officer, but you are welcome into my home"
Imagine how simple the situation would have been resolved when Gates identified himself as the owner of the house and the officer said thank you sir a concerned neighbor called. My name and badge number is ______it's my job to (protect and serve) responding so quickly to a call that your house was being robbed.
Thank you officer, and thank you Mr. Gates.
And had Gates NOT been the owner of the house? He tells the policeman he will not come outside, but the cop should enter, alone, without backup?
I'm not a a cop, but I do believe they have protocol on how to handle potentially dangerous situations.
I still say read the police reports. Gate's statement doesn't make sense. He acts like everything was fine, but demands the cops info. Why? If things were going as smooth as he claims in his statement, why did he demand to see the cops ID?
Well Sara the fact is Gates WAS the owner of the house. You keep pointing to the police reports but apparently those weren't given much credibility by the DA because ALL CHARGES WERE DROPPED. Hmmm.
The charges should be dropped - but that doesn't mean this was the fault of the police. Everything I have read up to this point all supports the police story.
Every comment Gates has made doesn't make sense. "I said, 'Are you not giving me your name and badge number because I'm a black man in America?' He is now creating stories to support the phrases he was heard yelling, as quoted in the police report. I have listened to witnesses, see photos, and read numerous articles, including his statements, and the police depts.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/charges_to_be_d.h tml
Why are peope so willing to think this was about race, and to not believe the police, who were doing their job?
Do you honestly believe that when the police asked for Gates to step outside, and provide ID, and Gates obliged and explained the situation he would have been arrested? Seriously?
You don't think there is any chance that Gates was pissed off at his door being jammed, pissed that the cops showed up, and acted irrational, which led to the arrest?
It's just automatically racism? Sounds to me like it is elitism *you don't know who you're dealing with!* From everything I have read Gates had major attitude, and pulled the elitism and racism cards.
The police have a job to do, and I can't imagine it does anyone any good to scream at them while trying to do it.
(by saying *not the owner* I meant, what if he really was a burglar, and the cop put himself in harms way by entering. The charges were dropped because of all the screams of racism, and because it was a stupid arrest. That doesn't mean Gates didn't do anything wrong.)
and considering there has been an increase in daytime robberies in Gate's neighborhood, he should have been thankful they were protesting his home. Not indignant because he was asked for ID.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aha5OBcvrl4
A 55-year-old neighbor said he witnessed the entire episode - from the squeal of police brakes in the initial response to Gates' uproar. "The police did their job. He should be thanking them, but they shouldn't have arrested the guy," the neighbor added.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1186258
Hey sara: You said that you're not a cop, but you should be. You seem to be the right personality type. How's it working out in Italia?
Sans RTL212's vitriolic disdain of Toure's journalistic and academic pedigree, I must suggest that Toure's writing be more carefully edited for structure, tone and content. His sense of outrage rings hollowly, especially considering the facts as he presents them. There should be more analysis of the relations between Blacks and the police in Cambridge, of Gates' perceived temperament outside of this incident ( is he normally cool headed, mercurial, or whatever) and of standard Cambridge police procedures in such incidents as the one described. Was the officer a veteran? Was Gates inebriated? Is there a troubling pattern of Cantabrigian overreach in cases of LIOOHWB ( living in one's own home while Black)? When was the last time (if ever) a Harvard professor was arrested at his home? What role did the recent murder of a Black man at the doorsteps of Harvard's venerated Kirkland house-- a "Black- on- black crime committed in the midst of one of America's pre-eminent symbols of White authority, privilege and insularity-- play in the psychology of this admittedly oddly serio-comic confrontation? These are just some of the questions I'm left with after reading Toure's article. Come on, brother: tighten it up.
Agreed. Where is the reporting? Walter Cronkite is a-spinning in his grave....
Would it not be reasonable and fair for The Daily Beast to print also the Cambridge Police Report by the arresting officer? I read it at another site and have a different perspective that was left by the professor's lawyer.
Why do we automatically assume that a black man always tells the truth when describing encounters with the police? Did the professor behave in a reasonable manner when the police were trying to protect his own house?
Why wasn't the professor more accomodating to the police who were only responding to a legitimate call for help?
Please, before making up your mind on this and automatially assumeing the professor was the victim of racial bias, why not read the Cambridge Police Report?
Why would you assume the Cambridge Police are telling the truth?
If police entered your house for a suspected break-in, and you provided ID, that should have been the end of it, regardless of the attitude.
White cops are definitely on a power trip.
Assuming white cops are racist, crooked and dishonest; that's racist, Walt.
I grew up in a law enforcement family, and my cop dad often told me there are two kinds of people in law enforcement - those who want to be public servants, and those who are seeking power. Usually the power seekers were people who didn't get a lot of respect growing up. Now they are out to even the score.
EXACTLY!
Police corruption and abuse of power is unfortunately so common now that I'd believe Prof. Gates anytime over the words of a police officer. Why the hell was he still in the house after he was shown Gate's ID. That should definitely have been the end of the encounter.
And the police never spin things in their reports. Perhaps the prof wasn't more accomodating because it was his house, and he shouldn't have to be accomodating to anyone who he hasn't invited to be there.
There are definitely 2 sides here. The truth somewhere between the 2 poles.
I have seen people be overly rude to officers trying to do their job.
I was personally verbally abused by an officer for no more reason than happening to have bad timing to be part of a crowd.
I can see both sides version of the facts and believe there is likely blame on both sides. Gates felt abused, the officer disrepected. Not a good combination.
Police are welcome to question and demand ID of anyone having trouble getting into my front (or back) door even it's a mature white woman like myself. That's just doing the job we pay them for.. The neighbor was correct to report the activity and Gates should thank her AND the police for attempting to protect his property.
I am considered a flaming liberal but in this Gates is wrong.
And our puerile jump-on-the-bandwagon press takes one more step down into the abyss of fanning a controversy without thinking things through. Racism does indeed continue to exist but when a highly educated man uses Tawanna Brawley-style fabrications to ignite a false issue, he does not help the cause in any way whatsoever.
I agree with you. I just read an amazing post on this topic that gives the gender perspective of what occurs when you fail to give ID.
This story will make you boil and reminds us the women don't have the option of commanding the press and potus when they are abused by power.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. cries racism; Amanda just cried.
www.femisex.com
Skip Gates, huh? Is that because of your hip replacement surgery?
I'm apologize for the treatment that you received. I'm white. I' didn't do it. The story is becoming a white race, "Yo, honky are you still sporting racist rhetoric," when in fact it is a zealous cop, who you would like on your side if your house was being vandalized.
And was there cause? Were you aggressive? Don't you know Johnny law has the power? When a gun & badge are in your porch it's, "Yes sir and No sir" and if you're female it is "Yes, Sir and No, Sir" and "May I leave sir."
It's not black or white. It corruption. It's unfortunate that it happened to you. Countless women are raped by the same kind of cop. Misuse of authority is everywhere.
I'm sorry that you were arrested. I'm sure that you can you build something from the experience and write a book on "Race Relations and Authority in America."
The problem with this story is that we have no indisputable facts, but we do have potential stereotypes on both ends. The white cop one is easy - geez, they made history didn't they with all the crimes they have committed against people of color??? Highly credible people. But then there is Gates? Maybe he is an angry Black man? I am sure he has taken his share of crap to be where he is because white folk might not call him a nigger, but there are professional ways to make a person know they will not ever belong. But, professional discrimination is like poison; silent but generally effective. The irony happens with the person of color wises up, and decided to use "the system" by playing the reverse. Mr. Gates could be playing that card but it is usually played by minorities who have no intent on playing ball because they know the pitcher is throwing crap shots. These folks scream discrimination any time they can construe a statement or act as racists - even if they know better - because they know how white folk worship their own rules about "be nasty but be silent". Gates could just be sick and tired of the silent discrimination, or he could be angry and bitter, orrrr, he could be telling the truth. If he offered to prove his identity - THE COP WAS WRONG no matter how you cut it. And, 'NOOOO", a white woman would never get the same treatment.
Folks, racism is alive and well in America. But now it's a little different because there is an army, of otherwise victims, fighting back by scaring the offenders with their own rules. Will it ever change? Probably not. As Ghandi once said, if the oppressed today were to become free, they would become the oppressor of tomorrow. So, guess the tables are about to turn.
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.
Please log in to leave comments.