Blogs and Stories
Was Skip Gates Right?
As Gates and his arresting officer prepare for beer at the White House, Daily Beast writers weigh in on the Harvard professor, and whether Barack Obama stepped in it by getting involved.
Obama's Insecure Slip
By Tina Brown
What led the president to wade into L’Affaire Gates? He thought he’d blown it with America on health care.
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Obama Steps In It
By Stanley Crouch
Henry Louis Gates’ arrest had nothing to do with America’s racist past. But why did Barack Obama go off half-cocked about it?
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Give Obama a Break
By Stephen Carter
Yale Professor Stephen L. Carter says that the furor over President Obama’s comments conveniently ignores the history of relations between black men and police in this country.
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The Coverup Is Worse Than the Crime
By Marcia Clark
The former O.J. Simpson prosecutor says that’s sometimes police need to make an arrest just to prove they didn’t do anything wrong.
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Gates' Appalling Entitlement
By Edward Hayes
This controversy shouldn’t be about race. It’s about class, and it’s Henry Louis Gates Jr. who is in the wrong.
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The Wrong Case
By Conor Friedersdorf
If Obama is going to wade into the national dialogue on race and criminal justice, he should forget about Skip Gates.
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Gates' Historical Baggage
By Mansfield Frazier
Professor Gates’ overreaction was not because of his temperament. It is the consequence of centuries of abuse of blacks by those who hold power over them.
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Gates Overreacted
By Wendy Murphy
Wendy Murphy, who is representing the woman who called the cops on Henry Louis Gates, says the professor erred by assuming Sgt. Crowley was discriminating against him.
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What a Cop Is Supposed to Do
By John Connolly
A former New York City detective says that Sgt. James Crowley violated the oldest rule in the book: he lost his cool.
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My Daddy, the Jailbird
By Elizabeth Gates
In Wednesday's press conference, President Obama called the Cambridge Police Department "stupid" for arresting Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. Daughter Elizabeth Gates interviews her dad about what happened to him in jail, how this affects whites too, and why she shouldn’t give up on America yet.
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Obama's New Reverend Wright
By Adam Hanft
He may not be as controversial as Jeremiah Wright, but Skip Gates has become Obama’s latest racially polarizing friend. Adam Hanft rereads Professor Gates’ analysis of the Wright controversy through the lens of the professor’s arrest.
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Xtra Insight: How Gates’ Web Site Covered His Arrest
Xtra Insight: Listen to the 911 Call
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.
Week in Political Cartoons
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Week in Red Carpet
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Oprahs of the World
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Let's see...of the 7 commentators above, the only two who say the police did no wrong are a white male lawyer who represents the police for a living and a white female lawyer who is representing the white neighbor who didn't recognize her black neighbor. Should one be surprised?
Really? Why don't you actually READ the articles before making FALSE statements.
Actually Crouch basically says they were right. Don't shoot first/ ask questions last.
You totally are missing it.
There is no way for us to know who is right.
Obama stepped in and now his buddies charges are dropped.
Is it wrong for him to help a buddy?
Is it wrong for him to accuse the white cop of racism?
Who shot first and asked questions later the cop or Bush III(Obama)?
Exactly. There is no *right* here. I'm rather glad that this event occurred. Its like the movie Rashomon, a study in bias. I think the whole country is learning a lot from this incident. It will make us stronger in the end.
Actually Obama hadn't weighed in yet when the charges were dropped.
No, ap2008. No surprise there.
the surprise on this platter of opinions
is
the weight given any opinions
that's all there is
opinions
is anyone gates?
is anyone crowley?
was anyone there?
do you believe what gates or crowley says of the incident?
i do not
i do not believe gates
i do not believe crowley
this is war
this is a battle for ones life
i do not trust anyone who i haven't been in the fire with
people lie, cheat, steal and kill for their life
gates has a life to preserve
crowley has a life to preserve
i haven't been in the fire with either one
so
i do not trust what is said
least of all these weak opinion people
take your take on racism and take a flying fuuc...
Let me see if I understand this. Gates was breaking into his house, neighbor called police reporting someone breaking in, cop showed up and questioned the guy who broke in, guy goes nuts screaming racism and won't stop, and demeans cop's mother. Yep, cop is a racist all right.
Where did it read, Gates was breaking into his house?
look
you have white privilege
and
black anger
no amount of education and training is going to alter that
the DNA is still fundamental
still to close to the bone
not enough generations have passed
so
get your freakin twisted knickers to relax
quit throwing gas on the fire with your big noisy
freakin opinions
only
only
only it helps to change the DNA
so go ahead and blow you gas bags... blow...
every moment holds the possibility to understand where you stand...
i was watching the film
syriana
on a cable movie channel just now
george clunie's character is having a face to face with his
son at lunch
his son says:
both my parents are professional liars
right there
there it is
the key to this moment now
if an adult is not a professional liar
that person lies in ignorance...
I think most disappointing thing to come out of this whole matter is that it seems that most in the media have taken the position that the cop is telling the truth and that Gates is an unreasonable, ill tempered liar with a chip on his shoulder.
Gates disputes the cop's police report. He says it is wildly false. I'm not saying to trust Gates' version of events either, but the fact that the police report is gospel and Gates' version is dismissed speaks more volumes than anything else.
It doesn't matter what Professor Gates did as long as he did not pose a threat to himself or others. Once he identified himself as the person who had a legal right to occupy the dwelling, he was not obligated to be polite to the officer. He did not make verbal threats against the officers nor did he present any danger to them, himself or anyone else.
Arresting someone for "disorderly conduct" because they respond negatively to perceived racial profiling IS stupid and more importantly, sets a precedent for law enforcement to exploit their position of power in relation to citizens. This issue is larger than a class or race issue. It represents abuse of power by law enforcement. If allowed to stand, we are all at risk for being arrested at the discretion of the responding officer, not on the basis of laws, but on the basis of whim.
There's a couple of things that have been severely undercovered throughout this whole stupidity. First, it's the underlying belief that in the eyes of law enforcement, the media and even the average everyday person that Black = perp. The reason why Prof. Gates wasn't charged was pretty simple: He did nothing wrong except get upset. Yet he's being portrayed as being either 'crazy', 'uppity' 'belligerent' or 'strange'. Every story is supplimented with either his mug shot or the photo of him being arrested. From The Scottsboro Boys through O.J., Ray Lewis and Kobe, the undertone is always the same - they MUST have done something even when evidence or the court of law says otherwise.
Notice also how any of these men were portrayed after their aquittals or when charges were dropped. Prof Gates is now 'angry'. Kobe Bryant is now 'arrogant', 'cocky', 'selfish'. Ray Lewis is 'menacing' and O.J., well, you know. Funny thing is that those labels were applied to Robert Blake (acquitted of murder), Marv Albert (rape), or even Vince Neil (manslaughter). They were able to move on with their lives. They were also white.
The other thing that has been underscored is that the Cambridge Police seemed to be more determined to show they weren't racist rather than the fact the arrest was warranted. Either Crowley did everything by the book and by the numbers, why not fully persue of the legal ramifications surrounding the arrest? Why not release the so-called tapes? Why was the police report not more detailed in describing the actions that got Gates arrested in the first place? The answers are simple - GATES BROKE NO LAW. It seems to me that Crowley made it all about him and his ego. He seemed more about soothing his bruised ego rather than 'protect and serve'.
As far President Obama's role in all of this, he was absolutely right in his first statement. It was all pretty stupid. Let's make something clear also - Obama didn't just out of the blue decide to talk about this. He was asked about it and he answered it honestly and openly about it from a perspective that truthfully, only Black and Hispanic men can really relate to.
It seems awfully funny that unusual things tend to happen to Black men when they encounter cops. They get shot going home (Sean Bell, Patrick Derismond) or in the case of Professor Gates being home. They get pulled over for driving a nice car (of course they either stole it or they're involved in some illegal activity that earned them the money to buy such a nice car). If they're with a group of other Black men, they must be up to something. How many Black men were rounded up and 'tuned up' when Susan Smith falsely accused a Black man with kidnapping her children and quick was everyone to belief her story? Look how quick so many are ready to accept the Cambridge Police's version of the Gates arrest?
Until we get over this notion that 'Black = perp', we'll continue to these questionable arrests and an uneasy relationship between Blacks and cops.
You are so right about whites who commit crimes, it is as if "oooooh a deviant white person", or just a sad nut, while the highest job in our land is held by a black man who is held to a higher standard of second to second watch by media than the previous white VP who is every day in investigations shown to be right in the thick of those who ruined our country.
OJ-did anyone but me, ever notice that the dog, covered in blood, was not tested for DNA for WEEKS. And that the dog lived at OJ's house, and that the woman, who said she saw some men get in a car and drive off in the direction of where the dog was found wandering was not allowed to testify because she lied on a car application.
OJ-not smart-when those people came telling him "someone" had his things, he should have stayed in his home state and called the police, and then a lawyer and gotten over it. Seemed like a set up for a person.
How about even white legislators who we hear on Oprah and other shows were stupid enough to fall for "you are really hot" or other young woman come ons. How long had they been around politics?
Our country is in trouble, I think it is really good that this is on the table and we are talking about it,
It convinced me to stand up and say what I had to say, even if just to two people, since no one else felt the issue was important enough to come to a meeting at our fairly all rich, white church.
We need to deal with these issues. Until just a couple of minutes ago, I had never seen a picture of Gates. I had seen Crowley on television.
I hope we all see that problems are not to be put in the closet. We need them on the table and discussing.
I think the discussions here in this forum have been amazing. One of my sons said, the door was jammed, someone had tried to break in that house. His point was the police had a right to look around and be suspicious. My point is, has anyone ever tried to figure out who actually DID try and break in that house, or where they all too busy harassing the homeowner.
That seems to be natural procedure these days. I went to cremate one of my sisters. A relative on drugs (gee how nice of her, knowing the family was at the cemetary) broke in and stole everything she and a little drug addict palsie could. The police had many things with her finger prints, but since we leave the back door unlocked for the simple reason that we have FOUR dogs, one a Dane, and one a shepard, and the outside gates on five and six foot fences are ALL locked, that they could do nothing.
The girls probation officer did do something. She was not allowed to be out of her own county.
The point, the police are supposed to protect homeowners, and innocent people, but that is not the way it is.
AND yes, as long as we think minorities and women and homeowners are the bad guys, and the police forget that they are citizens and also under the same laws as everyone else, and get back to Mayberry, with community policing, we are going to continue to see these things.
Women are also profiled by the police. Another issue that has to be brought up. Rich or poor, too many women are dismissed by police in a he said / she said disagreement. In thirty plus years of juvenile and criminal support programs, I have seen too often the women and girls dismissed as being hysterical, rather than treated with respect. If they are out after dark, or in anything but a head to toe robe, they must have been asking for it.
Women are grabbed out of parking lots at expensive malls, yet the police still treat them, and their cases, as if they are "ho's". Even with video tape of a woman just pushing her cart, and putting items in her car, and being forced in to a van that had been cruising the parking lot, she gets no respect.
Often, until the woman is reported missing, no one even turns it in to the police, even though they have seen the video on the security screens in the security office.
THEN, if her car has been impounded, or if it is still sitting in the parking lot, someone finally looks at the video. I wonder what the difference would be if a man was seen on the tape being wrestled in nto a van?
We all need to look at these things and fix them.
And on the subject, how come there is no coverage of the Pennsylvania police (and others?) working without pay. The LA Sheriff used to have a huge joke about overtime, I do not know if they get paid now, there was no money for overtime. Too much was being paid out for law suits. That is not the solution either.
One woman can be seen, on video, that "someone" just happened to shoot, her gang member son, wanted on a felony warrant, was being arrested at her home (I am sure the neighbors appreciated her keeping a felon in the block), she took a bat to the officer. He finally whacked her with his flashlight. LA citizens got to pay a lot for that.
We all need to figure out something better, the bad guys on all sides are getting away with it while as noted above, police and professor both apprently stressed end up on media globally for a day that should not have happened.
I could not agree with you further,but you have forgotten the paramount
case.The man in Boston who killed his wife and told the cops some black
men had attacked her,and the cops went door to door breaking into homes without warrants and arresting black men in droves.But when the evidence begin to lead to him,he committed suicide by jumping off a bridge.The police nor media ever questioned the behavior or the
tactics of the police,in that investigation.There is no catalyst like the presence of a "white woman",to set off the errant and erratic display of
power by white policemen,hence,the white female who called in the
report of two black men breaking into Prof. Gates's house.If a Cambridge policeman,can't distinguish a Harvard professor,from a
common ordinary house burglar,heaven help us!
You're right about almost everything you say, and I can understand Obama calling it "stupid," and I can understand black fury at mistreatment at the hands of white authorities, but in all honesty, we have to ask ourselves, "who commits must violent crimes in this country?" "which culture encourages violent hostility towards the MAN?" I'm not saying the situation isn't a lot more complicated than that, but it has to be addressed and understood by both a white and black perspective, but mostly, it has to be addressed by more opportunity and education for blacks, escpecially black men.
Well, based on news accounts... White men are very violent... There are more missing White Women and dead White Women. These crimes, were not committed by strangers... There are plenty of White children, who have been raped, molested, killed... This wasn't done by any stranger either. So you said, "who commits most violent crimes in this country?" Well, the typical Pedophiles is a White Male. The typical Serial Killer and there are plenty of them. They have killed at least 2 or more women... White Males have the highest rate of Serial killings, to my knowledge. How about mass murders, thrill killings, spree killings? My goodness, you seem to dismiss what White Males are known for Storeboughtjam. At this writing, there are so many missing White Women... Stacie Peterson, wasn't the only missing White Woman... Lori Hacking was killed by her White Husband, Mark. He put her body in a land fill. Neil Entwistle, killed Rachel, his wife and Lillian, 9 month old. Then fled to Britain. Christoper Vaughn killed his three children and wife. Then shot himself. Claimed the wife did the killings. Lisa Stuebic [sp] is still missing. They know her husband killed her. Just can't gather enough evidence yet. ABC had a file, showing dead or missing children, they weren't killed by strangers. Most of them were White. Little Jessica Lundsford, killed by paroled John Couney. Convicted Sex Offender. John abducted her, raped her, buried her alive. John W Gacey, the list goes on and on... You speak of crime? Do you read the news? Do you really not see, your culture is violent and encouraged violent hostility towards women and children.. Take care you don't forget History. Justrickcamera, said it best... If an experienced policeman, can't tell the difference between an older gentleman with a cane and a would be burgler. He hasn't down his job well... Gates and Crowley were both suffering from Big Egos... Neither handled it properly. After showing ID, Crowley had any proof, he needed, after verifying it via phone check. Gates, should have thanked the officer for being there. They both should have shut up. Trouble with some males... There Ego is bigger than their compassion and empathy. It must suck to be a guy... Ego's are heavy...
What I can't understand is why nobody is blaming the real culprit: the airline industry. Gates had just returned from China, which means he had been traveling for 24 hours, and had probably changed flights at least twice. Heck, I want to punch someone in the face after a trip to Philadelphia. I'm sure Gates was very tired and just wanted to go home and lie down and this whole fiasco flares up. Undoubtedly he let his temper get away.
As for Crowley, who can say what was bugging him? Maybe he was in a bad mood because his overtime has been eliminated due to budget cuts so he can't pay his bills, and now this Harvard prof starts laying into him, calling him a racist. While, not as bad as being a victim of racism, being called a racist is no laughing matter either. So in retaliation the officer pulls a bush league power play and carts him off to jail.
I really hope both parties do take Obama up on his offer to talk it out over a beer. That would be the true teachable moment: that when we approach one another respectfully and spend a moment talking, we can move beyond generalities like race and understand each other as individuals.
I hope it's a lite beer.
Show me The TAPES!
I would not be surprised at all if those tapes became very well acquainted with a magnet.
Somebody please tell me... is there ANYONE out there who has not had an uncomfortable encounter with a cop? Was the cop correct? Not necessarily. Did you mouth off to them? Well, the one's who do wind up on reality shows like Cops, or World's Stupidest Criminals....
I am a white male in Georgia.Twice In my home I had a knock on the door.Both times I opened it and a cop was standing there.Both times The cop reaches in and grabs my belt.Both times with out asking my name or anything else.Both times they were looking for someone else.Both times no apology.The police are kings or at least that is what they think.What would have happened if I had punched the cop for grabbing me?Maybe I should have.My brother on the day he graduated from college was with some friends celebrating.They got pulled over.My brother was in the back seat.He said something and was drug out of the car and shoved against the car.He protested and pushed back. He got sent to prison for a year for assault on a pig.Now he has a record for violence.He did not hit the pig he shoved away from the car carrying the pig with him.First offence I might add.Every police force has good cops but every force in the country has at least one jack ass.
I have images of Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin on the front lawn with former President Carter standing between the two shaking hands.
What are we bridging: Civil Rights; race wars; what reconciliation is taking place?
A white cop did what he felt was his duty; a black professor voiced what he felt were his rights and they were both right. The facts remain the same.
Make sure there's a photo op with the shot heard round the world so the world press can praise Obama for stepping and bridging the gap and as Commander-in-Chief turning his back on the rule of law he so eloquently spoke of during his inaugural.
I hope the cop gets the same six figure book deal that Professor Gates will get. Maybe they can both make some money off it.
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This goes to the priginal point I was making. Everyone believed that the cop was telling the truth and Gates was lying. Why? Now there are aspects of the police report that seem to be false. Not only did she not say it on the 911 call, according to her lawyer, she never said it to him in person either.
"Let me be clear: She never had a conversation with Sgt. Crowley at the scene," Murphy said, according to CNN. "And she never said to any police officer or to anybody 'two black men.' She never used the word 'black.' Period."
Why is something different in the police report. Will the media cover this? Will the 7 reporters on the daily beast who have written about Gates now ask the forbidden question? Did the cop lie?
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Sadly true.
We had a police shooting in our community a few months back. The TAPES were lost for several days. Whether the real tapes were found or not, few are ever going to believe they were not doctored.
The only folks who got to have a chat with the mayor and the police chief were the rich white ones from my and other powerful churches and groups.
Strange, they did not meet with the people in the neighborhoods involved.
My church is going to have a field trip to museums and eat dim sum to build racial understanding. What, I asked them is this field trip going to do about the problems with our police and citizens.
I again am grateful this is out in the open, sad for both the professor and the police officer. But maybe it is just time to stop talking and make sure our cities area safe, for police and citizens, and that we all understand each other better.
AND, that our first responders are paid. I just heard that the PA police were told, just use your credit and savings. What credit and savings? The elite have to get it, most people, up to the $200,000 a year are six months or less from financial ruin. These officers cannot get unemployment, they are employed, if they quit, they cannot get unemployment. They cannot get disability, they are not disabled. They cannot use their insurance on car or house payments, they are not disabled or unemployed.
I am sure it is either happening in other states, or will shortly.
We need to know more, rather than more gossip about stars.
I am sure these financial issues are going to make police even more likely to snap themselves.
PUBLIC SERVANT????
#1..Gates should say, ugg,ugh, I am sorry, because 2 mishaps do not make it right. I am amazed at the long well studied history and experience of our strong black men, which crumbles in seconds over something that our President said "it was handled stupidily. There is a scriptures that says, we are forever learning but never coming into the knowledge of truth. The truth is, I am sorry from both (Gates & Crowley) are the next words to be spoken, we took it a little too far.
The cop is on the clock and we're paying. Do you think he made the best use of his time in the interest of public safety. I don't care if Gates called him a " white bread soda cracker pig bacon dough nut etc. " A total waste of time and of our tax dollars. He wasn't breaking in period. Go get some real criminals off the street and leave your ego in the locker room..
We cannot ever solve this issue. I see both sides and feel for both of them. White people and black people can be racist. Police have a very difficult job to do. They daily deal with whites, blacks and brown people. Some are great people, some are bad people and many are mentally ill people that for sure must be terrifying to deal with. We all need not judge anyone too harshly, we need to learn calmly and stay peaceful. White,black and brown. Man, woman and police. Journalist and bloggers.
The tag of "angry black man" is so easy and powerful and the media are using it over and over again.
The man was ARRESTED at his own home. And what was the reason?? What was the crime for which he was arrested for? Talking loudly to an officer?! SO???
Acting like an arrogant immature irrational uncooperative disorderly jerk..?
Fisrt of all is this a crime? Second of all you make my point. According to whom? The cop. The cop is the standard of truth and the black man is a liar. He could have been acting like that but nobody was there who really knows. This is the most awful thing about the story...everyone is assuming Gates with a stellar reputation is a liar.
Furthermore, the cop's police report...that standard of truth is being disputed by the neighbour who reported the "break in". She never mentioned two black men EVER and she never had a conversation with him a the scene. Is she a liar too?
So you are telling me that white privilege and black anger is DNA-based?
Wow.
I thought those things were psycho-cultural. I thought attitudes were based on personal and cultural experiences and you are telling me it is DNA based?
Oh, you mean color is DNA based....oh.
Frankly this debate is getting tedious...equally tiring is the insistence that discussion on race relations be confined to black/white...seems to me that the black community maintains less than cordial relations with the Asian community (LA riots anyone?) as well as the Jewish community (i.e. Rev Jesse's "Hymie Town" remarks). Further to this one rarely hears about Hispanics, Asian's etc decrying racism, somehow they have manged to move forward (particularly remarkable as well given the language handicap shared by many Hispanic Asian immigrants). While racism undoubtedly exists (an always will given human nature) there is something to be said about overplaying the victim card and simply moving yourself (and community) forward (again the Asian community is an excellent example of this).
The Asian community -- quite admirable and hardworking -- was not enslaved in America for hundreds of years, did not then have to live under Jim Crow laws, was not pushed into ghettos, and does not insight the same irrational "fear" in whites and the black community does. So it's really not comparable. I feel for Professor Gates, but it remains to be seen whether this was a racially motivated incident. I have a feeling Crowley would have arrested anyone in similar circumstance, be they white, black, or polka-dot. And as far as Crowley just "assuming" they were black men, thus proving he wrote a false police report as whole, is ridiculous. Perhaps the dispatcher radioed in that they were black. We just don't know.
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I feel this is a situation where two men bumped heads and neither was willin to back off. It would have helped if a third person could have cooled thins down. This third party could have said "wait a minute fellows" . Lets sit for a moment and cool down and talk. I'm speaking from experience because I have dealt with individuals from different ethnic groups and age groups. The idea is not to prove who as right or wrong initially but to get person a chance to talk while listening to the other person
you're right storebought, the Chinese were not used as virtual slaves to build the US railroad etc. - free ride for them, and "Snakeheads" are not members of Asian crime syndicates that continue to trade in Chinese indentured slavery. Smarten up. As for "irrational fear" by whites I call your attention to Rev Jesse Jackson's remarks (some yrs back):
"There is nothing more painful to me ... than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved. -- the Reverend Jesse Jackson, as quoted in US News, 3/10/96"
I assume that Jesse is equally irrational.
Pious1001: It's true, I have to educate myself more on American history, especially immigration history. But I'm confident enough to reply, the Asians were not brought here in chains to works as slaves, with all the degradation and violence that entails. Many groups have had problems settling here, including Catholics, Jews, as you say -- Asians, but none have been as severely prejudiced against as are African Americans. Also, I think you misunderstood my comment about "inciting the same irrational fear." Read my comment several steps above, if you like
Skip Gates acted like an arrogant uneducated idiot he practically begged to be arrested...one would think a Harvard professor would know how to comport himself when dealing with a cop...
I am no friend of cops, per se, I just understand their mentality one would think this great Harvard scholar would understand the psychological and sociological, cultural and racial ingredients in this mix and at play...
Of course the guy was frustrated and exhausted after traveling from Red China to Cambridge only to be treated like he was still in Red China...
He did a lot of harm to our nation with his hissy fit losing control and carrying on like he did when he could have just shown his ID and thanked the officer for responding and keeping an eye on his property..
Is the cop a jerk most likely, but who does America blame the less educated cop rather than the now exalted Harvard Scholar for acting so immaturely...
Cops are like strange dogs on a leash, never trust them until you know them and know them well..and never go within their reach...
This wasn't racial profiling, I know all about that and have suffered terribly at the hands of corrupt cops myself, and Sam Alito, the guy who perfected racial profiling made a science of it, a high art...
I hope this was all worth it to Professor Gates since all we are hearing about is him, his hissy fit and Sarah Palin..!
Way to go professor you're a real rebel yup you betch'ya..!
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LOL..!
Really get over it, if you act in a certain manner any dog will bite you, same goes for cops is that racist, or just the voice of experience..?
You must have a much higher opinion of cops than I do..!.
Thank you.
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