# Obama says cops acted stupidly in Gates incident **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995 "2009-07-23T14:37:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/41 "2009-07-23T16:24:38Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yes, the quote you quoted. We don’t know what Gates did, and so it’s not clear whether they acted stupidly or not. Since Obama even said he didn’t know all the facts, it’s self-evident that you can’t evaluate the stupidity of the action. Even if you take every word of the police report at face value (which you have no reason in the world to do, but go ahead), they still allege nothing that would justify an arrest. Even the pigs said they knew all along he was in his own house. The fact that the chargese were DROPPED also exonerates Dr. Gates and proves the cops acted stupidly. Kudos to President Obama for telling it like it is instead of reflexively smooching LEO ass like all other presidents do. I knew as soon as Obama said this last night that it would be today’s right wing outrage de jour, and that we’d be seeing that selectively truncated quote all over the place. Watch Hannity tonight. I guarantee he will show the clip of Obama saying “the police acted stupidly…,” and then jump cut to Obama saying “…there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That’s just a fact,” completely cutting out the end of the first sentence, and the “separate and apart” bit from the second. We’ll have a day or two of rich white men on TV snivelling about their persecution at the hands of Barack Obama, then one of the kids will put Russian dressing on a salad or something, and we’ll be on to the next fake outrage. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/42 "2009-07-23T16:27:57Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > So Obama is asserting that the “long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately” has nothing to do with racism? What part of "separate and apart from this incident " don’t you … oh, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/43 "2009-07-23T16:28:53Z")
> [@Sinaijon](#): > > Maybe you missed the part where he went on for a couple of paragraphs afterwords about racial profiling. I guess that was just a total non sequitur on his part, eh? Maybe you missed the part where he prefaced that by saying **"Separate and apart from this incident** is a long history…etc." So there was no connection the “stuod” remark, which was explained clearly in context. > [@](#): > > No. Can you identify anyone in the thread who accused him of lying? Glad to know you agree with everything he said, but if that’s the case, what are you complaining about? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/44 "2009-07-23T16:30:37Z")
All true, Comrade **Dio** , but “pigs”? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/45 "2009-07-23T16:31:53Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > So Obama is asserting that the “long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately” has nothing to do with racism? And Gates was lying when he accused the officers who arrested him of racism. No to both, and this is non-sequitur in relationship to what I said. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/46 "2009-07-23T16:33:17Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Wait, so you think the cops were in the right to arrest Gates? Just because he was being verbally abusive to them? That they acted appropriately? > > The fact is, the appropriate response would have been to apologize for the inconvenience and leave, no matter how annoying or insulting Gates was. Gates disrespected the cop’s Momma, but that ain’t grounds for arrest, is it? I think they were certainly within their rights to do so. I don’t think they had to, but very often this comes down to the officer’s judgement. And here’s the thing, when you’re being a complete dick, people, cops included, aren’t apt to give you the benefit of the doubt or more wiggle room than they have to. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/47 "2009-07-23T16:33:18Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > All true, Comrade **Dio** , but “pigs”? Giving you flashbacks, is he? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/48 "2009-07-23T16:33:55Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > All true, Comrade **Dio** , but “pigs”? Oops…it’s um…“police officers,” right? Sometimes my old DFH vocabularly still slips in there during emotional moments, like when my Sicilian grandmother used to lapse into Italian. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/49 "2009-07-23T16:35:28Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Sure. You even quoted it in your post: (emphasis mine) If the arrest wasn’t stupid, then why were the charges dropped? ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/50 "2009-07-23T16:37:50Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Maybe you missed the part where he prefaced that by saying **"Separate and apart from this incident** is a long history…etc." So you _do_ think it’s a non sequitur? If so, why did he bring it up? It’s like when somebody says “No offense, but…”. We all know what’s coming. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/51 "2009-07-23T16:38:52Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I think they were certainly within their rights to do so. I don’t think they had to, but very often this comes down to the officer’s judgement. And here’s the thing, when you’re being a complete dick, people, cops included, aren’t apt to give you the benefit of the doubt or more wiggle room than they have to. But if you’re own house, we have these things called search and seizure laws which do indeed allow you to be dicks to people so long as you’re not breaking the law. He was not breaking the law, he presented the information needed and they had no legal reason to arrest him. So no. They were not within their rights to do so. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/52 "2009-07-23T16:40:37Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > If the arrest wasn’t stupid, then why were the charges dropped? To try to minimize what was turning into a PR nightmare. You really couldn’t come up with that on your own? Come ON, man. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/53 "2009-07-23T16:42:10Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > To my mind, the “problem” is that the President is weighing in on an issue involving a personal friend of his - something he admits up front. > > This doesn’t look good, even though I happen to agree with everything the President said. He was directly _asked_ about it, and he started by _admitting_ that Gates was a friend of his and that he was biased. I also think that if he’d refused to comment at all, he’d have been bludgeoned for “avoiding the question,” so I don’t see his answer as a problem, particularly since it was so honest. The only people taht are going to act upset about it are those in the same echo chamber who already hate him anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/54 "2009-07-23T16:43:36Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > To try to minimize what was turning into a PR nightmare. You really couldn’t come up with that on your own? Come ON, man. If it led to a PR nightmare, it was stupid then, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/55 "2009-07-23T16:44:04Z")
> [@Syntropy](#): > > But if you’re own house, we have these things called search and seizure laws which do indeed allow you to be dicks to people so long as you’re not breaking the law. He was not breaking the law, he presented the information needed and they had no legal reason to arrest him. So no. They were not within their rights to do so. That’s not the impression I get. But I am not a lawyer. As I asked way earlier, at what point does being abusive to a cop, or being loud and attracting a crowd, go from just being obnoxious behavior to turning into breaking the law? In reading the police report, I assume the officer thought the charges were supportable. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/56 "2009-07-23T16:46:42Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > If it led to a PR nightmare, it was stupid then, wasn’t it? No. Even if we don’t have the whole story right now and Gates did some other things that would convince even you that the cop was in the right, the PR nightmare is still going to happen. As long as their are people like Gates and Sharpton round, they will make sure that is the case. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/57 "2009-07-23T16:47:01Z")
I would agree. OTOH, the fact that the charges were dropped so quickly speaks rather loudly as to just how much his superiors agreed with that assumption. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/58 "2009-07-23T16:50:30Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > So Obama is asserting that the “long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately” has nothing to do with racism? And Gates was lying when he accused the officers who arrested him of racism. > > Regards, > Shodan He was addressing part of the initial question. > [@](#): > > Q Thank you, Mr. President. Recently Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested at his home in Cambridge. **What does that incident say to you and what does it say about race relations in America?** Rather than just link them, he made an explicit effort to not link this incident, in which he admitted ignorance of the role race played, to the big picture. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/59 "2009-07-23T16:50:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > an otherwise good performance That’s right, it was. That’s all it was. He was light on substance (as he’s always been), simplistic (red pill / blue pill), and condescending (“doctors remove tonsils for money” \). And all this about a topic that absolutely, positively has to be pushed through (rammed down our throats) before congress takes their summer break? :rolleyes: As for interjecting himself into the Gates/police matter, there were any number of ways to artfully dodge the question. The fact that he didn’t, the fact that he did wade in and take sides (“stupid”, very classy), means that yes, he did interject himself. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/60 "2009-07-23T16:52:10Z")
> [@Sinaijon](#): > > So you _do_ think it’s a non sequitur? If so, why did he bring it up? It’s like when somebody says “No offense, but…”. We all know what’s coming. He brought it up to make the point that, while he did not know if race played any part in this case, the fact that minorities are so often hassled by the cops for no reason leads to an atmosphere where they start to suspect racist motives even where they don’t exist. Again, **RTFQ** : “The fact that blacks and Hispanics are picked up more frequently and oftentime for no cause casts suspicion even when there is good cause.” He was trying to explain why a black man might feel like he was being harrassed for racial reasons even if he isn’t. I think what a lot of white people think black people are intentionally making false accusations, when the truth is that they are often just paranoid, and honestly mistaken, not deviously playing “the race card.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995.md?page=4)