Interestingly timely: here in Toronto, a Human Rights Tribunal gave a cop shit for racial profiling. The police were looking for “two white eastern European men in a car” who were suspected of messing with phones lines in an expensive neighborhood (known as the Bridal Path). Who did the cop stop? A black mailman who was in his postal uniform and carrying two bags of mail. (Story.)
This for comparisson purposes only to illustrate a clear case of, and adjudication response to, racial profiling by police. In the Gates case, the cop seems much more reasonable. He gets a call about two guys mucking around trying to force a door, verifies that one is the homeowner, and gets ready to go on his way, until (justifiably or not) angry homeowner pisses him off. Toronto version: looking for two white guys, they stop one black letter carrier, until they can get another white mailman to verify that he recognizes him. The Human Rights Tribunal finds for the plaintiff because the cops are clearly jackasses.
Point number 2 in that blog brings up an issue most people are ignoring.
There really isn’t anything a white person could say to an officer that compares to Gates screaming Racist!
Well, maybe a female screaming Rapist! would compare, and a female who kept screaming Rapist! might have been arrested. But Rapist! would have been easy to disprove, while Racist! is impossible to disprove.
As such, it is unsurprising that Gates was able to get under the officer’s skin to an extent a white man probably couldn’t have. Simply because he had access to a more powerful verbal attack. Especially coming from Gates, who can make a huge deal of it in public.
Still, the officer needed to walk away, and he failed at his job. While both acted badly, the officer was the only one who abused authority.
I wonder how many of the posters here read the arrest report before passing judgement. By the account in the arrest report, the police were called because men were apparently breaking in – it was not Gates but an actual breakin attempt before he arrived home. Any officer in this situation would want to be sure the homeowner is safe and not being coerced by criminals who might still be in the house. Gates might have appreciated having the police do a walk-through to ensure his safety.
Instead, according to the police report, Gates was verbally abuse and claimed racism from the very start, refused to provide ID, and asked for the officer’s name numerous times despite being provided his name multiple times. The officer left the house so he could hear to call in - Gates’ shouting was bouncing off the walls.
Other officers back up certain details of the arresting officer’s account. Nobody – NOBODY – can repeatedly disrepect an officer and refuse reasonable requests without expecting consequences. I know lots of white folks who have turned a routine please-turn-down-the-noise police call into an arrest by mouthing off to the cop. A white Illinois Supreme Court judge got busted some years ago for threatening the cop’s job on a DUI stop.
Of course Gates’ lawyer disputes the facts. Cops can have short fuses sometimes and have been known to escalate. Racism and racial profiling is far from unknown. But having read both sides of this, I’m convinced the police acted appropriately and Gates was way out of line.
I did read the police report. It was Gates trying to break into his own home (unjam the front door). Police reports are not always factual - but here is the thing…even if the police report is 100% right, there is no law against being an asshole to the cops. Perhaps Gates got consequences for being an ass, but the police are going to have to face consequences as well.
Although I will add I don’t think Gates’ race was why he was arrested, but the fact he was being an asshole. Gates himself admits that the woman who called the cops was completely justified and that in fact he not only has no grudge against her but is appreciative.
At no point does Gates claim that the officer used racial slurs or behaved in any way in an egregiously racist manner. (He may have suspected the officer was racist, but that’s pretty much irrelevant.) He also admits he DID accuse the officer of racism and was being loud.
While I’m not saying it’s right, I’ll risk the flaming and speak on behalf of my fellow ofays when I say that you have no idea how infuriating it is having the ‘race card’ played on you when it’s not at all justified. I completely concede that there’s no end to real and legitimate racism going both ways and through the middle out there, but playing the race card when it’s unwarranted is one of them.
So the officer snapped. There have definitely been times that if I’d had the power (note that I did not say “the right”) to arrest a jerk who was haranguing me I’d have probably used it just to see the look on his face when he was cuffed.
I’m not saying this was right. I think the officer was completely in the wrong and he should be disciplined (but not fired). Perhaps he is a racist or was thinking racist thoughts- I wouldn’t be surprised, nor would I be surprised to find out Gates was thinking what a piece of ignorant white trash the officer was- but I don’t think race was behind the arrest itself, and again I believe the arrest was completely unwarranted and I’m losing respect for Gates for playing his victimization to the hilt.
And I think Obama should have used a word other than “stupidly”; “unprofessionally” or “inappropriately” I’d have had no problem with.
I’m not losing respect for him. He believes he can be the face for a situation that has cause African Americans a lot of heartache. If he needs to overplay the victimization card to get people to keep talking about this - I’m ok with that.
“Stupidly” seemed … honest. I suspect that for all his cool, calm collectedness, this might have hit a little close to home for Obama.
My husband and I lived in an apartment building across the street from him (until last fall).
re: Leaving doors unlocked – Nobody in their right mind would do that. The street is 2 blocks from Harvard Square. It’s the city. Robberies happen. My husband’s apartment was robbed years ago on that very street, and it was locked.
re: Recognizing Gates – We never knew he lived on our street, although I had seen and recognized him in the Starbucks on the corner. But my husband didn’t recognize him and he has a Master’s from Harvard. I certainly wouldn’t expect any random person to recognize him or his name.
re: Whoever called the cops – The person saw two guys breaking into a house. Of course the cops were called!
However – ** IF ** Prof. Gates raised his voice or acted angry at the police, I totally don’t blame him. It’s quite bizarre that the police actually arrested him. Whether it was racism, classism, or whatever, they cops did the wrong thing. There have been multiple TV vans parked on that street all week. The thing has become a circus.
If she’d stop forgetting her keys so she didn’t have to jimmy the door to the White House, then calling the Secret Service agents racist - that wouldn’t happen.
I would love to see a Rashomon type treatment of this. Maybe on YouTube.
POLICE VERSION: Gates comes to the door wearing a dashiki and smoking a splif. As the officer says, star struck, “Dr. Gates… I love your PBS work… I am so sorry to bother you, but for my report I do need to see some ID”, Gates begins screaming about racism and threatening to get some pipe hittin’ Rastas to burn the man’s house. When he goes into his kitchen the officer sees three militant Shi’ites run out the back door.
GATES VERSION: He answers the door calmly and politely and the policeman says “Hit the floor Kunta Kinte! Anybody moves in here you’re dead!” while an angry white mob outside screams “Lynch him! Hang him high!”
IN BETWEEN VERSION: Two men meet, one is officious the other one a jerk, things get completely out of hand. The officer is less than respectful and nice, Gates gets furious and says things he shouldn’t, the officer arrests him when he shouldn’t have. It is less about race than personalities, the officer is severely reprimanded and sent to anger management training and Gates is forced to write “I am not Rosa Parks” one hundred times on Twitter.
No, Gates’ lawyer disputes the police report which is just that, a one-sided recounting of what happened by the officer in question. It is no more “the facts” than Gates’ account is “the facts” but a biased recollection, filled with personal editorializing.
With all due respect Sampiro, the effects of having the race card played on you vs. being a victim of racism? Don’t even begin to compare. Not by the longest of long shots. Maybe your fellow ofays will have sympathy. I think they’re the only ones.
When I lived in Cambridge, many years ago, I’d get stopped in Boston for DWY (Driving While Young) all the time. I did have a big car, but I never got so much as a warning. I can imagine talking back to the cop if I had been someone with some power, not a dumbass college junior. That was bad enough - I can’t even imagine what it feels like when it happens all your life driving or not.
HOW DARE YOU CALL ME AN OFAY! It’s because I’m a white man in America isn’t it!!!
I agree that experiencing the race card wins any pissing contest over real racism, but only if there really is racism. But it has not been proven there was racism; all we have is Gates’s allegations. Obama has not stated that there is racism in this particular incident. The 911 call was legit by Gates’ own acknowledgement, and whatever experiences Gates has had that make him resent the police (and I know a few that he’s discussed) are not in any way shape or form the fault of this particular officer.
If you cut me off in traffic and I blow my horn whereupon you flip me the bird and then we end up pulling over and getting into a fight, it doesn’t mean you’re a homophobe. You’re a guy who happened to get into a fight with another guy who happens to be gay. If I want to pursue it as a case of homophobia then not only does it not make it true but it detracts from real cases of homophobia. The fact that gay guys have been murdered many times in this country and victimized by hate crimes in this country is just not really an issue.
I’m not equating gay:race, but I think the race issue in this case is way overblown for something that’s not at all proven.
If the officer who responded had been black but done and said everything the white cop said, I wonder would Gates have been more cooperative.
