# The Henry L Gates Case **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 30, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947 "2018-12-30T23:27:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/61 "2019-01-14T16:43:29Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > I think Obama should have refrained from commenting. As President, his remarks have power to influence public beliefs and sway potential jurors. This could have posed problems had this been litigated. > > But the cop did act stupidly. I tend to agree with this. I don’t have a problem with the actual substance of Obama’s comments, but there was no reason for him to comment. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/62 "2019-01-14T17:20:27Z")
No \*legal \*reason, no. But a President’s responsibility for leadership is quite a bit broader than that. He did help shed light on the very real problem of racism among police. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/63 "2019-01-14T17:34:17Z")
Sure. He also gave his opponents something to criticize, and didn’t need to point out the absurdity of a ~60 year old Harvard professor being arrested for breaking into his own home when it was already national news. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/64 "2019-01-14T17:39:39Z")
His opponents’ criticism was a given anyway, to start with, and the nature of that criticism when presented publicly \*helped \*shed light on the problem of police racism. The absurdity of the case did likewise. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/65 "2019-01-14T17:39:51Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Imagine that. A neighborhood resident thought she saw two men trying to break into a home only to find out later that the two men admitted that they were actually trying to break into the house. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t live in a snitches-get-stitches-type of neighborhood. I’m not sure if anyone besides Cheesecake faults the neighbor–they were, after all, trying to force open a jammed door (not just “fix” it). Although I do find it odd that the neighbor cared enough to call the police about suspicious activity but didn’t care enough to know what the man looked like who lived there. The real problem was the police response. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/66 "2019-01-14T19:45:47Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > You can’t break into your own house. [cite](https://legaldictionary.net/breaking-and-entering/). But how do you keep the neighbors from calling the police when they see suspicious/illegal activity in their neighborhoods? Call them all racists? Threaten them with bodily harm? Remind them that snitches get stiches? Of course you can break into your own house. It’s not illegal to break into your own house. However, you shouldn’t expect a passers-by not to call the police when it appears that you are breaking into a house. It’s possible that some people do not know everyone who lives in their neighborhood. :rolleyes: What’s wrong with saying thank you neighbors for trying to keep our neighborhood safe from criminals. Thank you officer for risking your life in order to keep my neighborhood safe. Even Obama has said, “If you see something, say something”. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/67 "2019-01-14T19:50:31Z")
If you were arrested while trying to enter your own home using the front door, would _you_ be grateful? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/68 "2019-01-14T20:00:20Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I’m not sure if anyone besides Cheesecake faults the neighbor–they were, after all, trying to force open a jammed door (not just “fix” it). Although I do find it odd that the neighbor cared enough to call the police about suspicious activity but didn’t care enough to know what the man looked like who lived there. The real problem was the police response. Do you know all of your neighbors by sight? I don’t. I know many of them because we attend sub-division meetings. Some neighbors don’t attend those meetings. Some neighbors have only moved in recently. There are even a few renters. And a few relatives/friends who stay for a couple of days, or weeks. There is nothing odd about not recognizing every face in your neighborhood. It looks to me as if Gates wanted to bitch about a neighborhood tradition that he had little experience with. Yes, people do call the police when they see suspicious activity. Yes, police do respond to those calls. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/69 "2019-01-14T20:05:35Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > His opponents’ criticism was a given anyway, to start with, and the nature of that criticism when presented publicly \*helped \*shed light on the problem of police racism. The absurdity of the case did likewise. I don’t think Obama’s comments are what shed light on this issue. The circumstances alone were enough to bring visibility. 2018 saw a bunch of “BBQ Becky” incidents that are quite similar to what happens to Gates. I’m glad Trump hasn’t thrown in his two cents every time one of these stories became viral, because we already know what side he’d come down on and it would not be good. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/70 "2019-01-14T20:10:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > If you were arrested while trying to enter your own home using the front door, would _you_ be grateful? Gates, and friend, didn’t enter the house thru the front door because it was stuck. They entered thru the back door. After unsticking the front door, Gates later opened the front door in order to confront the police officer. One way to AVOID a confrontation would be to say, “Thanks for checking on me officer. Everything is OK. The front door was jammed shut, and we had to enter thru the back in order to fix it.” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/71 "2019-01-14T20:11:00Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Do you know all of your neighbors by sight? I do. I know every person that lives in the 10 houses nearest to mine and another 10 or 15 in the neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/72 "2019-01-14T20:41:00Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I’m not sure if anyone besides Cheesecake faults the neighbor–they were, after all, trying to force open a jammed door (not just “fix” it). Technically, I’m not trying to fault the neighbor as much as refute the idea that it’s “stupid” to try and fix your own door because burglary is a crime. Certainly Gates could have made different choices, but the ones he did make weren’t criminal, and he didn’t deserve to be arrested for them. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/73 "2019-01-14T21:07:22Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Do you know all of your neighbors by sight? I don’t. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I do. I know every person that lives in the 10 houses nearest to mine and another 10 or 15 in the neighborhood. Besides that, this wasn’t just some guy breaking into his own house. This was a prominent author, academic, television personality, and all around public intellectual. I might not know everyone who lives within a block of me, but I’m pretty sure I’d know if Skip Gates were one on my neighbors. Before this incident Gates, who had been at Harvard since 1991, had: received a Macarthur Fellowship (the so-called Genius Grant) in 1981; been listed by _Time_ Magazine as one of its 25 Most Influential Americans in 1997; received the National Humanities Medal in 1998; been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1999; received the 2008 Ralph Lowell Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; and been inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution in 2006. All of this in addition to his work on TV, including presenting Great Railways Journeys and African-American Lives on PBS. I’d be pretty surprised if his neighbors didn’t know he lived among them. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/74 "2019-01-14T22:12:03Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I do. I know every person that lives in the 10 houses nearest to mine and another 10 or 15 in the neighborhood. Good for you. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/75 "2019-01-14T22:18:57Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Technically, I’m not trying to fault the neighbor as much as refute the idea that it’s “stupid” to try and fix your own door because burglary is a crime. > > Certainly Gates could have made different choices, but the ones he did make weren’t criminal, and he didn’t deserve to be arrested for them. It’s not “stupid” to try and fix your own door, even if you’re a renter. If someone is looking for a confrontation, they’re bound to find one. Do you think you could have handled a similar situation without getting into an argument with a cop? _Hello. I’m fine. How are you? Everything is fine. I live here. Door was jammed. Not jammed now. Nice to see my tax dollars at work. Thanks for stopping by. Goodbye. Have a nice day._ ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/76 "2019-01-14T22:25:27Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > It’s not “stupid” to try and fix your own door, even if you’re a renter. > > If someone is looking for a confrontation, they’re bound to find one. Do you think you could have handled a similar situation without getting into an argument with a cop? _Hello. I’m fine. How are you? Everything is fine. I live here. Door was jammed. Not jammed now. Nice to see my tax dollars at work. Thanks for stopping by. Goodbye. Have a nice day._ Works better if you’re white. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/77 "2019-01-15T20:13:26Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Works better if you’re white. Would Gates have been more cooperative if the responding officer had been black? If I was trying to break into my own home, should I be offended that a passerby called the police in order to report suspicious activity? Personally, I would thank the passerby for doing what they could to prevent my neighborhood from becoming a snitches-get-stiches/anything goes type neighborhood. If I had just tried to break into my own home, should I be offended that a police officer investigated a possible break-in? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/78 "2019-01-15T20:55:20Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Do you think you could have handled a similar situation without getting into an argument with a cop? Yes, and I said that right in the post you quoted. Do you think the cop could have handled the situation without escalating it into an argument? _Excuse me, sir is Mr. Gates at home? Oh, you ARE Mr. Gates? That’s a relief, one of your neighbors saw someone jimmying the door and called us to investigate. Is everything OK here, were you working on the door? Thank you, I’ll note that on the report. If you could, may I see your ID, so I can complete my report? Thank you, sir, and have a good day._ Another question I’m interested in is whether or not arguing with a cop is a crime. Because we only really have a Henry L Gates Case because he was arrested for being “disorderly” on his front porch. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/79 "2019-01-16T14:54:46Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Gates, and friend, didn’t enter the house thru the front door because it was stuck. They entered thru the back door. What does that have to do with anything? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947/80 "2019-01-16T22:35:21Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > What does that have to do with anything? I was responding to a previous statement that had made. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-l-gates-case/826947.md?page=5)