# The Signifying Douchebag? \[Henry Gates arrest - racism?\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 21, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703 "2009-07-21T01:37:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/301 "2009-07-23T22:45:10Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The accusation that a public official is acting out of racism has potentially big consequences for that official - unlike (say) the accusation he’s a motherfucker. Because, unlike the case of most verbal abuse, some will believe the charge is true whether it is or not. And the way to deal with that is to not act like a racist. And yes, the onus is on him to do that, especially as a cop. > [@furt](#): > > But I don’t buy the idea that anyone can say anything they want to a cop just for the hell of it, anymore than free speech rights entitle me to go up to random passerby and berate them with insults. That’s the heart of the First Amendment. Until you make threats or admit to a crime, you can, in fact, say anything you want to anyone you want, including a cop, a mayor or the president himself. You may be moved along for the fact of being disorderly, but you want to stand there and calmly tell a cop “you’re a racist mother\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and your mother sucks \_\_\_\_\_ in hell” you’re legally entitled. > [@sachertorte](#): > > To me, several warnings is several times the Cop failed to fucking leave the guy alone and leave the scene. Exactly. As I said elsewhere, there’s a line between being a peace officer and a provocateur. This sergeant crossed that line. And was too “surprised and confused” (by his own admission) to figure that out. That speaks volumes about him, and yes, his character, and more importantly, his effectiveness and abilities as a police officer. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/302 "2009-07-23T22:45:11Z")
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**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/303 "2009-07-23T23:09:09Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > That’s the heart of the First Amendment. Until you make threats or admit to a crime, you can, in fact, say anything you want to anyone you want, including a cop, a mayor or the president himself. You may be moved along for the fact of being disorderly, but you want to stand there and calmly tell a cop “you’re a racist mother\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and your mother sucks \_\_\_\_\_ in hell” you’re legally entitled. Tell ya what: go into court, while in session, and repeatedly state that the presiding judge is an asshole. You will learn about “contempt of court.” Pick an object of your affection, and constantly tell them how much you love them, even if they ask that you leave them alone. You will learn about “harassment.” Walk into a public park with children and families playing and warmly greet each and every one with whatever obscenities you can think of. You will learn about “disturbing the peace.” Go down to the city bus terminal and spend a few days telling each and every person getting onto the bus that city busses are unsafe and they will all die. You will learn about being a “public nuisance.” And find a cop writing tickets or otherwise doing his job, and start loudly screaming that to all and sundry that said cop is a racist/pedophile/dog fucker, and you’ll learn all about “disorderly conduct” (Possible exception to all of the above: you’re rich, powerful and/or politically connected). Free Speech does not mean anything anytime anywhere. Maybe it should, but it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/304 "2009-07-23T23:20:37Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > You know, I always thought that a man’s right to be free from government intrusion in his own home was one of those sacred American rights, but apparently it’s not that important to a lot of people. > > I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the U.S. has the most incarcerated people in the entire world. Apparently, if a cop says you did something bad, it’s case closed. It’s mindboggling how folks can rant about liberty and cheer on the cops like a football team in the same breath, with bonus points for invoking jesus, but they sho nuff do. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/305 "2009-07-24T03:09:18Z")
[quote=“humbert80, post:300, topic:503703”] > [@Magiver](#): > > Bringing someone in for public disturbance doesn’t mean they have to prosecute. It means they brought in a hot-head who needed to cool off.QUOTE] > By definition the purpose of an arrest is to bring the arrestee before a court or otherwise secure the administration of the law. Seems like justice was served. Someone disturbing the peace was prevented from spreading more joy to the world. His trip through processing was time served. ---
**Author:** ![Nation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@Nation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nation)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/306 "2009-07-24T04:50:19Z")
It’s ALWAYS about race. I dont know what planet some of you people live on, but it aint Earth. I know for damn sure that if a cop saw someone, ANYONE, breaking into my house I would want him to investigate it to the highest level, regardless if it was me or not. You can bet the farm that this poor black man played the race card. If it were a white man the cops saw breaking into a house, and it turned out to be the owner, you wuddnt have heard one damn word about this. But lo and behold, it was a black guy, and you know how them cops hate black people. A cop aint eva arrested a white man, only blacks are beaten by cops, or harassed, etc. You people need to open your damn eyes to the World instead of looking thru whatever damn color of lenses you have on on a particular day. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/307 "2009-07-24T12:03:36Z")
> [@Nation](#): > > It’s ALWAYS about race. …for some people. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/308 "2009-07-24T12:44:52Z")
An interesting tidbit from the police report: After arresting Gates, he asked about locking up his house for him. Gates replied that it wasn’t possible, **because of a prior break in attempt**. > **[Gates Police Report | PDF](https://www.scribd.com/doc/17512830/Gates-Police-Report)** > > Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/309 "2009-07-24T14:49:12Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > No. Turning off the alarm appears to have occured before the cop showed up. In other words, the cop didn’t see that, and may not realise that there was an alarm present. (No sticker in window, maybe.) The keypad was likely right by the front door, which is where this little contretemps occurred. Likely, Gates’ bags and keys were also present in the area, he was on the phone, and there was his general appearance and demeanor. Plenty of contextual evidence was available for this officer to realize this was not a situation he needed to prolong, for his own best interest as well as Mr. Gates’. Neither of them behaved well, but only one of them got arrested for it. However, I suspect that no amount of arguing is going to change anyone’s mind, as is so often the case. People who support the cops will do so no matter what, people who support Gates are never going to see his arrest as justified. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/310 "2009-07-24T15:15:58Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > The keypad was likely right by the front door, which is where this little contretemps occurred. Likely, Gates’ bags and keys were also present in the area, he was on the phone, and there was his general appearance and demeanor. Plenty of contextual evidence was available for this officer to realize this was not a situation he needed to prolong, for his own best interest as well as Mr. Gates’. Neither of them behaved well, but only one of them got arrested for it. > > However, I suspect that no amount of arguing is going to change anyone’s mind, as is so often the case. People who support the cops will do so no matter what, people who support Gates are never going to see his arrest as justified. \*Sigh Did you even read the part where I said the arrest was unsupportable? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/311 "2009-07-24T15:31:18Z")
To restate my (humble and possibly underinformed) opinion: The officer properly investigated a burglary report. His mistake was allowing Prof. Gates’ verbal taunts to goad him into making an arrest. What I dispute is; 1. The officer should have known Gates on sight. 2. The Harvard ID alone should have been sufficient to make the investigation go away. 3. The officer should have, at a glance, known that Prof. Gates was the home owner, that Prof. Gates was not a burglar (and harmless). 4. That the campus police were improperly called. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/312 "2009-07-24T15:41:43Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > \*Sigh > > Did you even read the part where I said the arrest was unsupportable? Maybe I wasn’t just addressing you? Other people have posted to the effect that the officer was 100% right. I might have been addressing them with my final paragraph. Something to consider. \*Sigh indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/313 "2009-07-24T15:44:13Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > However, I suspect that no amount of arguing is going to change anyone’s mind, as is so often the case. People who support the cops will do so no matter what, people who support Gates are never going to see his arrest as justified. That is not true. We’ve discussed a number of police cases here and I believe the last one (involving an ambulance crew) did not garner a lot of support for the police. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/314 "2009-07-24T15:52:13Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > That is not true. We’ve discussed a number of police cases here and I believe the last one (involving an ambulance crew) did not garner a lot of support for the police. I recall a thread in the Pit wherein something similar happened on a 911 call, where the girl was upset and became rude to the officer who answered the phone, and he hung up on her twice. She asked for his name and badge #, very much like what happened with Gates. She was subsequently arrested for some bullshit charge as well. In that thread, the response was very similar to this one: don’t EVER talk back to cops, you should be kissing their ass, she’s an idiot/jerk/deserved what she got. I don’t think the conflict between the ambulance crew and the cops is comparable. Incidents were regular citizens get mouthy with cops and the cops take action tend to garner similar reactions to this thread, with people breaking down on what I highly suspect are partisan lines. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/315 "2009-07-24T16:18:11Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I recall a thread in the Pit wherein something similar happened on a 911 call, where the girl was upset and became rude to the officer who answered the phone, and he hung up on her twice. She asked for his name and badge #, very much like what happened with Gates. She was subsequently arrested for some bullshit charge as well. In that thread, the response was very similar to this one: don’t EVER talk back to cops, you should be kissing their ass, she’s an idiot/jerk/deserved what she got. I don’t think the conflict between the ambulance crew and the cops is comparable. Incidents were regular citizens get mouthy with cops and the cops take action tend to garner similar reactions to this thread, with people breaking down on what I highly suspect are partisan lines. The partisan line is that some people believe cops are people too. There is no excuse for Gates’ behavior. None. He is a tenured college professor who lit into a police officer responding to a call. Any person with a brain would expect to have to show proof of identity and residency to conclude the investigation. Instead of welcoming the officer he went on a racial tirade in front of at least one black officer and one Latino officer. Instead of listening to the officer and calming down he went on to make a public display of character assassination. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/316 "2009-07-24T16:39:28Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The partisan line is that some people believe cops are people too. There really aren’t enough :rolleyes: in the world for this. I disagree with how the cop handled this means that I don’t think he’s a person? Is that your stance on everyone who disagrees with you in this matter? Talk about an excluded middle. > [@](#): > > There is no excuse for Gates’ behavior. None. He is a tenured college professor who lit into a police officer responding to a call. Any person with a brain would expect to have to show proof of identity and residency to conclude the investigation. Instead of welcoming the officer he went on a racial tirade in front of at least one black officer and one Latino officer. Instead of listening to the officer and calming down he went on to make a public display of character assassination. You know, I have fully acknowledge that Gates freaked out for not much reason, and acted like a jerk. If you are capable of having a nuanced view of the world, and not THE COPS WERE RIGHT AND IF YOU DISAGREE YOU DON’T THINK THEY’RE HUMAN!!!11!!, then you might be able to acknowledge that the officer did not behave perfectly either. I hold the police to a higher standard because they have all the power, the badge, the gun, the authority to take away a person’s freedom. Therefore, while fully admitting that Gates did not behave well, I still think the officer did not believe well either, and did a disservice to his badge. He could have and should have just walked away. That’s what an adult with a level head would have done, but apparently there were none of those at Dr. Gates’ house that day. ---
**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 24, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/317 "2009-07-24T16:50:14Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > Gates did not behave well No, a four year throwing a temper tantrum in public is “not behaving well”, what the good doctor did was well above and beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/318 "2009-07-24T17:26:31Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](#): > > No, a four year throwing a temper tantrum in public is “not behaving well”, what the good doctor did was well above and beyond that. You know what? I don’t care. I said I thought he was a jerk. I don’t think he needed to be arrested, and the cop was also a jerk. But apparently nothing short of “The cop was a saint and Gates deserved to every single thing he got” is going to satisfy the other side of this discussion, so this really doesn’t even belong in GD anymore IMO. ---
**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 24, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/319 "2009-07-24T17:32:02Z")
Actually… I would be satisfied is Dr. Gates would participate in sensitivity training and diversity awareness programs. I think he would benefit from them. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703/320 "2009-07-24T18:23:33Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > Maybe I wasn’t just addressing you? Other people have posted to the effect that the officer was 100% right. I might have been addressing them with my final paragraph. Something to consider. > > \*Sigh indeed. I see. Well, I quote someone when I wish to direct my comments at them only. If I wish to address the group in general, I usually don’t quote. Thus, my inadvertant conclusion was that you were talking to me only. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-signifying-douchebag-henry-gates-arrest-racism/503703.md?page=17)