Tweet
CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien snared an exclusive with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates about his “encounter” with Cambride police when he was arrested in his own home the other day (see my post “Unjamming your front door while black?”). The interview was during Moment of Truth: Countdown to Black in America 2; during the discussion Prof. Gates indicated that he may pursue legal action. President Obama was asked about the incident during the presser tonight, and he said that “the Cambridge police acted stupidly” for arresting the Harvard prof in his own home, and made note of the fact that racial profiling is a concern and that law enforcement agencies have to work to combat the biases that contribute to incidents like this.
The Blend has obtained a rush transcript from CNN of the interview. Here is an excerpt with the full text below the fold.
O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, to see — I mean, Professor Gates, I had him in college. And you know, to have that shot, your mug shot, it is quite a shock to see. What was that moment like for you?
GATES: It was terrifying. And I realized…
O'BRIEN: Were you afraid?
GATES: I knew that I was in danger but I knew, too, that as soon as my friends could get to jail, starting with Professor Charles Ogletree, who is my friend and lawyer, that eventually I would be OK.
But what it made me realize was how vulnerable all black men are, how vulnerable all people of color are and all poor people to capricious forces like a rogue policeman. And this man clearly was a rogue policeman.
O'BRIEN: The police report said he described you as behaving in a tumultuous manner.
GATES: Yes, look how tumultuous I am. I'm 5'7″, I weigh 150 pounds. And my tumultuous, outrageous action, Tom, was to demand that he give me his name and his badge number. Soledad, why? Because if I had stepped out on the porch — it is important for all people to know this about the police.
If I had stepped outside of my house, he couldn't come in my house legally without a warrant. He couldn't arrest me without a warrant. Had I stepped outside he would have slapped handcuffs on me for being under suspicion of breaking and entering because he was responding to a profile.
Two black men with backpacks were breaking and entering into my home. And when he see me, he just presumed that one of them was me.
O'BRIEN: A neighbor called 911. I mean, it was a neighbor of yours who said that description, two black men breaking into your house. Are you angry with your neighbor?
GATES: No. In fact I hope right now that if someone is breaking into my house this nice lady is calling the police. I have a lot of valuable art and books in that house. And in fact, I think I'm going to send this person some flowers. I hope she is watching. I know that she must be intimidated and she must think that I'm very angry.
It wasn't her fault. It was the fault of the policeman who couldn't understand a black man standing up for his rights right in his space. And that's what I did. And I would do the same thing exactly again.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, HOST: The charges were dropped?
PROF. HENRY LOUIS GATES JR., ALPHONSE FLETCHER UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, HARVARD: Charges were dropped and the mayor of Cambridge, God bless her, called me and apologized to me. And my lawyers and I are considering what further action. Because this is…
O'BRIEN: What does that mean? Does that mean lawsuit?
GATES: Perhaps. Because this is not about me. This is about the vulnerability of black men in America.
The full transcript:
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, HOST: And welcome to New York City's Times Square, everybody. As you can see, we're in front of a live audience literally smack-dab in the middle of Times Square. We have brought together this evening some of the most influential radio talk show hosts in the country.
And in turn, we have asked them to invite the most influential people who brought them to a life-changing moment of truth, is what we're calling it. It is just the beginning of a momentous night right here on CNN.
We're premiering CNN PRESENTS: “Black in America 2,” which is a look at the most challenging issues facing African-Americans, and also the solutions to those issues. Of course we're counting down to President Obama's prime time news conference. We could not have picked a more timely night to begin our discussion.
But here to get us started is Tom Joyner, his nationally syndicated –welcome, syndicated radio program, “The Tom Joyner Morning Show,” of course, heard by millions of folks every day.
Now the past few days, one story has really dominated the conversation on his program. Take a listen to a little bit of what they were talking about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM JOYNER, HOST, “THE TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW”: So, the professor of African-American studies at Harvard University was arrested because a neighbor…
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really truly arrested?
JOYNER: Arrested.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Handcuffed.
JOYNER: The Cambridge police came to the door and said, identify yourself. And he said, why? Because I'm a black man in America?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The man they're talking about also happens to be the most influential person in Tom Joyner's life. So please welcome in his first TV appearance since the arrest, Professor Henry Louis Gates joining us.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
O'BRIEN: Tom and Professor Gates, nice to have you both.
HENRY LOUIS GATES JR., ALPHONSE FLETCHER UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Thanks, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: You sort of had your own moment of truth over recent days. So I'd like to start with that. We know that you were on a lengthy trip to China and you were returning home. What exactly happened?
GATES: Well, I was filming my new documentary series for PBS called “Faces of Americans,” it's about immigration. And we were filming Yo-Yo Ma's ancestral cemetery for a week in China. It was fantastic. And my daughter and I — I took my daughter along. And we had just flown back from China.
I came from New York to Boston. And my driver picked me up. We got to my house in Harvard Square and the door was jammed. The door wouldn't open. And to make a long story short, I asked my driver just sort of to push the door through. I gave him his tip, he left.
I called Harvard Real Estate, which does the maintenance on my house because they own the house. And while I was on the phone, a Cambridge policeman showed up on my porch. I walked with the phone still active to my porch and he demanded that I step out of my house on to the porch.
That's all he said. He said, I would like to you step outside. I said, absolutely not. I said, why are you here? He said, I'm investigating a breaking and entering charge. I said, this is my house, I'm a Harvard professor, I live here.
He said, can you prove it? I said, just a minute. I turned my back. I walked into the kitchen to get my Harvard ID and my Massachusetts driver's license. He followed me without my permission. I gave him the two IDs and I demanded to know his name and his badge number.
O'BRIEN: And when you demanded that, what did he say?
GATES: He wouldn
9;t say anything. He was just very upset. He was trying to figure out who I was. He was looking at the ID. He didn't say anything. And I said, why are you not responding to me? Are you not responding to me because you're a white police officer and I'm a black man?He turned, walked out — turned his back on me, walked out. I followed him on to my porch. It looked like a police convention, there were so many policemen outside. I stepped out on my porch and said, I want to know your colleague's name and his badge number.
And this officer said, thank you for accommodating my earlier request, you are under arrest. And he slapped handcuffs on me and they took me to jail.
O'BRIEN: Originally they put the handcuffs behind your back.
GATES: They put the handcuffs behind my back. And I told them that I was handicapped, I used a cane. They had a debate. There was a black officer there who was very sensitive. He persuaded them to move the handcuffs from around the back to the front. They took me to the Cambridge Police station and booked me, fingerprints, mug shot, which has now been all over the universe.
O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, to see — I mean, Professor Gates, I had him in college. And you know, to have that shot, your mug shot, it is quite a shock to see. What was that moment like for you?
GATES: It was terrifying. And I realized…
O'BRIEN: Were you afraid?
GATES: I knew that I was in danger but I knew, too, that as soon as my friends could get to jail, starting with Professor Charles Ogletree, who is my friend and lawyer, that eventually I would be OK.
But what it made me realize was how vulnerable all black men are, how vulnerable all people of color are and all poor people to capricious forces like a rogue policeman. And this man clearly was a rogue policeman.
O'BRIEN: The police report said he described you as behaving in a tumultuous manner.
GATES: Yes, look how tumultuous I am. I'm 5'7″, I weigh 150 pounds. And my tumultuous, outrageous action, Tom, was to demand that he give me his name and his badge number. Soledad, why? Because if I had stepped out on the porch — it is important for all people to know this about the police.
If I had stepped outside of my house, he couldn't come in my house legally without a warrant. He couldn't arrest me without a warrant. Had I stepped outside he would have slapped handcuffs on me for being under suspicion of breaking and entering because he was responding to a profile.
Two black men with backpacks were breaking and entering into my home. And when he see me, he just presumed that one of them was me.
O'BRIEN: A neighbor called 911. I mean, it was a neighbor of yours who said that description, two black men breaking into your house. Are you angry with your neighbor?
GATES: No. In fact I hope right now that if someone is breaking into my house this nice lady is calling the police. I have a lot of valuable art and books in that house. And in fact, I think I'm going to send this person some flowers. I hope she is watching. I know that she must be intimidated and she must think that I'm very angry.
It wasn't her fault. It was the fault of the policeman who couldn't understand a black man standing up for his rights right in his space. And that's what I did. And I would do the same thing exactly again.
O'BRIEN: The charges were dropped.
GATES: Charges were dropped and the mayor of Cambridge, God bless her, called me and apologized to me. And my lawyers and I are considering what further action. Because this is…
O'BRIEN: What does that mean? Does that mean lawsuit?
GATES: Perhaps. Because this is not about me. This is about the vulnerability of black men in America.
O'BRIEN: You know, you raise an interesting point. And again, the reason you were originally here was to talk to being the inspiration for Tom Joyner. You helped Tom Joyner track down part of his history that brings us right back to the vulnerability of African-American men, but many, many years prior to your situation.
GATES: Almost a century ago, Tom's great uncles, Tom and Meeks Griffin (ph) were electrocuted on September 29, 1915, in South Carolina for a crime — for murdering a white man, a Confederate veteran, for a crime that they most certainly did not commit. And we are filing papers to the governor of South Carolina, who has been rather busy lately, hasn't responded to my — to our case.
O'BRIEN: Yes. We heard about him in the news too.
GATES: I think he took your petition to South America somewhere. But we're going to get them exonerated. It is a terrible, terrible story.
O'BRIEN: What was — what did it feel like? I mean, all this was done with the DNA testing. And really your passion has been to sort of fill in the blanks of the story of African-Americans. You do that on PBS. You do that in your work. You do that in your research. You do that in the DNA testing.
It was incredibly emotional for you to know the people you came from.
JOYNER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Why?
JOYNER: First of all, when you asked me to do this, and you asked, name someone who has been very influential in your life, this was three weeks ago, not knowing that what happened to Dr. Gates would have happened and making him the star of this whole “Black in America 2″ show today.
Every day that I go into my studio, I have the books that he gave me about my ancestry.
O'BRIEN: Tracing your history.
JOYNER: And like the log at the Apollo, just for good luck, when I walk into my studio, I rub these books, because that makes me realize that no matter how much of a struggle that I might be going through, that my ancestors went through a larger struggle.
And that we have come — we've come a long way and Dr. Gates and the incident reminds us that we still have a long way to go.
O'BRIEN: Why is it so important that black people know where they come from? I mean, a lot of your passion, Professor Gates, is in making that connection. And when people discover who they come from, they freaked out.
JOYNER: You get fired up. You get fired up. I know it did for me.
O'BRIEN: What did it do for you?
JOYNER: It did for me. When he showed me where I came from and the people that came before me, the shoulders that I stand on, my ancestry, it was inspirational to me. Now all of you out there in this audience, out there in the audience — the TV audience, I strongly recommend that you do the very same thing.
And no matter how tough things seem to be, if you can look back and see what your ancestors went through and where you came from, you will be much better as a person. And you will say, hmm, you know?
O'BRIEN: Why does it change people, Professor Gates? Why do they have this visceral emotional reaction to knowing something that happened many decades prior?
GATES: Because our ancestors' identity systematically, systematically robbed from us. The identity of our ancestors, our collective history, and our individual history. And when I, using a team of genealogists out of Utah, thank God for the Mormons who have done all of this — gathered all of these records.
When we give people their family tree back, they all cry. Whether it was Oprah Winfrey, whether it was Chris Tucker, Chris Rock, Tom Joyner, they all cry because the lost have been found.
It's like thinking heretofore that you were floating on air without any roots. Zora Neale Hurston said we were a people — we were branches without roots. But we are branche
s based on roots, and each of us has to do our own family tree. Each of us has to restore the lost ancestors back to slavery. And collectively we could tell a new tale of the history of the African-American people as a group, as a community.O'BRIEN: You have offered to fill in some of the blanks for that police officer who helped himself into your house and arrested you. And you've said you want an apology. Have you had an apology yet?
GATES: I haven't heard from Sergeant Crowley. I would be prepared to listen to him. If I were convinced that — if he would tell the truth about what he did, about the distortions that he fabricated in the police report, I would be prepared as a human being to forgive him.
That would not deter me from using this as an educational opportunity for America. Because if this can happen to me in Harvard Square, this can happen to anybody in the United States. And I'm determined that it never happen to anybody again.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
O'BRIEN: Gentlemen, I thank you both.
Click over for an essay by Georgetown University Professor Michael Eric Dyson, “Professor arrested for 'housing while black.'”
19 Comments
KarmaGates met Karma. He didn’t like Karma.
Gates, Oglethorpe, all the AfricanAmerican staff and the students can all go to hell. They let Ms Campbell and ms Smith get kicked out of Harvard. Their crime knowing the two drug dealers one of whom murdered the other. Never arrested never charged but kicked out. They didn’t say shit. But him getting arrested for busting into his own home and being disrespected as a black man is equivalent to Christ on the cross. So now he’ll investigate AfricanAmericans and the legal system.
I wonder if he knows where to start.
Sue the hell out of this police forceProfessor Gates,
A very similar situation, I witnessed police strong arming some gays being arrested, another gay man seperate from the entire incidence asks these police thugs for their badge numbers. I saw them pick him up and throw him on the hood of the squad car. You have the clout and gravitas to make this outrageous thuggish behavior end, I hope you use it.
Cop refuses to apologizeI don’t know if the Boston Herald is a right-wing paper, but they are now pushing a bunch of op-ed claiming the cop is innocent and couldn’t possibly be racist. There is a big article now saying he gave mouth-to-mouth to some Black celebrity, so how dare people call him racist.
HELLO???!!! I am so sick of these idiots. Strom Thurmond did a hell of a lot more than mouth-to-mouth to his African-American mistress. But of course no one could ever accuse Thurmond of having a racist bone in his body … oh no … never!! Get real. So many people have an unconscious level of racism that only pops out under certain circumstances – like when a Black man doesn’t show ‘proper respect’ to a White Officer of the Law. How hard is that to understand?
BullshitA neighbor reports two black men trying to force their way into someone’s house. A police officer goes to the house and, when Mr. Gates opens the door, asks him to step outside to talk.
And suddenly the cop is racist and Mr. Gates is a victim of racial profiling? Say what?
The cop was doing his job. And Mr. Gates has every right to be upset that a police officer would show up and question his right to be in his own house.
In other words, it was a misunderstanding that was neither party’s fault. Making this into a racial incident diminishes everyone involved. Does anyone honestly believe the police wouldn’t have checked out the neighbor’s call if she had said the two men trying to force their way in were white or Asian or Hispanic or purple with yellow spots and Mr. Gates had been white or Asian or Hispanic or purple with yellow spots?
Mr. Gates did not deserve to be treated the way he was, but it was a result of an ugly misunderstanding and was not based on race.
Gates: It was the fault of the policeman who couldn’t understand a black man standing up for his rights right in his space. This is the key point.
Now, Massachusetts law is quite specific on the manner of when and how police officers must identify themselves. It’s all there in the General Laws of Massachusetts:
“Chapter 41: Section 98D. Identification cards
Section 98D. Each city or town shall issue to every full time police officer employed by it an identification card bearing his photograph and the municipal seal. Such card shall be carried on the officer’s person, and shall be exhibited upon lawful request for purposes of identification.”
Both Gates’ account of the incident and account of the arresting officer agree that Gates continuously asked Crowley to identity himself. Crowley contends he gave his name, verbally, twice, but that Gates asked for his name and/or identification at least four different times. Gates says the officer never identified himself; Crowley’s narrative of the incident never indicates that Crowley, complying with Commonwealth law, showed his identification card to Gates.
The law of the Commonwealth was broken, but it wasn’t by Gates: it was by Crowley, the officer who arrested Gates, with his multiple failures to identify himself as stipulated in MGL 41.98C.
And what is the purpose of MGL 41.98C? Why, exactly to avoid the kind of situation in which Gates found himself–alone, in his home with an unknown man in a police uniform who demands his identification and interrogates him while claiming to be a police officer!
Wait a second…I am just not buying into this tale of racism run amok.
There is nothing in Mr. Gates’ version of the story that indicated that the officer was racist. The only claim he makes is that he kept asking the officer for his name and badge number (which the officer said he gave out three times).
I also take issue with a couple things that Mr. Gates said: “Yes, look how tumultuous I am. I’m 5’7″, I weigh 150 pounds.”
I have no doubt that a small-statured person is very capable of making a big scene. Especially when the first thing out of his mouth is “…it’s because I’m a black man!”
“If I had stepped outside of my house, he couldn’t come in my house legally without a warrant. He couldn’t arrest me without a warrant. Had I stepped outside he would have slapped handcuffs on me for being under suspicion of breaking and entering because he was responding to a profile.”
This statement makes no sense. The officer is investigating a possible crime in progress. He has the right to enter the property. If Mr. Gates had been an actual robber, the officer does not need a warrant to make an arrest. The last part regarding the handcuffs shows that Mr. Gates had already envisioned that he would be arrested, even before the investigation had taken place.
I don’t think it’s fair to assume that the black citizen is always discriminated against, and the white authority figure is always racist. Had the citizen been white, and the officer been black, I can see the scenario playing out exactly the same way.
Prove me wrong people. Prove me wrong.
think what you choose, you read the storyIt’s no one’s job here to prove anything to you.
Astonished.Gates said: But what it made me realize was how vulnerable all black men are, how vulnerable all people of color are and all poor people to capricious forces like a rogue policeman.
I can not help being astonished that it took this for Mr. Gates to have this realization. More than half of all black Americans must have this realization before they turn ten.
Gates can not really be that ignorant or self-centered.
If he really is that ignorant or self-centered, who considers him to be a scholar in African-American studies?
Race played no part?!?How can anyone honestly think that?
Prof. Gates, dressed in his pinkish polo and dress pants, with his neatly trimmed beard and glasses — imagine all that on a white man. Would his neighbor have called the police? Professorial looking guy trying to force front door open on home in Harvard neighborhood? If he were white, there would have been no suspicion of criminality on the part of the neighbor in the first place — she would have assumed he was the homeowner, and might have even offered some help.
Then, police officer arrives to find Prof. Gates inside the house and talking on the cordless phone, yet somehow assumes Prof. Gates is the alleged intruder rather than the homeowner. Again, would he have assumed as much if he were white? Seriously, is this how burglars act — they respond to the knock at the front door, while talking on the cordless phone?
Prof. Gates identifies himself, with both his Driver’s License and his Harvard ID, whereupon the officer does NOT say, “I apologize, sir, but we got this call….” Instead, he calls the Harvard police, just to verify that this guy really is who his two photo IDs, one with his address, clearly identify him to be.
Finally, when the officer is walking away, and Prof. Gates (according to the police report) is yelling at him from the porch of his own home, he turns around to come arrest him for disorderly conduct. Really?? What was criminal about venting your spleen at a police officer? There was nothing even vaguely threatening said, even on the police officer’s account — just a noisy homeowner, loudly protesting having been taken for a criminal in his own home. The correct thing for the officer to do would have been to keep walking away.
Would the officer have gotten defensive when he was asked to identify himself, even by a white man? In my experience, yes. I have yet to meet the big city officer who doesn’t get defensive when asked to identify himself. Would it have gotten to that point if Prof. Gates had been white? Likely not.
As I’ve been reading all the commentary in various places on this incident, I see people’s reactions influenced by two background assumptions, sometimes in combination, sometimes alone, almost always unconscious: first, that black people in general are not treated any differently from white people, and second that professors (especially relatively famous ones) are used to being treated with respect and are therefore quick to take offense. The first assumption is clearly false. The second is just as clearly true. But the latter doesn’t make the former null and void. Prof. Gates could be quick to take offense AND he could have been treated differently on the basis of his race.
What does it take…for some people to believe racism exists? Would the cop have to beat Gates to death while screaming “Nigger?” Come on.
Cop responds to a call. Well & good; that’s their job. Where it veers into racial profiling on the cop’s part is him not seeing a well-kempt, well-spoken, middle-aged man with valid ID, & a key to the house in question, for gods’ sake, & only seeing a black man who wasn’t interested in grovelling. Clearly in the cop’s mind, that didn’t fly.
As another poster noted, professors can be quite insistent about the way they should be treated. But even if Gates had been a flaming dick about the whole thing, he’d still proven even according to the cop that he had a right to be there. And being a flaming dick is not a crime. As we can see by looking around. Being a flaming dick with a gun & a badge, apparently, is just a police job requirement.
Read the storyThe cop is a racist.
As others pointed outThe cop would have apologized for the allegation when he discovered that it was wrong. But this cop was determined to arrest him and I think the story of Mr Gates is very convincing, at least in this regard.
Sorry, but I know how I profile people still making the claim he deserved it for his behavior.
Wounded pride, not racial profiling, led to this arrestDr. Gates is a brilliant intellectual, and I have enjoyed his work; however, he should not, cannot be considered an objective source of information about this incident. He even has lost sight of the very definition of “racial profiling” and why it does not apply to this incident. Racial profiling is improper and ineffective, and it is banned in several states, including Massachusetts. Here is the definition, from opencongress.org:
Racial profiling does not apply when police are using the specific characteristics of a suspect being sought in a specific investigation. It’s called the “BOLO exception,” and it is common sense that if a witness says he was just robbed by a white female, police should be seeking to question white females. The BOLO exception very clearly applies in this case. Racial profiling does not.
Dr. Gates felt he was not treated with the dignity due his position as an esteemed professor and intellectual celebrity: “Don’t you know who I am?” He was pompous and uncooperative and then went out to his front porch to taunt Sgt. Crowley by publicly calling him a racist. He was being unreasonable (By the way, anyone who thinks that a police officer face-to-face with a suspect during an investigation of a felony in progress should, at the request of the suspect (!) immediately drop his guard and dig into his pocket for an ID card… Well, anyone who thinks that has an obvious inability to apply reason where it interferes with his own prejudices.). Dr. Gates was offended and reacted by verbally attacking the police officer who had the misfortune to be dispatched to his neighbor’s burglary in progress call. Screaming epithets, throwing a tantrum — not very professorial.
Sgt. Crowley felt he was not treated with the deference due his position as a law enforcement officer at the scene of a crime investigation. He also was being unreasonable. Arresting a frightened man who had just been mistakenly accused of breaking into his own house, on the man’s own porch, even if the man’s behavior did amount to disorderly conduct, and it did – unless Sgt. Crowley and other witnesses on the scene are explicitly lying… That shows an inability to maintain objectivity and good judgment when faced with wounded pride. Not very professional.
They both need to grow up, swallow their pride, and act like reasonable men instead of spoiled children. Apologies should be issued forthwith, all around.
That being said, there is an important distinction here: Sgt. Crowley had the ultimate power at that scene, and he did not use it in a responsible way. That does not make him a racist; it makes him a badge-heavy oaf. Of course, Dr. Gates can get a lot more publicity and public sympathy by portraying himself as a victim of racism than as a victim of garden variety stupidity.
By the way, Blenders who are under the impression that police cannot enter a home without a warrant should research the phrase “exigent circumstances,” and those who assume that a person cannot legally be charged with disorderly conduct while on one’s own property should research the Massachusetts law. The requirement is that the action be public, which does apply to Dr. Gates’ front porch as indicated by photos of his arrest.
Would you care to elaborate?I have no idea what you are talking about?
Search for the names with GoogleApparently they didn’t get their Harvard diploma because they seem to be involved in a crime, although they haven’t been accused (officially).
How Hard Would It Be For Crowley To SIMPLY APOLOGIZE?He was clearly in the wrong in this situation, and if I were his boss, I would tell him to get his ass in front of a camera and just apologize for his actions…
Instead, his continuing recalcitrance in this matter will drag on, with other stories of Cambridge police wrongdoings coming to light, protest marches and rallies, and will undoubtedly lead to a lawsuit by Gates (which I hope happens).
All of this could be avoided if he simply admitted he was wrong in the matter and apologize to the professor.
Fuck Tha Police“Dr. Gates felt he was not treated with the dignity due his position as an esteemed professor and intellectual celebrity: “Don’t you know who I am?” He was pompous and uncooperative and then went out to his front porch to taunt Sgt. Crowley by publicly calling him a racist. He was being unreasonable (By the way, anyone who thinks that a police officer face-to-face with a suspect during an investigation of a felony in progress should, at the request of the suspect (!) immediately drop his guard and dig into his pocket for an ID card… Well, anyone who thinks that has an obvious inability to apply reason where it interferes with his own prejudices.). Dr. Gates was offended and reacted by verbally attacking the police officer who had the misfortune to be dispatched to his neighbor’s burglary in progress call. Screaming epithets, throwing a tantrum — not very professorial. ”
That is a steaming load of bullcrap. What condescending nonsense…from someone with an obviously touching sense of faith in Officer Friendly. Were you there? Why do you presume all these negatives of how Gates conducted himself? HE WAS BEING CONFRONTED IN HIS HOME BY MEN WITH GUNS FOR…ENTERING HIS OWN HOME! Gates is lucky he wasn’t gunned down. I’m sure you’d be saying he was “asking for it” if he had been.
How about the willy-wagging angle?So we’re awash in the racial angle and the class angle, has anyone mentioned the testosterone angle? Would this have happened had either the cop or the resident been female?
Flaming.