Reply #32: The woman... [View All]

[Tzimisce]

...called the cops because she saw two men attempting to force the door of the house. She apparently didn't recognize either of them, and rather than stepping out for a better look and putting herself at risk, she called the police and reported what was going on. Without knowing the identity of either of the two individuals trying to get the door open, it's a reasonable conclusion, at least until further information is available, to consider it a burglary in progress, which is exactly what happened.

As to what happened when the officer arrived, it's little more than a case of he said/she said, despite both parties being male. And according to the police report, Gates was not arrested for breaking into the house; he was arrested for disorderly conduct, having followed the officer outside while yelling and screaming. Doing so in a public space is, in fact, disorderly conduct, and a person can be arrested for it. Whether or not it actually happened that way is up in the air, since both parties claim different things happened. But to say he was arrested for being in his own home, or breaking into it, is incorrect.

Personally, I believe both parties were in the wrong. Professor Gates could have helped the situation by keeping his cool and providing his ID when it was requested, which according to the officer he failed to do. The officer could have helped the situation by just ignoring the shouting, getting back in his car, and driving away, having ascertained that no actual breaking and entering occurred. The whole situation was a misunderstanding, from where I stand.

What I find disconcerting are the people who are chiming in with the ridiculously over-the-top "fuck the pigs" remarks. Had the cops not gone out when they got the call, and had it turned out to be an actual burglary, the cops would be under fire for being racist in that they didn't give a damn about protecting a black man's property. The cops I know are good people who want to serve their communities and earn a living while they do it.

It's a little disgusting how people are so willing to condemn all cops as pigs, fascists, thugs, etc., while at the same time spouting off about how progressive and enlightened they are. Prejudice is prejudice, whether it's a KKK scumbag holding the belief that all non-white people are subhuman, or a so-called enlightened progressive holding the belief that all cops are fascist thugs with no regard for the rights of others. Judging an entire group based on the actions of some of its members is not enlightened, nor is it progressive, and yet people do it and consider themselves to be both.

Cognitive dissonance much?