I predict that President Obama will have to walk back his comment about the cops acting stupid

[HopeOverFear]

I wish he wouldn't, but I understand why he'd have to. Tweety and the rest of the white folks on cable right now won't stop talking about it. So you know an apology's coming soon.

[Engineer4Obama]

1. I predict pat buchanan will dig himself a deeper hole.

and that this was a Axelrodian trap!

[Thrill]

2. Hopefully not. Unless he thinks it will hurt Deval Patrick's re-election

.

[MichiganVote]

3. He didn't say the cops were stupid, he said they acted stupidly. And they did.

[npk]

23. So cops shouldn't investigate crimes if the person is black

Gates was not arrested for being in his own home. He was arrested for starting a verbal altercation with the cop, who was only trying to ascertain whether an actual crime had taken place. Is the cop automatically just supposed to get back into his car at the site of a black man. The cop was told by the neighbor that there could have possibly been a break in. According to the police report the officer asked Gates to step outside. All Gates had to do was just step outside and politely tell the officer who he was and the incident would have been over and done with. But instead gates admits to calling the officer "A racist" right from the start.

Then he steps outside and starts yelling according to the police report. It seems to me that Gates overreacted a bit, when he could have simply handled the situation much better. Of course the officer could have used better judgment also, but I can tell you that if a person accuses me of being a racist it is generally going to get my blood boiling a little bit.

I think both Gates and the Officer in question acted rather foolishly to some degree. If I was the officer I would not have arrested Gates, but the officer certainly had the discretion to do so, and that does not make him stupid or a racist.

[uponit7771]

27. The verbal altercation continued AFTER AFTER he showed ID, get your facts strait on this issue...

...those who feel they've been oppressed by people who want nothing to do with them other than locking them up are rather sensitive to the facts.

[npk]

31. This has nothing to do with oppressed black people

Gates made this a racial situation from the moment he saw the cop. That is according to Gates on words. The altercation as you put it was started by Gates. Gates continued with the verbal altercation outside and the cop decided to arrest him. Again if I was the cop I would have just let it go, finished my job and left. But just because the cop made an arrest for the verbal altercation, doesn't mean that the incident was a racially motivated arrest.

[uponit7771]

37. No shit, I can see why. I'm a prominent professor and the cops act stupid but AFTER AFTER Gates show

...showed ID they should've backed off no matter what.

Walking into the mans home was even dumber...

The fact that the DIDN'T know who the prominent professor was does NOT subtract away from the notion that the situation was racial ...just the opposite IMHO.

[npk]

42. I agree the cop acted foolishly

Can't the cop just be a fool without being a racist fucking pig. That's all I am saying.

[Raineyb]

46. You think the cop would have behaved this way in a white man's home?

I damn sure don't which makes him a racist fucking pig. Sorry, can't ignore institutional history to make you feel comfortable.

[npk]

51. Yes the cop would have acted this way to anyone

The man could have been white, brown pink, purple or green and the cop would have been as much of a prick and authoritarian as he was to Gates.

There are some people in this world who are assholes. They are assholes largely based on their personalities. Some of these people become cops.

They feel the need to exercise some fantasy of being in total and complete control all the time. These type people get off on the ability to try and control other people and situations. They have to be placated and ass kissed along the way to resolving a situation.

The fact is I already expect very little from cops.

I expected much more from Gates.

[uponit7771]

58. The point is the historical pattern of actions isn't going to be ignored for the sake of being...

...pragmatic.

If a man beats his wife then stops and his wife shows up with brusis on her arms etc one day then the guy shouldn't act surprised if someone thinks he beat her.

"...The fact is I already expect very little from cops..."

The cops where I grew up expected a lot of a community they could care less about so I have those high expectations of them. I believe most are professional and love their job and know they add to the commnity ass a whole but in some cities, it sounds like Harvard is one of them, the cops aren't very well exposed to other cultures.

"...I expected much more from Gates..."

Again, get a degree...become well of or rich, drive a car of your choosing or live in a home of your choosing and get fucked with becauzzzzze?

I don't blame Gates, hell....how many people who are breaking into a house are going to just answer the damn door?

This thing sounds more stupid the more I think about it....

[npk]

65. I understand where you are coming from

I agree the cop was a major league prick. You have absolutely no argument from me on that account. I also have no beef with what the President said. My only beef is that cops should not be slammed automatically for investigating a crime, even if that means suspecting a black man of committing said crime. As long as they act within the scope of the law then fine. I think this officer was overall an aggressive prick. I think Gates was annoyed by the incident or maybe it was more than that. Maybe Gates felt that he was being hassled for no other reason that the color of his skin. I do not know. I do know that Gates could have given the cop the benefit of the doubt to start with and the situation would have gone more smoothly. The cop could have understood where Gates was coming from and cut him some slack. Unfortunately neither of those things happened and we have a fucked up mess.

[uponit7771]

78. true on last statement

[Solomon]

82. No it's not. The premise is wrong. Nobody is saying the cop

didn't have a right to investigate, and ask him who he was. It was what he did once he found that he lived there.

Nobody is claiming the cop to be a racist because he investigated. This poster props up a ridiculous case with a false premise.

[fishwax]

118. and how do you know that, exactly?

I do know that Gates could have given the cop the benefit of the doubt to start with and the situation would have gone more smoothly.

:shrug:

[okieinpain]

114. hey crooks do all kind of dumb stuff now days. I would expect the cop

to follow him into the house because if he was a robber he could have ran out the back door, picked up a weapon, or secure his hostages while the cop waited on the porch. I don't think the cop needed to arrest gates, but gates could have just shut up too.

that's what I've taught my kids from day one, when dealing with police, shut up, speak when spoken too and don't volunteer any information unless they ask for it.

I'm pretty sure gates knows those rules too, he just decided to overlook them.

[Hutzpa]

121. Here lies the problem

I'm sorry but it's folks like you that have helped create this mess, the ones that
condone this crap are as guilty as the perpetrators.

Goddam...........

[okieinpain]

137. so I'm guessing you mean everything is black and white, that there are no

gray's in life. the police do a very difficult job and if you can't admit that then you're the problem.

[uponit7771]

52. Right, the Harvard police have a history of this shit....link

"..Counter has faced a similar situation himself. The well-known neuroscience professor, who is also black, was stopped by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect as he crossed Harvard Yard. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification..."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html

[MUAD_DIB]

54. Now that is just an assumption on your part.

The cop could have done exactly the same thing.

I should come to DU more often. People seem to know everything. ;)

[Raineyb]

57. When you don't know much I suppose it can look as though people know everything.

That notwithstanding the police have a HISTORY of disrespecting black people and running roughshod over them. Based on that history it is extremely safe to say that if Prof. Gates had been white the cop would have been a hell of a lot more respectful when approaching him. I stand by my statement. There's not a damn thing that's color blind about the institution of law enforcement.

[MUAD_DIB]

68. No, but really. You know everything, right?

What is the percentage of Cambridge police to disrespected black people that have been run roughshod over?


Does the police officer in question have anything racist on his record?

[Raineyb]

74. Did you not see the part of the original article when they discussed the problems with racial

profiling and and the Cambridge police? Or does that not fit in with your worldview so you chose to ignore it? What difference does the individual officer's record make if it's an institutional problem of which we speak?

It's obvious that your need to make excuses for the police outweighs any other consideration. So why bother? Was I supposed to pretend I didn't notice? Sorry, I don't do that.

[MUAD_DIB]

79. Don't dodge the question.

What is the percentage of Cambridge police to disrespected black people that have been run roughshod over?


Does the police officer in question have anything racist on his record?

[uponit7771]

47. Yeah, I guess. I can relate to Gates oh too well and the president probably can too. America

...overall in some places have further to go than others and one of those places in is suburban America where blacks and Hispanics have moved in affluent neighbor hoods.

Gates story isn't a one off, it fits an oh too common pattern with a VERY VERY VERY small number of cops.

I have relatives and friends who are cops who tell me outright that it's hard relating to people you don't live by or interact with on a continual bases.

[uponit7771]

39. NO, my point with "Continuence" was after seeing gates ID the cops walk away PERIOD. Not keep up...

...doin stupid stuff like walking into the mans home

[npk]

43. Yes the cop was foolish

Being stupid foolish and hating black people, are not the same thing. Sometimes a person is just a prick, without an other motives.

[uponit7771]

48. I know, it's just these "pricks" fit the pattern of other pricks who have done things like this befo

...partly because the color of our skin.

We're getting better as a nation, just....I can relate to Gates and the president prolly can too....so....the situation kinda gets under my skin a lil

[MichiganVote]

28. Honey, you've got no argument with me. None of this merits national news IMO.

[Raineyb]

29. Right, just another uppity negro getting his due. We don't really want that getting on the TV

:sarcasm:

[MichiganVote]

32. Ok you win. I'm just an ass and you're a God. Feel better?

[uponit7771]

40. Feel oppressed by people with guns who dont want to relate to you because of the color of your skin?

Jus sayin, the right thing was said at the right time IMHO

[Raineyb]

55. You don't fucking get it do you?

How often do you think you can get away with poo pooing black people before you're written off as a racist pig. Obviously, you don't give enough of a damn about the opinions of black people to give what I've said any thought. But if you're going to hold yourself up as better than freepers then you should at least not come across as racist as they do. I could care less about winning some imaginary argument. I'm settling for exposing your less than progressive views on racial profiling so we know exactly how far we as a nation have NOT come.

[MUAD_DIB]

60. It gets really funny when DUers call each other freepers.

Class act that. Argument not going your way call the other guy a freeper.

[MichiganVote]

63. Is that what's happening cuz' this is the most confusing thread I've ever read. :)

[MUAD_DIB]

73. As I see it most posters are doing what they usually do here.

They take a position, dig in their heels, and if you don't agree with them 100% then you are a freeper, racist or some other mean-spirited thing that their little puffed up egos can generate to try and top you.

This is not the DU I remember of old, but maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to it.

It just seems that since the Dems have regained their rightful control of Washington that the infighting seems more magnified, and that makes me sad.

[MichiganVote]

75. Yup.

[okieinpain]

115. I hear you, but to me it's been going on for a while. I started coming here

during the 2000 election, it's a completely different place now. I just shut up and read now days.

[Raineyb]

67. I didn't call you a freeper. Yet

But there are people on this board like to hold themselves up as oh so superior to freepers yet have the same fucked up attitude toward taking black people's concerns seriously as said freepers yet get insulted when you insinuate that they may be more similar than not. Now the fact that you resemble said hypothetical person is not really my fault is it? It is what it is.

If your views towards black people are as dismissive as those of freepers how the hell are we to tell the difference between you who claim not to be a freeper and an actual freeper?

[MUAD_DIB]

69. You can call me a double dog racist Nazi douchebag if you want, but it won't

bother me in the least.

But t makes me laugh all the more when I see somebody try and getting emotional while doing it.


Good luck with that, dude.

[Raineyb]

76. Yeah I guess it's real funny if it's all academic. For some of us it's about life and death.

Nice to see that the lives of some people in this country don't matter worth a damn to you. You really are a freeper.

Now I am calling you a freeper just in case you didn't realize it.

(And while no one got killed this time it is incidents like this that can and has led to people getting killed by the police)

And if you're going to call me anything get my gender right pendejo. It's not that much of an effort to look it up.

[MUAD_DIB]

80. Like I said, you can call me anything your brain can fire back with,

and it won't bother me in the least. I've been called far worse than that by really evil and twisted cons to know that you're a lightweight in comparison.


What I am most interested in is the truth of the matter. Not your truth; which seems to be emotionally overheated.

I would really like to see all the facts come out, and I'll gladly accept the final report without having a hissy fit. ;)

[Raineyb]

86. You're not at all interested in the truth.

You may be interested in pretending you're oh so superior, truth, not so much.

Final report? You mean where they drop the charges and apologize to Professor Gates? That's already happened. Don't you pay attention? I guess not. Too busy being condescending to actually pay attention to what happened.

[MUAD_DIB]

87. Again, like I said: I am interested in the truth coming out.

You can hop around and accuse me of whatever you want, and it won't get a rise out of me.

By final report I mean "Final Report" where any witnesses that were present give their side of the story, where the neighbor who took the photo of Professor Gates in handcuffs tells his side of the story, and where the police officers that were present give their side of the story. That final report.

I know it may seem harsh, but I was right about you being a lightweight.

[Raineyb]

96. Repeating the same bullshit doesn't make it any more true.

And you know damn well there will be no report the charges have been dropped and the police report has been out already. At best they may put out a statement saying that things were handled badly and pretend that they'll try to correct it while not doing a damn thing as police departments are wont to do. You were wrong. It may bristle to be so obviously wrong especially when there's so many black people calling you out on it as you have no respect for us but I'm sure you won't let it rattle around your noggin for very long. Your ilk usually don't bother with too many thoughts anyway. I hear it's painful for you.

If I'm such a lightweight why does it bother you that I call you out as an apologist for racist police practices? You're all so superior it shouldn't matter right? I've got other things to do so feel free to piss off. I won't be losing any sleep because you've moved on to your next excuse making venture.

[MUAD_DIB]

99. You should follow your own advice then.

I am neither superior to you or bothered by you. If you want to believe that then knock yourself out tough guy. ;)


So why don't you tell me all about myself. Give me a full accounting on who I really am so I can see how wrong you actually are.


I'll go make some popcorn.

[Raineyb]

100. I know you're not superior

That you seem to act as though you are tells me you don't know it.

And once again, pendejo, try to get my gender right. It's not that hard.

I'm not interested in an accounting in who you are. I already know what you are and as a result know exactly how you should be dealt with.

[MUAD_DIB]

104. But I thought that you wanted to tell me all about myself. Maybe I was wrong,

but you do go on with how you seem to know who or what I am.


Oh, and how do you want to have me dealt with?

[damonm]

130. As it may well be -

but the name calling helps nothing and hurts you.
Did the cop behave stupidly? ABSOLUTELY.
Should the city apologize to Professor Gates? HELL yes. And they did.
Before I get all fired up about this, I'll want to know if the cop has been disciplined, and how.
Otherwise, it's as it should be; if someone is wronged, they're owed an apology, which Professor Gates has gotten. Other than disciplinary preceedings on the cop, story closed.

[Raineyb]

131. If I'm going to be accused of calling someone a name I may as well do it.

Up until that post I had not called anyone a freeper. I did point out that their views on race were freeper like. If you want to twist that to ignore the larger point that's a failing on you. My argument was just fine.

[damonm]

136. Why prove them right?

Correct, you hadn't. Then you did do so later.
And I have no quarrel whatsoever with the substance of your argument - just the overheat you were heading towards. I've found from (firsthand, I blush to admit) personal experience that it weakens your point rather than strengthening it in any way.
Kinda like my Tae Kwan Do instructor used to tell me: "there's a term for a fighter who gets mad during a bout - the loser."
That said, I can certainly understand the impulse toward anger in this case - but the anger needs to be channeled constructively.

[MichiganVote]

62. Hating me and putting words in my mouth will not help you. Bye.

[Raineyb]

70. Who's wasting time hating your sorry ass? I hate that in 2009 there are people on a so called

progressive board who think they are so much better than I am that they need not respect my opinion when it comes to things that happen to me and or my community.

But I'm sure you're not hearing what I'm saying once again. Why would you I'm just some black chick whose opinion you need not bother to respect?

[MichiganVote]

72. If you choose to look back on this thread, Rainy, you'll note that in fact

other posters have responded to your arguments. Not I. Please avail yourself of that opportunity whenever the spirit moves you....

[Raineyb]

120. Why would I take any suggestions from someone who can't be bothered to have enough

respect to spell my bloody name correctly? Was copy and paste too difficult?

[npk]

33. Just another cop being accused of being a racist before the cop says a word

Read what Gates said. Gates told the cop "Why cause I'm black" just after the officer asked him to step outside and talk to him. Gates was clearly upset and let him anger get the best of him. You uppity Negro remark is uncalled for.

[MUAD_DIB]

50. Many seem to have already made up their mind on tis issue, but

I'm grateful for how you have put it down they way you did.


I have already been accused of siding or being an appeaser of racist cops, not thinking correctly and other meaningless pablum.

[fishwax]

117. "All Gates had to do was step outside ..." -- where he could have been immediately arrested

"All Gates had to do was just step outside and politely tell the officer who he was and the incident would have been over and done with."

:rofl:

[quiller4]

132. Arguing with a cop who is behaving like an asshole isn't illegal. n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. No, he won't. They were stupid.

The fact that the charges against Gates were dropped and the city apologized reinforces this. Obama won't back down and he shouldn't.

[Solomon]

5. He's not going to take this one back.

Fuck 'em.

[HopeOverFear]

10. I hope not, but I just don't know

[dalaigh lllama]

6. He didn't say they WERE stupid

He said they acted stupidly. There's a difference.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

7. why should he - they apologized for being stupid already

[HopeOverFear]

21. Doesn't matter. The M$M determines what the headlines are

and right now, this is it. And they will NOT let Obama talk about anything else, including healthcare reform, until he apologizes.

Welcome to being black in America. White folks can talk shit about you, but you're not allowed to call them on their stupidity.

Even when you're the President of the United States.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

26. Right

I think it is time to regulate the networks so they can report without bias.

[Autumn]

112. That's exactly what they

will do , and it's pretty fucking sad but they will control the dialog.

[billyoc]

8. The city already apologized for the cops' stupid behavior.

Do you really think the President will apologize for pointing it out?

[MercutioATC]

9. Obama occasionally lets his mouth run ahead of his brain.

He's a pretty deliberate speaker, so it's pretty rare, but it does happen.

[babylonsister]

13. Not this time, but you got your dig in. nt

[Forkboy]

17. +1

[MercutioATC]

18. I don't think his statement was "wrong" as much as it was incomplete.

Even reading Gates' own account of events:

http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks?page=0,0

I don't think using this situation as an example of racism is accurate or appropriate.

[uponit7771]

35. Bullshit, Gates showed his ID AFTER the officer illegally stepped inside his home

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html

Friends of Gates said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver’s license and Harvard identification card, but was handcuffed and taken into police custody for several hours last Thursday, they said.

[MercutioATC]

38. Interesting theory, but the police never set foot in Gates' house.

...at least not according to Gates.

http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks?page=0,0

[Raineyb]

61. Having trouble reading?

The officer then asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard. Professor Gates said that he could, and turned to walk into his kitchen, where he had left his wallet. The officer followed him.

What part of this reads as not having stepped foot in Gates' house?

The link to the initial statement was right on the page you linked to. What's your excuse for not being able to find it?

[MercutioATC]

66. I stand corrected. That was NOT in Gates' statement.

I have no problem changing my analysis as more information becomes available.

[Cha]

59. But, when you consider the

source..it means less than zero.

[uponit7771]

30. This was a stupid comment, please get the facts straight on the issue

[MercutioATC]

36. My opinion may differ, but I have the same facts Obama has.

Gates assumed he was "in danger" (his own words) from the moment the cop showed up. I see nothing in Gates' own statement that would suggest that this had an actual racial component...

...which is the part of Obama's statement with which I disagree.

[Hutzpa]

127. "Gates assumed he was in danger"

you see that statement as a guilty statement(?) and thats the part of the President's statement
you disagree with, a word of advice, when you're in a hole stop digging.

[babylonsister]

11. I predict the cop apologizes. nt

[AspenRose]

105. Well so far, according to HuffPo, he's refusing to.

[Fire1]

12. I think enough freeps will be incensed about it that he'll

'rephrase' it. I think he lost his head there for a minute and forgot who he was.

[Jennicut]

14. The cops WERE stupid. And it happens here everyday in America.

And I am a white woman.
I once brought a young black guy to my very white, rich hometown to visit. He was the nicest, most creative guy. Had a good heart, was studying to be a graphic designer, was an RA at the college we went too. He was very responsible and the younger kids at the college looked up to him. So it broke my heart when we got dirty looks in town when we were there together, as if they had never seen a 20 year old black guy before. It opened my eyes wide to racism. This happened not in the 50's, 60', 70's or 80's but in 1996. Sigh, it was a depressing episode. We even heard people whisper behind our backs that we don't "see his kind here often". This was a liberal state (CT), or so I thought.
What Obama did was just point out the obvious. Racism happens everyday here and we cannot close our eyes to that fact.

[Uzybone]

15. is there any comment that Obama has made that he has backtracked from?

not a one comes to mind.

Fuck cable media, President Obama despises them and rightfully so.

[HopeOverFear]

45. He sorta backtracked Holder's statement about America being a nation of cowards

but other than that, I can't think of any lol

[masuki bance]

16. I don't understand why he would weigh in on this so early in the process. nt

[SemiCharmedQuark]

20. "Early in the process?!" The city apologized already.

[alcibiades_mystery]

25. The "process" is complete

All charges were dropped and the city issued a formal apology.

[Hutzpa]

128. Here comes the one line cynic n/t

[BlooInBloo]

19. I bet you a star for a DUer that he doesn't.

[HopeOverFear]

22. It's a bet.

[BlooInBloo]

24. :)

[FrenchieCat]

34. Especially since you have written an OP saying so.

[HopeOverFear]

44. I'm just saying, Frenchie. Cmon

[Forkboy]

103. Kneejerk much?

[rwheeler31]

41. No decided done. Proceed to next topic.

[CakeGrrl]

49. I doubt he will. The MSM websites are divided about the headline

CBS and MSNBC are focusing on Healthcare with a side link to the comment, and ABC and CNN are reversed.

They can't keep this up as a headline long. It'll be old news tomorrow. I don't really think the MSM wants to open up frank discussions about race and the police in America by harping on this.

[HopeOverFear]

53. I sure hope you're right

[angee_is_mad]

56. He will clarify

this is a topic that hits home to Obama. As he mentioned while in Illinois he helped to introduce racial profiling law.

Now I predict that tweety will have racist ass pat on his show this week to talk about this.

[Raineyb]

64. Next week? I bet "Uncle Pat" is on tomorrow. n/t

[HopeOverFear]

71. yep

[mvd]

77. It's the cop who should apologize IMO

Here's my take:

- the call was probably from a racist
- they police went to the home; I guess that's natural because of the nature of the report
- the arrest was really stupid; it's not against the law to yell at police unless you impede an investigation.

After ID was given (and Gates said he readily handed it over,) the police should have left.

[MichiganVote]

83. So if I suspect that my neighbors house is being broken into I should consider myself

a racist if I call the police to report a possible burglary? Interesting choice. Report a break in and consider myself a racist or report a break in and consider myself a helpful citizen or do not report a possible break in and consider myself a chump...

yeah, that's like really dumb

[MADem]

84. It's not the neighbor or passer by who called who is the problem in this situation

And the professor says as much:

TR: What do you make of the suspicious neighbor who called the police with an erroneous report of “two black men” trying to enter your apartment? Was this neighborhood watch gone wrong?

HLG: I don’t know this person, and I’m sure that she thought she was doing the right thing. If I was on Martha’s Vineyard like I am now and someone was trying to break into my house, I would hope that someone called the police and that they would respond. But I would hope that the police wouldn’t arrest the first black man that they saw—especially after that person gives them an ID—and not rely on some trumped-up charge, which is what this man was doing.

[MichiganVote]

89. You're talking to the wrong person. Mvd said the neighbor was racist, not me.

[MADem]

91. I am simply offering you a little ammo, is all.... nt

[MichiganVote]

92. :) Oh ok. Sorry about that. My backside's so full of shot I can't feel a thing.

[mvd]

85. I stand by my statement

It sounds suspicious to me, especially being a neighbor. I can't prove it, of course. But it's not the neighbor that is the main focus here, IMO.

[MichiganVote]

88. Yeah cuz' like neighbors never report break in's do they?

If the neighbor is not the main focus why did you put that one down as your No. 1 assumption?

So what else are you going to assume? That the rest of the neighborhood can't possibly have anyone else who could be racist because they didn't call it in?

[mvd]

90. I was just going in order of what happened

Not by importance of event.

[MichiganVote]

94. Sure, whatever you say.

On edit: I forgot to add that maybe you should call the neighbor up and ask em' if they're racist, since you're going by the "order" of what happened even though you assume it to be true.

[LiberalAndProud]

101. Have you read this?

http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks

Skip Gates Speaks
The Root Editor-in-Chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. talks about his arrest and the outrage of racial profiling in America.
I’m saying ‘You need to send someone to fix my lock.’ All of a sudden, there was a policeman on my porch. And I thought, ‘This is strange.’ So I went over to the front porch still holding the phone, and I said ‘Officer, can I help you?’ And he said, ‘Would you step outside onto the porch.’ And the way he said it, I knew he wasn’t canvassing for the police benevolent association. All the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, and I realized that I was in danger. And I said to him no, out of instinct. I said, ‘No, I will not.’

My lawyers later told me that that was a good move and had I walked out onto the porch he could have arrested me for breaking and entering. He said ‘I’m here to investigate a 911 call for breaking and entering into this house.’ And I said ‘That’s ridiculous because this happens to be my house. And I’m a Harvard professor.’ He says ‘Can you prove that you’re a Harvard professor?’ I said yes, I turned and closed the front door to the kitchen where I’d left my wallet, and I got out my Harvard ID and my Massachusetts driver’s license which includes my address and I handed them to him. And he’s sitting there looking at them.

Now it’s clear that he had a narrative in his head: A black man was inside someone’s house, probably a white person’s house, and this black man had broken and entered, and this black man was me.

So he’s looking at my ID, he asked me another question, which I refused to answer. And I said I want your name and your badge number because I want to file a complaint because of the way he had treated me at the front door. He didn’t say, ‘Excuse me, sir, is there a disturbance here, is this your house?’—he demanded that I step out on the porch, and I don’t think he would have done that if I was a white person.

[jeffrey_X]

135. HE DIDN'T BREAK INTO THE HOUSE. HE HAD ALREADY BEEN IN THE HOUSE THROUGH...

THE BACK DOOR.

People need to start reading and digesting the facts so they can begin to understand how or what Gates was thinking.

[MADem]

81. Why? The cops DID act stupid, and their subsequent actions demonstrate that they know it, too.

They dropped the charge. The mayor apologized.

[LiberalAndProud]

93. Why is it so wrong to call it STOOOPid?

Let me just say, it was STUPID! (typed loudly for emphasis).

Edited to add -- I don't mean to copy cat. Sorry.

[BlooInBloo]

95. There's some confusion in this thread. The OP doesn't think Obama SHOULD have to walk it back...

The OP just thinks that Obama WILL need to walk it back. Basically the Jackie Robinson rules again.

I think the OP is mistaken, but he or she could very well be right. It's a good bet - could go either way.

[HopeOverFear]

106. Thanks Bloo

[BlooInBloo]

107. (shrug) I tried. :)

[firedupdem]

97. To hell with them! He shouldn't walk back a damn thing. n/t

[ecstatic]

98. All they're doing is proving his point

:eyes:

[PretzelWarrior]

102. no he won't. if a guy shows you he is in his own house and you still arrest him

fuck you as a cop. you're just taking too much rogaine or testosterone or steroids or something. Fuckers deserved to get called out by Obama.

[wisteria]

108. Your post seems to imply that "white folks" are prejudice simply because there are conflicting

accounts to this story. It could be that the police overreacted and racial profiling was involved but,the police were also doing their job when they went to investigate a possible break in.

[Karenina]

109. THERE YOU GO AGAIN!!! THAT IS NOT THE ISSUE!!!

The INSTANT Professor Gates established his identity the INVESTIGATION was OVER. The ISSUE is what happened AFTER the investigation was completed.

[Binka]

110. She has issues K

Black folk bother her.

[Karenina]

111. YO BINKS! LTNS!

:loveya:

[BklynChick]

113. not this time!

[kjackson227]

116. I hope he doesn't, but you might just be right. They'll claim that he's...

against law enforcement, and blow it way out of proportion.

[seaglass]

119. Looks like you were right.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32092715/ns/us_news-race_and_ethnicity//

Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that Obama felt that when it was clear that Harvard scholar Louis Gates Jr. was not a burglary suspect last week, "at that point, cooler heads on all sides should have prevailed."

"Let me be clear, he was not calling the officer stupid," Gibbs told reporters as Obama landed in Cleveland for two health care events Thursday. He said Obama felt that "at a certain point the situation got far out of hand" at Gates' home last week.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

122. That's not walking it back. He never called the cop stupid. He said he acted stupidly.

If you are not letting cooler heads prevail, guess what? You're acting stupidly.

[seaglass]

134. Cooler heads on ALL sides. n/t

[cleveramerican]

123. I agree

which is exactly why he should have artfully dodged the question, or just mentioned the third part of his answer.

The white house doesn't comment on ongoing criminal investigations would have fit the moment nicely

[SemiCharmedQuark]

124. Except it's NOT an ongoing investigation. The mayor apologized for the incident,

the charges were dropped. Not. Ongoing.

[cleveramerican]

125. I'm sure an internal Police investigation is under way

you don't think so?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

126. I doubt it.

[4lbs]

129. You know what was also "stupid"? The initial call to the police from some 'witness'.

They talked about it today on Andrea Mitchell's show on MSNBC.

The initial call said there were TWO (two ?!?!?!?) young (young ?!?!?!?) black men with backpacks trying to get into the house.

So, how can someone confuse a 58-year old black man, walking with a limp, and a cane, as TWO young black men?

[wowimthere]

133. He shouldn't appologize at all... The professor had an ego... The cop had a bigger EGO

The charges were dropped. That would tell you who got it wrong. Obama was correct.

[Freddie Stubbs]

138. 7/24/09: Obama regrets 'stupid' comments

US President Barack Obama has told reporters he should not have described the arrest of a black Harvard professor as "stupid".

Mr Obama has faced criticism for wading into the controversy during a televised news conference on Wednesday.

Professor Gates was apprehended at his own home after a witness saw him apparently trying to force his way in.

He was held for disorderly conduct after allegedly accusing the arresting officer, Sgt James Crowley, of racism.

Making a surprise appearance at the daily White House press briefing, Mr Obama said he should have chosen his words more carefully at his Wednesday news conference.

more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8168313.stm