Do white people GET IT?

[angee_is_mad]

Do you understand? I read a post about how Obama should not have said what he said to the Lynn Sweet's question. I'm watching tweety going back and forth with Fineman and Robinson about the incident.

I know that it is a black person's job to make white people comfortable to be in their presence. Don't be confrontational and aggressive and go along to get along. Sometimes after putting on that face and persona, you get to go home and relax. Then this bullshit jumps off.

As a Black woman who is getting her facts from the media and he say/he say, the only thing Gates is guilty of is being an UPPITY NEGRO! I can only imagine the bullshit he has had to go through to get where he is at. If he comes off as uppity in his own damn HOUSE, the problem isn't with Professor Gates.

Here are some Afrospear links to the subject.

Professor Gates own words:
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/12165/prof-henry-louis-gates-tells-cnn-about-his-experience-with-cambridge-police

http://field-negro.blogspot.com/2009/07/henry-make-that-two-angry-black-men.html

http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2009/07/what-do-you-call-a-black-man-at-harvard/

http://angryblackbitch.blogspot.com/

http://eshowoman.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/racial-profiling-at-its-best/

Thanks for letting me vent, but sometimes a sista gotta go there!

[ErinBerin84]

1. the press always expects Obama to

answer to everything having to do with race, since he is the first Black president, and get pissed when he gives an honest answer. But let's face it, these pundits got indignant when Eric Holder said that we were a nation of cowards in many respects regarding race.

[BlooInBloo]

2. Yes, we just pretend that we don't so that bigotry can live on.

EDIT: Absolutely maddening, isn't it?

[depakid]

43. One can recogmize it and one can deal with it effectively- or not so effectively

My better half hasn't checked in on this yet- but my guess is that she'll see the same sort of disarming- yet assertive thing in the news conference.

All the way across from down under to the topside. It's one planet.

One people. Or sets of people.

[Hosnon]

56. Hey Buddha, hook me up. nt.

[Uzybone]

3. Many do, some can't, and few refuse to get it

some of the few have been posting like idiots on this site.

[angee_is_mad]

21. It's the progressives

they are killing me. The repubs, I expect nothing less.

Yesterday, tweety had Dyson and Clarence Page on. As always Page knew his place (sarcasm), but when Dyson broke it down, tweety tried to over talk him. tweety basically said that Dyson was wrong in the way he felt about the incident. tweety most have gotten emails about it, because tonight with Robinson and Fineman, he wasn't as bad. He only implied that Obama shouldn't have gone there.

[midnight]

128. I did see this dialog, and it was based on tweety being a

former police. This bias will not help tweety understand the whole situation.

[AuntPatsy]

4. I for one am thrilled that President Obama addressed that incident the way he did

[ecstatic]

101. Me too. He could have easily swept it under the rug to keep the peace

But he took a strong stand against police stupidity/racial profiling last night--and for that, I am grateful.

[Jennicut]

5. Some of us do here but geez, I am pretty baffled by the media and

even some posters on DU. He was simply pointing out the truth. It makes some uncomfortable. I think Holder was correct...we don't want to have an honest debate. We just want to close our eyes because the media (oh no!) might twist it around politically. Obama did the right thing.

[Forkboy]

6. If so it's not nearly enough of them.

[deep1]

7. Many don't

You know, I have been lurking these boards for a long time but this is actually my first time registering. I am a young black woman and I have noticed something disturbing about these boards....it seems when an issue is of great importance to black people such as with police brutality and racial profiling, you have so many whites (usually white men) defending the perpetrators. I'm very tired of these certain people defending such hateful actions and abuse.

It is as like blaming the victim. What is interesting is that no one ever defends hatred against homosexuals on these boards. Never have I seen that on these boards! Attacks against homosexuals are wrong but blatant racial profiling (which many of my black friends who are law abiding citizens have gone through) is ok and justifiable. I'm sick of so many white men (especially from a Democratic and liberal site) being condescending and not understanding the problems of racial profiling in this country, of course they have not gone through it. Try to have some empathy. The problems with this country is that blacks and whites live in this country and do not understand each other. It is very sad.

I expect this crap from Republicans but not from the so called liberals here! Another poster justified racial harassment of black men by saying 'well black men commit a disproportionate amount of crime'.

Sure kind of like saying a woman wearing a short skirt deserves to be raped!

That is garbage that makes me angry and if a hateful statement was made about gays that person would have been BANNED and strung up!

Please stop this nonsense and disrespect

I stand by Obama's direct response. It is pure STUPIDITY. It needs to be called out more. And I am in no way homophobic, I am just drawing parallels of a double standard on these boards. People are more comfortable discussing sexual orientation on this board than race. You can't hide the facts.

[Uzybone]

11. Imagine if he said the whole truth and called it "racism"

White folks in the media would have exploded.

[deep1]

27. It is what it is

He said something to those lines and that was a very powerful response from him. I love this guy. It is what it is, pure racism. Why are we afraid to say it? He said something to the effects of 'America America has a racist past that still goes on today'. Great response. I'm tired of people sugarcoating things, this is a great country but we have problems.

However it's sad that idiots will see that to be the main focus of his speech rather than the healthcare issue.

[winyanstaz]

99. I am sorry you have missed my posts.

I am part white and I am also native american and french arcadian..not white enough for some, not dark enough for others..regardless and....whatever...I still stand up for people when I see a wrong regardless of their skin color or their sexuality or their age etc.
Wrong is wrong no matter who does it.
You are not alone. :)

[ruggerson]

109. I see it just the opposite

My take - Cops profile black folks all the time. A sick fact of life in this country. There definitely was a racial component in what this guy did with Gates. Young black men are routinely harrassed by racist police in America.

Lots of the same people who are decrying this incident (rightly so) are the very same people who scream "I want my pony" when gay discrimination and homophobia are the issue.

A couple of weeks ago the cops raided a gay bar in Fort Worth. Multiple arrests and a guy in the hospital with breeding in the brain. Did this become a cause celebre on national tv and was it decried here by the people who are upset over Gate's arrest?

Nope.

What happened to Gates is horrific. If you think the people here have a double standard on this, you're right. But not in the way you expressed.

I wouldn't have even bothered to mention this, but hey, you've brought it up in three or four threads.

Btw, you gave yourself away with the use of the word "homosexual." That is the favorite dehumanizing, clinical word of the religious rightwing.

Oh, and welcome (back) to DU.

[TokenQueer]

116. Thank you, Ruggerson.

This poster is really making a splash by hiding within threads discussing the racial profiling of Professor Gates, while throwing stones at the gay community.

On the bright side, it's always nice when people tip their hand so early into a round of betting.

[mitchtv]

137. +1

The poster supposes that people get TsS for snide comments about Gays. Truth is, the gays get ts'd when they answer these remarks. Nice of her to blame Gays somehow.Incidentally , as a white Gay I watch what I say around cops too, because they would have no qualms about beating the shit out of me either, then continuing at the station, then accuse me of trying to "fondle" them.Gays are open season all year.

[MadMaddie]

110. deep1 First welcome to DU!

Second I am black too and I have been here at DU for several years. DU is like a dysfunctional family at times but I don't believe that true DU folks are malicious and hateful.

Obama's response is what it is, the truth. Lot's of people get upset by the truth until it impacts them.

The poster that posted the following is a trouble maker, put him on ignore and you won't have to see his garbage.
<snip>
Another poster justified racial harassment of black men by saying 'well black men commit a disproportionate amount of crime'.
<snip>


DU is a unique and descent place so don't tune out yet.

:hi:

[donheld]

138. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[Toasterlad]

139. You CLEARLY Haven't Spent Any Time in the GLBT Forum.

There were several people taking the police side re: the raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Ft Worth which put one man in a coma.

Stop playing Oppression Olympics. The fact that black people have it shitty in this country doesn't make it any less shitty for gay people. When you can't get married and can't serve openly in the military and have no legal protection for your job or your home, then you can whine about how good gay people have it.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

143. You have DEEP issues about "homosexuals". Please get help.

[grantcart]

8. Stupid is as stupid does - Gump

[HopeOverFear]

9. Girl I agree. But I just have a sinking feeling that he will have to walk it back

that's all I'm saying. I hate it, but I'm afraid this is the case.

[Cha]

88. We'll see but I don't see

Obama doing that.

[hedgehog]

10. I know a lot of white people don't get it. I wonder if there is

an age variance here or not.

I'm white, but I'm sensitive on the issue because I drive an older car and sometimes am perceived as being poor, so I know how much money matters in how you're treated. So much for the "classless society". I also have two nieces who are mixed race. One looks Latina, the other is clearly African American. I've seen how they get treated differently from each other and from their white peers.

[Ohio Joe]

12. I'm sorry to say, for the most part we don't

Racism is alive and well unfortunately and it appears to me that since President Obama won the election it is showing just how deeply rooted it is.

[babylonsister]

13. I "get" it!

:hi:

[billyoc]

14. Cornel West and Carl Dix on Race and Politics in the Age of Obama --(Democracy Now!)

Cornel West, Professor of religion and African American studies at Princeton University and the author of numerous books on race. His forthcoming memoir is titled Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.

Carl Dix, founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party and was one of six GIs in 1970 who refused orders to go to Vietnam and served two years in prison for his stand. In 1996, Dix co-founded the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality.

...

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/22/cornel_west_and_carl_dix_on

[Schema Thing]

15. He may clarify, but I don't think he'll "walk back"

and by clarify, I really mean reiterate "I said: ACTED stupidly, and they indeed did ACT stupidly".

[MADem]

16. It's never helpful to generalize. A lot of white people get it, and some do not.

We all know that the bigmouths get all the attention and very often make the rest of the group look bad. This goes for all sorts of groups, not just those that are clumped along racial lines.

Don't swallow that bad bait. There are some jerks in every crowd, and there are also many people who are not jerks.

Professor Gates did nothing wrong. The guy who fucked up was Sgt. Jim Crowley (really, that was his name--ya can't make this shit up!) who should have, the minute he realized he was speaking with the homeowner, apologized for upsetting him and explained that the police had gotten a report of a break-in, with a passerby apparently mistaking the Professor and his driver wrestling with the door as someone trying to break the lock. That's what he should have said. Then, he should have offered to help the old man with the cane to help him get the damn door shut again, until the maintenance man could come and fix it.

Community policing, not arrests without cause....that's the ticket!

[scheming daemons]

17. I'm white.... and I believe I "get it".... but I wouldn't be presumptuous to say I really do

[CakeGrrl]

18. I want to know from the "He shouldn't have said that" crowd exactly what

They're afraid of?

[scheming daemons]

23. Poll numbers dropping? Nah... those upset with him already were in the "disapprove" category

Not sure what they're afraid of.

[DoctorMyEyes]

19. I absolutely "get it"

And what makes me sick is that this stupid ass incident is getting so much mileage when there are REAL and indisputable incidents of young black men being abused and even killed by law enforcement officials over-reacting and profiling.

On New Years Eve of 2009 THREE separate young black men, innocent of any crime, were shot in three separate incidents in three separate cities. Two of them died as a result.

This man and a companion forced his own front door open and left it hanging open and damaged. Someone called the police to report what they believed was a break in. The officer HAD to ascertain whether the individual he encountered was in fact the lawful resident of that house. Gates showed his ass and harassed the officer, accusing him of racism and threatening his job until he over-reacted and arrested him on a dumb ass charge of disorderly conduct.

The only thing the cop did wrong in my view is let this asshole get under his skin. Gates, to me, seems like a pompous jackass. Not necessarily because of his over-reaction to being questioned after breaking his own door in - but because of his ridiculous proclamation about now knowing what it's like to be an imprisoned black man in America. Give me a fucking break.

[angee_is_mad]

25. He was in his DAMN HOUSE!!!

and showed his ID to prove he was in his DAMN HOUSE!

If there is anyplace where you can be a pompous ass, its in your DAMN HOUSE, where you are paying the fucking house note!

[DoctorMyEyes]

31. The officer had no way of knowing he was in his own damn house

until he showed him some ID, right? Cause he did just force the door open, right?

And apparently, in the course of showing his ID and immediately thereafter he acted like an asshole. The cop reacted like an asshole and arrested him. He didn't arrest him for breaking and entering. He didn't arrest him for burglary. He arrested him for disorderly conduct. He shouldn't have done it and the charges were dropped.

Gates, shouldn't have acted like an asshole either. But he did. And he still is. Two wrongs don't make a right.

[uponit7771]

32. Umm, how many people you now breakin into a house are going to answer the door when the cops

...knock on it!?!?!

Come on people, this isn't fantasy land we live in...there's are reason the city has already apologized

[DoctorMyEyes]

36. The door was hanging open, busted

Gates says he was inside, on the phone. A break in was reported. The door is busted. It would be pretty fucking negligent of law enforcement to take a stranger inside the homes word that he lived there without asking for some minimum of proof. Sorry. That's how real life works.

[uponit7771]

38. ...he GAVE them the proof he still got arrested!!!!

The fact that Gates is a prominent professor and the Harvard police don't know him doesn't subtract from the situation being racial IMHO.

[DoctorMyEyes]

48. They weren't the Harvard Police

They were the CAMBRIDGE police. Why the fuck would they know him?

He got arrested, (WRONGFULLY!) for giving the cop a hard time and pushing his buttons with accusations of racism and harassment. The charge was disorderly conduct, not breaking and entry or burglary. The officer shouldn't have reacted emotionally, but he did. Cooler heads prevailed and the charges were dropped.

[kwassa]

51. I haven't seen any news story that said the front door was "busted" or "hanging open"

What I read is the door was swollen shut, in one report, and that the lock was not operating properly, in another. The house is maintained by it's owner, Harvard University.

[DoctorMyEyes]

55. He and the driver couldn't open the front door

so he went around to the back, used his key to open the back door, and turned off the security alarm. He then went to the front door and with the help of the driver forced the front door open. The driver brought his bags in through the front door. The door would not close and they damaged the frame forcing it open. He called Harvard maintenance to request service on his front door. That, according to what I read, is when the officer showed up on the front step.

[Hello_Kitty]

124. The cop says Gates was standing in the foyer, visible from outside.

What burglar is going to stand there, dawdling, in the foyer? WTF? "My, what a lovely foyer! I believe I will stand here and admire it for a while before I get back to my stealing!" A real burglar would have gotten in, gotten the stuff he came for, and probably have been gone by the time the cops got there.

[Political Tiger]

40. Once the cop saw his ID and saw he wasn't breaking and entering the cop should have left.

And if the Professor wants to rant and rave or whatever in his own house that's his right! It's not like he started punching the cop....he was upset and maybe lost his temper but the only "weapon" he used was words....sticks and stones you know. The cop should have just said I'm sorry I bothered you and turned around and left.

[uponit7771]

46. THANK YOU!!! I don't think Gates was being an asshole asking the cop "do you know who I am?" either

....the cop should know the prominent professors in the area and the fact he didn't know gates doesn't subtract away from the situation being racial IMHO

[DoctorMyEyes]

53. OMG - I agree with you!

That's exactly what should have happened. But, apparently the officer got pissed and over-reacted. The charges were dropped. A dumb ass situation was made worse by a couple of dumb asses showing their asses. This was more of a pissing contest than anything else. I'm sorry, but I'm going to hold out for a better national representative of racial persecution than Dr. Gates hissy fit.

[harmonicon]

115. Do you think it would be fine to be arrested in your own house whenever the police want?

Taken down the station and held for a few hours. I mean, there wouldn't be any injustice there if they dropped the charges, right?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

61. Exactly!

[Raineyb]

73. Thank you

You get it. That other person. Not so much.

[alcibiades_mystery]

84. "Contempt of cop"

...

[RBInMaine]

119. Once the ID was confirmed through dispatch, I agree. Shouldn't have arrested him, but Gates wasn't

perfect either. A Harvard Professor should have had a cooler head.

[PurityOfEssence]

144. And he did. That's precisely what he did.

The ID was confirmed and he left the house, walked down the stairs, and got yelled at from Gates who followed him out the door. Gates was on the porch, but still making a public disturbance. Upon being requested to stop, he didn't, upon being warned that he'd be arrested--even showing the handcuffs to demonstrate that he was serious--Gates still wouldn't stop yelling. Then Gates was arrested.

It didn't happen in the house.

The officer left upon determining that Gates was the lawful resident.

You are specifically incorrect here; what you say the cop should have done is precisely what he DID do.

I don't think he should have arrested him, but after being repeatedly called a racist, called a racist in front of a fellow officer and treated like a serf, ("You don't know who you're dealing with!") he let his emotions get the better of him.

It was all perfectly legal, and it was all regrettably avoidable.

Raging at people and calling them EXTREMELY derisive names has consequences.

[angee_is_mad]

45. He was in the house

when the cops arrived.

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/12165/prof-henry-louis-gates-tells-cnn-about-his-experience-with-cambridge-police


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.]


Those are Gates words when he was interviewed by Soledad Obrien.

[omega minimo]

62. Speaking of "right," his rights were violated. Do you "get that"?

[Raineyb]

72. He did when he saw his ID

Once the officer saw his ID and determined that he was indeed talking to the homeowner that should have been the end of it. Time to leave. The arrest happened AFTER the ID was shown to the cops.

BTW, you're not getting it.

[DoctorMyEyes]

77. I'm getting tired of repeating that he shouldn't have been arrested

I don't know how many times and how many ways I can say that in this thread. But, here goes - one more time:

He should NOT have been arrested.


Doesn't mean he wasn't or isn't an asshole. Doesn't mean the cop wasn't or isn't an asshole. Neither one of them are symbolic of anything except assholes.

[Raineyb]

94. You should have stopped at he shouldn't have been arrested.

When you start making excuses as to why the erroneous arrest was made it makes you sound as though you have no problems with it. Last I checked there is no law against being an asshole. If there were most cops would be in prison themselves. I don't care if the Professor was being an asshole (which I highly doubt) that's not the point. It's the Professor's house he can be any way he damn well pleases. The cops had the obligation to get the hell out. If they have to listen to a barrage of four letter words as they get the fuck out then they just have to put up with it. There is nothing written that one can expect not to be arrested only if one is sufficiently obsequious to the police. Constantly mentioning that perhaps the Professor wasn't being very nice reinforces this view. THAT is what you seem not to get.

[Number23]

30. You don't "get" a damn thing.

Not a g**damned thing.

[DoctorMyEyes]

33. Fuck I don't!

Get back to me when you've raised three young black men from birth to adulthood. My children are essentially an endangered species in this society. I abso-fucking-lutely "get it".

And I don't back either of the assholes (Gates or Crowley)that created this "mountain out of a molehill" shitstorm.

[Number23]

42. The damn mayor of Cambridge CALLED AND APOLOGIZED

The charges were dropped! God, help those "three black men" you've raised! If they ever get in trouble, it's highly possible that their mother will be the main one handing out pitchforks and torches and leading the cries for their heads!!

Un FUCKING believable!!

[DoctorMyEyes]

67. Is that what you were holding back?

Wow! LOL

What you said is so dumb that it can't even rise to the level of offensive. What are you? Like 12?


And of course the mayor apologized. Jeebus - look at the national attention this guy is generating. I don't think he's taken a breath since he broke his own front door in.

[Raineyb]

76. The national attention is only highlighting what happens to people every single day

and it's not right when it happens to any of them. You don't get it. Perhaps removing your head from that sand trap would help.

[DoctorMyEyes]

91. Real things happen to people every day

and if we were talking about any one of the huge number of them I wouldn't be arguing with you. This was just a "clash of two assholes" and I'm sorry you are incapable of recognizing it for the petty incident, escalated by BOTH of the participants, that it is.

[Raineyb]

125. What happened to Prof. Gates was not nothing

It's only been amplified because it happened to someone who has national stature. Misconduct by the police is a real problem. If you're incapable of recognizing that then well you really are sorry.

[Number23]

81. lol The biggest racism apologist in this thread is trying to insult someone else??

And I guess it goes without saying that your attempts at sarcasm and offense were almost as intelligent and effective as your attempts to malign Dr. Gates.

Is that what you were holding back?

Babydoll, NOT EVEN CLOSE.

[DoctorMyEyes]

92. Feel free to PM me

If you're too delicate to say it publicly.

[omega minimo]

64. Keeps digging the hole deeper too.

[Number23]

82. I know. And now the tactic is "well, since I've already proven that I'm a clueless fool

...now I'll really show them by being NASTY too"!! :crazy: Apparently, she is a master of strategery.

[RaleighNCDUer]

41. If some jackass officer were to come into MY house and give ME shit

as this guy did, and NOT apologise when show he was decidedly in the wrong, I hope I would be and equally pompous jackass - I would, in fact, tell the cop to get the FUCK out of MY HOUSE NOW.

you don't fucking get it. at all.

[omega minimo]

68. "In your view" means shit when police violate rights and law. Right?

"The only thing the cop did wrong in my view is let this asshole get under his skin."

It's fun to talk out yer ass though, in't it? :hi:

[Raineyb]

78. You don't have a clue. n/t

[BlooInBloo]

102. Looks like this idiocy has been covered pretty well.

:rofl:

[Hutzpa]

111. Yup! Take a ride to Killadelphia n/t

[Birthmark]

20. I got it from the start.

If a cop shows up at my house at night demanding ID, he'd get the same treatment from me, more or less. If the officer can't see that POV and react professionally without being offended to the point of arresting the homeowner, then that officer needs to find another line of work. Obviously, his sensibilities are too delicate for working with the public.

[DoctorMyEyes]

26. If a cop shows up at your house

asking for ID after you've just had to force entry into your own house I would hope you'd have sense enough to be grateful that the he was doing the job you as a taxpayer pay him to do and show him your ID while telling him why you had to do what you did. Sheesh!

[Number23]

34. So tell me, "Doctor"

Why was Gates arrested IN HIS OWN HOME after he'd proven that he was the OWNER OF THE HOUSE?

The fact that the charges were completely DROPPED apparently has no bearing upon your decision that Gates was wrong. The fact that I would not be one whit surprised if an apology were soon forthcoming from the police as well as a lawsuit against the Cambridge PD apparently means nothing.

Apparently, NONE OF THAT MATTERS TO YOU. You are convinced that this man was in the wrong, and the cops were in the right ALL EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY.

And then as if your contention is not idiotic enough, you have the nerve to suggest that Gates should actually THANK the officers who have arrested him in his OWN HOME and after having done NOTHING WRONG. I'm trying very hard not to type exactly what I think about people like you, but I have a feeling that my feelings may be coming through anyway...

[DoctorMyEyes]

44. Are you reading impaired?

I didn't say the officer was right to arrest him. I didn't say Gates should thank the officer for arresting him.

I think I was pretty clear in my opinion that they were both wrong and both acted like assholes.

Trying hard not to type "exactly" what you think about "people like me"? Knock yourself out.

[Number23]

49. I couldn't knock myself out as hard as you've obviously been if I tried.

I think I was pretty clear in my opinion that they were both wrong and both acted like assholes.

If you say so, "Doc." I guess that's why half this thread is people handing you your ass.

[DoctorMyEyes]

86. If you say so

The "half" the people that you see "handing me my ass" are people that I see as not being clear on some of the basic facts about how this played out and people emotionally knee-jerking very much like the officer did when he arrested Gates.

Out of all the clear cut and egregious cases of racial profiling and police abusing their authority on minorities THIS is the one that captures the nations imagination? Really? Not the kid sitting in his car in front of his grand-moms house waiting for his cousins who was shot dead for no reason? Not the kid who was subdued on a subway station floor before being shot dead at point blank range for no reason? Not the kid who got shot in his own driveway, in front of his own mother, while in a prone position for no reason?

This is the one, huh? This little tempest in a teapot is the one we're choosing to hang our collective hats on, huh? Count me the fuck out.

[angee_is_mad]

89. This incident brings the others

to the forefront and gets the conversation started, pat, jr.

[Number23]

93. lol Angee, I really shouldn't laugh at you calling the good "Doctor" Pat Jr.

but if the shoe fits...??? :shrug:
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[angee_is_mad]

96. That's how he is going to sound

when he goes on scareboro and tweety this week talking about this bullshit. Gates should have known his place when talking to the man!

[Number23]

90. And if your behavior in this thread is any indication...

Out of all the clear cut and egregious cases of racial profiling and police abusing their authority on minorities THIS is the one that captures the nations imagination? Really? Not the kid sitting in his car in front of his grand-moms house waiting for his cousins who was shot dead for no reason? Not the kid who was subdued on a subway station floor before being shot dead at point blank range for no reason? Not the kid who got shot in his own driveway, in front of his own mother, while in a prone position for no reason?

...when the important discussions about these kids and the unfair, idiotic, maddening, dehumanizing manner in which they've been treated by people who are supposed to PROTECT them do occur, you'll be the main one cheering for the damn cops and suggesting the kids "must have done something to deserve it."

[DoctorMyEyes]

95. When do you suppose that will happen?

I mean those "important discussions" that you're seeming to indicate will happen some time in the future? Is that the near or distant future? If you have a date I'll mark my calendar.

I hope it's soon, cause all three of those incidents occurred on the same night seven and a half months ago.

And I do hope you get some time to work on your reading comprehension skills by then. You've become rather tedious. Quoting me saying THREE TIMES that these young men were shot "for no reason" and in the same reply suggesting that I would take the position that they'd done something to deserve it.

Get some rest. Take an English course. Whatever...

[Number23]

97. What's tedious is someone who is so clearly, so obviously in over their head making specious

"light-hearted" attempts to cover the fact that they have been TERRIBLY humiliated by a DOZEN different people using their own words, lack of understanding and sensitivity, and stupidity.

[DoctorMyEyes]

98. I don't feel humiliated

I feel the same way and of the same opinion as when I first posted in this thread. I don't have any shame in my opinion and if Dr. Gates is the star you want to hitch your wagon to be my guest.

I think it's a silly and frivolous example racial injustice in America - but hey - whatever floats your boat! Sign on, sail off, carry him around on your shoulders for all I care.

[Number23]

105. lol Ah, if only you'd had such a laissez faire opinion from your first post in this thread

You might not have to find a DU knapsack to carry your DU ass home in now.

Oh well. Carry on, indeed!

[DoctorMyEyes]

107. It's after 1am here

and I typically give less and less of a shit about anything as the night wears on. When you get a chance to take a break from your imagined victory dance please remember that you still owe me a PM. Lay it all out - don't hold back, okay? LOL

[Number23]

108. rofl Why the hell would I PM you when I've enjoyed filleting your ass

(with a whoooole lot of help from a whoooole lot of people) in PLAIN SIGHT!??! :rofl:

Damn, you're really not too bright, are ya?? :rofl: :rofl: Take your tired ass to bed. Shoo!

[Birthmark]

59. "...both wrong and both acted like assholes."

One was in his own home where he is Constitutionally protected, thus making him free to be just as big an asshole as he pleases.

The other had his feelings hurt and decided to run in a citizen on a bullshit charge.

[uponit7771]

35. I'd expect the cop to know the prominent professors in the area, the fact that he did NOT know THAT

...prominent professor does not subtract away from the situation being racial IMHO.

[Birthmark]

58. Sheesh indeed!

Believe it or not, we don't all see things the same way you do. I understand that that might be irritating or even appalling, but that's life, my friend.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

66. how was the cop there in the first place was he hanging around outside?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

63. who called the cop?

[angee_is_mad]

65. Female neighbor

called.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

71. surely she knew he lived there and could have checked herself

seems a bit fishy

[kwassa]

74. well, she worked down the street at Harvard Magazine

not a neighbor that lived in the neighborhood. She really was a passerby.

[annm4peace]

22. Chris is a dumb ass..

I kept yelling at the TV, would you shut the fuck up.

Chris and others need to take a class in white privilege. Of course it was racial profiling.

I can't wait for Jon Stewart or Colbert to tear up Chris tomorrow. But he represented all the "Stupid White Men" out there. and NO I don't think all white men are stupid or racists.. but a lot of them are ignorant.

Of course those cops were being stupid.. there are many Barney Fifs in the P.D.

How about the idiot neighbor for making a false 911 report on her own neighbor ? Why isn't she arrested ? Dr Gates has a very known face and you know she knew that was her own neighbor. She should be charged.

Racial profiling happens all the time and everyday. It does seem to matter if it a professor in a suit or golfing clothes.. the cops still target a black person.

Chris show himself to be the East Coast racist, white privilege and I'm sure we can through sexist, egomaniac he is.

[Political Tiger]

24. I think too many people think just because Obama got elected president

that racism was somehow magically erased from the land. Far from it.

[JI7]

29. it's like when people point to Oprah

as an example of how black people aren't being held back.

but we still get things happening. just look at the recent thing with the black kids and swimming club.in fact it might be more open now just because Obama is President. as the racists feel they are somehow justified.

also remember that most white voters still voted for McCain. but Obama got a huge majority of minority voters.

[masuki bance]

28. No, all white people are idiots. nt

[uponit7771]

37. We know, there are many including myself who are incensed at these .....occurances

[Political Tiger]

50. Not all. Some are, I believe the phrase is: "adaptive trolls." n/t

[masuki bance]

70. locking. nt

[ismnotwasm]

39. Thing is

We have to put effort into it. We live in a world where whiteness is the invisible standard, against what all else is held against. Racially, we don't have to prove or be anything. We're white. We get our feelings hurt because "we're not racist" We think. Or we think we think, in actuality we don't really think much about racism at all, because we don't have to. Racism is an abstract concept to us, sometimes a surreal one.
Thus the knee jerk reaction of some whites when that very comfortable place of being that invisible standard becomes just a bit uncomfortable.

I use this quote for myself,

I have been performing whiteness, and having whiteness performed upon me, since--or actually before--the moment I was born...If I have changed the meaning of my whiteness, it is inasmuch as I have refused, whenever possible, to perform certain versions of it
--Ruth Frankenberg

[angee_is_mad]

52. Thank you

for your comments.

[Captain Hilts]

47. Yes, many do 'get' it. Try being a sailor in a southern town....nt

[Hosnon]

54. Nope. nt.

[RBInMaine]

57. I hear you, but at PREZ you have to be VERY careful about your language. He slipped here.

[angee_is_mad]

60. How did he slip?

because he didn't spew some post racial bullshit when his wife is being compared to primates and his child is called a thug and his nationality is being questioned by fucking politicians?

[ecstatic]

100. Too uppity, I guess. He is now in the same boat with Gates

Not even the first black President is allowed to speak the truth about race. It's pathetic. Shame on Tweety and all the others for their shameful opining last night.

[angee_is_mad]

106. You damn straight

and shame on the black commentators that go on his show and cave into his thought process just so they can be on tv.

Clarence Page and Eugene Robinson, I'm watching you!

[RBInMaine]

118. First, Obama himself said he has no facts that this was a racial incident. Second, it is STUPID for

a President of the United States to call anyone "stupid." He is supposed to be more dignified.
(He could just as easily have said, "It appears the officer may have acted rashly here. It is a regrettable situation for all involved.") There is little doubt that Gates over-reacted and became overly defensive. There is also little doubt the cop blew his own cool, got pissed, and cuffed the guy at his own residence on a stretch of a charge. The cop pretty much knew he was the resident, so he should have just sucked it up and driven away once the ID was confirmed by dispatch. I am not excusing a very weak arrest and weak judgement. But abjectly playing the race card against a guy with a solid record who even tried to save a black pro basketball player's life is unfair. That is the part that plenty of us have a beef with. Just because Gates happens to be black and the cop happens to be white does not mean the cop was racially motivated in this incident. Indeed, I see no statement from Gates or anyone that the cop made a racial statement of anykind. The only one who invoked race was Gates. So let's agree that the cop made a bad call, but that Gates's behavior could probably have been better as well.

[angee_is_mad]

130. The cop ACTED stupidly

get you facts right. Hell, strum thurmond had a black baby, but he was still a racist motherfucker.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

69. what did he say wrong?

[Raineyb]

104. Nothing. He didn't say anything wrong.

Although the resident police apologists may disagree and frankly, the apologists are as intelligent as those officers.

[RBInMaine]

120. Numb and unfair statement. You are being biased against cops, which is just a bad.

Everyone in America gets a benefit of a doubt. To say this crap like "all cops are racist" is utter nonsense. Go try being a cop. It is one hell of a tough job. No one likes them until they need them. Be fair.

[Raineyb]

126. I am being fair. I'm fairly sure that the idiot cop who arrested Professor Gates

should lose his damn job since he doesn't know how to do it. If a cop can't deescalate a tense situation then he's basically fucking useless unless the city wants a cop who is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

And you're wrong about everyone getting the benefit of the doubt. If Professor Gates had gotten the benefit of the doubt this whole situation wouldn't have occurred in the first place. Apologists only give the benefit of the doubt to the police even when there's a video tape of them abusing their authority right in front of them. Spare me that crap. The institution of law enforcement is racist.

Why the hell would I want to be a cop? I'm not a bully Furthermore, I'm tired of cops whining about how hard their job is. No one forced them into that profession so you'll excuse me if I prefer they do their job without abusing their authority and STFU about how hard it is.

[angee_is_mad]

131. bush don't like Black people

and some white people are racists and quite a few of them are prejudice.
And yes that sentiment goes for other ethnic groups also.

Being in Maine, you probably have limited contact with black folks and think that everything is great were racial issues are concern. Until black people start complaining. Everyone knows that colored folks are nothing but a bunch of whiners.:sarcasm:

[Indenturedebtor]

75. You think it's only white people?

Racism is a human disease... the whitey just happens to be more visible and powerful in this country.

Obama said the truth... regardless of whatever the hell he's talking about, and regardless of what opinion you hold: the truth from any gov't official, much less the president, should be celebrated.

Anyone who disagrees with that is a conniving douche.

[RBInMaine]

121. Obama spoke badly, and "whitey" is a RACIST remark. Shame on you !

[JonLP24]

141. I can take 'whitey'

I'm not bothered.

[Withywindle]

79. I think I get it.

I have a good friend who has a bad habit of partying too hard and losing his keys. He knows every single possible way of breaking into his own apartment, by experience. I've come into his place over the fence and through the window when with him myself.

Cops have never been called. If they did show up, I'm willing to bet all he'd have to do is show his ID and a gas bill, or even just let them see that his cat recognizes him. He's white. I know DAMN well if he was black it would be very different, no matter how many neighbors came out to vouch for him. (But would they?)

[Dappleganger]

80. It's another sad example of how black people have not 'arrived'.

Having an African American as president is just a start, but by no means is it the signal of the end of racism. What has happened is that people who you'd swear weren't racist are letting it all hang out under the 'birther' excuse, the 'scary black man is breaking into my white neighborhood' excuse, etc.

Yeah, this white woman gets it. I'm also pissed that people aren't going off on that dumbass neighbor who didn't take the time to get to know her neighbor well enough. She should get chewed up and down by Dr. Gates.

[angee_is_mad]

83. Limo in the front yard

how many thieves break into houses driving a damn limo?

[Number23]

87. Dr. Gates is actually being very supportive of the 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."

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/12165/prof-henry-louis-gates-tells-cnn-about-his-experience-with-cambridge-police

He is a true gentleman.

[Dufaeth]

122. It is a two way street.

fixed: "I'm also pissed that people aren't going off on that dumbass Dr. Gates who didn't take the time to get to know his neighbor well enough."

It doesn't matter what color they are, If i see someone I don't know busting down a door I'm calling the cops.

[Cha]

85. Oh thank you, angee...

I'm really sorry this even has to be an issue now but the racist bigots are losing.

<snips from Jack&Jill>>>

"For a man as distinguished as Gates to be forced to prove he was actually a Harvard Professor, who actually lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, could be frustrating. The disorderly conduct charges seem to stem from the officer taking offense at Gates’ claim about racial profiling. If Crowley had gone through some racial sensitivity training, maybe he would not be surprised that Gates was angry at perceived racial profiling. To be feel you are being treated as a common criminal because of your race is very hurtful and dehumanizing, especially for someone like Gates who might not have to deal with that type of police racism as much as other African Americans.

I talked to Black Cambridge cop about racial profiling in Cambridge recently. He told me that while all police officers in Cambridge racially profile, black officers were smarter about it. He elaborated saying that while black officers check clothes, age, and demeanor of men while profiling African Americans, white officers were “stupid about it” and simply profiled all African Americans, without any regard to the rest of their appearance. This explains why a well groomed, 60-year-old man wearing a blazer and glasses would get the same treatment as a young black man with baggy pants and a doo-rag in Cambridge."

<snip/Jack&Jill>>>

"If one good thing can come out of the arrest, it is that upper class educated African Americans will realize that racial profiling is problem that affects us all. Educated affluent African Americans, who have access to lawyers and the media that most working class African Americans do not, will hopefully lead the fight against racial profiling of all African American men, not just Harvard Professors. The arrest has prompted Gates to take on the problem of racial profiling. Skip Gates has the bully pulpit to expose racial profiling and police harassment and his arrest has prompted him to use it."

[dorkulon]

103. We are all powerless to a pissed-off cop.

I'm not black, but I've certainly been pushed around by cops, seen white friends taken in for mouthing off, in fact a friend just got back from a road trip during which he was pulled over and harassed 3 times in Texas and literally kicked while he was down in Kentucky, where they also searched hi car against his expressed wishes despite lacking cause.

This cop might have shown a white man more respect, but it's by no mean a foregone conclusion.

[donco6]

134. That's true.

They have complete power over you. And they can say ANYTHING they want and will automatically be believed. It's gotten lots worse.

[EFerrari]

112. I'm caramel colored but I get it.

lol

:toast:

[Karenina]

113. Some do. Their numbers are certainly no majority.

;-)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

114. I'm glad Obama talked about Professor Gates.

White America needs to be made aware of this stuff. If they don't like it, that's tough.

It's a multicultural society. Get used to it.

[Exultant Democracy]

117. Because it doesn't happen to them, many don't think that it is real. It is a form of racism itself

"them black only get into trouble when they cause it themselves" is the general ideal and it is revolting to see on DU.

[maxpower]

123. I couldn't agree more

I thought the same thing. If this had been a white man, the thugs would be screaming from on high. I hate hypocrisy.

[midnight]

127. The police acted stupidly is a statement that I'm in agreement

with. This particular interaction with police in this man's own home brought home to him all his years of study for him, and added to his disbelief. Our president was able to say what he said because he understands from his constitutional experience that this type of policing is not serving the citizens in this country. You don't have to be a certain color, you just have to have had a friend, family, or neighbor be treated like a criminal in their own home.

[jmondine]

129. I once heard a story

While barnstorming in the south once, Kansas City Monarch players Buck O'Neill and Satchel Paige stopped at an historic landmark, where an auction block for slaves once stood. After standing at the site in silence for over ten minutes, Paige turned to O'Neill and said, "I feel like I've been here before".

When I first heard that story, I realized that, as a white male, I have no idea what it's like to grow up in this country as a racial minority. My own imagination, as fertile as it is, cannot comprehend an entire lifetime of institutionalized racism against me as subtext for the entire culture in which I live.

All I can do is acknowledge this, and do my best every day to not be a part of that context in any way, shape, or form.

Personally, I prefer for people to just be themselves around me. If I find that abrasive, that's my problem.

Except teabaggers. They can just shut the hell up until they get home. :)

[Rex_Goodheart]

132. Racist bull

Just because a cop got angry at an angry man doesn't mean the incident had anything at all to do with race.

WHITE people, too, get hauled off to jail when they mouth off at the cops.

[Hekate]

133. Some of us do. nt

[Jakes Progress]

135. Nope. Not many.

[Honeycombe8]

136. What if cop just took the word of anyone matching description of a burglar...

that the guy lived there, w/o proof, and went on his way? That cop wouldn't be doing his job. He had to ask for proof that Gates lived there.

I'd be DELIGHTED if a cop showed up at my house, after I had to break in, because a neighbor reported a possible break-in. That would mean two things: #1...I've got some good, observant neighbors. And #2....we've got some great cops who follow up on "possible" break-ins.

Gates should've simply showed his proof that he lived there, thanked the cop for doing his job, and that would've been that. But he refused to do that, so the cop couldn't just leave. The cop had to get proof, or he wouldn't have been doing his job. That's the procedure, I would imagine.

But why, after all that, and after Gates finally showed his ID, the cop arrested him....that's what I don't understand. I haven't heard what lead to that.

[justiceischeap]

140. As I stated in another thread, Obama was damned if he did and damned if he didn't

If Obama would have sidestepped the issue in any way, shape or form, he'd be taken to task for that. ANYTHING he said about the issue would be deconstructed because he is our nation's first black president. Any racial issue that comes up people will look to him for a comment. Someone on the other thread also asked, "Would Bush have been asked that question?" No, I don't think he would have.

I think Obama said the right thing because looking at the facts of this particular case, the cop DID act stupidly.

By the way, I'm waaaaaay white and I get it. (Of course, I have lots of freckles... there are parts of me that aren't so white :) )

[pink-o]

142. No, white people don't get it. We have no idea what it's like to be judged

by the color of our skin before anything else can be perceived about us.

Here's what I said here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3983864&mesg_id=3984532