I am about as white bread as they come. And yet I can recognize what happened to Prof. Gates as bull

[bluestateguy]

I grew up in a town that was creamy, pasty white (OK, there were some Asians) and mostly upper-middle class (my family was merely "middle class"). I would have never had to worry about being harassed by cops for "suspiciously" trying to enter my own home, or be followed around in a store for being the wrong color, or be pulled over for driving while black. Every night the evening news featured the daily crime report from the big bad scary Big City, usually accompanied by scary pictures of black and Hispanic men.

Yet I had no problem immediately recognizing that what happened to Mr. Gates was total nonsense, and completely inexcusable. The charges were dropped almost immediately, which is basically an admission that police had nothing to charge him with. They were wrong, and should not be excused for anything that they did.

Why is it that even someone from my background is able to get this, but so many other white people cannot?

[tabatha]

1. Because they don't. They want to vindicate the cop.

Yes, if the charges were dropped, then the hand-cuffs were bs.

[MajorChode]

3. Are you saying that everyone who gets their charges dropped is completely innocent?

Disorderly conduct charges are dropped probably more than any other because they are just not worth pursuing when challenged. The charge is difficult to prove because it's largely subjective and since it's a very low misdemeanor there's no value in dumping large amounts of resources into the prosecution.

[HughMoran]

17. No thinking person thinks that.

:wtf:

[tabatha]

46. Getting upset is hardly disorderly conduct.

Disorderly conduct usually involves physical conduct.

[MajorChode]

47. Assault usually involves physical conduct

Getting upset is pretty much a prerequisite for disorderly conduct. I haven't heard of too many people who got arrested for disorderly conduct who weren't pissed off about something.

[tularetom]

2. I grew up in redneckville and I get it.

[Naturyl]

4. I'm lily-white and I agree. (n/t)

[BlooInBloo]

5. We all get it. It's just that some of us are ok with it. Because Gates was tumultuous.

Some of us think that if we repeat that enough, it'll matter.

[Cha]

6. His tumutuous tone was

troubling! He had the 3 Ts and for that ..you get arrested, sucka.

[BlooInBloo]

7. That's the last time to utter bounteous t's.

[Mind_your_head]

8. It's not "cool" to be a racist anymore......but so MANY people still

*quietly* harbor their racism.

I guess racism "not being *cool* anymore" is a victory of sorts.....but it's a very hard habit to kill. There are some good reasons for not killing it though. Preservation of cultural identity, methods, structure and so on.....it's very complex, confusing

[seabeyond]

9. are you seeing something i am not. cause seems to me, since bushco, mouth rush and fox

it has exactly become cool to be racist where in the couple decades before it was actually becoming uncool.

racism adn sexism took big steps backwards during bushco years

[Mind_your_head]

11. I guess the racists/sexists won then. eom

[seabeyond]

13. except we have a black pres.... lol lol. and a woman sec of state

oh and palin wants 2012. lollol

[Mind_your_head]

14. WHY are you so *giggly*?

:shrug:

[seabeyond]

16. well, the humor in it is though i do see the escalation of the racism and the sexism

i dont see that we lost cause in essence kicked their ass with a black pres, a woman sec of state who ran for pres opening up the world to minorities, even though fox, repugs, and others are working so hard to bring racism back.

so the giggle is that having these people is a slap to that group. no they didn't win. but yes, i see today racism is fed. kinda how bushcos fed on the rw religious coalition. they too are getting their comeuppance.

the palin thing was a joke cause though she is woman wanting 2012 of course there is no way in hell we want that to happen

[Mind_your_head]

21. OH.....oh, oh. oh.....I UNDERSTAND.

The Palin thing was a set-up. The repukes :puke: run this thinly veiled corrupt woman as their candidate to send the message that "no woman can be trusted"

That is evil. Q: Will *I* "fall for it"? A: NO.

[seabeyond]

28. the palin thing

pissed me off soooo much. with all the repugs have done and that was a slap across the face to women across the nation. she took women a huge ass step back. huge vomit. just dont know the code for the little face that vomits.

[BlooInBloo]

12. They're trying to bring it back into vogue with all of the "reverse racism"...

"angry white man", and such crap.

[BR_Parkway]

45. Since racism is still alive and flourishing, I prefer the ones who are

open about it rather than the hidden types myself.

[lindisfarne]

10. The cop didn't have a search warrant, the cop had no business entering without permission. If he

believed there was a burglar, the cop had the responsibility to keep his cool & deal calmly with the situation. Once identification was produced, the cop should have calmly apologized, said he was going to leave, and provided any information Gates requested.

Gates had the right to yell and lose his temper in his own home - he never did more than that.
Why did he have to ask more than once for the name & badge # of the cop?



http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009524874_apusharvardscholardisorderly.html
"He said the white officer walked into his home without his permission and only arrested him as the professor followed him to the porch, repeatedly demanding the sergeant's name and badge number because he was unhappy over his treatment."

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

22. They were dispatched to the house because of a reported B and E.

They found the door open when they got there. They had every right to enter the house at that time. As to what occurred after I have no idea. Likely an arrogant professor with a big ego and a power hungry cop with a big ego. That is just my opinion though.

David

[Mind_your_head]

33. If they found the 'door open' then they remedied Professor Gates' problem..

"he couldn't get the door open in the first place"

FAIL@Fire_Medic_Dave

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

35. Really? That's odd because he was inside when they arrived.

[Mind_your_head]

37. Sorry. Didn't mean to "muddy the water" as it appears your are trying to,

if you know the story.

The Front door was stuck closed. Professor Gates used a key to the back door to get inside and then from the inside open the front door. It was Professor Gate's HOME! His HOME!

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

41. The driver that dropped him off was able to force the front door open before the police arrived.

So the police got a call to a B and E and arrived at the residence to find the front door unlocked and damaged. The police had a duty to investigate. If I have somehow muddied the waters for you, I apologize, I'm used to working with intelligent people.

Statement from gates lawyer:
Professor Gates was driven to his home by a driver for a local car company. Professor Gates attempted to enter his front door, but the door was damaged. Professor Gates then entered his rear door with his key, turned off his alarm, and again attempted to open the front door. With the help of his driver they were able to force the front door open, and then the driver carried Professor Gates’ luggage into his home.

Professor Gates immediately called the Harvard Real Estate office to report the damage to his door and requested that it be repaired immediately. As he was talking to the Harvard Real Estate office on his portable phone in his house, he observed a uniformed officer on his front porch. When Professor Gates opened the door, the officer immediately asked him to step outside. Professor Gates remained inside his home and asked the officer why he was there. The officer indicated that he was responding to a 911 call about a breaking and entering in progress at this address. Professor Gates informed the officer that he lived there and was a faculty member at Harvard University. 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.

http://www.theroot.com/views/lawyers-statement-arrest-henry-louis-gates-jr


David

[Mind_your_head]

42. I think you're "muddy-ing the water"

You're on my "c" or "d" list now, regardless of your 'handle'.

No credibility.

Lame.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

44. So the facts muddy the water for you. That is indeed lame.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

49. The statement from Gates attorney proves your statements wrong and I have no credibility? mmmkay.

[obliviously]

15. In this case what are we to think of Bill Cosbys statement.

How do we label him?

[EFerrari]

18. I favor reactionary Republican @sshole, myself. nt

[HughMoran]

20. Dumb ass sellout who has no credibility to speak on any issue

...never mind black issues.

[MajorChode]

29. How do you figure that one?

[HughMoran]

30. Because he's a self-absorbed blowhard now

I've agreed with some of his harsh criticisms in the past, but apparenlty the success of his early statements went to his head and now he's "jumped the shark" as it were.

[MajorChode]

32. I don't think he's any johnny come lately in that regard

He's been saying the same things for many years. Anytime you speak inconvenient truths, you're going to attract allies as well as foes and I'm sure he's smart enough to realize that.

As far as his recent statements about Obama goes, he's already backed off of them, so you can read into that whatever you will about his credibility.

[HughMoran]

34. Well, let's just say I keep an open mind, but I'd like to see Cosby be a little more measured

in his comments. If you say he's backed off, then I'll pay attention to see what he's saying going forward.

[MajorChode]

36. He said something about Obama used to live in Cambridge, so he might have more direct knowledge

or something to that effect. At any rate he gave a radio interview where he redacted at least some of what he said.

[Raineyb]

38. I use cowardly asshole myself on the rare occasions when I'm forced to do so.

Cosby's time has come and gone he's irrelevant.

[EFerrari]

19. People want to believe the police are fair because they hope they will be

if they ever run into some.

That they manifestly aren't always fair threatens that hope.

[Mind_your_head]

23. No one will treat you fairly if you don't 'stand your ground' that you are worthy

of respect.

KNOW THAT.

[EFerrari]

27. I was answering the question, not telling you about myself.

:)

[Mind_your_head]

31. Okay. n/t

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

25. Well put!!!

:toast:

[SeattleGirl]

24. I also grew up in a white bread town, and I, too, recognized what

happened to Prof. Gates.

One of the most disturbing things to me about this whole thing is seeing some of the ugly posts some people here have made on this site.

[Divine Discontent]

26. exactly, good on you! eom

[backscatter712]

39. I'm about as white as you can get, and I get it.

At best, the cop failed in deescalation techniques, or more likely, wasn't even trying to deescalate.

It was absolutely a violation of Gates's civil rights - the cops entered his house without permission, harassed him even after he identified himself as the legal resident of the house, and continued to escalate the situation specifically so they could arrest him.

Most likely, it was absolutely a case of police harassment because he was a minority.

[Raineyb]

40. They don't want to see it.

Possibly because if they acknowledge it they'd have to do something about it and lose their privilege.

:shrug:

Just a theory though.

[Mind_your_head]

43. ABSOLUTELY "something" must be done!

....and Professor Gates is in the prime position to speak/know about it.

Peace,
M_Y_H

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

48. You think Gates will speak ill of the officer, after Obama called him an outstanding officer?