What they each saw: how the fears of Professor Gates and Officer Crowley collided

[pnwmom]

I strongly recommend reading the rest of the piece at the link, an analysis of what may have happened at the Harvard professor's house.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jHud4VBSlwHX-0MPU8m15Yh9lE8gD99MBQ3O0

Henry Louis Gates Jr. felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he looked across the threshold of his home at Sgt. James Crowley. Looking back at Gates, Crowley worried about making it home safely to his wife and three children.

Fear was the only thing the white police officer and black scholar had in common. Soon their many differences would collide, exploding into a colossal misunderstanding.

How could things go so wrong? How could two by all accounts decent men start a fire that drew comparisons to the O.J. Simpson case and knocked President Barack Obama off his racial tightrope?

Part of the answer lies in the truth seen through each man's eyes during the episode, which ended with one of the most influential men in America charged with disorderly conduct.

SNIP

[Taverner]

1. You know I see a two act play out of this

Act one: Gate's view

Act two: Crowley's view

[pnwmom]

2. And Act three: Beer with Obama. n/t

[Taverner]

3. Dude - the Prez is from Chi-Town, home of Goose Island, Three Floyds and Flossmoor Station

Who could turn down a beer from a Chicagoan?

[Fumesucker]

6. Yeah, he's a guy you would love to drink a beer with..

:eyes:

Jebus Keerist on a paisley printed pogo stick, this "having a beer" crap is about to drive me totally batshit..

[Taverner]

7. So - honestly, you would turn down Beer with Obama?

Even if it were PBR....

[Fumesucker]

10. They should pour it back in the horse..

I don't drink beverages that you only rent..

We've already *had* one POTUS that everyone "would like to have a beer with", I really don't want another one.

[Taverner]

21. No - I don't use it as a Presidential picking tool

I mean, I would have loved to have had Adlai Stevenson as prez - but rather not have a beer with him, thank you...

But the question does come up - can't deny it

[Fumesucker]

26. Personally I would have enjoyed a conversation with Adlai Stevenson..

But then I rarely drink and I never drink beer.

[Taverner]

28. Sounds good to me

And Certain conversations are not conversations for beer, but coffee or tea.

Back when I was single, my first date with a girl was ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS at a coffee shop.

[parasim]

34. So you don't like beer. Whatever.

It's not the idea of drinking beer, per se, it's more about sitting down with a president in a relaxing setting and having a one-on-one conversation. I would jump at the chance to sit down with Bush over a beer or two. Perhaps I'd better understand the man. and perhaps he would better understand my point of view as well.

actually, I'd probably prefer sharing a bowl, but that's just me...

[Fumesucker]

35. Conversation has never been mentioned..

It's always "drinking a beer", which I find to carry some unfortunate connotations since the last *resident.

[parasim]

37. Really?

Hmm, I never in a million years would think that "sitting down and having a beer with" would not denote having a conversation. When I sit down with people and have a beer with them, it always is about having a conversation with somebody. Not getting drunk with or some such nonsense.

When somebody says to me, "hey, let's get together for a beer sometime" it means, to me, "hey let's get together and talk about stuff".

Maybe I'm just weird or something.

[Fumesucker]

41. So in your mind "drinking a beer" = "conversation"?

I guess that's why I've never been a barfly.

"Sittin' on this barstool talking like a damn fool" -Styx

[parasim]

60. Yes it is.

Like I said, I may be weird, but whenever somebody says "Hey, let's get together for a coupla beers" or "When you're in town, we should grab a cup of coffee or something." means the same as "Let's do lunch". The activity itself is secondary to having a conversation.

[pnwmom]

9. Not me. He can invite me anytime.

;)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Good article

thanks for posting it. Hope that meeting with the President helps both men see beyond their fears.

[bbinacan]

5. Best analysis I've read,

Thanks for posting.

[Fumesucker]

8. I read it a while ago..

I'm not impressed with the mind reading..

Crowley saw Gates on the home phone through the window, if he was really all that concerned about making it home to his wife and kids he would have waited for backup, burglars seldom break in and then make a call on the phone.

[EFerrari]

36. Exactly. The mind reading is forced and unbelievable. n/t

[omega minimo]

11. Rec +4 looks interesting. Thanks for posting.

[Stevenmarc]

12. .

[imdjh]

13. Nearly pure bullshit.

Something no one seems to notice in all this is the (undisputed by Gates) fact that Crowley was calm and did not have his weapon drawn. Yes, he was cautious because he was led to believe that there was a second person involved, who was not evident in the house, but he had seen Prof. Gates through the door and realized that he wasn't dealing with Mr. T or Half Dead. He still wanted to see ID, because that's his job in that situation, to say that he would have acted differently with a white man is speculation. Way too much speculation going on here. To say that he was fearful is also speculation. If Gates says he was afraid, then we have to take his word for it, but it's really hard to imagine that this man who was (undisputed by Gates) assertive and proprietary to say the least was in fear.

And I'm going to add an aside- Professor Gates wants to be treated with the respect due his position. Many here have complained that Officer Crowley could be held to a higher standard because of his position, and I would agree, adding only that so could Professor Gates. I could be wholely off base about this. Perhaps, a given Harvard professor can reasonably be expected to be a defensive projecting prick, but I tend to think of them in the fictional character of Professor Kingsfield.

[EFerrari]

16. Dr. Gates was not acting as a public servant. Crowley was.

And it turns out he wasn't a defensive, projecting prick but a pretty good judge of character.

[imdjh]

47. As usual, there is nothing in evidence to support your take on this.

[EFerrari]

48. LOL. You mean, Crowley wasn't on the clock and Gates didn't get arrested

for being black at home?

Hilarious.

[Spazito]

14. I would love to see an article, co-written by both Professor Gates and...

Sgt. Crowley, on this very point. In my opinion, such an article would be a very positive addition to what President Obama has already stated, with regard to this incident, can be used as "a teachable moment".

[EFerrari]

15. Fine. Except you can't look at a nicely dressed older black man with a cane

who shows no signs of agitation and who is apparentaly unarmed and immediately decide your life is in danger and you may not make it home to your family. That's just silly. If you do come to that conclusion, you're not looking at the individual but at something else.

[bbinacan]

20. What about the 911 call

who reported 2 men. Could Crowley have been worried about the presence of the other guy?

[EFerrari]

24. That's why you go to the premises -- to see for yourself, isn't it?

I'm all for cops being careful both with themselves and with the public. But it's not reasonable to say that Crowley looking at a well dressed black man who is not engaged in any overtly shady behavior was inspired with the same dread that a black man would feel on seeing a fully armed white cop approaching his door.


/grammar

[pnwmom]

22. One of the alternatives mentioned in the article

is that Crowley WAS looking at the homeowner -- but there also could have been, unknown to Gates, a couple of robbers in the house, one of whom had shouldered the door open.

It is the job of the cop to keep all of the possibilities in mind.

[EFerrari]

25. And that's fine but it's not how the article is set up.

There is a good point here about expectations. But the writer doesn't further his point by making Dr. Gates out to be some kind of immediately obvious threat.

[eleny]

23. The conclusion this article reaches about fear isn't supported by the facts presented

I've been advised here at DU that Crowley was eventually accompanied by other officers. This article portrays Crowley as being alone when he entered Gates' home. So how afraid was Crowley if he entered the house alone? Or by that time was Crowley aware of Gates' identity and presumed all was really okay?

Something may not be right with the scenario illustrated in this article. One minute Crowley is in fear for his life and thinking about going home to his family alive. The next minute, despite Gates' continuous shouting, Crowley feels sure enough of his safety that he follows Gates into the residence.

Crowley isn't acting like a person who feared for his life and neither is Gates the way he was yelling so loud.

Fear doesn't appear to be the common denominator.

[EFerrari]

29. There's something else, too. I believe that Crowley may not have wanted

to go in alone. I've had officers at my door who didn't. They said so. They said something to the effect, I don't know if you have a gang in there ready to drop me, lady, so could you come to the door and identify yourself. They lose nothing, they stay safe and they get the information they need.

[Fumesucker]

30. I agree with this.. n/t

[niyad]

46. the pic of prof gates being taken away in cuffs shows three officers

[myrna minx]

17. They *are* both decent men: Professor Gates is an icon of scholarship and Officer Crowley is

a "top cop" policeman known for his racial ambassadorship and sensitivity. This is a huge misunderstanding that I truly think a coming together with President Obama at the White House could definitely bring about a wonderful much needed dialog.

[EFerrari]

19. Have you heard any black civilians claim Crowley is skilled at race relations?

Because the only testimonials I've read are from other cops.

[myrna minx]

39. My only knowledge is from my

own (to me) unimpeachable source (not my own experience) who will vouch for Crowley as the pinnacle of race relations in Cambridge. I don't know Officer Crowley personally, but my source (who is an unimpeachable source to me personally) tells me that this is a *huge* misunderstanding. Yes, my friends are working class Irish American--not African American, but working class in the Fire Dept. I'm not excusing police misconduct and all of the abusive cops there out there in the world--all we need to see is the 200+ reply threads of police misconduct to demonstrate how much this is a huge issue this this country, but all I ask is that Officer Crowley's record speak for itself.

[EFerrari]

40. I believe you, myrna. Both of us have been posting here for a long time

and I've ever only seen you be very fair.

And I do question how skilled the man is if this is the outcome he had and if there are no other black civilians coming forward to recount their good experience. That and his decision not to apologize and try to difuse the situation himself. If he is skilled in race relations one of those skills should be conflict prediction, containment and resolution. I haven't seen any of that from him. Instead, the blue wall goes up. That doesn't speak well for Cambridge or for him.

[myrna minx]

49. Thank you for your respect and knowing

we're both old timers here on DU. I can honestly say that if I didn't have the respectable source (to me, I don't expect anyone else to respect my source) that I had, I would be most dubious, but since I know my source, who will speak to the character of officer Crowley, I will defer to Officer Crowley's own jacket. If I didn't have second hand knowledge, I would be the first person to pile on to this mess--because it does look like a racial profiling of a prominent African American man. Unfortunately it's more nuanced to me now (not only of race but of class at Harvard and within Cambridge) and I hope this does bring the dialog to the fore in this country because we need it. This is an amazing opportunity to bring a dialog forward, about police power, abuse of power, *class* and most importantly racism. Again, from my sources in the Boston Fire Department (that I expect no one to believe me) that Officer Crowley is a "Top Cop" in race relations in the Boston/Cambridge area. I'm not in any way excusing police abuse of power or anyone's horrendous experiences with law enforcement. All I ask is that people look at Officer Crowley's history and possibly see that this is a huge misunderstanding.

[EFerrari]

50. If this incident can be used to move this country forward,

that would be a great outcome. :)

[myrna minx]

53. I hope so, because there is a huge issue of police abuse

against people of color, GLBT people and "foreigners" that need to be addressed. We need an open dialog about these "elephant in the room" issues. I think we Americans are ready to address these issues and I thank gawd we have a President that is genius enough to make us all think about these issues. How long has is been since a President made us ruminate about making us a better people? :hi:

[EFerrari]

55. It's like being let out of a cage!

:woohoo:

[myrna minx]

58. Indeed.

And TMI to be braless on Sunday.
:woohoo:

[PurityOfEssence]

42. Here's a post from a non-white female civilian who speaks VERY highly of him on the subject

http://feministx.blogspot.com/2009/07/henry-louis-gates-jr.html

This is becoming increasingly evident to NOT be the simple case people would like it to be.

I would like to think that cooler heads will have some sway on this issue in the ensuing days, as they have in the past, but this certainly has been amped up in a hurry.

It defies many people's needs for things to be obvious and clear, and compensation for that annoying nuance is to often shout down any dissenters ever more vehemently.

More than anything else, I hope this is NOT laid to rest; I hope it is carefully and meticulously dissected. If my contentions are proven wrong, I will, as in the past, admit them freely, but I'd like to see the dynamic unfold. As more information comes out, people will be chagrined by their bellicose and bigoted statements, and some will cop (pun intended) to them.

I want to hear quotes from the bystanders, since their views are actually the most important. (The crime charged was disorderly conduct, and it would be interesting to see if the tender consciousnesses of the bystanders were really rattled by the display, or whether Crowley was out of line.)

Please read the linked blog. It sounds more and more like Crowley is actually a bit of a poster boy for racial harmony, although such movieish simplification probably isn't perfectly on the mark either.

[EFerrari]

45. I'm glad you posted this. Let's get all the information we can find.

[PurityOfEssence]

59. Glad you're glad

Life isn't like the movies; that's why there are movies.

When asked if he'd have done anything better, Crowley said "maybe taken the fire department test instead", so he's got a sense of humor.

Obama is correct: this is a golden opportunity to have a little learn-in here and hear what's going on. Those who need to "win" are part of the problem.

[Rex]

18. Two good people can always act like morans, just add the right

environment and event and poof...instant booba'roobs.

[tblue37]

27. I don't think Crowley felt fear. I think he felt pissed at being

disrespected, so he wanted to teach Gates a lesson. I also think that he would have done the same to a white man who had made him mad, though I doubt that would have happened because the white man would not hae responded the same way, since he wouldn't have a lifetime's worth of resentment built up over racial profiling.

[Fumesucker]

31. +1 n/t

[Karenina]

32. "Looking back at Gates, Crowley worried..."

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Now THERE'S a S-T-R-E-T-C-H!!! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

:puke: MY LAST NERVE!! :puke:

[EFerrari]

33. Seriously. As Maher said, "Armed with a large vocabulary, ---"

:puke:

[EFerrari]

38. Btw, the great BookTV segment on the Africana encyclopedia

Gates quarterbacked is going to be on tonight:

10pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 10 min.



To celebrate the 175th anniversary of Auburn Cemetery and its African American history, Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates talks about Africa and the African Diaspora. During the discussion, he describes the creation of the one-volume edition of the 5-volume "Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience," a guide to African American cultural, religious and political movements. Henry Louis Gates also reflects on the influences of W.E.B. Du Bois, Rosa Parks and Wole Soyinka on his life.

Henry Louis Gates

Henry Louis Gates is the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Humanities and Humanities Chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Harvard University. He is the author of "Colored People, " coeditor with Kwame Anthony Appiah of "Encarta Africana," and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker. He has received many honors, including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the National Humanities Medal.


http://www.booktv.org/Program/7571/Africana+The+Encyclopedia+of+the+African+and+African+American+Experience.aspx

:hi:

[pnwmom]

51. If you read the article beyond that line, you'd see the context. n/t

[Karenina]

52. "Should Gates have realized that you can't antagonize the police?"

[pnwmom]

54. You left out the context of that sentence, too.

"Should Gates have realized that you can't antagonize the police? Should Crowley have understood what it means to suspect a black man of breaking into his own home? Arguments will persist for years."

[EFerrari]

56. Right. False equivalence. nt

[Karenina]

57. You are desperately selling the notion

that there is some equivalency between the behaviour of an ARMED, supposedly TRAINED PROFESSIONAL 'who even did diversity training' and that of an unarmed citizen exercising his CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS in his own home.

EPIC FAIL.

[niyad]

43. WHO compared this to the murder of nicole and ron? nobody died, there was no slow speed chase

and does anybody remember the complete deference given to simpson? let's get a grip here, people

[bobbolink]

44. Some people have to R-E-A-C-H REALLY hard for "Equality"

It's inconceivable to them that there is a clear moral issue here that was stomped on.

They look hard to find some way to make the blame "equal".

What a bunch of self-serving garbage!