Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. ~ Statement regarding the "beer summit" today.

[mzmolly]

Sergeant Crowley and I, through an accident of time and place, have been cast together, inextricably, as characters – as metaphors, really – in a thousand narratives about race over which he and I have absolutely no control. Narratives about race are as old as the founding of this great Republic itself, but these new ones have unfolded precisely when Americans signaled to the world our country’s great progress by overcoming centuries of habit and fear, and electing an African American as President. It is incumbent upon Sergeant Crowley and me to utilize the great opportunity that fate has given us to foster greater sympathy among the American public for the daily perils of policing on the one hand, and for the genuine fears of racial profiling on the other hand.

Let me say that I thank God that live in a country in which police officers put their lives at risk to protect us every day, and, more than ever, I’ve come to understand and appreciate their daily sacrifices on our behalf. I’m also grateful that we live in a country where freedom of speech is a sacrosanct value and I hope that one day we can get to know each other better, as we began to do at the White House this afternoon over beers with President Obama.

Thank God we live in a country where speech is protected, a country which guarantees and defends my right to speak out when I believe my rights have been violated; a country that protects us from arrest when we do express our views, no matter how unpopular.

And thank God that we have a President who can rise above the fray, bridge age-old differences and transform events such as this into a moment in the evolution of our society’s attitudes about race and difference. President Obama is a man who understands tolerance and forgiveness, and our country is blessed to have such a leader.

http://www.theroot.com/views/accident-time-and-place">FULL STATEMENT HERE courtesy of THE ROOT.COM

[fishnfla]

1. nice. classy

yes thank god

[enough]

2. Gates and Obama taking our history a step farther. (nt)

[Obamanaut]

51. Yep. Just those two. No one else in the room. Just two. nt

[bemildred]

3. I must say I look forward to Mr Crowley's reply. nt

[mzmolly]

5. Crowley's reply in a nutshell here:

"We agreed to move forward," Crowley said later when asked if anything was solved. "I think what you had today was two gentlemen agreeing to disagree on a particular issue. I don't think that we spent too much time dwelling on the past. We spent a lot of time discussing the future."

http://www.theroot.com/views/obama-beer-meeting-thoughtful">THE ROOT

[bemildred]

10. Sounds like a Republican explaining a bribe, or a bimbo, or something. nt

[Pirate Smile]

12. He and Gates are going to meet again and do ... something. It actually

sounded positive so I'd give both Gates and Crowley a :thumbsup: .

Crowley could have become the next Joe the Plumber but he has resisted that - thank goodness. It sounds like both Crowley and Gates are going to try to do something to help bring more understanding of both of their positions to people viewing it from the other side - which sounds good to me.

[bemildred]

13. I think it's still a pissing contest, but we will see. nt

[mzmolly]

14. That would be fantastic.

:hi:

[The Wizard]

22. Crowley has a real job

Joe (Sam) The Plumber is unemployable.

[emilyg]

18. Good.

[sabrina 1]

20. I heard Crowley's comments on the news

and I thought they were very positive. He said he found the Professor to be a very interesting man. He was asked if Obama had contributed to the conversation and he said 'he supplied the beer'.

He was serious and I felt, thoughtful. He said that he and Prof. Gates had talked very directly with each other but that their conversation was private and he would like to rspect that. He also mentioned that both of them brought their families. Basically he said it was a very nice thing for both families. He seemed fairly positive about Obama also.

I may be too optimistic, but I felt he was a pretty decent guy who lost his cool and was happy to have the opportunity to turn something that could have become very nasty, into something very positive. I'd like to think his mind changed a little about both Obama and Prof. Gates.

If it is as it seemed, I think a lot of good could come of it without nasty lawsuits etc. which only inflame people. If both of them do set an example it will undermine the haters and have a far more positive effect than any lawsuit would have. Just my opinion and I hope I'm not wrong.

[MichiganVote]

4. Very gracious

[mzmolly]

6. Indeed.

Both men seemed gracious in the aftermath, especially the Professor who is likely better with words. ;)

[Karenina]

21. From the NYT:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/us/politics/31obama.html?th&emc=th

Professor Gates said in an interview, “I don’t think anybody but Barack Obama would have thought about bringing us together.”

The two men and their families first encountered each other in the White House library while each group was on individual tours of the White House on Thursday afternoon.

“Nobody knew what to do,” Professor Gates said. “So I walked over, stuck out my hand and said, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ That broke the awkwardness.”

Sergeant Crowley added that the families “had continued the tour as a group while the beer talk commenced.” He described the interaction between families as very cordial.


But here's the MONEY QUOTE:












Wait for it...











Here it comes:

Professor Gates concurred, saying: “We hit it off right from the beginning. When he’s not arresting you, Sergeant Crowley is a really likable guy.”

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[defendandprotect]

24. Terrific . . . and I hope that this might bring some momentous change to policing . . .

it's a good opportunity for Gates to perhaps get a look into and have some positive

effect on whatever the hell Crowley is teaching in that "racial profiling" class.

[Barbara2423]

57. Funny,

Crowley needs to add a section to the "racial profile class" he teaches on how not to lose your cool and make false arrests.

[zonkers]

50. That IS a money line! And you most certainly milked it.

[EFerrari]

54. LOL. I love Skip Gates. He's got about the best sense of humor

I've ever seen in a human being.

:rofl:

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Morning Dew]

38. You forgot the

:sarcasm: tag.

Welcome to DU !

[EFerrari]

39. He'd dead, Jim.

lol

[Morning Dew]

41. That was fast..

lol.

[CatWoman]

43. LOL

:hi:

[JitterbugPerfume]

45. I barely had time

to hit alert and accuse him of assholery!

[ShamelessHussy]

7. I wish he would articulate the rights violated... maybe later

As the son of a policeman, I do have a lot of sympathy and admiration for those who take on that responsibility, however I have little patience with those who abuse their authority, and that is exactly what this officer did. This issue goes beyond race, as this behavior is unacceptable, no matter your race and I believe that is the primary teachable moment, that I hope will be address.

We always tout our freedoms, as we should, and the freedom of speech, and the sanctity of our homes, persons and privacy must not be violated.

I am very grateful though that we have such a wise man like Dr. Gates to pass the word.

[mzmolly]

9. I think there is a fine line regarding police authority that perhaps needs to be better addressed?

Perhaps this will afford us an opportunity to do so?

[defendandprotect]

25. I think whatever they're teaching in "racial profiling" classes should be made more

widely public . . . maybe we should see some of those classes on C-span?

Obviously, they could use some help when the guy teaching these classes gets
his foot this far into the doo-doo!!

[sez me]

34. Maybe big shot professors at Harvard can get

some humility courses to stop throwing around their credentials to get away with bad behavior, like not cooperating with someone trying to do his job?:shrug:

[tabasco]

52. The cop wasn't doing his job.

He was fucking up. No charges filed when Barney Fife took the "criminal" back to the station.

Or haven't you heard?

Maybe you're somebody who thinks police should have the right to arrest you in your home for insulting them.

If so, you don't know what it means to be an American.

[CLANG]

55. uhmmmm, pepperoni!

[goclark]

49. Maybe they need to tell the public what the rules are

Are they....

Thou shall not ask a police officer any questions about why I am in handcuffs

Thou shall only smile and say thank you when given a ticket

I shall not get upset in the least if I am a Person of Color. I recognize that I tend to get angry and it may upset the officer.

Thou shall never raise my somewhat LOUD and FORCEFUL voice above a whisper when speaking to an officer. The volume for whisper shall be determined by the officer.

Thou shall not have a chip on these dark shoulders

Anyone that observes an incident in progress must identify the Race of the person in question. The description should say.... I SAW a Dark Black Man wearing a T Shirt that said CRIPS and he was looking at the nice officer in a mean way.

Just kidding ~ I know they can come up with some better Standards than the ones above.

As an African American, my view may be shaded. : )

[Cha]

8. Well, that

teared me up!:cry::)

[NashVegas]

11. Fantastic Statement

[Sarah Ibarruri]

15. Awesome man... now compare that with what the policeman said....

"We agreed to move forward," Crowley said later when asked if anything was solved. "I think what you had today was two gentlemen agreeing to disagree on a particular issue. I don't think that we spent too much time dwelling on the past. We spent a lot of time discussing the future."

:crazy:

[mzmolly]

16. In all fairness to Crowley, he's not as educated

as the highly regarded Professor. ;)

[defendandprotect]

27. It's the spirit of intent . . . not the specific words .. .

and why not provide more opportunities, perhaps, for police officers -- especially
in Boston -- to take advantage of education/higher education?

[mzmolly]

29. Indeed...

I have no objection to police seeking higher education. ;) I think we should all have greater opportunity in this regard.

[seabeyond]

17. basically... i learned nothing, did nothing wrong, no lesson learned. nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

44. Exactly nt

[starroute]

19. I ran across Gates' name in an unexpected context today

I recently got around to buying a book called The Trickster and the Paranormal, which I've been wanting for a good while. On page 25, the author lists some of the people who've influenced him -- mostly Jungian psychologists and such. And he writes:

"In literature, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., chairman of Harvard's Afro-American studies department, developed a theory of literary criticism based on the trickster. African Americans have long been marginalized, and they have an astute perception of what that entails."

That suggested to me that Gates is well-practiced at looking at situations in terms of narrative, and unconventional narrative at that.

There is, for example, one well-known African trickster story in which the trickster figure walks down the main street of a village wearing radically different clothing on either side of his body -- all for the pleasure of getting the villages into a violent argument over how he was dressed.

So when Gates writes about being cast as a character in a narrative about race, I think he has a very fine ironic sense of what that means -- and also of how easy it is for people to go to war simply over differing perceptions of the same situation.

[JNelson6563]

23. Wow! Nice work Mr. President.

Bringing two parties in a conflict together to talk it out. What a grown-up notion. :toast:

Julie

[mzmolly]

35. Hi Julie!

:hi:

[JNelson6563]

56. Hi MzMolly!

Great to see you, hope it's all good in your world. :toast:

[bertman]

26. Mr. Gates and Officer Crowley were both positive about the get together. Mr. Gates

chose to give his statement immediately. It was eloquent and thoughtful, as one would expect from a Harvard Professor. Officer Crowley, for those who listened to his entire statement, in addition to saying that it was a positive meeting, said that he would like to wait a few days and digest the discussion before he made a statement--or something to that effect. Of course, that has now been characterized by the usual suspects as "learned nothing; Republican . . ." blah blah.

Wouldn't it be great if those of us on DU would learn the lesson that President Obama hoped would come out of this meeting, and apparently did for the participants. That lesson being that viewing other human beings as a stereotypes is where the problem starts, so learning to treat others with respect and hear what they have to say can change the disfunctional dynamic into one that fosters understanding.

[defendandprotect]

28. Congratulations to President Obama . . . good move for the country . . .!!!

And, also to Gates and Crowley . . .

Obama made this a lovely opportunity for the families --

which I hope takes some of the harshness away for both of these men.

It was also a terrific example of how to proceed . . .

Obviously, Prof. Gates has more potential for curing the ills of our society

and I'm confident that if he can unite in a way with community and police to

use that knowledge, he may be able to greatly improve the lives of people like

Officer Crowley and the African-American community. I hope so!

And, I'm sure that Officer Crowley knows things need to be changed and that he

as well can find ways to move policing in more positive directions.

[ballad for ramona]

30. Gates is an excellent writer. And may I add:

it sounds to me like a bit of an apology/image resurrection on Gates' part. The acknowledgment of the dangers cops face, particularly. Here's the deal about free speech, though: does Gates think we should be allowed to yell 'fire' in a crowded theater?:shrug:

I don't think Gates got arrested merely for saying 'yo mama' or whatnot. It was the following outside, in-your-face antics, I imagine...

[noiretextatique]

31. the arrest was bogus

and the charges were dropped. gates was arrested because the officer lured him outside so he could make the bogus arrest. gates was being realistic and gracious. police do have a tough job, and i am grateful they are on the streets. however, i am very critical of policemen, like crowley, who abuse their power. i hope other policemen learn a lesson from crowley's experience.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TexasObserver]

36. That was a fast resurrection.

You're persistent. I'll give you that.

[EFerrari]

37. The arrest was thrown out and the mayor apologized to Gates. n/t

[noiretextatique]

46. gates didn't have a badge and a gun

so the rest of your rant is moot. crowley, the paid civil servant, was the one who should have acted professionally instead of losing his temper.
you are right about one thing. if gates hadn't been who he is, it would have turned out much differently.

[Romulox]

40. Extremely well put. Perhaps if we can set aside our cynicism for a moment

...there is a real opportunity for a productive dialogue to come out of this mess.

[LuckyLib]

42. And now we should begin addressing the real issues of race and the policing of America:

the industry that surrounds the incarceration of Black and Hispanic men in America. Glenn Loury in a recent NYT Op Ed piece wrote:

<snip> Overrepresentation of blacks among lawbreakers is the result as much as it is the cause of our overrepresentation among the imprisoned — a fact about which the conventional racial narrative has too little to say. Nevertheless, this is a principal source of the tension in interactions between the police and black men like me.<snip>

<snip> Rather, along with Senator James Webb, Democrat of Virginia, I believe we should be pursuing far-reaching reforms in our criminal justice system. We should invest more in helping the troubled people — our fellow citizens — caught in the law enforcement web to find a constructive role in society, and less in punishing them for punishment’s sake. We need to change the ways in which we deal with juvenile offenders, so that a foolish act in childhood doesn’t put them on the road to lifetimes in prison. We should seriously consider that many of our sentences are too long — “three strikes” laws may be good politics, but they are an irrational abomination as policy. We should definitely consider decriminalizing most drug use. We need to reinvent parole.

And, most important, we should weigh more heavily the negative and self-defeating effects that our policy of mass incarceration is having on the communities where large numbers of young black and Hispanic men live. <snip>


http://www.nytimes.comhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/opinion/26loury.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2/2009/07/26/opinion/26loury.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

[pleah]

47. Curious to see what happens to Mr. Gates in the future with this

police department.

[JayMusgrove]

48. Gates is correct: both men and this event are metaphors...for

how America is sometimes not completely just to minorities, but that they, (and WE all) can make progress, and work together to make things better.

Crowley is not wrong in his remarks, I just think Gates has a better insight.

[Kurovski]

53. K&R.

Good stuff.