Charges on Prof. Gates Jr. dropped (Boston: college, military, law)

[Aylalou]

Originally Posted by pathfinda94

Well said Alexus! I have said it before and I will reiterate that City-Data Forum is for the DISCERNING MINDS and you've proved to be one of the few. Kudos!!!

Absolutely.

[cohdane]

It boils down to this: If two white guys in suits were on the porch with luggage and one was bumping their shoulder against a door on the front porch at 12:30 in the afternoon, would you call the police?

If a policeman showed up at a Cambridge home and found a white guy in a suit getting irritated and saying it was his house, would the situation escalate to arrest?


I ran a neighborhood Crimewatch in Boston. Personally, I wouldn't call a cop on two guys in suits on the front porch in broad daylight "breaking in." If anything, I might call out to them, "Having trouble? Need help?" to see if they wanted any tools or-- if they acted fishy. Neighbor indeed.

[Lucario]

Originally Posted by Aylalou

You're not in a position to say whether he's doing a service or nonservice for the black community. Leave it to those in the black community to decide. I'm sure the majority understand exactly what Obama means. I admire Obama for going out on a limb with this statement and once again, showing how much it is possible, given his situation, to be nonpolitical, but truthful.

I made a similar point, but of course my post was killed..............

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

The police received a call that someone was trying to force their way into the front door of a residence. When the cop got there, instead of explaining "It's my house, Officer". "Here's my ID", Gates went into a tirade against the cop.

Gates Police Report

Just as most perfessers of wymmns studies are pretty radical and have huge chips on their shoulders, I'd say it's a safe bet the same is true of black studies perfessers.

I suppose the next stage in this saga, other than a simpleminded Harvard-graduate president who knows not all the facts but that doesn't stop his commenting on the case because he has the same chip on his shoulder, will be for the perfesser demanding reparations.

I would take a cop's version over a Harvard professor's version of anything, including whether the earth is flat, 9 out of 10 times at a minimum.

"Racism" charges have replaced "patriotism" as the last refuge of a scoundrel. This prof reportedly has a rep for having a short fuse. He might consider gratitude that there was a cop investigating a possible break-in at his home.

No, it's just give the guy big grief because he's white and he's in law enforcement. Enough.

[tindo80]

My take...people are getting murdered on the streets in some places, meanwhile these cops choose to make 'and example' of this black guy by arresting him in his own home for something thats actually not illegal.

If the standard for arrests becomes 'anything you do that a cop does not like whether its illegal or not', the country is dangerously close to becoming a police state. Gates went off the handle, but it was nothing worth arresting a man over, let alone in his own home, especially because some passerby person saw a black person going into the door of a white neighborhood.

Gates did fly a tiny bit off the handle (read the actual report) but I think a lot of you that are defending the arrest are letting your negative opinions of african americans, let alone educated ones, get in the way of reasonable thought. You are all so busy trying to say how your not racist and you dont believe racism exists anymore, you cant even see this event objectively.

Black, White, Brown, Red or Yellow, not one person here would not have been frustrated had some police officer interrogated you as a burglar in your own home.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by cohdane

If a policeman showed up at a Cambridge home and found a white guy in a suit getting irritated and saying it was his house, would the situation escalate to arrest?

Maybe so, maybe not, but the one definite thing that would NOT have happened is this: the case would not be on the news and would not have the POTUS commenting at a national news conference, because the white guy would not and could not have used what Gates used -- the race card.

Many of you here are taking the extreme racial angle of this without reading the full story and nothing, no facts, no evidence, no other source will matter. The race card got used and because of your own racial attitudes, it will be defended no matter what.

So what is your solution? If I take your argument to its fullest extent, no police officer can ever do his job if it involves a person of color because in your mind a policeman acts SOLELY because of the color of the would be perpetrator's skin. The facts of the matter don't matter. If he is white, the cops won't do anything, if he is black, he automatically is guilty and is abused by cops.

This overly simplistic attitude is holding the country back and far, far from the dream of Dr. King, who longed for a day when his children would be judged on their character and intellect and not the color of their skin. When people of color continually shove race into any argument, it wears thin and does disservice to those of us who want to see character, intelligence, compassion and the other human attributes that don't have a color be what defines each and every one of us.

[bman15470]

Hey Libs, you love to ****** about how awful the cops are but you say nothing about the corruption and fraud going on in the bamsters house (Tax dodge Guitner?) its laughable. I'm done with the black victimization thing, they got every thing in Obama and it wont change a thing. By the end of his first term in fact I bet the overall condition will be worse in black neighborhoods nation wide. Quit whining..

[LeavingMA]

This issue is completely blown out of proportion. Did both people most likely overreact to the situation....yes. Nobody got hurt and the charges were dropped. There will always be racist, sexist, elitist, biased people no matter what. Humans are flawed and always will be. What is just as bad though is playing the race card. I don't care how you've been treated before, don't assume that someone is racist just because you are white, black, pink, or whatever. I'm white and have been treated like crap by a cop before. There are some good cops and also some bad cops with Napoleon complexes. Life isn't always fair, but you deal with it and move on.

[1979]

Originally Posted by Aylalou

There is no way a [black] person of color will get certain white people, or Asian, or any other ethnic group, to understand the situation since whites don't have a clue. As many people in the African American community know, whether you have a Ph.D or you're president of the US, many will still consider you a "N".

You are free to express what you THINK, but kid yourself that it's even near the truth, and I don't mean the truth of only this situation.

And so the cycle continues: Do blacks really think they can continue to admonish whites to the point where they're going to bow down, and agree that we as white people are so terrible and do nothing but oppress and discriminate blacks no matter what? What happens when we are the victims of black crime disproportionately, or see how our point of view is never expressed in the media? Why is it that the media, for example, CNN are so ridiculously sensitive to people of color, and so callus toward the white majority.

Blacks don't take the time to consider why whites may think the way they do when they watch the news, when they see who is committing crimes. When we see all these gangsta type black children wearing their pants below their butts (and since the white boys are now copying), and when we hear this awful ebonic type slang..."ya know what um sayin?? what are we suppose to think? When ever blacks do anything wrong, no matter what, they always stick up for each other, no matter what. So, you all look very homogenious to white people. Remember the O.J. trial? The mountain of evidence against him with his ex-wifes and Ron Goldman's blood all over his Bronco, yet he was innocent by an all black jury...?? Remember? There are many similar cases.

As a gay person, I look at all the benefits blacks get; affirmative action, special quotas, scholarship programs, as well as clearly defined laws originally created by white people intended to help people of color, (that were not voted on by the way). Discrimation was once legal in housing, employment, in getting a loan, etc. All gays ask is to be treated with respect and dignity, and given equal rights which include marriage. But, because "color" is something that you can "see" one can understand it better. People continue to rationalize their discrimination, and "hate" of non-heterosexual people through their religions. People once rationalized discrimation against black people through religion as well, citing Biblical versus that condone slavery, and condemned miscegenation etc. Every time you turn on TV you see shows like Law & Order, ER, Miami CSI, or whatever that show all these positive black role-models. You often see black people in roles of power, with white subordinates that constantly screw up. The directors and producers of TV shows have done backflips to appease the black viewer.

[twiggy]

I'm still puzzled by the "disorderly conduct" issue myself. Why is it again that you can't voice your opinion, or rant to an officer as a regular civilian, and non criminal without getting arrested?
You have no weapon, not physically hurting anyone, but you cannot complain? Without arrest? Or worse yet a tasering? The Tasering Will Continue Until You All Submit! - One Man's Blog
Reminds me of that poor girl who was fat and drunk so she couldn't get into the police car and she got tasered and tasered over and over again for it.
Why is it that I can't tell an officer that I am dissatisfied with a situation without getting told to shut up or I will take you in for disorderly conduct?
This issue is puzzling regardless of race. It happens to a lot of people and I would really like to know why it's aloud?
Is it a warped view of respect?
I've said this before and I will say it again, no disrespect meant but these cases make me just as afraid of cops as I am of criminals. I could legally defend myself from a criminal but not a "wacky" cop. Most cops I'm sure are cool, but not all, so what are you supposed to do?
After all the tasering videos I truly am shaken whenever I see someone trying to explain themselves to a police officer. lol I'm like, no no, just shut your mouth before your arrested or tasered!