Is this the guy who was arrested for "breaking into" his own home, then the President called the police stupid for arresting him? Same thing?
Just checked CNN. I'm clear now.
The arresting office says, in addition to saying he will never apologize:
"I didn't know who [Gates] was. I was by myself. I was the only police officer standing there, and I got a report of people breaking into a house," Crowley told WEEI. "That was for my safety first and foremost. I have to go home at night, I have three beautiful children and a wife who depend on me. So I had no other motive than to ensure my safety."
Mr. Gates kinda sounds like he may have gone off the deep end a little.
Obama stepped in it on this one. The Cambridge police deserve an apology. Obama should have waited until he had the facts. Obama needs to understand his position a little better. Criticizing police without the facts is way off base for a President.
All of the stories I've read are suspiciously lacking in details. Seems that a professor made an ass of himself, got arrested in the process, and jumped on the closest possible, 'get out of jail free' card he could find.
"But Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, once the top civil rights official in the Clinton administration and now, like Obama, the first black to hold his job, labeled the arrest 'every black man's nightmare.' The governor told reporters: 'You ought to be able to raise your voice in your own house without risk of arrest.'"
Every black man's worst nightmare? I'm 99% sure if a cop showed up at my house, said "your neighbor said they thought you were breaking into that house," and my response was to make "derogatory remarks about his mother," I would very likely be mentioned in the following morning's paper.
And according to the report, if the cop is to be believed, Mr. Gates pulled the race card immediately. And was warned repeatedly that he was becoming disorderly. And kept right on yelling.
Many, many people have been waiting for Obama to step in it, and I think this one may be scandalous by the time it's all said and done. Unless he retracts his statements about police.
Imagine, you're a police officer. You hear your President say "Police officers in America have a long history of stopping African- American and latino drivers without cause" (I'm paraphrasing).
He says this criticism without facts about a specific case involving his friend. He says this with no regard to public reaction. He says this irresponsibly.
You have to go protect and serve the public now, knowing your boss thinks your a racist bum.
I agree that Gates is a prick and Obama is wrong. But Obama won't get stuck under this one. He's too smart to let it bog him down. If necessary he'll apologize.
I'm sure Limbaugh and O'Reily are wetting themselves on this, but when they've already referred to him as Hitler and Osama, where can they possibly take it?
Since Obama spoke up on it Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton didn't have to jump in.
Or are those two still busy out in Cali?
[EDT]
It was a dumb move on Gates' part.
You lost your keys, or the door was stuck, whatever.
You and your driver are trying to force open the door.
Sure, it's your house.
It is late and dark.
The police show up on the concerned call of a neighbor.
The race issue is the cop is white and Gates and his driver are black. And..........what?
Because the cop is white it's "profiling issue"? WTF!!!
A little respect for the officer.
Isn't that something EVERYONE should show?
A uniformed individual and someon who isn't.
For as much dislike as I have had for police in my youthful past, giving the officer some respect and courtesy in a situation is something I do now.
Maybe out of the fact officers carry guns and I don't want to be shot.
But the officer, carrying the gun, doesn't want a reason to use it.
But more out of the fact that if something seems odd enough that there is a police officer responding to a situation and someone being the center of the situation the officer is responding to......
Giving the officer a reason to become even MORE apprehensive isn't going to win any points with him.
Getting handcuffed and hauled in for getting all high and mighty with a police officer goes back so many years it isn't funny and race has nothing to do with it.
It is called stupidity. And alcohol fueled bravado.
If you get hauled in you asked for it.
And playing the race card over it takes you to the jackass realm of stupidity.
From time to time, the usual moment seems terribly beautiful.
This message has been edited by spacetrucker on Jul 23, 2009 10:10 PM
...but as I understand it, he was in his house, had ID that said he was in his house, and decided to become belligerant towards the officer.
In the United States we have the freedom to call anyone anything that we please, especially if we are in out own yard, and have been called out of our own house unjustifiably. Police officers can blow me if they don't like their mommas being insulted by the douchebags they are sent out to investigate. If the investigation shows that the person was given a hard time by their own door, walk away no matter what the person says to the back of your head. Unruly seems to be a value judgement. Unruly seems to be in the eye of the beholder. Especially if it is on private property.
I really hate cops who pretend that being personally insulted is "unruly conduct". Free speech is unrully conduct if the wrong person dislikes it. The constitution trumps all.
That cop was sent to a possible crime scene. He is derelict of his duties if he doesn't investigate a complaint of a burglary. So if the guy turns out to be a burglar and a few harsh words from the perpetrators sends the officer off with his tail between his legs, what the hell good are the police?
And no, you do not have the right to call anyone anything you please. Screaming racial slurs to a white lone police officer in a crowd is just about the closest thing to "fire in a crowded theater" I can think of. I hope this professor gets shit canned for his childish behavior.
Not the same. Blather on all you want at the cops. When they arrest you for calling them names, even racially charged names, they are wrong. That may not seem justified, but cops should hold themselves to a higher standard.
Name calling is not a reason to arrest anyone. Unless you are causing a riot.
Not that I really care, but somebody should stick up for him just to keep things interesting... Dr Gates had just gotten home from a trip to China, so one can assume a reasonable amount of sleep deprivation that would have led him to act like a toolbag. The officer is a university campus cop, so he's probably seen his share of pompous, arrogant, eccentric and prickish behavior and is likely clear that putting up with it is part of the job. After seeing identification, he could have easily sucked it up and de-escalated the situation like a trained professional. It's left to the rest of us to second-guess how the situation would have ended if it had been some belligerent white, elderly, disabled professor. For the segment of the population that has been subjected to real or perceived racial profiling, it's not unreasonable to assume the cop would have helped him un-jam his front door and been on his way.
It's fine by me if Gates wants to be a self important blowhard. This country is full of them.
What concerns me is how quickly Obama sided with him without even knowing what went on.
Holy fuck, doesn't he have more important things to deal with?
The whole thing just looks like a sophomoric pissing contest to me. Cops are narcissistic assholes and so are college professors.
Cop: RESPECT MY AUTHORITAAA!
Prof: Gosh, considering it took you a whole six months to earn it, maybe I should.
There's another angle to this story and that's a class issue. Every story keeps bringing up how prominent and scholarly Gates is. Then they go out of there way to mention his famous scholarly friends, one of whom called Gates from The Nobel Institute in Sweden to recount his own ridiculous story from 2004 about being asked for his ID. Oh the horror of having to take a piece of plastic out of your wallet, when your a pompous, learned professor man.
Guess what Dr Harvard? When you've lost your keys and are seen breaking into your own house, it's pretty fucking reasonable for someone, who doesn't know you, to assume you might be a burglar. Show the nice civil servant (Who BTW, back in 1993 performed CPR to try and save the basketball star, Regie Lewis, when the star had a heart attack. So to call him a racist is laughable.http://tinyurl.com/m9af7q) and let him go on his way, so he can protect the rest of your neighborhood.
Agreed, Gates thinks he shouldn't have to do the things every other human being on the planet is required to do because he's a professor. (Did anybody ever even hear his name before this happened?)
Still, once he relented and showed his ID, the cop should have said "thank you" and walked away. But he didn't.
The arrest was needless but not surprising. Put any two people who think they are better than everyone else in a room together and there's going to be a problem.
I don't think it had anything to do with race either.
I think what we're all missing is the history of racism, which we can not know, we have no experience.
The cop is just doing his job, trying to protect \ dr. gates from the reported break in. Dr. Gates think no matter how educated I am, no matter how far I've come I'm still just a suspected criminal black man in this cops eyes.
Obama 'stepped in' absolutely nothing. The man carefully and deliberately placed his foot exactly where he planned to put it. It is downright naive to suggest that people as eloquent and intelligent as the President and Rahm Emmanuel didn't carefully choose the word "stupid" hours in advance of that press conference.
In my view it is brilliant.
Whatever you think about the facts, Obama has you talking about it, and he's right - it's hard to argue that it was not "stupid" that this fellow was arrested. All racial issues and the baggage each of us bring to that discussion aside, the cop should have had the cooler head and left even an angry man in what was clearly his home.
Obama did say "Now I wasn't there, the man is a personal friend, and I don't know all the facts... but this is stupid." I'm sorry, but it was stupid to arrest that guy. Also, it was a major bonus that it happened in Cambridge, MA - a stronghold of liberalism even within the People's Republic of Massachusetts, he was virtually guaranteed zero response from the CPD. Don't kid yourself for a minute that the CPD and the arresting officer weren't notified in advance that this comment was coming.
You may disagree - but the beauty is that Obama took a stand. Our president wasn't a politician. He was a man's friend, and he, as the first black President has a real opinion here. Imagine if he'd equivocated at all? We still have work to do on this front, and he eloquently said that, along with acknowledging that the fact he was standing at that podium meant that we've made great strides. His political base just got five degrees happier with him.
No matter what you think, you're now talking about racial profiling, race relations and thinking about what should have happened in this case, and what should happen in the future. Obama dared his detractors to wade into the muck here, and he doesn't have to say another word. Nothing is more beautiful than to be in a debate with racists trying to justify racism (again, whether or not you think this qualifies).
It also gave the press ANOTHER story to cover out of the press conference, without really distracting from his health care message.
For the record, it's playing pretty much as I'll bet they hoped in most of the press I've read. This will not even be a stubbed toe, let alone any kind of Waterloo.
All and all, good job Rahm Emmanuel.
Typo edits.
This message has been edited by SquiddyBoy on Jul 24, 2009 9:31 AM This message has been edited by SquiddyBoy on Jul 24, 2009 9:14 AM
Obama's comment on the story was a story in itself. Is he going to take a public stance on every citizen that is falsely accused of a crime? He admitted he didn't know all the facts but yet he can still pass judgement on the officer and his actions?
At the very least, he definitely picked the wrong story to elevate. If an officer repeatedly told me that I was becoming belligerent, you better believe I would back off.
I've been following this story closely . . . there's going to be a big press conference today with the police unions. I'm very interested to hear what they have to say.
That? Was hilarious. And for our resident orator to say there's no hero worship going on here? Puh-leeze. And you're welcome, even though if that's your job, you are part of what is wrong with this country. Opinion polls, is that it? You can take that and a boatload of lobbyists and go take a hike. In my humble little opinion.
I can't even bring myself to comment on that welfare thread. I've started to, but bow down to the elite of this board. There's so much crap in there, someone needs to call Roto-Rooter. The liberal (and believe it or not, I am one) blustering going on in there makes me just as angry as Fox News. That stuff is written by someone who is clearly removed from reality. Denying that aspect of our society exists does not make it so. It's out there, buddy. Most of us have seen it with our own 2 eyes and if you haven't? Well then, you're just as sheltered as you sound. Good for you.
I fully expect more blustering here, btw, but am so disgusted with it I am flouncing (for the weekend, at least). No one ever leaves. It's like Hotel California up in here.
The point is that it doesn't exist to the level that morons like you say it does - certainly not to the level that anyone should use such cases as valid examples when crafting policy. Of course cheaters and human garbage exist. Some of them even have computers as is evidenced by your posting. Gaming the system happens in any policy solution, the goal is to keep it at a minimum without hurting those who legitimately need the service. Better to tolerate a few cheaters to feed a million kids than to neglect the need.
As to all the personal shots you took at me? You did that because you've got nothing better substantively, so I can't really be bothered.
If the point was to bring to light the unfair treatment of minorities by law enforcement, wouldn't it have been better to make an example out of a case where that actually happened?
The arrest WAS stupid but it would have gone down the same way if Gates was white and spouting off.
So, what was the point here? A white cop can't arrest a black man ever because it isn't fair? Are blacks pushing for "Separate but Equal" laws now?
He should have kept his mouth shut. Its not a president's duty to say anything about a matter that is at heart the Cambridge Police Department and the municipality of the city of Boston. Nixon did the same thing with Charlie Manson (saying he was guilty during the trial). It was wrong then and it is wrong now.
He also spent 55 minutes talking about one of the most important issues of our generation (UHC)- and 5 minutes talking about this stupid story- guess what got most the news coverage?
If it was planned to distract us (as Squid is saying???), then Obama is a bigger piece of shit than I would have ever thought. Instead of presenting UHC in a sober and detailed manor, telling us how we are going to pay for it- how it will be implemented- he wants to rush it through government before he loses the political capital, and he using this cheap and tawdry example of "faux racism as a distraction so we WON'T ask any details about it?
How is that serving the best interests of the American people?
This reminds me of a time the police were called to my house. I was at work one morning and got a call from my alarm company stating the alarm had sounded and the authorities had been called. I raced home and happened to beat the cops there. After walking the circumference of the house and seeing no signs of entry, I went to the front door. It was still locked, so I thought to myself that possibly the fire alarm had set it off the alarm system. Wanting to get a jump on any fire-fighting potentially required I went inside. About this time the cops showed up and asked me for my ID. Initially, I was a bit shocked. I was being carded by a cop in my own home! Then I quickly realized he doesnt know me from Adam. So, I showed him my drivers license, and we checked out the inside of the house together. Afterwards, I apologized for wasting his time and thanked him for his assistance.
Kind of anti-climatic, but that's probably what would have happened if Gates didn't get belligerent. But, to Gates credit, due to his research specialty and background, he is probably more familiar than most with the long history of racial profiling in law enforcement in the US. One difference in the situation was that I knew my alarm system called the cops while in Gates case they showed up out of nowhere. So I can kind of understand his surprise and offense at the police arrival. On the other hand, given his background and familiarity with racial profiling issues, he should have been more aware of standard police protocols.
Having been in a similar situation, I can sort of see both sides and how this easily could have happened. It's too bad the neighbors didn't recognize that it was Gates trying to get into his own house. Gates also shouldn't have escalated the confrontation. I myself try not to yell at people with guns and tazers.
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This message has been edited by Funkenstien on Jul 24, 2009 11:40 AM
I'm pretty sure the police were called in for this case - not just driving by and noticed him there. I think somebody called in and reported that the house was being burglarized (?). Gate's front door was jammed or something and he was out front trying to free it.
I know not everyone is inclined to believe police reports, but in this case I believe it. He told Gates a few times that neighbors had called, and the woman who did call was standing right outside. She was still there when the police officer left, and he followed him out screaming at him. So as for walking away, the officer did.
"It also gave the press ANOTHER story to cover out of the press conference, without really distracting from his health care message"
That's where your logic completely breaks down..."Oh yeah, he PLANNED TO DO THIS! It won't distract from health care...NOT AT ALL!"
If you are saying it is premeditated, then that implies it is for a response from the media and the public. What exactly would be the effect of that response?
If he planned it, he is scum. If he didn't, he just simply fucked up.
I can live with a President that just fucked up- he should retract it, apologize to the officer and be done with it.
Here I am the pres of the free world. I find out that my good friend was arrested in his own home, and I admit to not knowing the rest of the story. Saying "Its stupid to arrest a harvard proff in his own home" doesnt seem like that much of a strech to me.
OK Citizen. I'll just stand on my nonsense then, let this thread be my evidence, and disagree with any who say this won't be a net win for Obama.
Imagine it was Sarah Palin commenting on one of HER friends getting arrested in Wasilla!
"I think, geographically, that these outside forces hell bent of these frivolous charges are in cahoots with the Russians I can't see, and that's why health care."
Whenever Bush would fuck up bad, and people would blindly and unreasonably defend him, I would get so irritated. Granted, this is no where close to the size of a Bush fuck up, but I still think Obama screwed the pooch here.
I didn't accuse anyone outright of blindly defending, and I didn't do that for a reason. Because I don't think anyone is. I just think that it's starting to get a little familiar.
Certainly there has been a history of law enforcement not dealing well with African Americans. That doesn't mean that every time they deal with an African American male = racist behaviour and racial profiling.
The problem with painting Obama's involvement with priming a national debate on race in this case, is that very few people have sympathy for Professor Gates. Maybe that's wrong, but it's human nature to feel for someone of a more humble nature and lesser stature. There is nothing weak about Gates, so he just comes across as a bully, rather than a victim.
On the flip side, if you look at the historical characters who've actually sparked debate, such as Rosa Parks, or Rodney King, they had a much greater impact on the national discourse, because they appeared sympathetic and in need of help. In a nutshell, they were lambs and Gates is a lion. Lions have claws and big teeth. Why worry about an animal who can clearly defend himself?
So because Squid holds Obama in high regards, it's characterized as a man crush? Rube-ish.
And as far as Obama pushing hard to get the legislation passed, that's how shit gets done in Washington. You don't pass legislation by being timid and not taking advantage of your position. The republicans did it in 1994 and again in 2004. It's not a great system, but it's the system we have. This whole "we need to slow it down and get it right" crap is just code for stall forever so it never passes.
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