Friday, July 24, 2009

Professor Gates continues racist behavior. UPDATED

In my last post, I shared the situation as it happened, complete with the police report.

It is just getting worse. Obama has come out against the police, saying that the Police "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates, while acknowledging that he "doesn't know all the facts" and that he "may be a little biased" because the professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr., is a friend.

"But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry; No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, No. 3 ... that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately."

So instead of letting the police do their job, he makes this into a national incident. Not only that, but he generalizes and stereotypes all police offices, especially white ones. Isn't that what is being thrown at the police here? Police around the country are understandably upset. Obama is playing to the "cops are bad" mentality. Why don't we just get rid of the police and see how we are then. Let society crumble under anarchy. See who gets "profiled" then.

And now Professor Gates, whose charges were dropped, is going to sue.

Attorney Charles Ogletree said Gates might sue the department and would bring forward witnesses who say they've had similar experiences with Crowley.

When asked for specific examples, Ogletree said only that they may come out in time depending on how the police department handles the situation moving forward.


Isn't procuring false witnesses a crime? But Ogletree is saying that they will bring "witnesses" when money is on the table. Witnesses get paid for their time. And suddenly, when money is to be had, these people will come forward? Sounds fishy to me. Some mature professor.

He can't handle that the police officer didn't let the celebrity get away with getting in the officer's face. He yelled "You don't know who you are messing with!" when the officers came to investigate the possible break in. And then injects race into this. If you look at pictures, there is a black officer, and the secondary officer was hispanic. But since the primary officer was white, Gates pulls the race card and tries to claim racism. Seems to me like Gates is the racist here.

In the wake of this, many people are coming to the support of Crowley, of all races and walks of life.

Numerous police officers, including African-Americans, have spoken up on Crowley's behalf and portrayed him as a good and fair officer. Crowley, who is white, had once been chosen by a black police officer to teach a police academy course on ways to avoid racial profiling.

Cambridge police Commissioner Robert Haas said he "deeply regrets" the arrest but stands by the procedures his department followed.
"I trust [Crowley's] judgment implicitly. He is a stellar officer," Haas said.


And again:

"I believe that Sgt. [James] Crowley acted in a way that is consistent with his training at the department, and consistent with national standards of law enforcement protocol," Commissioner Robert Haas said, referring to the officer who made the July 16 arrest at the professor's home.

Crowley also said he is exercising caution and his previous actions clearly show he is not a racist.
In fact, Crowley taught a racial profiling course at the Lowell Police Academy, said Deborah Friedl, deputy superintendent of the police department.
Last year was his fifth year as a co-instructor of the course, Friedl said.
"He seems to be a highly regarded instructor at the academy. He consistently received high praise from students," she said.


Check out this video, in which an African-American female voices support for Sgt. Crowley and says "shame on" Gates for turning this into another racial statement.

But Gates continues to demand an apology from the police for daring to arrest him, when he's obviously famous and they "don't know who they are messing with!" I am so tired of celebrities thinking they are above the law. And I'm tired of minorities accusing white police officers of racism whenever they are arrested. It's getting ridiculous.

It's true there was racism here. But it was Sgt. Crowley; the racist behaviors came from Professor Gates and his supporters who jumped behind the black man against the "evil policeman"...racism is racism, even when directed at white men.

**UPDATE**

Obama has apologized for worsening the situation, and said he "hoped the controversy surrounding Gates' arrest provides Americans with "a teachable moment" on how they can improve "relations between police officers and minority communities."

Gates is still maintening that he was 100% faultless, and that he may still sue.

Gates' lawyer is still threatening suit, and that he'll find people that don't like Crowley, saying "I think you will be hearing much more complex and different perspective on him [Crowley] in the coming days and weeks," Ogletree said, alleging that Crowley "is well-known among people, particularly young people, for some of his police practices."

36 comments:

James' Muse said...

Bob, again, Gates is his friend. I don't think it's racism; I think Obama is blindly backing his friend.

agreement said...

i agree that professor gates was the one being racist... really now... if it had been a black officer and he acted in the manner he did he would have been arrested and nothing said... if it had been a white professor acting in such a way and a white or black officer responded he would have been arrested and nothing said... it appears the professor gates is much like some of the others like al sharpton who scream about equality but the truth of the matter is they try to play the race card for everything it's worth...when actually they are being quite racist themselves...

Anonymous said...

Wasn't there, didn't see it happen BUT Obama today in a speech referred to Gates by name and Crowley as the "white cop"......isn't that racism?

Anonymous said...

It's a situation in which both parties acted about as maturely as drunken frat boys. And now it's exploded into something of Michael Jackson proportions, diverting our attention from the fact that we're getting closer, each day, to a point of economic no return. Forget about this stupid incident. As Bill Murray said, in Meatballs, "It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter!"

Anonymous said...

How dare anyone ask the president to apologies for something that clearly shows that the arrest was necessary whether the cop was White, Hispanic Asian or Native American, or black he didnt do anything wrong except use the wrong choice of words. Gates is innocent until proven guilty and so is Crowley....so what?? Now the president has to apologize to the whole police force, even LAPD!!!!!!!This would not have been asked if there was a republican in office. is it because he may raise taxes to those who are not in minimum wage?? HE NEVER SAID THAT THE WHOLE POLICE FORCE OF CAMBRIDGE WAS STUPID!!!!LOL......is it because he is a black president the Cambridge police department thinks they can intimidate the president...get over it, he is already at the white house!!!

James' Muse said...

Wow. I'm getting a lot of "anonymous"...could you guys at least put a name? I'm confused with three different anonymouses.

BC-TW said...

I would love to see how any of you would react to being accosted on your own property. The president's words were indeed unfortunate but they were still accurate nonetheless. The cops were called for suspicion of a break in. The cops then determined that the so-called "suspect" was actually the home's resident. Why was it not over at that point? Why arrest him? Because one man may have uttered a few unmentionables at another? What does that say about police priorities? This was, as Obama said, a stupid act. Why is that comment racist? The arresting cop has egg on his face and just because one of his black peers spoke up in his support does not mean race did not play a role in all of this. Obama opined on this subject because he was asked about it. Had he not commented he would have been branded racist, as well. I am embarrassed for Obama than he backtracked the way he did, though. He should have stuck to his original comment.

Anonymous said...

I think there is a microchip implanted in African American's since birth that that signals "RACIAL PROFILING" when they are approached by a police officer and whenver placed in a situation of accountability, another sensor comes on "the white man is out to get me ".
This Professor Gates did just that.
And Obama showed his true color and reacted. Some want to jump through their skin to vent some invisible anger to (any) white person....this officer was just doing his job. It is unfortunate this incident happened, as I don't think Obama can "take it back" now that he has "come out of the closet" persay.

Anonymous said...

Okay my take on this. As I said before the cop did what he had to do. Cops are up against bad guys on an everyday basis. If you start flipping out and yelling at a cop you should expect to be arrested. When I worked as an EMT we had a lot of interaction with cops and there job is not an easy one. Trying to keep the peace isn't easy. He didn't use excessive force, he didn't pull a gun on him, he just arrested him for his actions.

I have a difficult time with Obama putting his two cents in. He knew this was a very highly controversial case and I really think it was none of his business. To make the comment he did was out of line and I think it hurt him in many people's eyes. By siding with his "friend" he enforced the racism that Gates brought into the situation. When are people going to be responsible for playing the race card time and again. Everytime a black man or woman is arrested doesn't make it a racist event. For people wanting to end racism they sure did a good job of bringing it into the picture.

Anonymous said...

the president said the honest thing? nnooooooooo...common sense comming back?? that's impossible. OUTRAGEOUS! HOW COULD SUCH A THING EVEN BE CONCIDERED!

Anonymous said...

CNN can call itself the Henry louis gates channel/michael jackson and cover him for all time for all I care, because i havn't been looking to them for the news, for frieken years.

Anonymous said...

What's with all the anon's? You're getting invaded by them! LOL

dmarks said...

As for Gates' suing, there's lots of money to be made in completely frivolous lawsuits like this. Gates is making himself out to be a real complete a**hole, isn't he.

James' Muse said...

No kidding. The more facts that come out, the more I'm with the cop on this. I'm the first to be harsh with cops that cross the line, like shooting an obviously unarmed person, 4 times, and other things. I hate police abuse because it makes the rest look like these yahoos.

I don't think Crowley is in the yahoo category.

James' Muse said...

I like what I read on New Majority frm http://www.newmajority.com/charged-with-being-a-jerk/

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates was arrested, not for being a “black man in America,” but for being a belligerent jackass. It doesn’t matter if you’re an esteemed professor or a college kid hammered off of keg beer – talking back to an officer is stupid and will eventually get you arrested. This is called equal application of the law.

Anonymous said...

I think Obama should check his facts before he answers questions. He's right that blacks are still sometimes singled out, and that's unfortunate, but I think this poor professor hit the "defensive" mode before he knew what was really happening. If the police had come to my door and said the neighbors accused me of breaking into my own home, I would have LAUGHED about it and invited the officer in for a cup of coffee! Now wouldn't that have solved a lot of problems? The officer was just doing his job.
One last thing, this is not a story of Mr. Gates being arrested, it is a story of Mr. Obama's ignorant opinion of a law enforcement official. Yes, I realize I should not stoop so low as to infer he is ignorant, after all, I wouldn't call a person "stupid" without knowing them.

BC-TW said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
James' Muse said...

Whoa man. I don't tolerate racist jokes here. I would have left your account, even with your obviously prejudiced opinion against police officers, until that joke at the end.

Don't ever use racial slurs on my blog.

Joe "Truth 101" Kelly said...

Sgt. Crowley is an experienced police office. Why would he be surorised that a black man being questioned in his own home think he's being treated unfairly.


Prof. Gates is a renowned teacher of race relations. He must be smart enough to know when you address the police you do so respectfully.

There is enough stupidity to go around.




When President Obama was running for president, he said he would answer questions with answers. Not the usual "Washington speak." I find it refreshing that he gave an honest answer as he saw the situation at the time. He could have just left it at "I'll comment later." I'm glad to know what he thought. Not what Axlerod or Gibbs told him to say after goping through ten meetings and focus group.

Anonymous said...

I am in full agreement with you on this issue.

Unknown said...

Looks like the spawn of GHB found your site. DUH DUH DUH (music)...

The Thin Blue Line said...

One last thing, this is not a story of Mr. Gates being arrested, it is a story of Mr. Obama's ignorant opinion of a law enforcement official. Yes, I realize I should not stoop so low as to infer he is ignorant, after all, I wouldn't call a person "stupid" without knowing them.
Mr Obama said Wednesday that police acted "stupidly" in the arrest of Gates. And that despite racial progress blacks and Hispanics are still singled out unfairly for arrest. That disparity is a reminder that "race remains a factor in the society," Obama said........on an incident he knows little about. He injected the race factor into this story after his friend is arrested for disorderly conduct.

dmarks said...

"Prof. Gates is a renowned teacher of race relations"

In this incident, he came out as a promoter of racism. Makes me wonder if he's a really good teacher, or does he always act like a drunken racist.

"I'm glad to know what he thought"

And this "thought" revealed Obama to be not ready for prime time.

dmarks said...

Orgen said: " You just can't see it because you're a white man"

Can you try to make some sort of valid point? Without making stereotypical assumptions and racist slams?

FUCK YOU said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
BC-TW said...

dmarks -- you conveniently took my comment out of context. I qualified my statement that white folks are for the most part blind to what black folks see as clear examples of racist behavior because white folks are born into a world of privilege simply because of the color of their skin. Conversely, unless it is on the athletic field, darker skin is a decided disadvantage in this society, and has been for centuries.

Just ask that white mother who killed her own children and then told the cops that a black man did it. There was an instant nationwide manhunt for a fictional black man. No questions asked! Because in the cops' eyes, there is no way a white woman would kill her kids. Just like this time around, people are assuming this cop couldn't have done any wrong because he was awarded some certificate of achievement for a mandatory seminar in racism sensitivity.

This is called institutional racism, (not to mention a system-wide abuse of power by law enforcement agencies) and that was the driving force behind Prof. Gates' arrest. Not Gates' mouthing off to the cops. After all, why shouldn't Gates be upset and voice his displeasure with the overt racist and unjustified police behavior? He found himself a victim of the same racist policies practiced by police forces across the country -- black man = instant suspect regardless of the situation. Gates was enraged, and rightfully so.

The charges of "disorderly conduct" and "disturbing the peace" and "acting suspicious" are nothing but blanket charges used by police to mask the true intention: to instantly detain a "suspect" (thumbing their nose at the holy premise of "innocent until proven guilty" -- otherwise why handcuff a man who did not pose a physical threat and who also uses a cane to walk?). This cop was embarrassed when it was determined there was no crime committed, and it hurt him worse when Gates taunted him. But is that really disorderly conduct? Last I checked taunting is not a crime. And that is why the "charges" were instantly dropped. Because they were bogus.

After all the decades of mistreatment of black people (men in particular) at the hands of white policemen, I find it amazing that the people submitting these comments just can't bring themselves to see it.

When was the last time anybody ever heard of anything like this happening to a white person? It just doesn't happen. Ask yourselves why.

Anonymous said...

"Just ask that white mother who killed her own children and then told the cops that a black man did it. There was an instant nationwide manhunt for a fictional black man. No questions asked!"

It does not matter what color she said the man was, when you are searching for kids and get a clue, you jump on it. The mom, you can call racist but certainly not the police department.

BC-TW said...

Jennifer, my dear. Don't be so naive. That "clue" should have been a bit more closely scrutinized before sending out an APB for a random black man who does not even exist. But I guess that's expecting too much from public servants whose salaries are payrolled by taxpaying citizens like myself...

However, I am encouraged that Jennifer didn't take issue with anything else that I said. I will take that to mean she agrees that the police are racist in nature and training and that this whole situation should have been avoided once the cop realized that no crime was committed.

James' Muse said...


The charges of "disorderly conduct" and "disturbing the peace" and "acting suspicious" are nothing but blanket charges used by police to mask the true intention: to instantly detain a "suspect" (thumbing their nose at the holy premise of "innocent until proven guilty" -- otherwise why handcuff a man who did not pose a physical threat and who also uses a cane to walk?). This cop was embarrassed when it was determined there was no crime committed, and it hurt him worse when Gates taunted him. But is that really disorderly conduct? Last I checked taunting is not a crime. And that is why the "charges" were instantly dropped. Because they were bogus.


Innocent until proven guilty only works for courtrooms; arrest isn't a punishment, its when probable cause exists enough to find out if it should be taken further. And taunting a police officer is a crime, that's why police officers do have these things. If that should be changed, take it up with the legislature.


After all the decades of mistreatment of black people (men in particular) at the hands of white policemen, I find it amazing that the people submitting these comments just can't bring themselves to see it.


But what about the decades of cop killing? Again, don't judge today's cops by their predecesors, just as all black men aren't part of the BLA.

When was the last time anybody ever heard of anything like this happening to a white person? It just doesn't happen. Ask yourselves why.

Actually, white people get arrested for these things all the time. White men on their porch, yelling loudly at passerbys are told to quiet down or be arrested for, you guessed it, disturbing the peace. I've seen this firsthand. The difference is, these white men didn't yell "racism!" and continue to get louder. They shut up when the cop warned them.

BC-TW said...

http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/

this says it all:

In his story of their verbal tussle, Crowley describes himself as overwhelmed by the noise in Gates’s kitchen, as the black professor loudly accused the white cop of racial profiling. Seeing that Gates could not be persuaded to use an inside voice, Crowley retreated to the street, inviting Gates to join him outdoors.

“Ya, I’ll speak with your mama outside,” Gates allegedly told him.

Gates denied referring to Crowley’s mama. “The idea that I would, in a vulnerable position talk about the man’s mother is absurd,” he told Gayle King of Sirius radio. “I don’t talk about people’s mothers … You could get killed talking about somebody’s mother in the barbershop, let alone with a white police officer … I think they did some historical research, and watched some episodes of ‘Good Times.’ ”

BC-TW said...

another good article:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1912778,00.html

Here is what the absurdist, typically stilted language of Sergeant James Crowley's report on the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. really means:

Gates: You're not the boss of me!
Crowley: I am the boss of you.
Gates: You are not the boss of me!
Crowley: I'll show you. You're under arrest.

There is no crime described in Crowley's official version of the way Gates behaved. Crowley says explicitly that he arrested Gates for yelling. Nothing else, not a single threatening movement, just yelling. On the steps of his own home. Yelling is not a crime. Yelling does not meet the definition of disorderly conduct in Massachusetts. Not a single shouted word or action that Crowley has attributed to Gates amounts to disorderly conduct. That is why the charges had to be dropped.

James' Muse said...

I'm not sure of that; but as I said before, Police do have the ability to arrest people to keep the peace. Many times DAs will drop the charges because they don't feel like pursuing the charges would be wise or fiscally responsible.

If something needs to change in police rules and regulation, then people should take it up with their legislatures.

But this had nothing to do with race. Gates may have felt it did, but that doesn't make it true.

dmarks said...

Orgen summarizes it as

"Gates: You're not the boss of me!
Crowley: I am the boss of you.
Gates: You are not the boss of me!
Crowley: I'll show you. You're under arrest."

Well, Crowley was the boss, actually. He's the cop, not Gates. Gates is the lowest of the low. Going nuts like this, making undeserved racist claims against the cop, and refusing the apologize... and now threatening to rob the taxpayers of Cambridge with a completely frivolous lawsuit.

He's digging himself a deeper and deeper hole, and he's managed to drag Obama into it with him a little (thanks to Obama's big "stupid cops" gaffe)

dmarks said...

James said: "Actually, white people get arrested for these things all the time."

Actually, more white people get arrested than black people.

There goes Ogren's case (that only black people get arrested), collapsing like a house of cards. A house of race-cards, really.

Anonymous said...

Nicely played Dmarks and James! I've been wanting to come back and address those comments but I was a bit occupied with drama at my place.

dmarks said...

Orgen keeps insisting that Crowley bear the wieght of what others who happen to have the same skin color have done. The whole "at the hands of white policemen" thing

That's the very definition of racism:

"racial prejudice or discrimination" - Merriam Webster.

Jennifer; Thanks.