Obama and the Henry Gates incident
We’ve got two separate questions at work in the Henry Louis Gates incident, which in this late-July news vacuum seems to getting more attention that it deserves.
Question One:
Gates has always struck me as a very intelligent, rational person. If I was “breaking into” my own home, and if I had ID to prove it was my own home, as Gates did, I could see getting a little upset if the responding cop treated me like a criminal. If I was a black man in that same situation in a neighborhood such as Cambridge, I could see that trigger getting a little shorter.
However, if I was the cop in that identical situation? I can’t promise I would have reacted differently either. Absent evidence of the interaction between the professor and the officer, we do not know and cannot know who was most at fault. Even if we had sound and videotape, I’m sure opinions would vary.
So who was right? Who knows.
Now, the second question: Should the president have ventured into the matter?
No. He should have expressed concern and moved on. But the world is not perfect, and neither are those of us who occupy it. In expressing sympathy for Gates, Obama acknowledged and expressed the justified frustration that many black Americans feel in general about interactions with the police. I can’t blame him for that.
But in a perfect world, given his position, Obama would have explained that history without impugning the individual officer involved. His error was in translating the general problem into a specific criticism.
It’s not pretty, but this is how our national conversation about race continues. It’s all good in the end.
Really.
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442 comments Add your comment
Turd Ferguson
July 24th, 2009
9:58 am
Gates behavior was atrocious. He should be thankful his neighbor reported TWO individuals “prowling” around and that an officer responded. After the officer shows up Gates begins behaving as the RACIST he is…read his comments…Gates is a racist. His supposed education level, one would think, would leave him more level-headed but no. He just wanted to attempt to exert some type of authority.
What a stupid man this Gates…caterwaling and screaming like some banshee in the night.
The cop did what he should have done. Everyone knows if you become belligerent with a cop you are gonna get cuffed but the again I guess Mr – “you dont know who you are messin with” – Gates was yet again clueless.
Obama should keep his mouth shut.
woodie
July 24th, 2009
9:59 am
One thing is pretty obvious to me. Gates over-reacted to a situation he obviously did not understand himself. I think he owes the officer an apology. Big time.
J.Woolley
July 24th, 2009
9:59 am
Whenever one reads or hears the description “distinguished” by a newsy, it is always crucial to dig a little deeper.
Just prior to this unfortunate incident, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., had returned from China. While I am ignorant of the frequency of these trips, I am aware of some of the organizations Dr. Gates belongs to and affixes his name to.
One of these is the Bretton Woods Committee, the American-based, international lobby for the ultra-rich. In a recent letter to the US Congress (dated February 11, 2009) which listed Dr. Gates’ name, the Bretton Woods Committee successfully pressured the US Congress to remove the “Buy American” clause from the federal stimulus package.
This acts to promote the next colossal wave of American jobs offshored to China, as well as elsewhere. Should Dr. Gates have received any payment from the Chinese government (or any other Chinese organization as almost everything there is PLA-owned [People's Liberation Army]), he is required by federal law to be a registered foreign agent (FARA, Department of Justice).
Along with Dr. Gates’ name, the other names on this letter included the owners and senior-most executives of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, National Association of Manufacturers, Citigroup, AIG, JPMorgan Chase, Blackstone Group, KKR, Burson-Marsteller, etc.
I Report :-) You Whine :-(
July 24th, 2009
10:00 am
To wit-
Reforming Health Care is Nation’s No. 1 Priority – San Francisco Chronicle
The San FranFreako Khronicle, eh?
These pinkos stood by and endorsed every idiotic socialist idea that burned their state slam to the ground.
They think we don’t know this?
If they like it, you should cringe.
USinUK
July 24th, 2009
10:02 am
scooter –
“I have been considering moving my money out of the market and into something less risky. Would you be so kind to give me your opinion on this?”
why? the markets are stabilizing
Turd Ferguson
July 24th, 2009
10:05 am
Agreed…now is not the time to move out of markets.
You should be buying…very carefully mind you but buying, nevertheless.
USinUK
July 24th, 2009
10:07 am
well, there ya go … if TF and I agree on it, you have your bases covered!
Scooter
July 24th, 2009
10:08 am
Thanks USinUK!
herbert spencer
July 24th, 2009
10:08 am
“there is one concept that will keep a man in everlasting ignorance, that is, contempt prior to investigation”.
Our President and his comments were quite revealing as to what’s really inside that suit.
danjonglee
July 24th, 2009
10:08 am
Sounds like those 20 years sitting in the congregation of Rev. Wright is coming home to roost…..
Gandalf of Gwinnesia
July 24th, 2009
10:08 am
I fear Gate’s America where hatred is the motivation behind everything. He has spent his whole career teaching others how oppressed “the Poor Black Man” is. Now all he sees is this oppression. His momma would be embarassed by his behaivor! He was treated too well in my opinion.
“Sir, please step outside before I am forced to beat you with my nightstick.”
WAM WAM WAM
Gates lying on floor..
“Thank you sir for calming down, now may I see some ID please?, oh, and I would leave my momma out of it if I were you!”
just sayin’!
AmVet
July 24th, 2009
10:09 am
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:Republicans: 2..1
Unless of course one considers cows, chickens, pigs and goats.
Then you have verifiable carnage!
“…minor surge and recovery of the stock market…”
Only in Cobb County’s Buffoneryville is an annualized 27% return a minor surge.
Normal
July 24th, 2009
10:09 am
Speaking of the markets, it looks like the Friday sell offs are beginning. Make your profits while you can boys and girls…
Scooter
July 24th, 2009
10:09 am
Thanks to you too TF!
David
July 24th, 2009
10:11 am
USinUK…
I guess CNN reported this incorrectly a couple of days ago, I could’ve sworn they wrote that a neighbor called it in. I definitely remember that they specified that she was white though, which I found interesting. (I guess when crime tips are called-in, they’re racially qualified as nowadays).
Gandalf of Gwinnesia
July 24th, 2009
10:13 am
AmVet: Cows, chickens, pigs and goats aren’t considered people, in most counties. But most folks have guns, know how to use them, and use them regularly! Just sayin’
“the 2nd amendment suggests you should have your own M1A2 battle tank, if you can afford it” Thomas Jefferson
Red Foreman
July 24th, 2009
10:13 am
Wow, good article Jay…and we agree on something!
Gandalf of Gwinnesia
July 24th, 2009
10:14 am
White people shouldn’t call in crimes, that’s racist!
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:14 am
Pennsylvanian
July 24th, 2009
9:00 am
Irrelevant.
Turd Ferguson
July 24th, 2009
10:15 am
USUK…Glad we could agree something!! ; )
deegee
July 24th, 2009
10:15 am
Today I saw video of Professor Gates’ recounting the story and the Police Officer recounting the story. If body language is any indication, I would say that Professor Gates is much more credible than the Police Officer. According to Gates, the officer asked Gates to get his I.D. While Gates was going to the next room to get his I.D, he asked the officer for his name and badge number. The officer refused to answer Gates. Then it escalated. Maybe it could have been avoided if the police officer had just answered Gates.
Politically speaking, BO shouldn’t have called the act of cuffing an obviously non-threatening individual “stupid”. But it was stupid.
Gandalf of Gwinnesia
July 24th, 2009
10:16 am
AmVet! HE’s talking about Barry, the b@st@rd, who’s father had sex with Barry’s mom when she was a minor! So the from broken home, b@st@rd son of a child molester should apply as well. He was already married in Kenya lest we forget, so Barry Sr. and Stanley were not legally married. Facts here please, not silly opionions!
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:16 am
Gandalf of Gwinnesia
July 24th, 2009
10:13 am
Maybe you and your militia buddies can pool your resources and place an order for a couple of hundred F-22s.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:19 am
Gandalf of Gwinnesia
July 24th, 2009
10:16 am
Sex with a minor! It hasn’t been that long since it was perfectly OK, and even encouraged in some circles, for a man to take a 13-yer-old bride in this country. And no laws are going to change that attraction.
Rickster
July 24th, 2009
10:20 am
My guess??? Professor Gates’ portfolio has taken a whale of a beating. So to make some money, he pulled this PR stunt to get appearance fees and a nice big fat advance on the soon-to-be announced book deal.
Pennsylvanian
July 24th, 2009
10:21 am
TnGelding @ 10:16 – Relevance to topic?
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:22 am
Normal
July 24th, 2009
10:09 am
Took them yesterday and last night, thank you!
That said, I hope they recover and close out the week with a bang!
Turd Ferguson
July 24th, 2009
10:23 am
DG…interesting…the police officers account is somewhat different. I guess the only two that know the truth are the ever belligerent Gates and the officer.
Perhaps from this point forward two officers will be needed to respond to each and every call thereby avoiding such “racial” issues. But then of course the two officers will be in the wrong unless they are both black. But then of course the two officers will be lying… and on and on and on it goes.
Probably the best course of action is for the officer and Gates to forget it and move on.
Obama should keep his mouth shut.
md
July 24th, 2009
10:25 am
“he didn’t arrest him inside his house, even though Gates was evidently yelling at him there, too. he only did it OUTSIDE, where there was an audience.”
Perspective!!
I’m a police officer in an unfamiliar environment, probably wearing a flak jacket, inside a strange persons house with no witnesses, getting yelled at. What would you do! I get my butt outside and cya, especially in the litigious soceity we have become. People are trying to win the lawsuit lottery every single day. You darn well better have witnesses.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:25 am
Normal
July 24th, 2009
10:09 am
The incident will end up being irrelevant.
I was just replying to the 2nd Amendment lunacy. I didn’t take it off topic, but I’m allowed to.
TS
July 24th, 2009
10:25 am
Is it that hard for people to believe that an elitist liberal Harvard prof would go out of control on a white cop?
TW
July 24th, 2009
10:25 am
As soon as the cop verified it was Gates residence, he should have walked off – unless he was being physically threatened. When he stuck around to play word games, he was then trespassing. Gates can pretty much talk however he wants to in HIS house. Thought you rightwingers were big on ‘MINE?’
Had a white president said ’stupidly,’ we have had two days of praise from the right for his having the balls to ‘call it like he sees it.’
That said, bad choice of words by the President.
md
July 24th, 2009
10:26 am
As for pulling money out of the markets – if you didn’t do it on the way down, all you would be doing by pulling it out now would be locking in your loses. Ride it out.
RW-(the original)
July 24th, 2009
10:28 am
Oh my! It turns out at least one of the cops had their mics keyed and there is audio tape.
Paul,
Since committee hearings to mark up the bill have been canceled three days and counting due to the lack of votes I find it hard to believe they have the votes on the floor.
Dr.R
July 24th, 2009
10:28 am
I agree with Jay. This is another of those Rhorshach tests, like the OJ trial, that show how differently white and black America view an incident. On on the one hand, Gates likely was perturbed that he was seen as breakking into his own home (though I would appreciate my neighbor being on alert if they saw someone trying to force open my door). On the other hand, the police officer was just doing his job by responding. It’s hard to know who’s to blame, if anyone, so we should all withhold judgment, as the president should have. Such events make us uncomfortable because we don’t know for sure what happened and who is wrong. When there aren’t clear answers, we tend to choose sides and make assumptions based on our cultural perspective. Sad, but as Jay says, maybe a good tonic for us in the long run.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:28 am
md
July 24th, 2009
10:26 am
But what if you did take it out on the way down?
mm
July 24th, 2009
10:29 am
Wow, I’m shocked.
Whiner cutting and pasting AmSpec.
RW sees a conspiracy in the news conference.
Raider listing false info about the HCR from a wingnut site.
Some things never change.
@@
July 24th, 2009
10:29 am
Good grief! It’s 10:24 and the topic hasn’t changed?
Is jay being held up at home?
USinUK
July 24th, 2009
10:30 am
David –
“I guess CNN reported this incorrectly a couple of days ago, I could’ve sworn they wrote that a neighbor called it in”
you heard correctly – I think the story has been rectified only in the last day or so.
TF –
“Glad we could agree something!! ”
me, too
md –
“What would you do! I get my butt outside and cya, especially in the litigious soceity we have become.”
um. considering that the cop knew by that time that Gates was in his own house, he should have just given the guy his card and left. period.
jt
July 24th, 2009
10:30 am
“That said, bad choice of words by the President.”
No, it was intentional.
Street cred.
AmVet
July 24th, 2009
10:31 am
Yeah, I was hesitant to use the word carnage, but am now convinced those creatures I listed are not Soylent Green…
Oh THAT minor surge! How silly of me!
Dollar cost averaging, boys. Dollar cost averaging…
md
July 24th, 2009
10:35 am
TN,
” Weren’t the charges against Gates dropped? That’s a pretty good indication he never should have been arrested, which is what Obama was referring to as acting stupidly.”
Not necessarily. May be more prudent to forget about it vs being in the middle of a media storm, or personal favor, etc. May have nothing at all to do with guilt.
AmVet
July 24th, 2009
10:35 am
And for the second time, I implore, where the hell is that “Gates fiasco” bellyacher of ours, Kayaker?
Talk about not having the ____ to get into the game and being content to just sit on the sidelines!
Very disappointing…
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:38 am
@@
July 24th, 2009
10:29 am
Well, it didn’t get started until last night.
USinUK
July 24th, 2009
10:39 am
hey – I asked earlier, but didn’t get an answer …
does anyone know if Bosch is in for tests today???
lanerlaw
July 24th, 2009
10:40 am
Why does the black community support these politicians that support the war on drugs??? This is all part of the same problem.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:40 am
jt
July 24th, 2009
10:30 am
Are you serious?
md
July 24th, 2009
10:41 am
“But what if you did take it out on the way down?”
Then you are in the drivers seat. Buy low, sell high. Plenty of good stocks undervalued right now. Real estate ripe for the picking too, as there are many distessed and bank owned properties way under valued. Banks are dumping assets cheap because we the taxpayers have their back, so may as well get some of that tax money back in the form of a cheap property. Be like paying yourself some tarp money.
Turd Ferguson
July 24th, 2009
10:41 am
md
July 24th, 2009
10:35 am
Not necessarily. May be more prudent to forget about it vs being in the middle of a media storm, or personal favor, etc. May have nothing at all to do with guilt.
PRECISELY…kinda like Michael paying of his victims.
AmVet
July 24th, 2009
10:42 am
Let’s all just cut to the chase shall we?
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all white men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, the pursuit of Happiness and keeping the homies down.
RW-(the original)
July 24th, 2009
10:42 am
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he’s gone from praying nightly before going to bed to praying all the time because he has a “lot of stuff” on his plate and needs “guidance all the time.”
Obama made the comments in an interview to air Thursday on ABC’s “Nightline.”
Obama says he thinks every president has been humbled by the number of issues they have had to deal with. He says he thinks they are quickly cured of the illusion that one person can solve all those problems.
Maybe if he wasn’t on TV 23 hours a day he could prioritize.
md
July 24th, 2009
10:44 am
“um. considering that the cop knew by that time that Gates was in his own house, he should have just given the guy his card and left. period.”
Um, I believe he was trying to. Mr. Gates had the very same opportunity to quit yelling and say goodnight. He CHOSE not to.
Sorry, but I’ll err on the side of underpaid, put my life on the line police offercers in this situation.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:45 am
md
July 24th, 2009
10:35 am
True, but I think it shows the entire incident has been blown out of proportion. Who was it that asked the question of the president?
Turd Ferguson
July 24th, 2009
10:45 am
AmVet…LOL. I think this day in time the “homies”, as you refer to them, keep themselves down more so than “white men”.
Thogwummpy
July 24th, 2009
10:46 am
I know exactly what the cop went thru because I’ve been on the similar recieving end of what is the HUGE “bigot chip” some black people carry. I bartended at clubs for over a decade, and most had a requirement that to start a tab, ALL patrons had to leave an ID and credit card with the bar. It’s usually iron clad policy. House rules. To be plain, around 20% of the time, a black customer will pitch a hissy fit when asked for the ID/card; “oh, it’s because I’m BLACK?!!?” No matter how calm you are, no matter how you try to explain that EVERYONE must leave the documents as a way that the house protects itself from walk outs…they still scream their “racism!” diatribe. They’ll call me every name in the book, threaten, try and have management fire me, a few idiots have tried to come over the bar and others later in the week had called their lawyer. I had to come to the defense of my other bartenders that go thru the same thing. It is simply part of the business; and I’d bet every white bartender can regail you with many stories of “black-jerk-i-tude”. Moreover, the embarassed look of horror on my black regulars’ faces and their apologies for their “brother”, indicates that African-Americans are also aware that their are race-jerks in their community. GATES IS ONE OF THOSE.
Most people who claim “we should have a national dialogue” on race, don’t WANT an honest discussion about all it’s facets—they just want to continue their lecture about how naturally evil one race is, and how all misconduct from minorities is excusable and acceptable. Well, it isn’t.
md
July 24th, 2009
10:47 am
Sorry amvet, but you have issues.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:47 am
USinUK
July 24th, 2009
10:39 am
Yes, today is the day.
jt
July 24th, 2009
10:48 am
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:40 am
jt
July 24th, 2009
10:30 am
Are you serious?
Absolutely.
Are you saying that the President of the most powerful country on earth does not know in advance the questions to be asked at a major news conference.?????
Even Bush could handle that.
I Report :-) You Whine :-(
July 24th, 2009
10:48 am
What Your Country Can Give You: Cash for Clunkers Begins Today…
How many clunkers will wind up right back in the same junkyard they were sitting in yesterday?
And how many times will they be “recycled” right through the $4500 dollar Obozobucks Dog and Pony Show?
Until China runs out of money?
RW-(the original)
July 24th, 2009
10:48 am
And for the second time, I implore, where the hell is that “Gates fiasco” bellyacher of ours, Kayaker?
Talk about not having the ____ to get into the game and being content to just sit on the sidelines!
I believe he’s back on page 2, but don’t let that get in the way of your tantrum.
Doggone/GA
July 24th, 2009
10:48 am
I think the responses here show just how much each person sees in this incident what they WANT to see. And how much bigotry (not racism) affects the perceptions of some.
booger
July 24th, 2009
10:49 am
Today Gates attorney tells the press that a lawsuit is likely against the Cambridge police dept. and the officer involved. This is exactly why Obama should have kept his nose out of the fray. In Cambridge, which is not exactly a seat of conservativism, their is no way this man will get a fair hearing now that the president has taken sides on the issue and called the police stupid.
USinUK
July 24th, 2009
10:49 am
GOOD LUCK BOSCHY!!! WE’RE THINKING ABOUT YOU!!!
AmVet
July 24th, 2009
10:50 am
Turd, perhaps. But with “conservative” friends, who needs enemies?
md, heal thyself.
And the crowd goes crazy!!
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:50 am
RW-(the original)
July 24th, 2009
10:42 am
Well, at least he still has an hour for prayer.
I agree, tho. Our presidents need to understand the more time they spend in the Oval Office working, the less prayer will be needed. And ground AF1!
RW-(the original)
July 24th, 2009
10:53 am
Gelding,
That grounding of AF1 would be an especially good idea when he’s not on it (and literalists, I realize it isn’t really AF1 unless he IS on it) so he can’t send it out to buzz large cities.
deegee
July 24th, 2009
10:54 am
After reading an account of the incident it appears that the officer was behaving more like an azzhole than a racist. Additionally, if you are familiar with any of Professor Gates’ work you would know that in 2006, Professor Gates wrote and produced the PBS documentary called “African American Lives.” It was the first documentary series to employ genealogy and genetic science to provide an understanding of African American history. As a part of the research, Professor Gates traced his own genealogy and found that he possessed some DNA from Western Africa, but to his surprise his DNA most closely matched that of people found in Western Europe.
Professor Gates is not a reactionary. He is one of the most educated and distinguished scholars that exist in this country. Read the full account of the story. He was treated like a jerk by a police officer with an attitude.
md
July 24th, 2009
10:54 am
“Today Gates attorney tells the press that a lawsuit is likely against the Cambridge police dept. and the officer involved.”
Good, let out all the evidence and then go from there. Release the tapes, bring in the witnesses and make an informed decision vs speculation.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:55 am
jt
July 24th, 2009
10:48 am
Well, he could have been thrown a curve ball. I sure hope you’re wrong, tho. Surely he would have understood this would have legs of its own.
md
July 24th, 2009
10:56 am
“md, heal thyself.”
I don’t believe I’m the one painting an entire race with a broad brush.
AmVet
July 24th, 2009
10:56 am
Oh I see! Color me mortified! (Not.)
Like most of the irrelevant conned I guess he is just that easy to overlook.
“…like most of black America, has a permanent middle finger up for the white community.”
But he sure is a good little junior cracker! What a shocker!!!
And RW notwithstanding your mastery of hyperbolic rhetoric, DO NOT try to be dramatic or erudite!
You always blow it with your “tantrums”.
OK, off to keep the plutocrats well fed…
AmVet
July 24th, 2009
10:59 am
Very quickly before I scoot,
md, do you miss everything in life as easily as you do satire, sarcasm, irony, etc?
Must be a very black and white world.
And again the crowd goes bonkers!
@@
July 24th, 2009
11:00 am
TnG:
Well, it didn’t get started until last night.
No! The Gates v Cambridge Police started over a week ago. It only escalated when Obama weighted himself down.
Let’s find something we CAN agree on, shall we?
Wearing a bathing suit top, mini-skirt and heels when addressing a group of leadership students goes beyond the “trashy flight attendant” look. It verges on hooker-ish.
Can we add Mayor Rasmussen to the images of Democrat Women
Lawd ah mercy that woman’s eewwwgly.
RealityKing
July 24th, 2009
11:00 am
Shouting at stupid cops is never the correct approach..
Turd Ferguson
July 24th, 2009
11:01 am
“Today Gates attorney tells the press that a lawsuit is likely against the Cambridge police dept. and the officer involved.”
Well of course…its preordained and as any good christian knows ie, Jesse, Al, the only way to seek forgiveness is to hand over all your cash.
This isnt about civil rights etc…its about an senile old fool with an ax to grind, who for years has been waiting for his chance to get even with whitey, for years of oppression that he may have experienced during his lifetime.
Based on what we know I would imagine Mr Gates lives far better than most yet that is still not enough. For persons of this mindset their will never be any satisfaction. Sad such a “prominent” person must live such vengeful life…Woe is he!!
@@
July 24th, 2009
11:02 am
Wuh Ooohhh! The pee thing got messed up.
md
July 24th, 2009
11:02 am
“Let’s all just cut to the chase shall we?
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all white men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, the pursuit of Happiness and keeping the homies down.”
Sounds serious to me.
Try indicating sarcasm, or joking manner, maybe even a smiley face next time, but sounds like you mean it.
Audrey in Georgia
July 24th, 2009
11:02 am
I think Gates and Crawley should apologize to each other on TV. Crawley could use this
incident in his racial profiling classes and Gates can use it in his lectures and books. There
are three sides to this story, Gates’ version, Crawley’s version and, the real truth. The public
will never know the real truth. At this time how they rise or fall from this incident matters more
than what actually happened.
AmVet
July 24th, 2009
11:04 am
Yes, md, my inflection gives me away…
And I don’t do emoticons.
Later good peeps…
Paul
July 24th, 2009
11:04 am
RW-(the original) 10:28
[[Since committee hearings to mark up the bill have been canceled three days and counting due to the lack of votes I find it hard to believe they have the votes on the floor.]]
Nor do I. But given Spkr Pelosi’s assertions to the contrary…
She’s this divorced from reality and she’s second in line for the Presidency?!!?
USinUK 10:39
[[ does anyone know if Bosch is in for tests today???]]
To answer your question, yes, I know if Bosch is in for tests today.
(he is)
RW-(the original) 10:42
[[President Barack Obama says he’s gone from praying nightly before going to bed to praying all the time because he has a “lot of stuff” on his plate and needs “guidance all the time.”]]
OMG, we have a president who prays. All the time!!! He’s letting his decisions be directed by some superstitious western-biased American theology and doesn’t have the intelligence to make his own decisions without…
oh, I misread… you wrote “Obama” not “Bush.” That’s different. Sorry.
deegee 10:54
[[After reading an account of the incident it appears that the officer was behaving more like an azzhole than a racist.]]
Specific examples?
deegee
July 24th, 2009
11:05 am
Thogwummpy, you can’t make the distinction between what happens while dealing with bar patrons and what happened to Professor Gates? Do you really think that people with any sense would entrust their ID and a credit card to the safekeeping of a bartender and the barbacks that run around behind the bar? R U Serious?
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
11:07 am
@@
July 24th, 2009
11:00 am
I was referring to the blog, not the incident.
9 inz dong
July 24th, 2009
11:08 am
Wow… Obama must have completely pooped the bed if Bookman disagrees with something he said. And I thought all this time he was another blind loyalist with a closet full of Obama t-shirts.
Doggone/GA
July 24th, 2009
11:09 am
“There are three sides to this story, Gates’ version, Crawley’s version and, the real truth. ”
Not necessarily. You are assuming BOTH of them are not telling the truth, when in reality ONE of them might be.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
11:09 am
Turd Ferguson
July 24th, 2009
11:01 am
I’m betting no lawsuit will be filed.
USinUK
July 24th, 2009
11:09 am
@@ –
considering that the mayor is transgenger, I don’t think that he/she applies as a Democratic Woman. nice try, though.
but, talk about lame, his/her excuse: “Rasmussen argues the city dress code does not apply to him since he is transgender and not entirely a male or female.”
I mean. come ON. a little common sense, please!!!
deegee
July 24th, 2009
11:11 am
Here’s your specific example, Paul.
“Professor Gates was driven to his home by a driver for a local car company. Professor Gates attempted to enter his front door, but the door was damaged. Professor Gates then entered his rear door with his key, turned off his alarm, and again attempted to open the front door. With the help of his driver they were able to force the front door open, and then the driver carried Professor Gates’s luggage into his home.
Professor Gates immediately called the Harvard Real Estate office to report the damage to his door and requested that it be repaired immediately. As he was talking to the Harvard Real Estate office on his portable phone in his house, he observed a uniformed officer on his front porch. When Professor Gates opened the door, the officer immediately asked him to step outside. Professor Gates remained inside his home and asked the officer why he was there.
The officer indicated that he was responding to a 911 call about a breaking and entering in progress at this address. Professor Gates informed the officer that he lived there and was a faculty member at Harvard University. The officer then asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard.
Professor Gates said that he could, and turned to walk into his kitchen, where he had left his wallet. The officer followed him. Professor Gates handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver’s license to the officer. Both include Professor Gates’s photograph, and the license includes his address.
Professor Gates then asked the police officer if he would give him his name and his badge number. He made this request several times. The officer did not produce any identification nor did he respond to Professor Gates’s request for this information. After an additional request by Professor Gates for the officer’s name and badge number, the officer then turned and left the kitchen of Professor Gates’s home without ever acknowledging who he was or if there were charges against Professor Gates.
As Professor Gates followed the officer to his own front door, he was astonished to see several police officers gathered on his front porch. Professor Gates asked the officer’s colleagues for his name and badge number. As Professor Gates stepped onto his front porch, the officer who had been inside and who had examined his identification, said to him, “Thank you for accommodating my earlier request,” and then placed Professor Gates under arrest. He was handcuffed on his own front porch.”
jt
July 24th, 2009
11:11 am
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
10:55 am
jt
July 24th, 2009
10:48 am
Well, he could have been thrown a curve ball. I sure hope you’re wrong, tho. Surely he would have understood this would have legs of its own.
Curve balls don’t happen.
Obama put protective footware upon these legs.
This galvanized his base, and sickened the people who mean nothing to him.
Just look at this post.
Turd Ferguson
July 24th, 2009
11:11 am
LOL…are you kidding? Last bar I was in some form of collateral was required to “run a tab.” Thats just common sense on the business owners part.
deegee
July 24th, 2009
10:54 am
“Distinguished”…LMAO…comments such as “yo Mama” coming from such a distinguised individual…too funny dg…try again.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
11:12 am
Audrey in Georgia
July 24th, 2009
11:02 am
Great suggestion. At the WH! Then lunch with POTUS, after another news conference.
GreenJeans
July 24th, 2009
11:13 am
Rickster at 10:20 is the first poster to get it.
Professor Gates knows the difference between Public Relations, which he must use to float his books and TV shows, and PUBLICITY–which quite literally showed up on his front porch.
jt
July 24th, 2009
11:14 am
Divide and conquer.
Works everytime.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
11:14 am
Doggone/GA
July 24th, 2009
11:09 am
They’re both probably telling the truth as they see it.
Doggone/GA
July 24th, 2009
11:16 am
“They’re both probably telling the truth as they see it.”
But one of them might still ALSO be telling the truth as it IS.
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
11:19 am
jt
July 24th, 2009
11:11 am
I think we’ve all just about agreed it would have been better if he had refused to answer. You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but I think he and his staff are a little smarter than to stage somethng this explosive.
Bud Wiser
July 24th, 2009
11:20 am
Some one said about Obowo backing gates, and I quote“…and hopefully some folks can understand why he’s decided to back the version of the guy he actually knows.
Duh.
Maybe for the same reason the 94%ers all voted lockstep for their saviour?
TnGelding
July 24th, 2009
11:22 am
Doggone/GA
July 24th, 2009
11:16 am
At this point, I doubt if either knows.
9 inz dong
July 24th, 2009
11:22 am
deegee- where did you get that account of the story, a blog on bet.com. I thought he admitted yelling at the COP about being guilty of being a “black man in America” but that somehow is omitted from your account.
ken
July 24th, 2009
11:27 am
It is so easy to throw the race card. I, a white male, have nobody to blame but myself.
Always be nice to a cop, right or wrong.
And he teaches at Harvard ?
Obama sounded like Rev Wright.
Mrs. Godzilla
July 24th, 2009
11:27 am
Please Read This
“”It is time for Henry Louis Gates and Sergeant James Crowley, and the media that will cover them and feed their causes, to quit the personal posturing, step into each other’s shoes and lead us to a better place. Their respective backgrounds should make them two of the most perfectly suited individuals possible for the task. If Henry Louis Gates and James Crowley are each the men they claim to be, they will start the process together and force the recalcitrant media and public to follow. Are they such men, or just the petty posturers they have each been to date?”"
The whole piece here:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/07/24/media-failure-gates-and-crowley-need-to-personally-lead/