Looks like a perp to me.
Posted on 07/23/2009 11:22:28 AM PDT by OK Right
Let’s devote careful study to the recent unfortunate incident involving noted African American scholar Henry Louis Gates. And let’s begin by acknowledging that in our country’s past and present, there have been cases which can be labeled “racial profiling.” In the case of Henry Louis Gates vs. the Cambridge Police, however, the sorry affair reads more like a contrived event orchestrated by the arrested party.
According to the police report, Gates got home, only to find his front door jammed. A female neighbor saw Gates and a cab driver wrestling to open the front door. Since Gates is relatively new to the home, it’s understandable that his neighbor didn’t recognize him. Thus, she regarded the situation as suspicious and called the police. By the time they arrived, Gates had made his way into his home through the back door. Yet rather than hand over identification when the police requested it, Gates’ immediate response was “Why? Because I’m a black man in America?”
Questions: Is that any way to respond to law enforcement officers investigating a possible break-in? Why didn’t Gates just hand over his ID without the snide question? Why did he yell throughout the incident? Why did he respond with “I’ll speak with your mama outside,” when the officer asked him to step out the door and talk about the incident? Why did he declare that “You don’t know who you’re dealing with!” when the officer, satisfied that Gates did indeed live at the home, tried to walk away and end the matter? Why did Gates alarm other tenants and witnesses with his rants? Why did he have to exhibit “loud and tumultuous behavior” as stated in the police report? Why did he have to repeatedly yell, “This is what happens to black men in America” throughout the incident? Why did he accuse one officer of being a racist as the police tried to leave? (For the official report, see: http://www.amnation.com/vfr/Police%20report%20on%20Gates%20arrest.PDF)
Or are the above questions generated by a fantasy woven by the Cambridge police? You see, Gates has now released an official statement which contradicts the police report. He claims he let a police officer into his house and showed them his identification. He claims that after doing so, his requests for the officer’s name and badge were ignored and that it was upon stepping out of the house that he was arrested. (Go here for Gates’ prepared statement: http://www.theroot.com/views/lawyers-statement-arrest-henry-louis-gates-jr)
So who’s right? Which scenario is the concoction?
Consider that there were several police officers and witnesses on the scene. So Gates’ official statement prepared by his lawyer – a statement which has him behaving in anything but a “loud and tumultuous” manner – rings a little off key.
Gates is a sharp man. He’s proved that time and again with his cultural, historical and literary criticism. Could it be that even as the incident was unfolding, he was already seeing a long racial profiling article in the works? Or even a book on the subject?
Now President Obama has weighed in on the affair and declared that “The Cambridge police acted stupidly” (Foon Rhee, “Political Intelligence,” July 22, 2009, http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/07/obama_cambridge.html).
All right. Maybe the incident was blown out of proportion. But if the police and witness reports are accurate and the authorities unnecessarily amped up the situation to arrest level, isn’t it likely because Gates gave them a reason to do so?
And if Obama really thinks that “The Cambridge police acted stupidly,” shouldn’t he also add that Gates might be guilty of the same “stupid” behavior?
The charges against Gates were dropped on Tuesday (July 21). The arresting officer, Sergeant James Crowley, refuses to buckle to Gates’ demands for an apology. Good for him. And good for the Cambridge police union backing Crowley with “full and unqualified support” (Jonathan Saltzman and Erica Noonan, “Officer in Gates case says he won’t apologize,” July 22, 2009, http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/officer_in_gate.html).
“Skip” Gates will likely cull another book, myriad interviews and gobs of publicity from the incident. Officer Crowley will keep his dignity and conviction that he carried out his job responsibilities to the best of his considerable abilities.
It was not a neighbor who called the police. It was a passerby, a woman from Malden. The caller stayed at the gate (as the police officer asked her to do over the phone) until the officer arrived. He asked her to remain where she was while he went through the gate to the porch.
IOW, "I don't have to apologize. It was just a white guy I slandered. It's all about me, and there's no political price to pay for insulting white guys, no matter how uninformed or unjustified the criticism."
Gates and the President owe the officer and the police reparations and an apology.
Ivy League universities have become little more than liberal domestic terror training camps.
Great joke. Man told to sit down on the airplane, and he gives the flight attendant guff. "Don't you know who I am?"
Flight attendant gets on the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a man up here who has amnesia. If anyone knows who he is, please help him out."
Pretty soon, he'll have White people rioting, lol.
Is Gates admitting he said “Ya, I’ll speak with your mama outside?” I’d like to hear what Sgt. Crowley’s “mama” thinks about that offensive statement. Fact is, we’re dealing with a man who defended 2 Live Crew’s obscenity charges 20 years ago by saying the vernacular was commonplace among black communities. Does that make it okay? Now, using the precedence he had hoped to create through that statement, wouldn’t he want to take into extreme consideration the fact that most white people would knock you out for insulting their sainted mothers?
The old fart should have been charged with impersonating a Gangsta.
Looks like a perp to me.
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