Gates Arrest Not About Race But Free Speech

The New York Times ^ | November 19, 1997 | Deborah Sontag and Dan Barry

[parsifal]

After dropping her young daughter with a baby sitter, Taquana Harris rushed to her hostess job at the fashionable Bowery Bar one night last February, her leopard-print evening gown sweeping elegantly through the dark, icy streets of the East Village. Then a strange woman crudely grabbed her by the arm and demanded to know what she had done with the drugs.

Within seconds, Ms. Harris recalled, she found herself pinned to the steel grating of a bodega by two plainclothes officers engaged in a neighborhood drug sweep.

[parsifal]

Here is a copy of the arrest report:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

parsy.

[dragnet2]

This isn't the big issue here. The issues here is the biased comments from the President of the Untied States, when he admitted himself, he did not have all the facts, and then went on to comment about how Latinos and Blacks are victims or police racism, and are pulled over for no reason.

How is it possible, that the President admitted he knew Gates, admitted he was biased, admitted he did not know the facts, yet then made one sided comments? Comments that were only meant to fan the embers of racial tensions.

So, as good little freepers, let us all help to take the “race” out of this issue.

Try reading the post. I was not talking about Freepers, but the *bigger* issue of the Presidents comments to millions of people.

Any comment from you about that?

[Paladin2]

Don’t come out the door.

[Altura Ct.]

Gates Arrest Not About Race But Free Speech

Best BS title of the year award. Gates made this about race from the git-go.

[SampleMan]

My understanding is that:
1. Gates was breaking in a door at a house.
2. When questioned, he refused to show ID.

The civility of the encounter is certainly an issue, but I would expect him to be treated as a burglar until he could show that he lived there. I’m not sure what else you would expect.

[saquin]

What kind of country do you want to live in? A man can’t come out onto his own front porch, even after the officer who came to his home says, “If you have any more questions, follow me outside”? So those “questions” were yelled and may have been insults. So what? The officer should just walk away at that point. Policemen have a tough job and put their lives on the line but they are not gods and should be able to handle being insulted without taking it so personally that they abuse their power and arrest people just because they were yelled at.

[dragnet2]

And since you seem stuck on race, Mr. Gates is a guy that has spent his adult life marinating in race relations, and the plight of black people. He's made a career out of this.

Based on this, who do you think would be the first to start a racial exchange?

[Old Professer]

Gates didn’t get back to the sidewalk until he was being led away by Crowley; photos clearly show him in cuffs and in the grip of Crowley on his front porch, the open door behind.

He is caught in mid yell, however.

[roses of sharon]

http://audio.weei.com/m/25432556/sgt-james-crowley-cambridge-police.htm

Crowley explains the arrest....after numerous warnings of an arrest...Gates followed him out and continued....Office of Professional conduct has canvassed the neighborhood, interviewed witnesses...have told Crowley he did nothing wrong.

[spectre]

Is that a black officer I see?

Wonder how he will testify?

sw

[Stentor]

Here's one for you.

Cop caught on video bullying woman is taken off street duty

[parsifal]

Yeah, and Gates is wrong. He WAS wrongly arrested, but not because of race. Because he ran off at the mouth at a cop. bad behavior, but white folks, yellow folks, red folks, and brown folks all get arrested for the same thing. And its all wrong and it isn’t about race.

The “BS” is that this has been spun as a racial issue when it isn’t. Its about free speech and it could have happened to any of us.

parsy

[Old Professer]

[parsifal]

Technically, Obama is right. It was stupid and about all you have to hear is that the arrest was made AFTER identification had been presented to the cop to realize that it was indeed stupid.

Now, this issue can proceed as a racial profiling issue, which will be good for minorities who really do have to go thru this kind of crap, or it can be seen as what it is, abuse of power by the police which helps all Americans.

parsy

[dragnet2]

The “BS” is that this has been spun as a racial issue when it isn’t.

Are you referring to Obama or Gates?

Mr. Gates is a guy that has spent his adult life marinating in race relations, and the plight of black people. He's made a career out of this.

Based on this, who do you think would be the first to start a racial exchange?

[Paladin2]

"Wonder how he will testify?"

I don't know, but he certainly doesn't appear to be taking the claims from the "scholar" too seriously.

[Tallguy]

The arrest may have been borderline, but when Gates invoked the officer’s mother in his tirade he was lucky to get away with only getting cuffed. Probably his age prevented anything beyond that. If I had done that, I’d expect to be picking my teeth up off of the floor of my front porch.

Treat a police officer with respect — he might be having a bad day.

[jacquej]

I have this silly old-fashioned idea that we should always be polite, courteous, and prompt in responding to police officers, no matter how tired, frustrated, or upset we are.

Or, for that matter, how unfair they appear to be. If anything, this calls for even better manners.

[dragnet2]

The “BS” is that this has been spun as a racial issue when it isn’t.

Technically, Obama is right.

Was it not Obama that made this a race issue as he was speaking to millions of people?

[parsifal]

I think Gates was clearly out of place going off on the racial profiling issue when the cops were there to investigate a legitimate issue. BUT that is not a crime or an arrestable offense. Once the cop had the ID, he should have left. Period.

parsy