About the stupidest comment I have ever seen on Free Republic and over the past few days I’ve see a few of them...this has NOTHING to do with the constitution...you certainly cannot be saying this is a 1st amendment right...nor, in my opinion, is it about disrespect...
If you believe what you wrote to be true I beg you to walk up to President Obama, or a black representative or senator, and yell at them they are a racist SOB (and it doesn’t matter if you’re white or black). I guarantee you the charges wouldn’t be dropped.
The issue here is who controlled the situation...and it was clearly Gates...if he had walked out on the porch and had a controlled conversation...saying even the same things he allegedly shouted...he should not have been, and more than likely would not have been, arrested...but he didn’t.
That’s why they have “disorderly conduct” laws on the books...
Sorry for delay. Computer is acting weird.
A man’s home is his castle. This is true for idiots like Gates, just like it is for us. Read the link to the arrest report. Cop admits early on he knew Gates was homeowner and not burglar. Cop still invites Gates outside.
HERES THE LEGAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT:
A cop can not arrest someone within their home, at night, without an arrest warrant (unless an immediate danger of some sort)
The cop should have walked away once he knew Gates was not burglar. The black cop on O’Reilly tonite nailed it dead on.
If this was a good arrest, the charges would not have been dropped like a hot potato.
I gave you a multi page story in NYT about this very thing. Did you read it? This is the kind of thing that happens when cops think they have been dissed.
Do you watch TV? Did yo see the Oklahoma nutso cop who choked the EMT? Why? he thought someone gave him the finger.
So do you think this was about the cop being racist? I don’t. Gates is probably a lot more bigoted than the cop. But Gates has a right to be a bigot in his own home and spout off any sort of nonsense he wants.
The cop just didn’t like it when Gates insulted him and his mother so he made up some crap to arrest him. This happens all the time in the real world.
parsy.