It sort of puzzles me that the “neighbor” didn’t recognize Gates considering he’s such a big shot professor as well as a neighbor.
Life must be different there than it is in my small Southern town. We all look out for each other but we all recognize each other too.
I read that Gates hadn’t lived there for very long, and he was actually just returning from a month-long trip to China, so nobody had seen him for awhile. The neighbor actually saw a young black man (his driver, supposedly) with a backpack trying to shove the front door open, while she said there was an older black man with a backpack standing behind him under the overhang or porch.
The younger man didn’t live there, of course, and Gates probably wasn’t very visible and wasn’t very well known there in the first place.
If his neighbors are white, I doubt if he has much to do with them.
Did this happen at night? And how far apart are the houses?
Thats because all you white folk look alike........
The thing being overlooked by some is the reaction of Gates should APPROPRIATELY have been:
"Oh, officer, I can appreciate the misunderstanding. Here is my ID. I live here. The door was jammed when I returned and my (driver) helped me to open the door with a hard shove of his shoulder. Thank you for asking. I'm glad to see the Cambridge Police Department is quickly responsive and alert to the possibility of a burglary of my home. If you are satisfied, have a nice evening."
I think the whole thing was a setup planned by Gates, friends, and neighbor.
I don’t think it’s unusual. In the city, you don’t even recognize someone who lives next door ... I LIKE my anonymity. But that’s a different issue.
The problem is that Gates EXPECTED people to know him because he thought he was a hot shot racial critic. He thought he was a big wig who could crush the cop.
I don’t think it had anything to do with recognizing him because he lived in the neighborhood.
Gates owns a big expensive house in another location, He was staying in Harvard housing. Any notice of how long he had been staying there? Any data on the eyesight of the neighbor? What time of day did this event occur? What address did the ID Gates shoved at the officer contain? Were people starting to show up at the scene as the racist prick Gates shouted and screamed obscenities at the officers? ... You live in Memphis, BTW?
Ah, I see you live in S.E. Tenn. Going to invite you up to one of our area gatherings, if you and your family are interested.
That's ridiculous.
I know the neighbors around my home well. A gay couple, a normal black family, a retired navy guy and family, a single mom + kid, and two regular run of the mill white two parent, kids families.
The guy living four doors down could be the King of Siam as far I know. As long as he cuts his yard and keeps his property up I'd probably never know him.
Maybe Gates isn’t quite the Big Shot he thinks he is. Especially if one doesn’t watch Oprah. I can’t see a police sergeant doing that.
Blacks like Gates do not want to have anything to do with their white neighbors. It does not surprise me his neighbor doesn’t know him. I have experienced this situation in my neighbor in Baton Rouge.
“It sort of puzzles me that the “neighbor” didn’t recognize Gates considering he’s such a big shot professor as well as a neighbor.”
That’s because she isn’t really his neighbor. She’s employed by Harvard Magazine and was walking down the street. The police report says she lives in Malden.