Comments on: Henry Gates Arrested – Claims ‘Racism’

By: Georgfelis

Georgfelis — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:07:32 +0000

But what fun would that be?

By: VMAN

VMAN — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:59:25 +0000

It’s a shame that black people don’t realize that they just traded one plantation for another. It’s also a shame that they don’t realize that people like Al, Jesse and this tool of a professor are just “house boys” for the liberals. I have tried for all of my life just to see men for who they are and not for the color of there skin. Gee where have I heard that before.

By: dostadawg

dostadawg — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:12:17 +0000

Maybe blacks will see this as what it really is…more than likely this was liberal neighbor who called because of some “scary” black guy. Had this been in my neighborhood of conservatives I would have walked over there with my gun to see what was going on and then apologize once I saw it was Mr. G…Just being safe. :-)

But what blacks should realize is libs love blacks when they are in their “place” but any other time they a very fearful of them and only tolerate them when its convenient. ie the issue with the black kids in the country club swimming pool…which was never mentioned in MSM that it was ran by an Obama supporter.

By: neocon mom

neocon mom — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:15:58 +0000

There are overzealous cops out there, for sure, and I really don’t think they always have race on their minds, I think they are just unsure of themselves and their authority and who knows what else. Fortunately they don’t make up the majority of police out there.

But to stand in the way of the police responding to a call, yelling at them and especially accusing them of institutional racism before he knew why the police were even there (according to the police report) is no way to talk to the police if you don’t want trouble. When it’s just you and the cops, they have all the power. The “don’t tase me, bro” incident here in our fair city a couple of years back is proof that the cops have a lot of leeway in handling challenges. While I didn’t like the way that whole thing was handled and believe that such such overkill ultimately diminishes the authority of the police, it illustrates the point that not cooperating with the cops will carry short-term consequences.

I am not surprised at all that the charges were dropped, they should be. Gates was probably frustrated, tired and flabbergasted when the police showed up and he (somewhat understandably) overreacted. I am sure that he raised their hackles when he told them that they didn’t know who they were messing with–he’s either a nut or thinks he’s above the law. I am glad that the police in this country do take investigating property crimes seriously. I also think Mr. Gates would have been wise to remember that the police put their lives on the line for such things, and the least we can do is address them respectfully.

By: bronzeprofessor

bronzeprofessor — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:34:02 +0000

I need to know more, especially about the role of the “driver”. What did Gates force the driver to do? Maybe the neighbors knew who Gates was, but who knew the identity of the driver?

If I saw a neighbor I know, with someone I didn’t know, breaking into his own house, I would call the cops to make sure the stranger hadn’t abducted my neighbor and forced him to break into his own house at gunpoint or something.

More information about the details has to be brought out before I can make any inference about this. It may have had something to do with racism.

More likely, though, is that Gates’ stellar reputation among English professors makes him believe that everyone in America knows him. He became an offended diva when a lowly cop tried to do a routine round of questioning, and may have insulted the policeman’s intelligence. Then everyone got defensive and proud and things escalated.

Probably best to let this whole thing go.

Incidentally, I have read through a lot of Gates’ scholarship and it is excellent, useful work.

By: Confucius

Confucius — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:21:25 +0000

Thanks all.

I didn’t file a complaint because I didn’t know the facts. I’d rather not accuse anyone of racism (or anything else) based on suspicion.

It’s also the reason I didn’t make a scene when the officer stopped me. (That and the fact that he was armed with a gun and me a garage door opener. Perhaps this is why I’m not a professor.)

I’m back to walking my neighborhood, but I now carry my driver’s license. I’m still self-conscious of who might be watching and what may happen. Perhaps it would be wiser to walk somewhere else, but living in fear is a bad way to live. Even if the fear is just in my head.

By: Liberals Demise

Liberals Demise — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:13:22 +0000

Right off the bat that makes him a rabid racist!
(sarc)

By: imnewatthis

imnewatthis — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:29:13 +0000

I forgot to mention, my husband is white.

By: Liberals Make Great Speedbumps

Liberals Make Great Speedbumps — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:57:52 +0000

“But before leaving, he told me a woman had called complaining of a “yellow walking around” and told me not to leave my house again without proper identification.”

Confucius,
Like vman said, I hope he did say fellow and was simply misunderstood. If not, that is BS. The thing that concerns me even more is telling you to “not to leave my house again without proper identification.” Perhaps this Barney Fife wannabe (he’s sure not an officer if he acts this way) needs to have it pointed out to him that this is still the U.S. and we’re not required to carry our “papers”. I agree with Colonel on this one, you should have filed a complaint.

By: U NO HOO

U NO HOO — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:50:17 +0000

Never heard of him before this.

By: Colonel1961

Colonel1961 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:37:05 +0000

The AP ‘Analysis’:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....r_analysis

By: Colonel1961

Colonel1961 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:53:14 +0000

Confucious: that is a travesty. It’s a tough call, but you should have considered getting his badge number and making a report…

By: 12 Gauge Rage

12 Gauge Rage — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:42:52 +0000

If Mr. Gates had simply explained the situation to the policeman at the outset, and in a calm manner this all could have been avoided. And we wouldn’t have to listen that pompous ass Al Sharpton shooting his mouth off again.

By: canary

canary — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:59:37 +0000

He forgot his keys, instead of calling a keylock normal at night, he damages door with his shoulder, leading to call someone to fix his door late at night??

why because he’s afraid of a robber coming in that one nite his door doesn’t work.?

hurts his shoulder trying to break down door, cry’s he’s disabled, and police allow him to search for a cane in his home. He was so disabled he did not have a cane on his entire trip to communist China?

Prehaps, with Obama’s new tax increase, his first indigent thought “sue” so he won’t have to choose between at least two luxury homes, unless both the socialists get their idol Communist Dubois’s dream of Stalin communism.
Those commies want to barge in whities homes. People without driver, security, 24/7 door fixers.
A white person wouldn’t have gotten to look for their cane and charges dismissed. Police would be to worry a white raving man would be looking for a gun instead of cane.

So, much wealth. Driver, security, fix your door 24/7. charges dropped?

If he was white he wouldn’t have gotten his cane, or the charges dropped for his
childish misconduct. Police should have noticed he was a rich black man, ignored his racist violence toward them, and mailed him the charges.

By: pdsand

pdsand — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:55:04 +0000

I looked up this place on google maps and did the street view, and it’s literally like a block from the Harvard campus, maybe on the edge of the campus on one side of the street. I’m sure every cop knows exactly what this place was and who lives there, and I’m sure they’ve been told time and again that they will mind their p’s and q’s when addressing their betters. Well at least suffice it to say that this was not some ghetto scene from colors where a cop could show up and think they might oppress a black person without being held to account for it. So any ideas that this was out of control policing or some sort of absurd racial profiling are total crap.

By: Melly

Melly — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:54:19 +0000

Oh – I saw a report on TV here in NY…a man just moved with his wife from PA to Brooklyn NY. One morning he took his bike out for a ride leaving his ID home. As he left his building he jumped on his bike while still on the sidewalk (which is against the law in NYC). Two police officers stopped him to give him a summons. Since he did not have proper ID on him, he was arrested in spite of his plea to enter his home to retrieve his ID. They took him to the local precinct. He wanted to call his wife at home on her cell phone (they didn’t have a land line phone). The police said no because it was a PA number and he wasn’t allowed to make an out of state call. The cops would not listen to him at all. The wife was frantic. She contacted the local police and they had no information for her. She thought he was dead. He sat in jail for three days until his wife eventually found him. All because he had no ID and the cops were “over zealous.” The case is being investigated.

Lesson: always leave your house with some form of ID………… and hide your crow bar from sight ;-)