Not sure if anyone's following this story. You can read the news reports below in my sources, as well as view the arrest report.
Noted foremost scholar on race in the US, Henry Gates Jr, was seen breaking into a home by a witness who called police. Police responded and now Sergeant James Crowley is not only having to fight this scholars claims of racism ... but our very own President BHO put his uninformed 2 cents into the mix last night by saying the white police officers acted stupidly.
Again, read the news links below. President BHO should apologize to this police officer for ignorantly siding with the scholar.
From all accounts, this officer is respected by both fellow white and black officers. This was also the officer who tried "desperately" to save the live of Boston Celtics basketball player Reggie Lewis (who was black). The officer gave CPR and tried saving this man's life. Unfortunately Lewis died.
Crowley, the officer, said Gates, the scholar, became angry and confrontational when approached by the police. Gates demanded names and badge numbers and yelled, "This is what happens to a black man in America," and "You don't know who you're messing with," before being arrested.
My take ... the "scholar" was right to be arrested. He did break into his own home, and after verifying it was his home, did he thank the officers for their vigilance? No, he went on a rant and was arrested for disorderly conduct.
The officer didn't tase him. They didn't beat him down. From all reports, the arrest was by the books.
The President owes this officer an apology for stupidly making a statement on something he didn't know about.
The scholar needs to be put in check. He was looking for trouble after the officers came. He knew it was his chance to get more book deals and money from television interviews.
IMO, both the scholar and the President do disservice to true racism and race relations with their stupid and ignorant remarks.
After reading the arrest report it looks like Gates acted inappropriately. If there were that many witnesses, I would think the report is fairly accurate.
FoxNews (FauxNews to some) has a link to Bill Cosby's reaction, but it's a video and I'm at work unable to view it. Could someone check it out and see what his reaction was?
From the news, it seems there was a growing audience at the scene, don't be surprised if a video surfaces.
I saw a snapshot of several cops and the criminal. The black cop was in front of the black perpretator. I wonder if this comes to trial and the cops find he is not going to win a civil judgement, if the black cop is black enough to witness against a black miscreant.
Ann Coulter talks about victum and exploiter dynamiics in her book Guilty.
It was sad to hear the President defend tiller the Killer and ignore a man in uniform that was shot by a Muslim the next day.
Bill Ayers now calls Barack Obama a "neighbor and family friend." He also says the Weather Underground never killed or hurt anyone. This is a lie. The evidence shows that the Weather Underground did kill and maim.
Guilty as hell, free as a bird — America is a great country
We are a guerrilla organization. We are communist women and men, underground in the United States for more than four years. We are deeply affected by the historic events of our time in the struggle against U.S. imperialism....
We need a revolutionary communist party in order to lead the struggle, give coherence and direction to the fight, seize power and build the new society....
The only path to the final defeat of imperialism and the building of socialism is revolutionary war....
Revolutionary war will be complicated and protracted. It includes mass struggle and clandestine struggle, peaceful and violent, political and economic, cultural and military, where all forms are developed in harmony with the armed struggle....
Our final goal is the destruction of imperialism, the seizure of power, and the creation of socialism.
It seems Obama still has a lot of disrespect for authority influence show up in his snide comments.
In many ways the Presenting problem is not the real problem. I vote to put more weight on the anti cop part and less on the race part.
I really hope someone got video that exonerates this police officer and makes the nutty professor and president look stupid.
Race relations were not helped by the Presidents statements or the nutty professors allegation against the officer. Rather, they only serve to prove that in some cases the cry "racism" is well overstated and grossly misrepresented.
I'd rather not get into BHO and Bill Ayers. This is about the police officer and allegations of him being racist made by the scholar, Mr. Gates.
President Obama's Wednesday night criticism of Cambridge, Mass., police has drawn a rebuke from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).
The criticism comes after Obama said Cambridge police officers acted "stupidly" when they arrested Henry Louis Gates, a friend of the president's, for breaking and entering into his own home. The president said it highlights ongoing problems with race relations in the U.S.
Jim Pascoe, executive director of the FOP's legislative office, noted that before Obama made the remarks, the president acknowledged that he was only vaguely familiar with what happened.
Talk about jumping to conclusions.
2 in one night. He knocks docs and tells us they don't know what they are doing and need to be controlled by washington and tells cops who wear bullet proof vests that they are a waste of time.
Last week he said farmers were far over paid, Yep they make a lot because the take over of banks will cut off their ability to borrow. Now he will seize farmers money by reason of energy taxes.
Pray for this. This is spiritual warfare and he is dividing people and creating hate.
Oh wait a minute! The "scholar" seems to be yelling something.
Sorry, I don't buy the nutty professors story one second. Too many vouch for the officers integrity. This so-called foremost scholar on race saw an opportunity for $$$$ and interviews.
The "scholar" and President need to issue and apology to this public servant.
PBS should drop this buster. It certainly puts a stain on any work or claims he's made previously.
This is obviously going to be a hot-botton issue for some. I don't have the time to wade in too deep, but some things jump immediately to mind.
First of all, it is easy to say that President Obama jumped to conclusions and didn't know enough to characterize police actions as stupid (a characterization of actions and not people), but it strikes me as strange that at the same time, people with very little more information feel comfortable characterizing the professor in the way that he has been characterized. In the few posts in this thread he is already a criminal, a perpetrator, a miscreant, and a "scholar". Whether you like him or not, Mr Gates is a very, very well-known scholar and writer who to the best of my knowledge has never been arrested of any crimes.
Secondly, I could understand the situation better if the professor was acting in a way initially that would raise suspicion. I at first assumed that he must have been trying to gain access through a window or at least a back or side door in a way that would justify a reasonable amount of suspicion on the police's part and an equally reasonable amount of understanding and cooperation on the professor's part. For example, if I had to jump through my window I may be a bit more understanding about why I was being approached in the first place.
Thirdly, I do honestly wonder if the initial attitude of the officers would have been different if it were an equally aged white professional who had gained entry into his home through his own front door. I do wonder if the initial approach would have been less as that of approaching a "criminal", "miscreant", or "perpetrator".
Did Gates handle himself calmly and primly? I'm sure he didn't. However, I do think that there is a possiblity that police may do things at times that justifiably cause outrage.
At the end of the day, I don't know enough about the case to say definitively that the issue was entirely race. Does race subconsciously affect the way we initially apporach situations? For many people it does. Did race play a role in the inititial call of breaking and entering...even though the professor was at the front door? Possibly.
Ultimately for me though, this has more to do with how some officers abuse their authority in some situations (with people of all races).
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