White Cop vs Black Scholar

[tstew]

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).