Entering your own house with a key while Black

[NCVol]

"I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that [Gates case]."

"But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact."

I didn't listen, but that appears to be Obama's statement on it. 

1) Debatable, since it depends entirely on how the police handled the encounter, and none of us were there, so we don't know.  But I think it's safe to assume a COMMON reaction after traveling 20 hours or so from China to come home to a stuck front door and then police showing up on your front porch demanding to know why any of us is entering our own home would be anger. 

2) Stupid to arrest someone after finding out he WAS in his own home, taking him to jail for four hours so that the next day all charges could be dropped?  Check.

3) Long history of racial profiling?  Check. 


Bottom line is we're all supposed to learn not to frick with people who can put you in jail, beat you with batons, and taser you.  Unless there is a camera, it's your word against the cop and the cop has the State behind him - you are on your own.  So say "Yes sir, thank you for assuming I'm a criminal for entering my own home" or be prepared to face being arrested on your front porch for not showing the proper level of respect to the Police. 

That is the lesson.  Race has little to do with it. 

[Dementia_Madness]

Race has little to do with it? You are right there, at least from what it sounds like....on the Cop's side. Gates', Your's, all the negative reporting and blogger's and Obama's remarks are all 100% dependant upon race, example "this would not have happened if he was a white man." anopther example "Entering your own house with a key while Black" Racially motivated. Check.

Race has little to do with it. race has everything to do with it, at least on ONE side.

[NCVol]

The police were called because two black men were thought to be breaking into a house.  I'd bet you any amount of money that in Cambridge if you ran an experiment and had white older men "breaking into" a nice house and black older men doing the same thing that the neighbors call the cops on the black men MUCH more often than on the whites.  I'd win the bet. 

That is where race came in.

After that, the "crime" was not kissing police rear ends as they accuse you of being a criminal and then the cops proving a point to the asshole homeowner that they're not going to put up with no crap talk from the likes of citizens, we'll show you who is boss, your butt is ARRESTED and hauled to jail for four hours.  That part has little to do with race. 

A white friend of mine at a UT game said to a cop, "that's frickin ridiculous" in a normal voice as the cop put another friend of ours practically through a cavity search for non-existent booze, was hauled out of line, his ticket seized, ID recorded and threatened with jail if he bought another ticket and was found in the stadium for 'disturbing the peace' or some such BS.  Same thing as Gates.

[Dementia_Madness]

The police were called because two black men were thought to be breaking into a house.  I'd bet you any amount of money that in Cambridge if you ran an experiment and had white older men "breaking into" a nice house and black older men doing the same thing that the neighbors call the cops on the black men MUCH more often than on the whites.  I'd win the bet.  

Ah so now the Neighbor is the RACIST? I see. She wasn't worried about her neighbors property? She was just being nosy, saw two Negros banging on a door with their shoulder (In fact the one banging on the front door was the "driver" a man she probably never saw before and wouldn't recognize, Gates had just returned from a trip to China, so he had been gone for at least a  couple of days, he was at the back of the house when the woman made the call.

Ask me, next time someones trying to break into the house, let 'em. Your WHOLE statement is all about RACE, in fact I would say it is VERY RACIST and ignorant, you do not know those people, and you have no ideal what they think, who they are or why they do the things they do, just like the cop. Gates remarks is just like many racist people I have heard from the past "it's because I am black!" yep that's the whole story there folks.

That is where race came in. When HE, YOU, and anyone else assumes something is done out of race, when you do not know the whole story, or who you are talking about.

After that, the "crime" was not kissing police rear ends as they accuse you of being a criminal and then the cops proving a point to the asshole homeowner that they're not going to put up with no crap talk from the likes of citizens, we'll show you who is boss, your butt is ARRESTED and hauled to jail for four hours.  That part has little to do with race.  

"I'm outraged, I can't believe that an individual policeman on the Cambridge police force would treat any African-American male this way, and I am astonished that this happened to me" Gates

"There are 1 million black men in the prison system, and on Thursday I became one of them" Gates

Race has little to do with it. race has everything to do with it, at least on ONE side.

[NCVol]

It's a fact of life that two black men are much more suspicious than two white men in that situation.  You're not being honest if you think society looks at those two groups the same. It's just REALITY. I don't know what race you are, but I'm white and I am sure my reaction would have been similar to the person who called the cops, but that doesn't mean that my reaction is justified.

It might even be rational to racially profile, but to argue that it doesn't happen is delusional or dishonest.  My wife and I have started noticing who gets pulled out of the security lines in airports.  I have NEVER been pulled out.  I've never had an issue at immigration.  If you have dark skin and are male, you're many times more likely to have a problem than I am.  Is that right or wrong?  From my standpoint as a white middle aged male who isn't targeted, it's GREAT.  Keeps me safe and all that.  My guess is if I was named Muhammed and I had my bags searched every time I took a flight, and had to plan on every security person half believing I was a terrorist and add 15 minutes to the time at the airport, I might have a different attitude. 

[Dementia_Madness]

The real problem we have in America today, is exactly what your original post was about, YOU assumed the black man was a victim, and the officer was guilty. That is actually the same as if we believed all blacks are criminals. And when people complain about all the blacks in prison their insinuation is that they are there unjustly. The truth is in fact America is MORE Racist today than it was in MLK's time, and we have actually moved in the opposite direction than the DREAM of America he preached about. The actual reason for that is the "so-called" civil rights movement of the last few decades.

[NCVol]

What I assumed is a cop arresting a man in his own house after proving that it is his own house is an idiot.  There is no reason for the cop to prove who has the bigger d*&k by arresting Gates for being a jerk, and that is essentially what happened.  Took a guy off his own front porch to jail for being a jerk - not a threat, not a public nuisance since he was in his own home, just a jerk who was smarting off to the big bad police man who demands proper respect. 

[Dementia_Madness]

Entering your own house with a key while Black being a JERK

Fixed

Everyone KNOWS what this story is really about.

[plumbervol]

If Obama does anything in America I hope it is cut the crap out. First thing out a black man screams racist and the next thing you hear is some white boy screaming reverse discrimination... I concede that black folks have been the victim of DWB (Driving while Black) Profiling and other such maladys. I also concede that white folks don't know how to act. But for gosh sake folks grow up, Most of the white boyz whining ARE JUST PLAIN OLE PANSY CANDY ASSED wussyS...

In my mind a picture pops up of a black guy with his shirt tied around his stomach limp wrist slappin at a white boy wearing pink silk undies wearing perfume behind his ear with a pack of KY Jelly in his back pocket yelling reverse discrimination....

The pussification of America......

[Dementia_Madness]

Actually PV the problem here, is that such attitudes detract from our law enforcement being able to do their jobs, and do them safely. It get's to a point where they have to second guess themselves whenever dealing with a situation where any minority might be involved, and that can put their lives and other innocent peoples lives at risk. It's not about reverse discrimination, it's about the true racism being overshadowed by knee jerk reactions and innocent people being labeled racist, while true to god racist are assumed to be victimized. This corrupts our legal system, jeopardizes the peace and fosters hatred and ignorance. It causes good honest public servants to become disenchanted, either leaving service and letting only the scum remain, or it eventually turns them into the very thing they are being accused of being.

It’s a date Crowley still can recite by rote - and he still recalls the pain he suffered when people back then questioned whether he had done enough to save the black athlete.

“Some people were saying ‘There’s the guy who killed Reggie Lewis’ afterward. I was broken-hearted. I cried for many nights,” he said.

That's the kind of man you speak of in derogatory terms, that's not a Pansie, that is a hero who has been hurt.

[plumbervol]

They need more Black Cops to patrol Black neighborhoods.

[Flummoxed Lummox]

I supported the police version of the story until I found out they arrested him AFTER they knew his identity and knew he wast he rightful resident of the house. There was no justiication for arresting a handicapped man, despite the fact he may have been a jackass to the police, when the police knew he was not breaking and entering.

This was an angry cop abusing his power in my opinion.