<p>^
Why? Is that what you believe? Is that truth to you?</p>
<p>So, I have just read Gate’s account in detail, and while the account I gave here differed in minor issues, the general progression of events, including the progression of Gate’s emotional state, is strikingly close to what I surmised.</p>
<p>*I’m saying ‘You need to send someone to fix my lock.’ All of a sudden, there was a policeman on my porch. And I thought, ‘This is strange.’ So I went over to the front porch still holding the phone, and I said ‘Officer, can I help you?’ And he said, ‘Would you step outside onto the porch.’ And the way he said it, I knew he wasn’t canvassing for the police benevolent association. All the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, and I realized that I was in danger. And I said to him no, out of instinct. I said, ‘No, I will not.’</p>
<p>My lawyers later told me that that was a good move and had I walked out onto the porch he could have arrested me for breaking and entering. He said ‘I’m here to investigate a 911 call for breaking and entering into this house.’ And I said ‘That’s ridiculous because this happens to be my house. And I’m a Harvard professor.’ He says ‘Can you prove that you’re a Harvard professor?’ I said yes, I turned and closed the front door to the kitchen where I’d left my wallet, and I got out my Harvard ID and my Massachusetts driver’s license which includes my address and I handed them to him. And he’s sitting there looking at them.</p>
<p>Now it’s clear that he had a narrative in his head: A black man was inside someone’s house, probably a white person’s house, and this black man had broken and entered, and this black man was me. </p>
<p>So he’s looking at my ID, he asked me another question, which I refused to answer. And I said I want your name and your badge number because I want to file a complaint because of the way he had treated me at the front door. He didn’t say, ‘Excuse me, sir, is there a disturbance here, is this your house?’—he demanded that I step out on the porch, and I don’t think he would have done that if I was a white person.</p>
<p>But at that point, I realized that I was in danger. And so I said to him that I want your name, and I want your badge number and I said it repeatedly…</p>
<p>He didn’t follow proper police procedure! You can’t just presume I’m guilty and arrest me. He’s supposed to ask me if I need help. He just presumed that I was guilty, and he presumed that I was guilty because I was black. There was no doubt about that.* -HL Gates
[Professor</a> Henry Louis Gates Jr. speaks out on racial profiling after his arrest by Cambridge police.](<a href=“http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks?page=0,1]Professor”>http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks?page=0,1)</p>
<p>I knew this was the progression even before I heard Gates describe it in this sort of detail. I knew there was no way that he said “is it because I am black in America?” in response to being asked to step outside, so early in the discussion. The cop just put that in the report to get whites all in a tizzy about the uppity black guy. Gates did say “This is how black men are treated”, and other such things, but it was far along in the fracas, long after the cop had shown the man disrespect in his house.</p>
<p>I have also read reports that this cop tried to save a famous black basketball star, and that this proves he is not racist. Puleeze. It is a ridiculous defense. There are varying degrees of racism, from virulent white supremacy to the sort of relatively benign racism that people demonstrate when they are so afraid of race that in trying to pinpoint a single black man in a sea of whites, they begin to describe his clothing, his shoes, his glasses, anything but the obvious fact that he is the only black guy in the bunch. This cop’s racism is the sort of racism that is shared by most Americans. It comes so naturally to him, that he does not even know he is racist. It is the same racism that caused Lucia Whalen, Gates’s neighbor, to call the cops reporting that “two big black guys” are breaking into a home. Had Gates and his driver been white, under the same circumstances, Whalen never would have called in the first place because, like the cops, everyone knows that whites are fellow citizens first, perpetrators secondly, while blacks are perpetrators first, and fellow citizens secondly, if ever.</p>
<p>This really is at the core of this issue. Had Gates been white, the officer certainly would have asked him if he was okay and needed help. This entire episode got off on the wrong foot because the officer approached Gates with the coppish attitude that cops generally apply to blacks.</p>
<p>I essentially knew all of this beforehand because I have experienced the same thing.</p>
<p>Why isn’t the neighbor who called in a breakin not charged with something. People who live next door should know their neighbors. What’s with the white chick? False reports to 911 should be prosecuted. The cops are wrong. I’m white but i see it everyday in my inner city neighborhood and in the white suburbs where I work. Blacks are pulled over for being black. One city where M. Jordan’s kids lived even told them to call the police department when they were having friends over so the police would know not to pull them over for being black. It’s real and it still exists in America.</p>
<p>Hmmm…I accidentally set off the alarm when I was visiting my now husband’s home. I was with my children. Shortly after , while my children were sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner, the police arrived. They asked both of us ( husband and I ) to see our ID. It was obvious that we were not intruders , but they still needed to take a look around.
I don’t recall getting an apology , nor did I feel angry at the response by the officers. It seemed to me that they were doing their jobs…</p>
<p>Gosh, if Drosselmeier’s fantasy version of the facts were true, it would really be bad. But even Gates’ own version (as reported by Ogletree) doesn’t support that. As I’ve said before, the police probably shouldn’t have arrested Gates, because his behavior probably didn’t rise to the level of disorderly conduct as interpreted by Massachusetts courts (essentially, it has to be conduct that might incite a riot). But this idea that Gates refused to come out of his house because he thought the police were there to arrest him seems ridiculous to me. As I read the actual facts (as opposed to made-up ones), it’s pretty clear to me that Gates unreasonably escalated the situation and was actively hostile to police who were performing a very reasonable investigation.
I would also note that a less famous person, black or white, probably would not have found it so easy to get the charges dropped.</p>
<p>I can understand police wanting to take a look around under circumstances in which a burglary is suspected. A burglar may be in the house and the resident may not realize that. Why, though, would police ask the resident to step outside, which was what happened with Gates.</p>
<p>“. But this idea that Gates refused to come out of his house because he thought the police were there to arrest him seems ridiculous to me.”</p>
<p>Doesn’t seem ridiculous to me because I’m black. I know all sorts of innocent black people who’ve been mistaken for criminals. Some have been arrested. I’ve also read about innocent black men who police have shot – some even in their own homes. I posted information about this. </p>
<p>I have been in situations myself in which I’ve been mistaken for a criminal. I was falsely accused of shoplifting at the Harvard Coop when I was a student there. When I was shopping for my engagement ring in D.C., jewelers kept blowing me off. I couldn’t understand why. After all, I was attempting to buy an expensive piece of jewelry. Shortly afterward, a Washington Post columnist wrote a story about how jewelers in D.C. were locking their doors against black men because they assumed that black men were coming to rob them. I guess the jewelers were mistaking me for an accessory to a potential crime.</p>
<p>One of my former students, who was white, told me that when she worked at a local CD/DVD store, she was told to follow around all black customers “because they steal.”</p>
<p>And, as I mentioned before in this thread, one day, a policeman brought to my front door my 12-year-old son who had been standing at the bus stop behind our house (where we had lived for several years) on a Sat. morning. The policeman wanted to know if my son lived at our house. A neighbor had called police, saing a “suspicious man” was at the bus stop.</p>
<p>In a tony Detroit suburb, the teen stepson of one of my friends, whose husband was a VP at a Big 3 auto company, was walking around his neighborhood when he was stopped by police and asked to show ID. Apparently he was considered suspicious because he was a black male walking in that neighborhood.</p>
<p>
So they can see him clearly. Remember that the front door was broken, perhaps obviously.</p>
<p>It was in the afternoon. They should have been able to see him just fine.</p>
<p>[Here</a> is what I wrote early this morning](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1062961792-post255.html]Here”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1062961792-post255.html), before actually seeing Gates’ account:</p>
<p>“And since the officer does not respond, Gates grows angrier, knowing full well that asking for and receiving this information is his right under the law. Gates is angry because he knows the cop is wrong and that the cop is nevertheless using his power as a cop and as a white guy in a white country to deny the black man what is rightfully his. Gates is also angry because he knows the white cop will get away with denying Gates this right.”</p>
<p>[And</a> here is what Gates actually said](<a href=“http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks?page=0,3]And”>http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks?page=0,3):</p>
<p>“I kept saying to him, ‘What is your name, and what is your badge number?’ and he refused to respond. I asked him three times, and he refused to respond. And then I said, ‘You’re not responding because I’m a black man, and you’re a white officer.’ That’s what I said.”</p>
<p>Absolutely. I am sure that by the time Gates got outside, he was fairly well unhinged because of this and all of the other nonsense that he had endured.</p>
<p>Now, the fact is, I have broken no law, at least not that I know of. I do not speed, I pay taxes, have never stolen, do not smoke, I help my neighbors, and I go to church. I basically do everything society thinks a good guy should do, and more, and yet I have been harrassed by white cops - outright harrassed, so that there was no doubt that the cops just wanted to cause me grief. I have been harrassed by cops in front of my wife and in front of my oldest children. And both times, I felt compelled to use my rights under the law to strike back, asking for the cops name and badge number. I was able to figure out Gates’ case by simply reflecting on my own cases. Those cops knew that all they had to do was marginalize Gates as they in fact ended up doing, and that whites would come out of the woodwork to back them up. This is America.</p>
<p>Here’s a perspective from a poster on the Harvard Crimson site. Typically, only whites who have black relatives or close friends can have empathy for what happened to Gates. Otherwise, whites’ experiences in the U.S. are so different from blacks’ that whites assume that blacks are being oversensitive when blacks correctly say that situations are racist.</p>
<p>In this country, one is treated very differently due to skin color. For instance, when I lived in Detroit, I found people to be extremely welcoming – to go far out of their way to help me find jobs and to support me in other ways including by taking the time to find out about my credentials, and then being impressed by them. I mentioned this to a friend who was white and she said, “That’s probably because you are black.”</p>
<p>At first, I was put off by that comment, but then I realized that when I entered places of business like city government offices or met people at professional organizations, people greeted me extremely warmly, far warmer than I’d ever been greeted before in any other places that I had moved to.</p>
<p>It dawned on me that the people greeting me – the secretaries to important people, the heads of departments, people with power - were black. Every other place that I had lived, the people with power were white. They greeted me politely and were courteous to me, but no one went far out of their way to help me in the way that the people in Detroit did. I imagine that in general, white people in this country, get the extra special greetings because usually white people are the ones in power. Whites don’t realize that not everyone is being greeted or assisted the way that they are being greeted. </p>
<p>Back to Gates’ situation. This comment from the Harvard Crimson site especially was interesting as it’s from a person who can see both sides:</p>
<p>“Take a moment to reflect on how you would feel if faced with the same situation…violated. It’s amazing to think how often we are so quick to not understand how someone else would feel about something just because we can relate. It’s obvious that you can’t relate. I’m white and have a black brother we lived in a pretty affluent neighborhood in Virginia and during our high school years would often hang out together. I kid you not, when my brother was with a bunch of his friends hanging out without fail, police would approach his group to say someone called about something and they looked suspicious, demanded id, made them get up against the cars and would reprimand me about the company I kept. I could be with my friends, acting rowdy, being really crazy, even smoking some of them. IF the police came, they would say boys quiet it down and be careful. I was thankful, but trust, there is a real difference in treatment and perception.”:</p>
<p>[The</a> Harvard Crimson :: News :: Charge Against Gates To Be Dropped](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=528587]The”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=528587)</p>
<p>Another quote from the comments about the Gates story on the Harvard Crimson site:</p>
<p>" have lived in Cambridge for almost 20 years and am frightened of the police. I am a non-white male and am on the faculty at Harvard; I constantly see the Cambridge Police harassing people of color. The city has a responsibility to ensure that their officers–endowed with the power of the state–act responsibly. They are public servants, and should treat Cambridge residents with respect. We support their upholding the law and our safety, but it cannot be done without due respect to the law, to people’s rights, and to understanding their role in our community. From what I’ve seen with the Cambridge police and how they treat people in Central Square, I believe Professor Gates’ version of the story 100%. "</p>
<p>Another interesting comment from the Harvard Crimson site:</p>
<p>“In 1978, while working on a Ph.D. at Harvard, I was arrested in my Cambridge apartment, after a young kid looked through my window, saw me putting my laundry into a laundry bag, assumed I was a robber, and called the police. Several police cars full of police arrived, pushed their way into my apartment, and, when I was not able to show them I.D. with my address on it (because I had just moved into this apartment), grabbed me, punched me and pulled my hair, took me to the police station, booked me and threw me in jail. Eventually I was allowed to make one phone call. I called my landlord who came to the police station and explained that I had been arrested in my own apartment. Although I then was released from jail, the police proceeded to charge me with breaking and entering in the night (a felony) and assaulting them. After paying lots of money for an expensive criminal lawyer, I finally got them to drop the charges, but only on the condition that I pay “court costs,” which suggests to anyone who might read the record, that I was at fault. The police also put my name in the international police computer, followed by the explanation “breaking and entering / not guilty.” I am White. No doubt the Cambridge police have been treating other people the same way that they treated me, for the past 30 years. It serves them right that they finally got themselves into an embarrassing situation. But racism is not the issue here.”</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but there are a lot of elements of Gates’ statement quoted above that strike me as very weaselly. First of all, he says that when the officer asked him to step outside, he felt he was “in danger” and refused. What his lawyers supposedly told him about this is nonsense–he wouldn’t have been any more subject to arrest for B&E by stepping outside–indeed, he probably aroused the officer’s suspicions by refusing. What the officer says next seems to me to be perfectly reasonable, as well as his request that Gates prove his identity. And here’s the point that really makes me wonder: “So he’s looking at my ID, he asked me another question, which I refused to answer.” Why doesn’t Gates tell us what this question was?</p>
<p>At this point, it appears that the police officer was satisfied and was ready to leave. Gates tells him that he wants to file a complaint because of the way he was treated at the door (which doesn’t seem unusual or improper to me in any way). At this point, there is a confrontation, and here it appears to me that the police officer also strayed off the proper path–he should have given Gates his name and badge number and left. It appears he didn’t do that, although he apparently claims he gave his name. Rather than just letting him go, Gates follows him outside (where he previously claims he would have been in danger) and continues the confrontation. At this point he gets arrested.</p>
<p>I guess my read on this is that the police might have treated a white homeowner differently, but it is likely that a white homeowner would have reacted very differently to the first contact with the police. I guess the difficult question is whether the police officer would have asked a white homeowner to step outside in a similar situation. I tend to think so, but I can’t really say for sure.</p>
<p>"
I guess my read on this is that the police might have treated a white homeowner differently, but it is likely that a white homeowner would have reacted very differently to the first contact with the police."</p>
<p>Would a white homeowner who was pushing 60 and had just finished traveling for about 24 hours from China, which means the person would have not only been exhausted from traveling but also would have felt like it was in the middle of the night, and who had then had the frustration of not being able to open their own front door have reacted differently? </p>
<p>Add to this that unlike what’s typical for an affluent white homeowner, more than likely Gates has had a long history of being victimized by racism including by people such as police. One would have to look long and hard to find a middle aged black male who hasn’t had some such problems. Add to this, Gates grew up in the South – West Virginia, and probably had some problems with racists while growing up. </p>
<p>So, one has to look at the situation in the full context. I don’t think that even the most patient white person who was just returning from a trip to China would have patiently handled the situation with the police. </p>
<p>I’ve traveled home from China, and I know I would have been so out of it that I probably wouldn’t have grasped why the police were at my door, and even though I’m normally a patient person, I might have been so thoroughly confused as to think that the police were threatening me. Remember, too, he just came from China – a place where police have been recently arresting and shooting people.</p>
<p>I find Prof. Gate’s account entirely plausible. He was standing face to face with this officer. He was able to read the man’s facial expression, body language, tone of voice, and general demeanor. These things immediately told him that this was not someone whom he could trust to have his best interests at heart. Quickly, he assessed the situation: He was a black man standing in the doorway of a home in an upscale Cambridge neighborhood, a home which apparently had been reportedly "broken into ", and the man on his porch seemed to have already sited him as chief suspect rather than the possible homeowner. I’m sure his mind went immediately to the fact that there is a recent history of reported racial abuse by police in the City of Cambridge as reported by students and faculty of Harvard and other nearby schools. He is a 60 yr. old black man who witnesses and experienced Jim Crow for many years prior to the passing of the Civil Rights Act. He’d heard a lot of stories of police abuse in his lifetime, and knew abuses were still occurring across America. Heck, not long ago, it had been all over the news, how a black man was shot to death by a policeman as he lay on the floor of a subway platform (a supposed “accidental” discharge—as if the officer had never been trained since rookiehood in gun handling and safety. Ooops!) Like every black man of a certain age, he had grown up hearing how encounters with the police could be a challenge to their basic civil liberties and even their very lives. Hell, as a black woman, I had grown up hearing cautionary tales and witnessing the training of black males in my own family. All these things came to the fore instantly, no doubt. If you’ve never grown up black in this country, you probably cannot understand how it is that for most of us—poor and affluent, educated and otherwise—this particular cultural lesson runs deep.</p>
<p>Oh, and just last summer, my seventeen year old son was detained and ID’d by police for walking around a neighborhood he’s lived in for 11 years. A woman had called reporting a “suspicious” black male. Yup, that’s my Eagle Scout!</p>
<p>It certainly appears to be a he-said/he-said thing where both are a bit in the wrong. Understanding the historical precedent, one can understand why Professor Gates would have his back up, but I think it would be unacceptable for the police to ignore anyone who appeared to be breaking into a home and what kind of neighbor would witness that and not make a call? What I do know is that the Obama press conference was not the place for this to be brought up.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>We must keep in mind that the Ogletree report is only concerned with the raw events, minus the emotions that caused them. What I tried to do is read between the lines, relying on the experiences of countless black people, to show how the situation developed and got out of hand. This cop was using his authority and his white privilege to push around the black guy. When the black guy decided to use the law to push back, the white guy called for backup, knowing the spectacle would cause the black guy even more injury. I think male egos were at play here, but at the very core of it was the issue of race.</p>
<p>I know in my own case, when the white cops started harassing me, I began to grit my teeth and bear down on it. My wife kept saying that it was okay, and that I had no cause to feel upset, that the cop was the small one hiding behind his badge and gun, and all that sort of stuff. But, hey, I’m a guy. At some point a guy has to just stand up and push back, even if it kills him. So, that is what I did, and undoubtedly the white cop felt the same thing, which caused him to demand that I get out of the car, which caused me to threaten him (so-called) with the law, should he search me or my car without a warrant, which caused him to go to his car to get backup, which caused me to continually ask if I was being charged with anything, which request he kept ignoring, which caused me to ask if I may go, which went on and on until he barked “move along!” to which I responded “With pleasure, [by implication: you racist jerk]”.</p>
<p>I suspect a lot of this sort of dynamic was at play in the Gates case here. Two stubborn guys. But I am sure that race was also underlying it all. It caused the white guy to see something that he would not have seen, had Gates been white.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>hehe. Yeah. He “probably” should not have arrested Gates. Please, Hunt. You know blooming well he ought not have arrested Gates. So then why did he do it? He did it to put the black man in his place. He used his authority and race as a weapon in his little personal contest. The cop really should have asked Gates if he was okay. He should have said “We received a call about a breaking and entering and want to know if you are okay. Can I speak with you a minute to verify your identity and see if all is well?” If he had said this, we would not be having this discussion. Gates is a very reasonable man, much more reasonable than I am. He would by no means have felt threatened by such a request.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Of course it does. And it ought to seem ridiculous to me too, [but</a> it doesn’t.](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oimk7AitaIE]but”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oimk7AitaIE) In this video we see a cop clearly unhinged. And you know the fact is, there is no cause for it. That woman was not trying to escape. I am told all the time that if you are a woman, and you do not know a cop is a cop, you should calmly drive to a populated area before pulling over. When this woman finally stops, this cop goes nuts on her. Had there been no camera, he would have written the same sort of report all cops write against blacks, saying how she was “belligerent” and resisting, when in fact the woman was nervous, scared half to death, and wondering if she should find a safer place to pull over. There he is pointing a gun right at her, screaming to get out of the car, and she can’t because her seat belt has her trapped. Had there been no camera, you would find her report hard to believe also. But I wouldn’t, because I have experienced this sort of nonsense.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, what you are claiming are “Actual facts” are just reports by people who have an interest in representing events such that they make everything favorable to themselves. There is a lot more to it than this police report from white officers. Gates is not a common thug. He is a very reasonable person, and his word is just as credible as those of the white cops. Indeed, I think they are more credible because I was able to discern the events even before reading Gates’s account. I am convinced Gates was responding to a threat that he was able to detect in this officer, a threat that would by no means show up in that officer’s report.</p>
<p>
Maybe, maybe not. I tend to think yes, though.</p>
<p>
This is true, but on the other hand Gates has been an Ivy League professor since 1976 (if you count his stint at Duke), and is a pretty big cheese. I think it’s natural to wonder if there isn’t some “don’t you know who I am?” flavor in this situation. Just to add–Gates had to know that he was going to come out on top in this situation, even if he did get arrested. And he did.</p>
<p>I also wonder about the gratitude issue. But as a woman, that’s what would have immediately come to my mind. Perhaps if Professor Gates had said “I’m the homeowner, here is my ID, thank your for protecting my property” there would have been no problem. Personally, I would think that having someone actually break into your home and damage it, steal property, or harm you is infinitely worse, but I’m not a black man, so we probably fear different things. I also don’t think saying “Yo Momma” to a police officer is a good idea for anyone.</p>
<p>
Well Professor Gates apparently did say “you don’t know who you’re messing with.” I would have recognized him, though. I enjoyed his search for his ancestry very much.</p>
<p>This thread kind of angers me. There are too many non-black people in this thread faulting Gates because they do not personally understand his actions. People, in general, hate when the race card is played even when it is done so justifiably. The first action taken is usually to find something else to blame it on. When someone points out that there is power and privilege in society based on the color of skin, it causes guilt amongst the people who have certain advantages because of their race. By ignoring race, you are not solving the problem. It may make you feel better about yourself but the problem still remains. I apologize for sounding didactic.</p>
<p>The bottomline is that the officer was out of line. He was wrong and what he did cannot be justified. Why are people defending his actions when even he and his police department have admitted that he was indeed wrong? It is never permissible to arrest someone for simply being disrespectful. Whether he was outside of his house and still on his property or not, something that Gates said must have resonated with the police officer for him to arrest Gates for what he had to know was an unjustifiable reason. The cynical can look at this situation and see a number of things. Someone from the far the far left may suggest that maybe the police officer saw the power and privielege that the well-to-do African American had and reacted with the intention of reestablishing the societal norm (within his own world at least). So what if Gates may have been arrogant. Arrogance is not grounds for arrest and it certainly has nothing to do with this situation. </p>
<p>I personally do not know if this had anything to do with race, no one does except for the officer and perhaps Gates. I will not just dismiss it easily, however. Dismissal is what always tends to happen post Civil Rights era. People simply don’t believe that things like racism exist because they haven’t personally experienced it.</p>