<p>I’m weighing in my mind how I recently responded to observing what very clearly looked like a house break-in, next door to where my D lives in a university neighborhood. Hers is a student apartment neighborhood, a few blocks from Brown U, in Providence, Rhode Island (Let’s give Cambridge a rest for a minute). House and car burglaries occur, sporadically, in her neighborhood.</p>
<p>Point is: we as parents are stakeholders in that neighborhood, although not residents. We certainly cared when we saw what appeared to be a daytime crime in progress, right next door to our D’s apartment. </p>
<p>We had just exited her apartment. D was at work so not there to tell us who was a neighbor, who wasn’t. Walking to our parked car, we saw an open window on the first floor of a house, screen off to the side, with two long, willowy legs sticking out into the daylight. </p>
<p>We went over to see if we should either help or call for help. We weren’t afraid to approach, either, perhaps because we were two people, or to add honestly: because the legs were female and white.</p>
<p>I said to the legs, “Hellooo?” (My D would have been so embarassed.)</p>
<p>A girl emerged and said “I know this looks like I’m breaking in, but I live here. My boyfriend took my keys again. This is the only way I can get in.”</p>
<p>I said, “Okay, good luck and winked, 'maybe it’s time for a new boyfriend.”</p>
<p>What if, instead of that, we’d have immediately called the police on her?
Run the scenario in your mind: how do you imagine the cop would have appraoched her? </p>
<p>And I’m so cautious that as we continued onward to our car, I still asked my H, “does that sound legit? Should we call the police?” and he just laughed, saying "Nah, you can’t make up a story like that; she’s fine. " I forgot it until this Gates story. </p>
<p>So that’s some common sense. Speaking of common sense, I wonder if
the Cambridge neighbor, who you know was watching that property like a hawk awaiting police, did or did not mention to the officer if she saw luggage being walked INTO Gates’ front door? His report says he met her on the sidewalk before approaching Gates’ home. </p>
<p>Lots to think about. I hope a lot of students take this up as a termpaper topic next term.</p>
But in all seriousness, NSM, read the link. It’s from the “Prof’s” own POV. The guy didn’t arrest him because he thought he was a burglar. He was arrested because he acted like an ass to the officer and got his own handed to him.</p>