<p>Gates was an innocent man IN HIS OWN HOME!! I’d say that’s a damn good reason to be belligerent when someone accosts you out of the blue as a potential criminal!</p>
<p>If I were a black man in my own home I would refuse to “step outside” for a white cop who appeared at my door for no apparent reason. I’d be afraid to, frankly. If he explained why he was there I’d show him my id and expect him to apologize for the inconvenience and LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Instead this cop apparently decided that he had to pacify/dominate Gates before leaving. Yes, Gates lost his temper. But why didn’t the cop simply leave in the first place, once he had seen the ID? If Gates came out and yelled at him, why didn’t he simply keep walking? The idea that a person in that situation needs to be arrested, and have MUG SHOTS taken is simply ludicrous. What a waste of public resources! It seems to me that the cop’s ego was involved and he wanted to humiliate and dominate Gates.</p>
<p>I have encountered the kind of cop who thinks that someone having given him a gun and a badge makes him a petty emperor. It is infuriating.</p>
<p>In contrast to Gates’ experience, I once set off the alarm at my parent’s house by mistake, when brain freeze led me to momentarily forget the code. A police car arrived shortly thereafter. I met the policewoman in the driveway and explained. She didn’t even get out of the car. Do you think that that would have been the result if I were a black man? I seriously doubt it.</p>
<p>I think this situation is sad and scary. Can you imagine this happening to you in your own home? It’s like a nightmare. Gates must have felt humiliated. Neighbor’s here don’t really know each other yet no one blinked an eye when I crawled threw a window after locking myself out. If I were a black man I have no doubt the police would have been called and that’s a sad fact.</p>
<p>Sure, I doubt it. I think that the African-American culture has a completely different view of the police than middle class white culture. You can experience it vicariously through the books of Walter Mosley. I recommend the books as a way of stepping into someone else’s shoes and experiencing what it must be like to be a black man in America (plus the books are a great read!!). You can understand the anger Gates felt at having the policeman ignore his question of name and badge number.</p>
<p>to answer paying3 tuituions’ questions (post 83 or so)
I think you asked the girl a reasonable question. She immediately gave you a reasonable answer. She said she lived there. I know, maybe true, maybe not, but reasonable. According to the report I read Gates did not respond with a reasonable answer. Initially he refused to identify himself! That is unreasonable in the truest sense of the word. It defies reason not to identify yourself. Is he a secret agent? Is he so famous all should recognize him like Nicole Kidman? Does he just think he is so famous?
The chronology is so key here.
For a fellow to appears to be breaking into a house to NOT identify himself, then to claim <em>you’re picking on me because I’m black</em>, just doesn’t add up. ID and such was offered after all that happened.</p>
<p>“Are you telling me that the officer in question was justified in abusing his power by arresting a man for failing to be “deferential” enough? Whether or not it was a good idea to verbally confront the officer’s behavior is neither here nor there. This is about legal justification of the arrest. What law had Prof. Gates broken?”</p>
<p>Personally, I think that the police officer and possibly others think that Gates broke an unwritten law that black people aren’t supposed to act “uppity.”</p>
<p>Again, why is there is such insistence in painting Gates as a victim of an abusive police force. If you were to set aside the “emotions” and simply look at the facts, you might see them more clearly. The first fact is that the police was responding to possible burglary and more than probably saw evidence of damages to the front door. The second fact is that when Gates refused to step aside, the police went inside and gave him the opportunity to present his IDs. In addition, I believe that it is standard procedure for the police to ensure the safety of the occupants by … checkin the house. I do know that when the alarm went off at our house, and the police has to come, they ALWAYS ask to check the INSIDE of the house to MAKE SURE everything is OK. One more fact is that the police officer was leaving and that the arrest took place on the porch after Gates continued to throw his little tantrum, resulting in his arrest for disorderly and tumultuous conduct. A last fact is that the arrest was witnessed by at least seven people … did you hear any reporst of police brutality of abuse? On the other hand, the picture of an arrested Gates speaks volumes about the attitude of the esteement professor who lost his cool. </p>
<p>All what Gates had to do was behave NORMALLY, and not as an obnoxious jerk who seemingly confuses his position at Harvard with a seat at Mt. Olympus. Gates expects to be treated like any other man in the country … and that is his right. But he also has the obligation to conduct himself as such. </p>
<p>A man of his intellect, stature, and role in society should exercise more self-control and know that respect is something that does not flow one way. Pretending that this incident was motivated by racism is ridiculous, and is simply fueled by the true racists and haters among us! </p>
<p>It was a stupid incident caused by a very smart person acting out of character. or at least the character he should possess.</p>
<p>Again, based on the reports that is NOT true. The officer gave his name.</p>
<p>Don’t the police officers in Boston wear name tags or badge numbers? If idle speculating is allowed, should we not consider that a frustrated Gates asked the officer for his … ID? Just to get even?</p>
<p>younghoss, according to the account of what happened, it appeared that the officer simply appeared at Gates’ front door and requested that he “step outside.” How was Gates supposed to know at that point that someone had reported an apparent burglary in progress? If you have to use force to open a door at your house do you expect to be automatically accused of housebreaking? Did you miss the part where Gates entered his house through the back door using a key? </p>
<p>Let me tell you, as a law-abiding citizen I do NOT feel that I should be asked to treat the police with automatic deference, no matter what. And if I ask for their name and badge number–especially if they have just asked ME for my id–they had better give it. They are public servants, not tin gods or the Gestapo.</p>
<p>For those who think cops are always truthful, check this out, and also note that rogue cops can be of any race/ethnicity, the same is true of innocent people who are victimized by such cops. </p>
<p>"(July 21) – When Agnes Lawless was arrested on charges of assaulting a Philadelphia police officer, she protested that it was the cop who had attacked her. He grabbed her from behind and thrust a gun against her neck, she said.
Three of Lawless’ friends and a convenience store clerk backed her story, but the judge was inclined to believe the officer – until the video surfaced…</p>
<p>In Lawless’ case, security cameras inside a Lukoil convenience store in Northeast Philadelphia captured her Aug. 17, 2008, confrontation with police Officer Alberto Lopez Sr. Lopez said he arrested Lawless, then 20, when the young woman “flipped out” and began striking out at him.</p>
<p>With all the crap police put up with from people of all races, they have to be careful to ensure nothing escalates into violence towards them. They are constantly walking into unique situations with people they don’t know who might be armed or on drugs, often at night and in places where they don’t know every nook and cranny. Whenever I deal with cops (usually getting pulled over for a traffic violation), I do everyting possible to ensure that I show them my empty hands, and make it obvious that I’m not going to be confrontational.</p>
<p>Where do you get that Gates had to provide MORE than the two IDs. Wasn’t the police officer LEAVING upon verifying the two IDs? </p>
<p>However, Poetsheart, may I ask you what are you trying to say here? Are you accusing me of veiled racism? </p>
<p>What issues did I ever have with Prof. Gates? Is there something you recall that I don’t here? I do write about many issues, but I do not remember having discussed Prof. Gates, and especially not in a negative tone. Was there a body of work I disagreed with?</p>
<p>xiggi said:
“In addition, I believe that it is standard procedure for the police to ensure the safety of the occupants by … checkin the house. I do know that when the alarm went off at our house, and the police has to come, they ALWAYS ask to check the INSIDE of the house to MAKE SURE everything is OK.”</p>
<p>Maybe that’s true when your home alarm system goes off, but I believe it’s against the law for a police officer to ever enter a private residence without a search warrant.</p>
<p>I was once pulled over by a young white cop. I knew I wasn’t committing any kind of moving violation. My insurance and inspection were up to date. I was taking my 6 yr old for an ice cream cone in the park before his music lesson. So I pleasantly said to the officer, “What’s the problem?” when he appeared at my window. He barked “license and registration” and I gave them to him, repeating the query. He eventually tells me that the car registration has expired. I exclaim with obvious and unfeigned surprise that I didn’t realize it. (In this state, unlike the one I lived in previously, they did not send you a registration update, and the inspection month was usually a different one, so it was easy to forget unless you made a habit of staring at the little date square on the license plate.) After a couple of minutes he comes back to the window with a ticket. He gives me a little spiel about my “crime” and holds it out for me to sign. As I reach out for the pen and the ticket, I say in a very even tone “Can I ask you a question?” He literally snatches the ticket out of my hands and barks in a very threatening tone, “If you do not sign the ticket I WILL arrest you.” My 6-yr-old in the backseat says, in a scared voice, “Mommy, are you going to jail?” </p>
<p>Let me tell you, I was enraged and after he left I drove straight to the police station to complain. I said to them, “If this is how he treats a middle-aged, middle-class white woman with a little kid in the car who has not done anything even faintly wrong, how does he treat young black men?”</p>
<p>Really? Even if you’d just spent 15 minutes trying to muscle the front door open??</p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>No, I would not be a little suspicious and outraged, nor would I be in the dark. I’d have figured out that my actions could be taken as suspicious, and would totally understand why a cop was standing on my doorstep, especially after he said there was a call about a possible burglary! I may not like having to explain myself to the cop, but I’d be grateful that 1.) a neighbor had done what strikes me as a reasonable thing to do; 2.) the police responded quickly.</p>
<p>
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<p>Gates apparently disagrees, according to his statement to the Washington Post. He was not upset with the neighbor who called the police.</p>
<p>If that cop treated a young black man the exact same way he’d treated you (a middle-aged, middle-class white woman with a little kid in the car), would you assume he was a racist?</p>
<p>True that they are not gods or the Gestapo. Delusional for any of us to think that we do not have much to gain (as a society and as individuals) by taking a deferential approach to any uniformed police officer. You give that same respect to a judge, right? This isn’t about the individual behind the uniform. It is about respecting the rule of law, contributing to the peace, and avoiding inconvenience. </p>
<p>Showing respect to a police officer does not mean that cops are never wrong, or cops are never bad. Different issue. Showing respect towards officers of the law or court is not giving up any of our civil rights. There are times, places, and ways to protest which will accommodate absolutely any message we may need to communicate. This is a matter of common sense.</p>
<p>In the homeschooling community, you run into cases where a neighbor reports a family to DSS or the truancy officer. The DSS person shows up with a police officer at the house demanding to be let in. In many cases, they do not have the right to enter the house but the DSS or the police officer may not know that. A common response is to call a lawyer to talk to the police officer or DSS agent to inform them of what they can and cannot do.</p>
<p>Nothing racial here. Just parties that believe that they have the power overstepping their authority. Does power corrupt?</p>
<p>My house, my property. I don’t exect to be questioned by a police officer, especially if I had been living there for a very long time.
Your perspective is very much different than mine. Does not make yours right.</p>