A perspective on Professor Gates' arrest

by SixofNine 29 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  quietlyleaving

  six, I so agree with this perspective and the discussion that is being carried on at the link you provided is very educational.

  Here are some points being made there

  Sergeant Crowley, being a trained police officer and "racial profiling expert" needed to take the lead in understanding the situation asap and calm rather than aggravate the situation. What does Crowley do? He puts an 58 year man in cuffs and treats him like a common criminal.

  Police officers are not robots - they can use their thinking and sensitivity when they need to - it is obvious that they did not in this situation.
• 

  keyser soze

  A fair point, Six. But you seem to be applying this principle to only one group of people. Are whites the only ones obligated to view things from the other side's perspective?

  What about Professor Gates viewing things from the perspective of the neighbors who saw a house being broken into with a crow bar? Or the police officers, whose job requires that they follow up on such reports, regardless of the person's color?
• 

  Priest73

  Yes essentially, except it should be so deeply ingrained in them that the don't need to say it to themselves on the way to any calls. Cops should be sensitive, to the extent possible (and this is more than possible, it's imperitive), to the perspectives of the people in the communities they serve.

  And there you have it. Racial profiling.

  You're a dip-shit.
• 

  SixofNine

  What about Professor Gates viewing things from the perspective of the neighbors who saw a house being broken into with a crow bar?

  I'm not aware that there was a crowbar used. I think Gates should have been more in tune to the officer's pov, but I think it's asking too much to have a man in this situation trying to examine it from some unknown incidental 3rd party pov. I'm not aware that the people who made the call are being dragged into this, nor where they during the incident. They seem pretty irrelevant to all this, it seems to me. No one is claiming that this is anything other than a big mix up, afaik.

  Or the police officers, whose job requires that they follow up on such reports, regardless of the person's color?

  A fair point, Six. But you seem to be applying this principle to only one group of people.

  No, I'm not. But I am saying that the onus was on the cops to do the right thing, and they did not. They arrested a man in his own home for no reason other than that he was yelling at them, when in fact they knew why he was upset. They didn't have to agree. Hell, it would piss me off if a black man called me a racist... what I shouldn't do is abuse my authority to make him shut up. That's not fair. When you have the gun and the taser and badge, you should be MORE deferential to the people w/o guns, not less. Otherwise, I think malls are hiring.
• 

  SixofNine

  :pets Priest' long, flowing mane:
• 

  SixofNine

  :pets Priest' long, flowing mane:

  :again:
• 

  Fadeout

  From the article BTS posted:

  One of Crowley’s neighbors supported the sergeant’s story, saying that the police report that said Gates was belligerent was not completely off the mark.

  I don't get it... why would the cop's neighbor be able to verify any of his story? Did the cop take his neighbor along with him on the call?

  Or was that a typo, and Gates' neighbor was the one who witnessed the scene?
• 

  SixofNine

  It was take your neighbor to work day.
• 

  TD

  One of the things that disturbs me is the degree to which truth seems to evaporate in cases like this.

  I've heard 'crowbars' mentioned here and by conservative talk show hosts. Incident Report #9005127 (Officer James Crowley's own report) makes no mention of 'crowbars:

  "She told me that her suspicions were arounsed when she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry."

  Officer Crowley has publicly stated that Gates made comments about his mother. From Crowley's report though, it seems clear that Gates was not refering to Crowley's biological mother. The reference appears to be a metaphor for Crowley's superiors:

  "His reply was "ya, I'll speak with your mama outside."

  The actual charge Gate's was arrested for was disorderly conduct. 272-S53 Like most jurisdictions, this is a catch-all statute that is defined in Massachusets as:

  "Common night walkers, common street walkers, both male and female, common railers and brawlers, persons who with offensive and disorderly acts or language accost or annoy persons of the opposite sex, lewd, wanton and lascivious persons in speech or behavior, idle and disorderly persons, disturbers of the peace, keepers of noisy and disorderly houses, and persons guilty of indecent exposure."

  Also, like most jurisdictions, when someone does not definitely fit any of these descriptions, this is still the charge when a police officer simply does not like someone's attitude.
• 

  SixofNine

  One of the things that disturbs me is the degree to which truth seems to evaporate in cases like this.

  ditto