Unintended Truths

[alexandraerin]

So, commentator Glenn Beck has said, in response to President Obama's comments about Profesosr Gates's arrest, that the president has shown "a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture".

I'd like to argue with this, but unfortunately I agree. Mr. Beck is exactly right: targeting official suspicion at minorities is part of our culture.

Comments

[vox-vocis-causa.livejournal.com]

If Henry Louis Gates had "matched the officers' idea of what a distinguished Harvard scholar and man of influence should look like." then he would not have been yelling at them. The details are somewhat sketchy but it doesn't look like this arrest had anything to do with race. As anyone can tell you yelling accusations and threats at cops is a bad idea.

From both the police report and Professor Gates' statements it sounds like he was refusing to cooperate with the cops, who were responding to a legitimate complaint, instead Gates decided to respond with accusations of racism.

Ignoring race as a factor, if someone told me a guy got arrested after refusing to cooperate with police and then started yelling at them when they wouldn't just go away, I wouldn't be surprised.

[alexandraerin.livejournal.com]

There is actually no legal basis for a man having to prove his identity or right of occupancy to police in the middle of the night. I would agree that it's not surprising that a man who responded belligerently to this request was arrested, but that doesn't make the cops right or him wrong.

You can ignore race a factor if you want to. Professor Gates apparently felt he couldn't. I'm inclined to agree with him... simple reality is that a white man coming home in the middle of the night and having trouble with the door would have been far less likely to prompt a call to the police in a neighborhood like that in the first place.

[the-leaking-pen.livejournal.com]

Id like to add, ive had this happen. I had to break into my apartment through the window. When i was a teenager. A neighbor that knew quite well who i was, and didnt like my family, called the cops. they showed up, i showed them my school ID and a pic of myself off the wall in a frame, and they apologized profusely for disturbing me and left.

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

You likely should be. The simple facts of the case, beyond any matters of racism, make it very clear that Gates was within his rights and the actions by the officer were incorrect.

This does not bear upon who is being honest and who's not- it's fairly clear that neither side is 100% truthful here. Gates claimed he couldn't have been yelling due to being sick- but was recorded doing so. The officer stated he was informed the men were black, which he was not (and the tapes prove it). Neither man has a greater degree of credibility.

However, it was established beyond doubt that Gates had a right to be in his home, and he was, and the only problems related to this had to do with the police presence. Furthermore, all of the comments being made by Gates were protected speech, and did not qualify as violating the laws as cited by the arresting officer. To add insult to injury the law in question would also be invalid due to the fact it is overly broad.

At no point should Gates have been arrested, nor should he have ended up in a cell. Regardless of whether or not the officer produced a name and badge number (required by state law), which to the best of my ability to determine cannot be independently confirmed or denied due to a lack of outside witnesses, the actions as taken were improper. Furthermore, the paperwork submitted is written in such a way as to to raise reasonable suspicion that the officer was attempting to make the event fit the statute by using language directly from the statute in his description of events. This raises questions of false accusation and imprisonment on the officer's part, which is unlikely something which could be established in a court of law.

Regardless of anything else, it seems highly likely that Gates was angry because he believed he was being unfairly targeted, and the officer was angry due to the insinuations, and as an end result, the officer searched for a legitimate reason to haul Gates in. Not because of race, but because he felt insulted by Gates accusation of him being racist. In this state of mind, he decided Gates could be arrested for disorderly conduct, and did so, erroneously.

Regardless of any charges of racist activity on either side, the officer incorrectly arrested Gates. That, and that alone, justifies a call for, and the giving of, an apology.

However I doubt that will be forthcoming.