Jul 24 2009
It All Comes to Light…
President Obama’s health care reform pitch the other night was pretty much the same as the other three. The only interesting item that came out of the sales pitch was the very last questioned asked. Basically, the reporter asked Obama for his opinion about the arrest of his friend, and Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Without knowing the entire story, Obama immediately sided with his friend and condemned the officers and the Cambridge Police Department. Obama tends to speak out a lot on subjects he is not to familiar with and the question that was asked was another attempt to deflect attention from his lousy health care reform pitch.
No doubt it was a co-inky-dink that the question was asked at the very end of the Q & A section. The sales pitch was pretty much dead-on-arrival from the start. Obama and his sidekick, David Axelrod wanted that question to be asked…to save face. I wouldn’t doubt that in the upcoming days, a story about it being planted will come to light.
This case is all about racial profiling. Two people participated in the racial profiling. The Professor and the President. Both used assumed data that they had collected over their lifetime about racial profiling and applied them to Officer Crowley. They didn’t treat it as individual event… instead they assumed the motive of the officer and proceeded without any facts to support their actions.
The Drudge Report has posted the the police report on their web site and you can see that the Officer was the one who was profiled by Professor Gates. You can read the report (from 2 officers), which details Gate’s actions and comments. My favorite quote is “ya, I’ll talk to your mama outside.” http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html
Bravo! Despite my occasional run ins with the law in my youth; I have a deep respect for those who wear a badge. In fact, one of my best friends is the former Chief of Police from my hometown. This is not to say that there are those who abuse their power but you’ll find that in any sector. Believe me; I met my share of assholes in construction who lorded their positions by belittling underlings. However, in this instance, the police were simply doing their job and this egotistical, pompous ass chose to make it a race issue. Obama is beginning to irritate me more each day and his choice to intervene in something that he didn’t know what he was talking about is an example of why. Well done Scotty.
Very good post scotty. I don’t see where anyone could get the officer was out of line. From what I read the officer was doing his job. I wonder how this man would have reacted had it been another black man arresting him. I have family members that work in law enforcement and I too have respect for them and what they do. they are under payed and over worked they put their lives on the line everyday. The President really blew this one and the question was definitely a plant.
I knew he was making a mistake when he said he is my friend, he should have went on to say I need not remark on this issue until we find out exactly what happened. Not a very smart move by the big O.
Oh yes you can see from the police report that it was the police who were being profiled, come on dude. Like the police report is an entirely objective account. I have watched a cop threaten to arrest a black citizen who had chased down hit and run driver, I have seen a uniformed cop smash a black undercover officer’s face through a store window. The minute the cop had ID he should have left the house, he was not invited in and the presumption all 3 of you are making is that the cop in no way precipitated or antagonized the event when the 2 were alone in the house. And yet the one cop witness in the house seems to have walked out on a sceen were a fellow officer is being yelled at? Give me a break when a second officer shows up on a sceen and there is a citizen yelling at a cop it is his responsibility to stay as witness to the conflict. We all know how rowdey those Harvard professors are, constantly getting in trouble. Unlike the men in blue who have exemplary records one and all, just ask Abner Luima. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima
max, stay on topic. We all know there have been incidents where white police officers have done wrong. Pointing out past cases has nothing to do with the present one.
Its been 8 or 9 days and have you notice that the Harvard Professor has not denied the police reports? Just wait…im sure the telecommunications will come out and we will get to hear the language Gates used. Notice how both Gates and Obama have pulled back.
Also, the Supreme Court ruled that you must show ID when a Police Officer asks you while conducting an investigation.
Coming from the law enforcement field…9 years…I know that when you get a call of a possible breaking and entering…you are on high alert. You have no idea what you are going to run into. (Note: Gates house had been broken into prior to this)
The officer does not have to be “invited” in when he is there investigating a possible break in. Get real dude. “Excuse me potential buglar…my I come in” not in the real world max.
When asked to show ID…Gates refused and later he showed his ID. When did asking anyone for ID become racist? When did a police officer responding to a call and doing his duty become a racist act?
Did you hear Gates say the officer said any racial comments? NOPE. Who screamed and name-called? GATES
I also believe there was more than just the officers on-sight. 8 citizens witnessed it all and I’m sure that will be brought to light in the next few days.
Well said Scotty. We are not debating the fact that there are cops who embrace the racial profiling approach. We’re talking about this particular incident. As I’ve said; I am from the Boston area and you can’t turn the channel without hearing more about this circus. From all witness accounts; it was Gates who was slinging the race card and as Scotty pointed out; he was arrested for disturbing the peace.
From my own experience; I can say that cops are going to take just so much verbal abuse before they slap the cuffs on you. Gates’ reference to one of the officers’ mother along with a video provided by a neighbor attest to the fact that Gates just didn’t know when to shut the fuck up.
I also feel that the fact that Gates has never claimed any of the officers used racial slurs is testimony to the fact that HE perpetuated the racial angle and is now basking in all the attention it has been given.
As an aside: A spokesman for the Cambridge PD, who just happens to be black, spoke last night to a local news reporter and stated that he found Gates’ actions and Obama comments to be an embarrassment to the black community and a baseless attack on the police department. I have to ask you Max: If a white person pulled the same shit that Gates’ did (insert black police officer): Do you think it would have attracted all this media attention?
This so-call “racist” cop (as Gates proclaimed) was the same one who gave Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis mouth-to-mouth when he collasped and eventually died from a heart attack.