Judgement and Changeyness
foot, meet crap circle
Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Recently, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested at his home in Cambridge. What does that incident say to you? And what does it say about race relations in America?
[∏eh R∅∅kie] I should say at the outset that Skip Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here. I don’t know all the facts.
“don’t know all the facts”
What’s been reported, though, is that the guy forgot his keys, jimmied his way to get into the house; there was a report called into the police station that there might be a burglary taking place.
So far, so good, right? I mean, if I was trying to jigger into --
what?
I mean, if I was trying to jigger into --well, I guess this is my house now, so—[gestures to White House] (laughter)—it probably wouldn’t happen.
But let’s say my old house in Chicago—(laughter)—here I’d get shot.
what?
-- here I’d get shot. (Laughter.) But so far, so good. They’re—they’re—they’re reporting. The police are doing what they should. There’s a call. They go investigate. What happens?
My understanding is, at that point, Professor Gates is already in his house.
...
Now, I’ve—I don’t know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly
what?!?
the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home.
And number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcing disproportion ately. That’s just a fact.
*Fap* goes the Race Card.
But Wait! Here’s what happened when the Cambridge LEO arrived in response to a citizen call to a possible B&E:
... THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO BLACK MEN IN AMERICA! ... YA, I’LL SPEAK WITH YOUR MAMA OUTSIDE ...
More of the rest of the story:
According to the police account, Gates accused the officers of mistreating him because of his race, and he became belligerent to the point that he ran afoul of the Massachusetts law against disorderly conduct.
Gates denied the allegation and now suggests that the involved officer apologize to him. “If he apologizes sincerely,” Gates told a Boston Globe reporter, “I am willing to forgive him. And if he admits his error, I am willing to educate him about the history of racism in America and the issue of racial profiling.”
And a reprise:
”...Skip Gates is a friend. ... the Cambridge police acted stupidly ...
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