Who was right? - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

MS Fowler · #1 07-23-2009, 10:33 AM

All white people are assumed to be racists in this Brave New World. White cops are only hired because they are racists.

Please, lets give it a rest.
The President pandering to this was a low point. Maybe he is trying to reverse his ratings slide.

Honus · #2 07-23-2009, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS Fowler

...Please, lets give it a rest...

I don't think that is going to happen. Maybe the Gates thing was a misunderstanding that went too far. That sort of thing can happen. The reason I don't think people are going to give it a rest is that there is a widespread belief that what Gates says happened to him happens to minorities in this country all the time. There are reasons why so many black people do not trust police. To me, that issue is more important than whether this Cambridge officer gets his feelings hurt.

Jorn · #3 07-23-2009, 11:31 AM

I like to stay out of discussions about racism discussed by white people. As a white person you can not imagine that racism is still rampart, because you never experience it. I remember some one claiming here that racism was over after Obama was elected; now he has one of the longest post in this thread...just think about it.

I had two black guys working for me on a film I shot; an electrician and a grip, both were hard working guys from Inglewood. When they would leave the set they would place there call-sheet on there dash, so that if they were pulled over they could show the call-sheet to the cops with out reaching in there glove box or bag and explaining they came from work. These guys were pulled over for no other reason then being black at least twice a month. Me as a white guy has never been pulled over and for work I do go to many dodgy neighborhoods in LA.

I'm sure that if the professor was white the situation would have ended completely different.

MS Fowler · #4 07-23-2009, 11:10 AM

Bad cops need to be expunged--I'll make no defense of bad cops.
However, there is a certain assumption that all white cops are racists. A former police commisioner for Baltimore , ( a white guy from NYC) remarks that during his community meetings as part of the confirmation process, one community leader called him a racist, " Because you are sitting like a racist!".
How is it possible to intelligently conbat that sort of predudice??

Gurkha · #5 07-23-2009, 11:37 AM

The prof needs to get his pipes cleaned seriously, he truly over reacted here.

kerry · #6 07-23-2009, 11:45 AM

Oddest part is that neighbors called cops when Gates was having trouble getting into his own house. You'd think the neighbors would know Gates and recognize him. Wonder how many black people live on that block? If it is mostly a white neighborhood, I think the cop should have been smart enough to see the potential problem, and just back off. If it's a mixed neighborhood, I think the situation might be different.

POS · #7 07-23-2009, 12:00 PM

And now you can read the police report - Gates is an a-hole. I'll stand by that. If a cop has a good reason to ask for your ID (such as just doing a breaking/entry into your own home), and your response is "Why? Because I'm a black man in America?", then you've just set the ****ty tone from that point forward. The cop didn't set the tone, the professor did. The professor's response should have been one of understanding for his role in the situation, not complete defensiveness. Had he shown the cop his ID, explained why he broke into his own house, the cop would have left and none of this would have happened.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

tbomachines · #8 07-23-2009, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by POS

And now you can read the police report - Gates is an a-hole. I'll stand by that.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

Yes but that is just the officers' side of the story. Obviously they are going to justify their arrest in the report and make it seem like he deserved to be arrested - no matter how much of an actual bend it is.

POS · #9 07-23-2009, 01:53 PM

It's clear to me - Gates started the confrontation. All the arguments of inside/outside, when he showed his ID, where he was talked to, who was on the porch and when, etal, are all moot because if Gates had been initially cooperative and understanding with the police officer after breaking into his own house then none of this would have happened. I lay the blame on the one who started it, and it wasn't the officer.

You can't get overty defensive with police officers and not expect some kind of response. To think that we as Americans are allowed THE RIGHT to abuse police officers is just plain PC crap; society hires police officers to protect us from wrongdoing and I think most of them are entitled to a little respect. Gates showed no respect for a man who is only doing the job that his city hired him to do - and that is to protect people and property.

MS Fowler · #10 07-24-2009, 06:15 AM

DC,
I think we, as American citizens, have the absolute right to be a--holes anywhere, anytime, and to anyone we chose!

Honus · #11 07-24-2009, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS Fowler

DC,
I think we, as American citizens, have the absolute right to be a--holes anywhere, anytime, and to anyone we chose!

It's what makes America great.

MS Fowler · #12 07-24-2009, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dculkin

It's what makes America great.

I should have added---that I am darn proud to be an American!

mgburg · #13 07-25-2009, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS Fowler

DC, I think we, as American citizens, have the absolute right to be a--holes anywhere, anytime, and to anyone we chose!

That's right! And when we get CAUGHT and CUFFED for being A**HOLES, we have to pay the price...otherwise, where would the "stupid lawyers" get their seed money from, in order to keep their fledging offices open for more "BS Cases" that have to be defended?

Disorderly Conduct charges can be applied in many cases and they usually involve very innocuous events...even the officer that cuffed me back in '91 said the same thing...it's when you get to court and find that the DA "stacked" other charges to "help with the negotiations" to bring it back down to a misdemeanor level of DC...the DA gets a mark in his column for "closing a case" and you get a petty record...

But, I digress...

Back to the subject at hand...Gates didn't cooperate...period.

Crowley acted the way he should have...showing no PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT due to class or stature...and he showed restraint. He didn't go "Rodney" all over Gates...he could have taken him to the sidewalk and performed some of that "artistic" athletic prowess that you see on "COPS" where they "neck-step" the suspect 'til the cuffs are secure...but, you didn't see any of that crap...you have a black man being led out of his house for being an a**hole to the authorities and regardless whether he was a Billy Graham, an "O" supporter or a Lifetime Member of the NRA, he needed to display a modicum of respect to the people his tax dollars help to support and pay for...those same folks he'd expect to protect his life and property should he ever need that service.

I only hope, for Gates' sake, he doesn't get targeted by nar-do-wells, now that the criminal element in the area is aware that he now has some "beef" with the Police...

Sometimes, it would be a GOOD thing not to be an A**HOLE at all, as opposed to what some would say you have an absolute right to be able to do...

But then again, isn't that the trait of people that open mouths, insert their feet, then think about the consequences of their actions later...as if they ever manage to get THAT far to the thinking process...

Gates cried "FIRE!" when, in fact, there was no smoking match. IF we want to argue whether he has the right to yell "FIRE!" or not, have at it...I'm done trying to point out the fact that GATES invited Crowley and crew in, then Crowley tried to get out of the house and Gates decided he had a right to be an idiot outside of his house and got cuffed for it...

If he was allowed to go back into his residence AFTER HE WAS CUFFED to get a personal item or to leave it behind in secure hands, is subject to debate...it seems that some here feel that he was cuffed before he was led from his residence...it doesn't matter...

Even Gates mentioned that he was tired and cranky...any officer is trained to be aware of any person they are confronting, for any reason, to be aware that the person you least expect could be the one you should have expected...and as part of that training, they have EVERY RIGHT to cuff you if you're showing signs of poor judgement...both for your safety as well as theirs.

To argue anything different is to show ignorance of reality in the real world...

Academics is not real life. Gates needs to be part of reality, not imagine it.

dynalow · #14 07-25-2009, 08:29 AM

Barack Obama calls cop to mend fences
Brews plan to pull both sides to table
By Hillary Chabot & Laura Crimaldi
Saturday, July 25, 2009 - Updated 7h ago

Beer and bonding is on tap at the White House after a contrite President Obama yesterday invited a Cambridge cop and Harvard professor over in an effort to bring them together after a week of hard feelings over charges of racial profiling.

The invitation for a cold one was quickly accepted last night by both Sgt. James Crowley and professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Crowley, through his union, said last night he was “profoundly grateful” for the president’s national mea culpa and offer to pick up the beer tab.

And Gates’ lawyer, Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree Jr. said the cocktail hour could happen before Obama, a personal friend of Gates, takes his Martha’s Vineyard vacation in the last week of August.

“I think it’s hard to imagine anyone refusing an opportunity to have a constructive dialogue with the president of America,” Ogletree said.

The invitation came as Obama scrambled to clarify and soften his stunning statement at a nationally televised news conference that Cambridge police acted “stupidly” in arresting Gates.

Crowley, 42, cuffed Gates July 16 after investigating a break-in at the professor’s Ware Street home, charging him with disorderly conduct in what the 58-year-old Gates called racial profiling. The charge was dropped but Gates demanded an apology, which Crowley refused.

Obama called Crowley yesterday afternoon and told him he should have “calibrated those words differently,” when talking about the incident at the news conference.

“My sense is you’ve got two good people in a circumstance in which neither of them were able to resolve the incident in the way that it should have been resolved and the way they would have liked it to be resolved,” Obama said.

Before Obama reached out to Crowley, the sergeant stood with union officials and members of the Cambridge Multicultural Police Association who lashed out at remarks from the president and Gov. Deval Patrick.

“The supervisors and the patrol officers of the Cambridge Police Department deeply resent the implication and reject any suggestion that in this case or any other case that they’ve allowed a person’s race to direct their activities,” said Sgt. Dennis O’Connor, president of the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association.

But, according to state Sen. Anthony Galluccio (D-Cambridge), Crowley emerged from the five-minute phone conversation with Obama ready to “do anything to help the citizenry move forward. He was open to the idea, but he was obviously pretty worn out and he needed to catch his breath.”

Police union officials also welcomed the president’s move. “He extended an olive branch, and that means a lot,” said Steve Killion, president of the Cambridge Police Patrol Officers Association. “It was very presidential. I think he realized he made a mistake.”

Patrick didn’t respond to union demands for an apology, but said in a statement that Obama’s comments, “should allow this conversation to move forward in a positive, constructive and level-headed manner.”

Local Democratic consultant Michael Shea called Obama’s “acted stupidly” comment, “the biggest political mistake I’ve ever seen him make.”

But Obama recovered with yesterday’s phone calls and impromptu press conference, Shea said, adding, “He took some blame and then moved forward to try and bring something positive out of it.”

Beer on tap for cop, prof:

Now, lets argue over which beer should be served.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1186929

I think they ought to have a beer tasting party. Get totally trashed and see what happens.

dynalow · #15 07-25-2009, 09:01 AM

I found this Gates documentary yesterday. Interesting.
Memo the Harvard: I think Morgan Freeman might make a better professor than Gates.

Listen to the first 3:30.

"I have to confess that I was surprised by Morgan's deep affection for the South, If I didn't respect him so much, I'd have thought he was whistling Dixie"

(Do I detect a little chip? Or a life lived in the academic tower of isolation?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooj7LVa0JtE&feature=related