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ORIGINAL: servantforuse

I think that Obama calling this an example of racial profiling and calling the cops stupid was just plain wrong. He had no business making a comment like that.It will come back to haunt him at a later date.   

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ORIGINAL: philosophy

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ORIGINAL: servantforuse

I think that Obama calling this an example of racial profiling and calling the cops stupid was just plain wrong. He had no business making a comment like that.It will come back to haunt him at a later date.   

...i watched that part of his speech live. Obama was extremely careful to avoid calling it racial profiling, although he did call the arrest of Gates stupid. He did refer to racial profiling, but he didn't characterise the current case as such.

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ORIGINAL: NihilusZero

You know...I'd be prone to say that though it was likely not (on the officer's part) an error of racial discrimination but an error of overt incompetence, the racial backlash he's likely to receive for that incompetence should just about merit how blatant the mistake was.

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ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

Yes, according to some reports, he was beligerent. That isnt illegal... stupid... but not illegal.

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ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy

Of course there is nothing wrong with "racial profiling" to begin with.

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ORIGINAL: Louve00
This was a testosterone battle. 

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ORIGINAL: Leonidas
From what I read, he ought to have been arrested, and I don't think that anyone should apologize to him.

Look, neighbor called and said she saw someone forcing the door to the house, yeah, the neighbor said two "black men" cause, well, they were.  If they had been two old ladies, I'm sure that's what would have been reported too.

When a cop gets a call like that, and responds, he's putting his life out there, for us, walking into that house.  He has no idea what's up, and until he's certain, he needs to act as if he could be walking into a cross-fire, because he might be.

So what happens?  He goes in, finds someone there, asks for some ID, and instead of getting some ID he gets a fucking rant about the black man in America.  The cop is there putting his ass on the line because someone reported your house was getting ripped off.  Shut the fuck up, stow your victim mentality angst for a sec, and show the man your fucking ID.  Don't care where you teach school, or who you think you are.

Did the cop fuck up?  Yeah he did.  When the asshole followed him out on the porch and continued to berate him for being a racist, he should have been the bigger man, gotten in his car, and drove the fuck away.  He knew better, and he just lost his cool.  Was he outside his bounds to arrest the man?  I doubt it.  I'm sure what he was doing by that point was within the definition of "disorderly conduct". 

Given the circumstances, it was probably still poor judgement though.  Would the cop have done differently if it had been some beered up red-neck white guy shouting at him to get the fuck out before he let the dogs loose?  I doubt it.  I think race had about fuck all to do with this.  I think that race-baters who derive their social clout by continuing to beat this dead horse see the opportunity to score some media points, and so they are.

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ORIGINAL: rulemylife

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ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy

Of course there is nothing wrong with "racial profiling" to begin with.

Why am I not surprised? 

[sm=rolleyes.gif]

I would really love to hear you elaborate on this one.

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ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

I only question your source. It happened in Cambridge, Mass, not Atlanta GA.

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ORIGINAL: maybemaybenot

A few facts that people here have wrong:

1- Gates did not show ID proving he lived there. He showed Crowley his Harvard ID, which did not have his address on it. It's in the police report and Gates doesn't dispute it.
2- When Gates asked for Crowley's ID, Crowley reached into his pocket to get it and Gates walked away with a phone in his hand and began a conversation with some one. It's in the police report and Gates does not dispute that.
3 Crowley states he asked Gates to step out, because he responded alone and did not want to enter the house if there was an intruder inside or Gates was one of the " intruders". Again, in the police report, undisputed by Gates. He also said in an interview on local radio today, that once he saw Gates he did not think he was a burglar, but because a call had been made, he was unsure if Gates entered the house after an intruder ans was in danger. he doubted it, but he was alone at first.

As I said earlier this is just Gates outrage at being on of the " beautful people ". Elitism at it's finest.

Ohh as far as the question Crowley asked that Skippy refused to answer was : Is there anyone else in the house with you?  You tell me how that can possibly contrued as racist.

here are a couple of other facts, that if you and I were in the same situation, be us any color would never have happned. He got special treatment because of who he was. No one is talking about that. When they cuffed him, he said he had some medical issue and they removed the cuffs and cuffed his hands in fornt of him. He then told them he needed a cane to walk and it was in his house, Crowley retrieved the cane and GAVE THE CANE to Gates. A front cuffed aresstee being given a potential weapon. Yea, that happens all the time to we regular folks. When Gates got to the station he cried claustrophopia. And guess what ? he was not put in a cell, but given a room all to himself where his buddies came to be with him.  The fact of the matter is the Cambridge police department bent over backwards for the elistist prick. He was shown far more leniancy than a working class schmuck would ever be shown.

Obama sickened me last night. He offered an opinion on something he admittedly did not know the facts on. Then stated facts that are incorrect and alluded to racism. but isn't that his way.  I am 100% sure that reporter was a plant by Team Obama. His answer was scripted and smooth, unlike his incomprehensable diatribes when talking about healthcare. And how sad that a president of the US would stand up there and call a police department stupid ?

I live 30ish miles from Cambridge, and Massachuetts is one of the most liberal, bedwetting states in the country. Gates is not getting alot of support from the population, that is absolutely surprising and speaks volumes to his whining about racism  < in this particular case > and the validity of his claim.

Sadly, I liked Gates. I have seen his documentaries and have attended a few lectures he has given. He always seemed even handed, reasonable and a rational voice in a crazy world. My opinion has permanantly changed.

I listen to sports radio on my AM drive. Today Crowley was a guest, oddly enough, and gave his side of the story. I will provide a link if anyone wants to listen. And keep in mind as you listen. Gates has a website and speaks about his outrage, but does not deny a single word in the police report.

http://audio.weei.com/m/25432556/stg-james-crowley-cambridge-police.htm

edited to add : Somewhere in that interview Crowley says before they took Gates away, they tried to secure/lock up his home. Gates told him that he couldn't secure it, cuz it was damaged in a previous break in. Again, wouldn't the average person be glad to see the cops respond to a questionable B&E, and wouldn't you be even happer had your home already been broken into ?
                  mbmbn

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Henry Louis Gates is the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research at Harvard University. Yes, THE Harvard University, where he is a very well respected scholar who has also created acclaimed PBS documentaries. On the night of the Henry Louis Gates arrest, nobody was thinking about those things though, especially the woman who placed the call to police stating that a man was breaking into an Atlanta, Georgia house. It also wasn't on the mind of the responding officer, who treated Gates Jr. as though he could be a criminal when he arrived on the scene.