Loading ...Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research Director Henry Louis Gates Obviously In The Wrong As Is President Obama For Taking His Old Friend’s Side Over That Of First Responder’s Without Researching The Facts…
Yeah, yeah, I know — I’m a Liberal so our Democratic president, Barack Hussein Obama cannot POSSIBLY be wrong, correct? How about INCORRECT and I could care less if you agree or disagree with me on that one, by the way.
The son of an African man from Kenya grows up to become the president of the United States (“POTUS”) and if that doesn’t put racists such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton (I’ll call them “reverends” when I see a picture of their churches, till then…) out of bidness, nothing will, right? WRONG. The nation’s third black president (behind former First-Black Co-Presidents Bill and Sir Hillary Rodham Clinton, of course) has decided to leave caution, racism and fairness and balanced-ness to the wind and pull the worn out old OBSOLETE “Race Card” in the case of another of many apparent black racists who goes by the name of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates by accusing the law enforcement officer who was called upon to safeguard Mr. Gates’ residence against a possible burglary in progress, Sergeant James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department of “acting stupidly“. ‘Scuse me, Mr. President? Did you really go “there“, Sir?
Oh, INDEED the president went “there” and he went beyond “there” and even arrived at the conclusion there are a disproportionate number of arrests made on minorities before his town hall crowd. DUH. Of course there are disproportionate numbers of arrests on minorities — that’s what happens when a disproportionate number of crimes are caused by minorities. While there could very well be political forces and policies that have brought us as a society to this point is a topic for another post but meanwhile, it is what it is and this column isn’t about that. Oh, and even Actor/Comedian DOCTOR Bill Cosby spoke out about the incident, saying (paraphrased) “Folks who weren’t at the scene should keep their mouths shut about it” (Christian Science Monitor). Was that a “hint” to President Barack Hussein Obama? I’m guessing it just might be since President Obama has generally subscribed (at least “publicly”) to the “Dr. Cosby” school of “Black Community Organizing”.
Folks, I know Professor Gates isn’t the ONLY guy to have an LEO approach him while trying to break into his own home — for a FACT. It wasn’t three years ago when I had locked my keys inside of my home and was using a screwdriver to hit the “sweet spot” of the front window of my home so I could crawl my idiotic butt inside where it belonged. “TWEET” pierces the silence and the reds and blues were whirring as a professional LEO told me to FREEZE with a really bright light blinding me. He asked for my license and I complied, told him what happened and what I was trying to do and he shone his flashlight for me as I successfully “broke in” to my own home. Oh, and he was black and I am (mostly) white. I didn’t think the man was a racist — not for one minute, nor did I think the other car who pulled quickly onto the scene with both a black and white officer in it were racists either. That thought just never did cross my mind, frankly, and I cannot fathom the operating procedures of the brain that would think such a thing.
Oh, and by the way — (H/T goes out to talk radio shock jock, Doctor Michael Savage, who’s actually in the RIGHT on this one) for bringing us the THE ORIGINAL POLICE REPORT (Thanks, AM Nation) — read it for yourself, familiarize your ownselves with the FACTS and then come back and offer your opinion in the commentary below.
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Other bloggers weigh in — not surprisingly, not too many “lefty” bloggers are joining in because wrong is WRONG and they must have figured out the president is DEFINITELY in the wrong here: Michelle Malkin (Right) points out this so-called “racist cop” was the same “racist cop” who desparately attempted to save dying Boston Celtics player Reggie Lewis’ life sixteen years ago; Our good friend Joe Gandelman of The Moderate Voice (Centrist) says Obama is wandering into a danger zone with all of his media appearances; Drudge Retort (Left) has a VERY lively discussion going as always; Dan Riehl of Riehl World View (Right) seems to get it sort of but loses me when he claims Obama is beginning to see the whole world through a lens of racial politics — ummm… a little over the top there, Dan…; Ed Morrissey of Hot Air (Right) continues to surprise me with his somewhat non-biased “beat down”…
Do not judge or pre judge untill you have walked a mile in my moccacins! Those of us who are of color deal with this sort of thing everyday some times it is sutle sometimes not. I have been singled out many times these sixty three years I have walked this earth, yet it allways seems to shock anger and surprise me, maybe because I think I am a human being and deserve to be treated as such by fellow human beings…wrong.
Levita — while I’ve never worn moccasins, I’m definitely NOT a very “white” looking person since I’ve got everything from (slightly) Cherokee to (slightly) African American to (1/4th) Italian to Spanish (1/4th) to about 53 OTHER shades of blood coursing through my veins and I’ve been discriminated against by black people for not being “black enough”, white people for not being “white enough” and Native Americans for not being “Native American enough” and I’m also “sick up and fed” with it. On the other hand, I’m always proud to check the “Other” box on any gub’mint application of any sort and write in “American” despite the fact I can LEGALLY pick and choose and check almost ANY of the above boxes the gub’mint tries to put us in and be completely 100% HONEST about it (remember the “One Drop Rule”?).
Screw this race crappola. It’s dying out with the Baby Boomers and thank God for we “Elderly Statesmen of Generation X” and our followers. WINK.
It’s as if the words I wanted to express about the Gates situation were placed in this article covering all that needed to be written. It seems clear that race is conveniently and continuously referred to when there is nothing else to aid the argument. Gates was wrong and the MSM – thankfully – was unable to dig up any dirty laundry on a dedicated and professional LEO. The facts speak for themselves and it is nice to see supporters of President Obama realize he likely stepped in it when he spoke without knowing the facts. Dangerous practice for a POTUS.
Well I’d like to point out that Cambridge, Massachusetts… as we all know… is a remote, slack-jawed backwater. I dont even think the town has its own airstrip.
Such a provincial and closed-minded community, with little or no proximity to institutes of higher education, can hardly be held accountable for its local-yokel public servant missteps.
Lets get some perspective people.
Finally, Obama’s true agenda is starting to surface and I hope that all americans begin to see it. His true agenda of controlling the country then putting his own people, mostly community organizers, in position of power, to make up for years of disproportion. It has been proven that what he says is the opposite of what he does and what he is doing is bringing the country down with its people.If his healthcare program goes through, he will be able to control the people 100%. He will look at you in the eye and lie.It is what he does best!What’s in the healthcare bill is opposite of what he says you can freely do, that is getting your own doctor etc . he has to lie to get what he needs, which is to have the power over all americans and then start escalating minorities to powerful and prominent positions regardless of qualifications.And folks, he is in a hurry to do this before America wakes up.
I’ve heard it said that a pat on the back can be painful for someone who has had a back injury. Meaning, people who have been injured in the past can possibly be more sensitive, more likely to be hurt by something that is innocent. Perhaps Mr. Gates has been hurt in the past, so I’ll give him the benifit of the doubt for flying off the handle initially, but there is NO EXCUSE for what the president said. His words re-victimized me. A number of years ago when I worked as a security guard I was accused by a man of picking on blacks in checking boxes leaving the plant. He perceived me as a white racist until he saw my wife and kids. Then suddenly there was no way in his mind that I could possibly be racist because my wife and kids look black. In fact my wife can trace her ancestors to an African from a Dutch slave ship brought to Tortolla, British Virgin Islands, thanks to I guess meticulous record keeping by the Dutch. The point is, what I did, checking his box, biased or not hadn’t changed. But to him what I did was racist, untill he discovered I was married to someone of African decent, then suddenly what I did wasn’t racist in his mind. Seeing this same kind of rush to judgement predjudice by the President of the United States sickens me.
Hell, we all know that the former community organizer from Chicago will play the race card at the drop of a hat. That was part of his socialist training. All the professor had to do was identify himself. One little card. Hell, not even that, just give his name, tell the cops what he was doing. I believe that you can’t be required to show ID, but you must identify yourself. (might be different there, but I THINK the SCOUS ruled that you don’t have to provide any sort of ID card, unless you are driving) The card just makes things easier.
I’ve been in the same position, cop coming up to me while I was trying to get in after locking myself out. Ditto for my car. And once at work, after we got an alarm system in, and no one told it they were going to set it, I found a cop behind me as I was typing up my bills of lading. In every case I calmly told the cop my name, address, etc. In every case the cop, while a bit tense at first, was calm and professional.
I think the cops should put Gates on a “do not respond” list and not bother to go to any calls that involve him or his house.
Thank you for calling it like it is on this one and not playing it safe like I’ve seen on many other blogs/commentary where people don’t want to come across as “racist” simply for saying that, just maybe, the cop had good cause and the professor isn’t as innocent as he is trying to make out to be. It is what it is. Our side, the left, only hurts the cause by jumping to conclusions every single time an incident occurs where there is a question of “racism”. By doing that it’s only fodder for the Right to claim we “pull out the race card” and discredit us when there is a legitimate issue of racism (birthers anyone?).
I’d like to make one other comment, and that is that when our side is wrong we need to be the first to call em out on it, before the Right can even get their grubby hands on it. Nobody is right 100% of the time, and that includes the left.
Obama deflects his police bashing while Lou Dobbs kicks Roland Martin Butt On CNN; re: Obama Birth Certificate Non-Transparency « VotingFemale Speaks! // Jul 24, 2009 at 8:04 AM
[...] President Obama Torques Police Officers Off Nationwide By Playing The Race Card In Harvard Professor… [...]
Obama’s comment was not thoughtless. I’m sure David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel gave it a lot of thought before they added it to Obama’s teleprompter.
If you want to know what drives Obama and his cronies, read Saul Alinsky’s book ‘Rules for Radicals’. The fastest way to understand the purpose of the radical tactics of this regime is to understand their motivations. This really has become a Must Read for conservatives.
A lesson for republicans: Know what your opponent knows.
Obama is just creating another distraction, creating another conflict that he can exploit. With all the turmoil surrounding his ‘health care’ plan, he needs to re-solidify his base. What better way to pit democrats against republicans than by playing the race card. Again.
Obama guilty of Race Baiting for Political Gain; Socialist “Victimology” Honed to a Razor Edge « VotingFemale Speaks! // Jul 24, 2009 at 10:47 AM
[...] President Obama Torques Police Officers Off Nationwide By Playing The Race Card In Harvard Professor… [...]
My, my, touchy issue here.
I agree Obama should have kept his mouth shut on this. But no one else seems to be keeping their’s shut, so I may as well chime in.
The officer certainly could have been more professional about this. It was obvious that these were not young thugs attempting a B and E. First the officer could have asked the reporting woman if she knew who lived there. If she did then it could have ended there. If not, then all the cop had to do was tell Gates a neighbor thought the house was being broken into. He could have verified Gates’ story in a less intrusive manner. The “step outside” line could have been seen as over-reaching. The situation could have been de-escalated if the cop had a cooler head. After the cop knew Gates lived there, it was the officers’ presence that escalated the situation. He should have left the scene. His business was finished. By their staying, the situation became a contest of egos, not a public safety matter.
This is assuming the report was written in complete honesty. Cops do lie sometimes.
Granted, giving the assumption that the cop’s side of the story is true, there was nothing but good professional actions by the cop at least up to the point where the cop did (according to cop’s side) intend to leave. That’s when the story gets a little cloudy, cop had made the decision there is no B&E, cop is in the process of leaving, then what? According to the cop, Gates is so disruptive that it warrents an arrest. Here is where I don’t know the law well enough to pass judgement, but I’ve got to suspect if the cop’s emotions played a part in his actions it would have been at that point. We of course need Zombies for police officers so idiots can scream at them all day when they are trying to do a dangerous and legitimate job, but that still doesn’t excuse Obama for what Obama said.
We have three observations about the Harvard professor incident:
1. We find it interesting that the fact that this was the professor’s home was evidently not established early on way before the dispute escalated;
2. We find it fascinating that the versions of two members of society, who most would ordinarily view as responsible and honest citizens (this obviously does not include politicians), would vary so dramatically from a factual point of view.
3. Finally, considering that the reading and viewing public were not present at the scene (and thus have no first hand knowledge), and that there is no video tape to our knowledge of the sequence of events and what was said, how so many have formed conclusions, and made assumptions, about who did what and who was wrong.
There are some things which Professor Gates might have considered upon the arrival of the police, no matter how incensed he may have been.
GTL, I agree the President stepped in too deep with little knowledge of the facts, and I don’t take the racial motives for granted here, but have to point out a few problems with your post.
- Obama was asked a question, he didn’t volunteer to jump into this.
- Obama’s election is highly encouraging as a sign of American progress on race. But it sounds like you want to believe it means nobody anywhere in America harbors or acts upon racial motives anymore,
and somehow, perversely, Obama’s election means that minorities no longer have a right to call out and protest against discrimination.
- The officer’s own account suggests considerable misconduct:
1) He admits he entered Gate’s house. Gates says he never gave permission, and based on his attitude toward the police and knowledge of his legal rights I believe him on that point. Officer Crowley might have asked to verify ID at the door without entering, which was a real violation of Gates’s private space and might have set anyone off. The hearsay report of the 911 caller of an attempted break in did not constitute probable cause for Crowley to enter without permission.
2) There is no legal obligation to provide police with ID upon demand while in your own home. Unless Crowley had probable cause to believe a crime had been committed (hearsay report via 911 does not constitute probable cause) he had no right to press the issue after Crowley answered the door and denied permission to enter.
3) Crowley claims he identified himself by name but apparently did not provide Gates his police ID card, despite Gates’ repeated requests. it is MA law that police must provide such ID upon request. Crowley’s failure here escalated the situation.
4) Gate’s conduct, while not admirable, did not constitute disorderly conduct. Disrespecting a police officer is not a crime – as much as they’d like you to believe otherwise. A more professional response by Crowley would have been to realize Gates was A) understandably upset at being intruded upon and/or possibly B) trying to create a larger incident and just walked away, reporting no merit to the burglary report.
- I can’t speak to Crowley’s possible racial motives but arguing that “he can’t be racist becuase he gave a black guy CPR once!” is worse than weak. It’s a baby step away from “I can’t be racist, I have a black friend!”
- Why is Bill Cosby’s opinion relevant?
- Your assumption that “the police report” equals the “facts of the case” seems pretty naive.
You can argue that Crowley was just doing what police do every day, regardless of the suspect’s race. I won’t argue, but don’t see that as any defense. It’s an endorsement of police misuse of their powers to intimidate the public via unjust intrusion and false arrest. Don’t you believe police should be held to a standard of conduct based on the Constitution and their own department’s rules and regulations?
Obama Gives Almost Apology after calling Cambridge Police Stupid; the FOP Supported McCain-Palin; Socialist Race Politics at its Ugliest « VotingFemale Speaks! // Jul 24, 2009 at 4:00 PM
[...] President Obama Torques Police Officers Off Nationwide By Playing The Race Card In Harvard Professor… [...]
Hey GTL,
Apparently Obama read your post and has attempted to apologize. I’m sure the fact that there is audio and plenty of witnesses to show Gates is a kook had alot to do with it.
One observation (future thread) is that Obama has made tremendous use of the media, which of course is one of his strengths. Look at how often he (and his telepromter buddie) gets in front of the cameras with so many news conferences and other impromtu appearances. Its like “All Obama All the time”. However, when he “steps in it” as he clearly did here, his media strategy exposes his weaknesses. Will this be a trend of this Admin? Or a rare faux pas? (I hope you like my French word GTL!)
Anyway, that’s what I was thinking about regarding politics today -I try not to do that often.
Steve
Well, our Racist in Chief is now trying to spin his words. I though this guy was supposed to be a master word smith, could do no wrong with the spoken word. Or that is how he was presented during the campaign. Seems like since his coronation he can hardly open his mouth without putting a foot in it. Maybe he is just a wooden dummy and Biden is supplying the voice.
Where to start? Holy crap is a good for instnace. If you are not an African American then you do not have a clue as to how they are treated when pulled over, questioned, or even arrested. There is racist policy in law enforcement and if you are black then you better do the yes sir, no sir, whatever you say sir when the blue lights are flashing. Law enforcement officers are not omnipotent and they are the first ones to profile even an honest man if his skin color is dark. Its bullshit and it is wrong. And this comment from a lily white Irish American that is 100% American but I am Irish too.
News flash Papamonk – Anyone with a lick of sense will say “yes sir/ma’am” or “no sir/ma’am” to an officer. Or the Yes/no Officer varient. Doesnt matter, black, white, blue, purple, or dazzle camo pattern. What determines how a cop treats you is YOUR attitude.
Sounds as if this ivory tower leftist has a chip on his shoulder about LEOs and likes to play the professional victim. (Oh, you enslaved my great X 4 grand father 300 years ago, you are a racist and hate me because I’m black).
Might could be time for everyone to just be plain old Americans and stop being black-celtic-mesizo-lefthanded-redheaded-Americans.
By the way, I get profiled because I have that ‘biker’ look – middle aged, overweight, long, thinning hair, and beard.
Hate to burst your bubble but he wasn’t in the act of getting into his home. He attempted the front door lock (which was jammed) then moved to the back door and entered.
Gates’s lawyer and Harvard colleague, Charles Ogletree, said what angered his client was that the police officer stepped inside Gates’s Ware Street house, uninvited, to demand identification and question him.
Gates showed his Harvard identification and Massachusetts drivers license with his home address, Ogletree said, adding, “Even after presentation of ID, the officer was still questioning his presence.’’
Said Bobo: “The whole interaction should have ended right there, but I guess that wasn’t enough. The officer felt he hadn’t been deferred to sufficiently.’’
Dream on you pseudo-pubs that worship LEO that I will ever let some mentally deficient invalid who chooses to wear a badge have unquestioning control over any situation I may find myself in with them.
Yo, PapaMoka (Mat — my twin brutha from anothuh muthah)…
I’ve been discrimnated against all my life and have learned if I’m going to wear a certain “uniform”, I’d better be able to handle the consequences.
Forget my mulitple racial bloodlines. Let’s look back to the time when I played hard rock and heavy metal for a living in a VERY professional band with a corporate setup and certain “you must maintain this sort of a look” and “no drinking until the final set” clauses in my contract. I had hair down to my butt for 10 years, multiple earrings and a nose ring as a condition of my employement for a decade on the road as a bassist. I got hassled by the cops all the time, bro. I never got into trouble though because I was respectful to them even though I was pissed off many times during these “do you have your papers?” stops for no other reason than my appearance.
Let’s look @ Joe — he does look like a heavy duty biker and by God, I did, too when I was taking cross-country trips on two wheels around America on my bad-assed Honda Valkyrie with a flat-6 (GL 1500) engine. Again, I grew the hair and grew the beard because I’d rather be harrassed by the cops with my squeaky-clean record to back me up than to be easy fodder for the Hell’s Angels, The Bandidos, The Sons of Satan or any other 1%’er group. You will most likely live to breathe another day if you piss off the LEO’s with a squeaky-clean criminal record but it’s not so likely if you give the 1%’ers a reason to “hate”. As a result, I was often hassled by the Cops and let go with no further probs and had many great beers with 1%’ers and many great laughs.
It doesn’t matter what color you are. “Racial profiling” is a bull$hit phrase. You are profiled by law enforcement by your personal APPEARANCE, no matter WHAT color your skin might be, bro
Old Grudge: Could College Parking Tickets Be Obama’s Secret Reason for Slamming Cambridge Police? « Frugal Café Blog Zone // Jul 25, 2009 at 6:43 AM
[...] and Et Tu, Lynn Sweet? Written on the Wind: Obama opines on Gates arrest The Gun Toting Liberal: President Obama Torques Police Officers Off Nationwide By Playing The Race Card In Harvard Professor… Just Americans Making Ethical Statements Weblog: Before Calling Cambridge Police [...]
Justin – the police got a call of an attempted breaking and entering. That gives them cause to enter. If the photos on the ID were old, might could be that there was enough difference between them and how he looks now to cause doubt. Add in a beligerent attitude by the ivory tower bigot, and the cops will start looking for anything.
As for my looks – two shots of me. Not sure if the embed will work, so also giving a link.
[IMG]http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff30/subdjoe/ATT00010-1-1.jpg[/IMG]
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff30/subdjoe/ATT00010-1-1.jpg
[IMG]http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff30/subdjoe/civil81.jpg[/IMG]
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff30/subdjoe/civil81.jpg
Crawley should be fired !!!!He is a racist!!!!
GTL
Back from VEGAS BABY and I just knew you’d have a take on this. In my never ending effort to destroy your liberal cred and lose my Rightwing Deathsquad privileges, I completely agree with you. In fact, I’ll go further. Once Prof. Gates produced proof that this was his home, he was within his By-Constitutional-God rights to call that policeman everything in any any language, as long as he made no attempt to assault the man. As I see it, this issue really has nothing to do with race and everything to do with The Friggin Constitution. To be fair to all involved, this could have resulted simply from the fact that Prof. Gates is an overly sensitive jerk, and the cop was simply being a jerk. Well, guess what? In your own home, the private citizen wins…every time. Were I in that position, and having proved that this was my house, I’d have gone off on the cop.
I sincerely wish that President Obama had not joined in the fray on side of race, and rather on the side of the Constitution and freedom of oppression in one’s own home.
After reading all the comments above i have come to the conclusion: Every student should pull out of Gates classes (you want this quack educating you?) and let Harvard give him the ax. If you think GB was bad, wait till BO runs this country into ruination. Everyone keeps saying he is a good speaker? WTF, he and or his staff puts us at odds within ourselves or the world weekly. The blind leading the blind.