That black college professor who got arrested by a bigotted white cop

[Mavericker]

What was the name of the black college professor who got arrested by a white bigotted cop? He's from Massachusetts, and President Obama spoke about him, and they've been talking about him on the news.

The man is old, he just got back from a trip, and couldn't get into his house, so why was the cop giving him a hard time? That's prejudice. Why did a neighbor call the cops when they knew it was him? That's just to be nasty.

[Eris]

Welcome back <3

[Capernicus]

I second that Eris! Welcome back Mavey, I sure did miss you.

With regards to the scholar breaking into his own house, you have to admit it's suspicious no matter how you slice. Add to that the guy was hostile and evasive to the police officer and, well, I'd have arrested him too. And notice that he was arrested and booked for disorderly conduct, NOT attempted breaking and entering. If they guy hadn't have been so damn resistant to police procedure he wouldn't have been cleared straight away. But he was a jerk, and faced the consequences for that.

I honestly don't think this is a case of discrimination, but of course that's a matter for the inquiry to decide.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/bre...7/harvard.html

[Mavericker]

I second that Eris! Welcome back Mavey, I sure did miss you.

That's nice, you missed Mav.

Do you know the name of the college professor I am talking about?

[Baka]

What was the name of the black college professor who got arrested by a white bigotted cop? He's from Massachusetts, and President Obama spoke about him, and they've been talking about him on the news.

The man is old, he just got back from a trip, and couldn't get into his house, so why was the cop giving him a hard time? That's prejudice. Why did a neighbor call the cops when they knew it was him? That's just to be nasty.

Henry Louis Gates



Welcome back!!!

[DOOM!]

Oh, they may be professors, but you can't ever turn your back on a swedish-chef man. Any moment they could get out a gun to your head and say "Speet oooot zee cesh, humeee-a, oor yuoo be-a peckeeng a boollet fur breekffest!"

[Mavericker]

That white cop was on Larry King, lying through his teeth about what he did. He was trying to pull the same stunt Dog the Bounty Hunter did.

[Gjallarhorn]

That white cop was on Larry King, lying through his teeth about what he did. He was trying to pull the same stunt Dog the Bounty Hunter did.

He was called my a neighbor who said she "thought" someone was trying to break into her neighbor's house. Police are required to check into any suspected break-ins that may occur. The officer showed up, saw a man messing with the door, and tried to talk to him. The audio tapes of Gates talking showed that he argued back against the officer (insulting the officer, as well as his mother), rather than explaining the situation, and the officer arrested him for resisting. It was then Mr. Gates who made the claim that this was occuring because of his race.

And the President only got involved because Mr. Gates is a personal friend, and reacted without knowing any of the facts. The majority of the people are saying the officer was correct in what he did, and Mr. Gates and the President acted out of line.

[Mavericker]

He was called my a neighbor who said she "thought" someone was trying to break into her neighbor's house. Police are required to check into any suspected break-ins that may occur. The officer showed up, saw a man messing with the door, and tried to talk to him. The audio tapes of Gates talking showed that he argued back against the officer (insulting the officer, as well as his mother), rather than explaining the situation, and the officer arrested him for resisting. It was then Mr. Gates who made the claim that this was occuring because of his race.

And the President only got involved because Mr. Gates is a personal friend, and reacted without knowing any of the facts. The majority of the people are saying the officer was correct in what he did, and Mr. Gates and the President acted out of line.

I strongly disagree. The majority of what people? That was Mr. Gates house. He couldn't get in the front door, what was he supposed to do? He SHOWED the cop his ID. If I was Mr. Gates, I'd tell the cop to get lost too. That's MY house.

[Gjallarhorn]

I strongly disagree. The majority of what people? That was Mr. Gates house. He couldn't get in the front door, what was he supposed to do? He SHOWED the cop his ID. If I was Mr. Gates, I'd tell the cop to get lost too. That's MY house.

I'm from the Boston/Cambridge area. Everyone here knows Gates was wrong in what he did to the officer and how he handled the situation.

Mr. Gates did not show the officer his ID. He told the officer to go away. Now, the officer had been called to investigate a potential break-in, and saw a man trying to get into the house. It's his job and his duty to investigate. And rather than comply with the officer, the law, Mr. Gates told him to go away and began insulting him. Mr. Gates could have settled down and explained to the officer that he was locked out of his house, and handled it in a calm manner. Instead, he resisted the officer, and insulted him. That is what caused the whole issue. The officer did nothing wrong in this situation.

[Mavericker]

I'm from the Boston/Cambridge area. Everyone here knows Gates was wrong in what he did to the officer and how he handled the situation.

Mr. Gates did not show the officer his ID. He told the officer to go away. Now, the officer had been called to investigate a potential break-in, and saw a man trying to get into the house. It's his job and his duty to investigate. And rather than comply with the officer, the law, Mr. Gates told him to go away and began insulting him. Mr. Gates could have settled down and explained to the officer that he was locked out of his house, and handled it in a calm manner. Instead, he resisted the officer, and insulted him. That is what caused the whole issue. The officer did nothing wrong in this situation.

Really? Prove it.
That's not what I heard, and I'm going to ask someone else. I don't believe that-the cop called Mr. Gates a racist pejorative. What majority of the people are you talking about? Whites or blacks?

[Gjallarhorn]

Really? Prove it.
That's not what I heard, and I'm going to ask someone else. I don't believe that-the cop called Mr. Gates a racist pejorative. What majority of the people are you talking about? Whites or blacks?

They have the whole incident on tape, which you can find on most major news websites. The police officer said no such thing to Mr. Gates, and it was Mr. Gates who brought up the subject of race after he was arrested.

I don't know the exact demographic of the area, but Cambridge and Boston are primarily irish, italian, hatian, and asian. What does that even matter?

[Mavericker]

They have the whole incident on tape, which you can find on most major news websites. The police officer said no such thing to Mr. Gates, and it was Mr. Gates who brought up the subject of race after he was arrested.

I don't know the exact demographic of the area, but Cambridge and Boston are primarily irish, italian, hatian, and asian. What does that even matter?

The cop was on Larry King and he called Mr. Gates a "jungle ***". I saw the program.

You are wrong- the cop started the mess by going into Mr. Gates' house when he didn't do anything.

[Gjallarhorn]

The cop was on Larry King and he called Mr. Gates a "jungle ***". I saw the program.

No, he did not. I saw the officer speak after the "Beer Summit", and I saw him on Larry King.

His story has been consistant, and the audio tape of the entire incident supports his story. He never said anything discriminatory about Mr. Gates.

Stop making things up and trying to vilify the police officer simply because the person he arrested happened to be black.

[Mavericker]

No, he did not. I saw the officer speak after the "Beer Summit", and I saw him on Larry King.

His story has been consistant, and the audio tape of the entire incident supports his story. He never said anything discriminatory about Mr. Gates.

Stop making things up and trying to vilify the police officer simply because the person he arrested happened to be black.

You ARE wrong- the COP initiated the mess by going into the man's house when Mr. Gates didn't do anything wrong. I don't blame Mr. Gates for getting mad. The cop had NO business being in Mr. Gates' house.

You are making an excuse for what the cop did and are trying to justify it. That woman knew it was Mr. Gates when she called the cop. It's racism.

[Ollie]

I strongly disagree. The majority of what people? That was Mr. Gates house. He couldn't get in the front door, what was he supposed to do? He SHOWED the cop his ID. If I was Mr. Gates, I'd tell the cop to get lost too. That's MY house.

If you would honestly do something like that and you aren't just saying it, then you aren't thinking straight. If you somehow get into a suspicious situation you don't make it worse by making yourself seem more suspicious (and yeah, giving attitude to the authorities, who are just doing their jobs, is very suspicious - innocent people try to explain their innocence). You'd be essentially asking for an arrest with behavior like that.

Though I think it's a little weird the woman didn't recognize Gates as her own neighbor, neither she nor the officer acted out of line. She was trying to be a good citizen by reporting suspicious behavior, and the officer only responded to it then arrested Gates when he refused to be cooperative. Gjallarhorn is right - if you'd actually LISTEN to the audio clips available, nothing even remotely racist is said anywhere. I don't even remember if his skin color was mentioned at all.

[Mavericker]

If you would honestly do something like that and you aren't just saying it, then you aren't thinking straight. If you somehow get into a suspicious situation you don't make it worse by making yourself seem more suspicious by giving attitude to the authorities who are just doing their jobs. You'd be essentially asking for an arrest with behavior like that.

Though I think it's a little weird the woman didn't recognize Gates as her own neighbor, neither she nor the officer acted out of line. She was trying to be a good citizen by reporting suspicious behavior, and the officer only responded to it then arrested Gates when he refused to be cooperative. Gjallarhorn is right - if you'd actually LISTEN to the audio clips available, nothing even remotely racist is said anywhere. I don't even remember if his skin color was mentioned at all.

Read my previous post.

[Ollie]

I did read it, and you are wrong. Furthermore, you offer no proof that your claim is correct; all you are doing is screeching "Racism! Racism!" and accusing anyone who disagrees of defending a racist.

[Mavericker]

I did read it, and you are wrong. Furthermore, you offer no proof that your claim is correct; all you are doing is screeching "Racism! Racism!" and accusing anyone who disagrees of defending a racist.

No I'm not. The COP had NO business being in the man's house if that's the man's house. He just came home from a trip from China. He is old and tired. People in that community KNOW who he is. C'mon.

If he'd been a white guy would they have done the same thing?

Professor Gates is probably the ONLY African-American who lived in that area so the cops KNOW who he is. Professor Gates is a WORLD-FAMOUS professor.
Is Professor Gates wrong for trying to GET INTO HIS OWN HOUSE? No, that's HIS home and the cops have NO business being there.

There was still something the cops COULD have done BEFORE they arrested him- that's THE POINT.

[Ollie]

No I'm not. The COP had NO business being in the man's house if that's the man's house.

Yeah, he did. The police officer was responding to a concerned call and had arrived to investigate and make sure things were okay. That's pretty much the definition of what business is for cops.

People in that community KNOW who he is. C'mon.

Some don't, as you can see.

If he'd been a white guy would they have done the same thing?

Maybe, maybe not. Since the woman who made the call apparently doesn't know who her own neighbors are, I doubt race mattered a whole lot when it looked like a stranger was struggling to get into a house. There's really no way to tell. From the available information (not speculation) she wasn't making the call based on Gates' skin color alone.

[Eris]

Yeah, he did. The police officer was responding to a concerned call and had arrived to investigate and make sure things were okay. That's pretty much the definition of what business is for cops.

Not without a warrant it's not.

[Mavericker]

Yeah, he did. The police officer was responding to a concerned call and had arrived to investigate and make sure things were okay. That's pretty much the definition of what business is for cops.
Some don't, as you can see.
Maybe, maybe not. Since the woman who made the call apparently doesn't know who her own neighbors are, I doubt race mattered a whole lot when it looked like a stranger was struggling to get into a house. There's really no way to tell. From the available information (not speculation) she wasn't making the call based on Gates' skin color alone.

I'll say it again:

The COP had NO business being in the man's house if that's the man's house. He just came home from a trip from China. He is old and tired. People in that community KNOW who he is. C'mon.

If he'd been a white guy would they have done the same thing?

Professor Gates is probably the ONLY African-American who lived in that area so the cops KNOW who he is. Professor Gates is a WORLD-FAMOUS professor.
Is Professor Gates wrong for trying to GET INTO HIS OWN HOUSE? No, that's HIS home and the cops have NO business being there.

There was still something the cops COULD have done BEFORE they arrested him- that's THE POINT.

The cop(s) probably DID NOT HAVE A WARRANT.

My family and I are the only blacks on our street-the cops know who we are.

[Gjallarhorn]

He never actually entered Gates' home. The incident happened on Gates' front porch.

[Mavericker]

He never actually entered Gates' home. The incident happened on Gates' front porch.

Read my last comment.

Ever hear of racial profiling?

[Ollie]

Professor Gates is probably the ONLY African-American who lived in that area so the cops KNOW who he is. Professor Gates is a WORLD-FAMOUS professor.

I didn't know who he was until this whole scandal blew up.

The cop(s) probably DID NOT HAVE A WARRANT.

Don't need a warrant to stand on someone's front porch. Furthermore, the cop wasn't searching his house, he was only responding to a call from the area.

My family and I are the only blacks on our street-the cops know who we are.

Good for you.

Also, Gjallarhorn does not need to reread your post since he just refuted a good deal of what you said (which was ranting over the cop HAVING NO PLACE IN GATES' HOUSE BORK BORK, which he wasn't).