Racism in the Head
By time you read this, Harvard Professor Henry Gates and Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, the man who arrested him at his home on July 16, will have shared a beer at the Obama White House, where no stupid deed goes unrewarded. This entire incident, a national cause celebre for about two weeks, would have been relegated to a segment of Cops on TV, except for the fact that Gates is black, well-connected and believes that his arrest was due to racism.
Crowley and his partner were dispatched to the Gates home in response to a report that two men were attempting to force their way into the house. When officers arrived, Gates had lalready entered the house through a rear door. He showed officers his Harvard ID, but was uncooperative and boisterous, shouting that he was being questioned because he was African-American. Crowley arrested him for disorderly conduct, but the charge was later dropped.
When asked about the incident, President Obama characterized the police action as "stupid". He did not say that Gates' behavior was stupid, though it was that, not his race, that caused him to be handcuffed and hauled-off to the police station. (I suspect that Obama did better among Harvard faculty in the 2008 election that among Cambridge police officers, so the President was playing to his base.)
Was Professor Gates guilty of "disorderly conduct?" Without a video of the incident, or even a third-party witness account, we cannot be sure. Unlike "robbery" and "murder", "disorderly conduct" is a rather vague term, and even police officers might disagree about whether a particular person should be arrested for it.
My view is that if the police had simply left the home after ascertaining that Gates was the legal resident, no harm would have been done to the serenity of Cambridge. Without the police to yell at, he probably would have quieted down and gone back inside his home. While the arrest may have been justified, it was not really necessary.
But was Gates treated as he was because of his race? The facts do not support this claim. Nothing the police said or did indicates that race was a factor in how they responded to the call or the arrest. Gates acted as he did because he believed he was the victim of racism. I contend that if a white man had behaved exactly the same way under the same circumstances, Sgt. Crowley would have arrested him too.
Of course I am aware the police have often treated black and Hispanic men unfairly in this country. Although this is usually attributed to racist attitudes held by white policemen, unequal treatment is also due to the fact that minority men are responsible for a disproportionate share of violent crime.
For this reason, innocent members of this demographic group are likely to fit the description of suspects in these crimes, and are therefore more likely to be stopped and questioned than are other people.
As a man who has been questioned by Milwaukee police investigating an alleged terrorist plot, I say that by remaining calm and answering their questions I avoided being mistreated or arrested. (1) A black person in my place would have been best advised to act the same way. Even if police racism persists to this day, the best strategy to avoid becoming a victim of it is to co-operate, not to confront.
Both Henry Louis Gates and James Crowley have benefited from this incident, even though both could have easily defused the conflict. Without it, Sgt. Crowley would probably never have been invited to the White House. With his enhanced fame, Prof. Gates will be more popular than ever on the lecture circuit, and his book sales will soar. Such are the rewards of over-reacting in America.
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(1) In the Spring of 1967 enemies of Father James Groppi informed police that he intended to firebomb the home of Milwaukee School Director John F Foley, who then lived at 2978 N 46th Street. The Milwaukee Sentinel reported that police were guarding the home around the clock. While on the way to visiting a friend on Sherman Blvd. the following Saturday afternoon, I inspected a car parked in front of Foley's house to see if it was an unmarked police car. It was.
Detectives demanded to know why I was snooping around Foley's house.
Later the alleged firebombing plot was revealed to be a hoax.
Crowley and his partner were dispatched to the Gates home in response to a report that two men were attempting to force their way into the house. When officers arrived, Gates had lalready entered the house through a rear door. He showed officers his Harvard ID, but was uncooperative and boisterous, shouting that he was being questioned because he was African-American. Crowley arrested him for disorderly conduct, but the charge was later dropped.
When asked about the incident, President Obama characterized the police action as "stupid". He did not say that Gates' behavior was stupid, though it was that, not his race, that caused him to be handcuffed and hauled-off to the police station. (I suspect that Obama did better among Harvard faculty in the 2008 election that among Cambridge police officers, so the President was playing to his base.)
Was Professor Gates guilty of "disorderly conduct?" Without a video of the incident, or even a third-party witness account, we cannot be sure. Unlike "robbery" and "murder", "disorderly conduct" is a rather vague term, and even police officers might disagree about whether a particular person should be arrested for it.
My view is that if the police had simply left the home after ascertaining that Gates was the legal resident, no harm would have been done to the serenity of Cambridge. Without the police to yell at, he probably would have quieted down and gone back inside his home. While the arrest may have been justified, it was not really necessary.
But was Gates treated as he was because of his race? The facts do not support this claim. Nothing the police said or did indicates that race was a factor in how they responded to the call or the arrest. Gates acted as he did because he believed he was the victim of racism. I contend that if a white man had behaved exactly the same way under the same circumstances, Sgt. Crowley would have arrested him too.
Of course I am aware the police have often treated black and Hispanic men unfairly in this country. Although this is usually attributed to racist attitudes held by white policemen, unequal treatment is also due to the fact that minority men are responsible for a disproportionate share of violent crime.
For this reason, innocent members of this demographic group are likely to fit the description of suspects in these crimes, and are therefore more likely to be stopped and questioned than are other people.
As a man who has been questioned by Milwaukee police investigating an alleged terrorist plot, I say that by remaining calm and answering their questions I avoided being mistreated or arrested. (1) A black person in my place would have been best advised to act the same way. Even if police racism persists to this day, the best strategy to avoid becoming a victim of it is to co-operate, not to confront.
Both Henry Louis Gates and James Crowley have benefited from this incident, even though both could have easily defused the conflict. Without it, Sgt. Crowley would probably never have been invited to the White House. With his enhanced fame, Prof. Gates will be more popular than ever on the lecture circuit, and his book sales will soar. Such are the rewards of over-reacting in America.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) In the Spring of 1967 enemies of Father James Groppi informed police that he intended to firebomb the home of Milwaukee School Director John F Foley, who then lived at 2978 N 46th Street. The Milwaukee Sentinel reported that police were guarding the home around the clock. While on the way to visiting a friend on Sherman Blvd. the following Saturday afternoon, I inspected a car parked in front of Foley's house to see if it was an unmarked police car. It was.
Detectives demanded to know why I was snooping around Foley's house.
Later the alleged firebombing plot was revealed to be a hoax.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 4:50 PM
2 Comments:
I agree with most everything that you said, except that Crowley gained by being invited to the White House. He should have declined, at least until Obama apologized for smearing him and his partnersas "stupid" and by insinuating that there might be some credence to Gates' charge of racism. Obama is just using Crowley as a prop for a photo op to take the heat off his own conduct. Do you expect that the "teachable moment" that Obama promised will emerge tonight? If it does, I'l admit I was wrong.
From http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_HARVARD_SCHOLAR?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
"Although Obama had invited Crowley and Gates as part of what he called a "teachable moment," it wasn't quite reachable for the masses. The coverage allowed the public to get the we've-come-together photos and video footage that the White House wanted, while keeping the discussion private among the men."
I rest my case.
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