and so we now have the 2 sides digging in their heels, as I predicted. Meanwhile, President Obama made some very intelligent and wise remarks on television about the incident of Dr. Henry Louis Gates being arrested in his own home. He alluded to research that shows a history of law enforcement committing racial profiling, which we know is true, but also said words on both sides were probably sa,id that were not necessary and results would have made more sense if “cooler heads” would have presided. He made the big mistake of refering to the arrest of Dr. Gates in terms of the police acting “stupidly”. With that comment, Pres. Obama committed a cardinal sin. The police involved do not think they acted stupidly in the least bit, and even if they do, they could never admit it, especially to the public!
Let me just state what happened. Police responded to a call from some neighborhood know-it-all who saw 2 black men on a porch in her neighborhood and suspected them as burglars who did not belong there. Police arrived to find Dr. Gates in the house, and did their thing, asking him to step outside. Rather than comply as citizens are expected to do when the guy with the gun tells them to do something, Dr. Gates indignantly refused. He had not done anything criminal. He was in his own home. Instead, he asked the officer for his name and badge #. Now the officer is pissed off and he refuses. The man before him is supposed to follow orders. His authority is in question. How dare a citizen ask him for his name and badge no. And it escalated from there. When Dr. Gates called him a racist, told him he had not heard the last of him, and followed him onto his front porch still in a tirade, the officer did what any police officer is allowed to do when confronted with an unruly citizen: put him in handcuffs and arrest him for “disorderly conduct”. The charges have now been DROPPED so they didn’t amount to anything. Their purpose was to bring the unruly professor into submission.
Now, Dr. Gates is “demanding” an apology. And the guy ain’t gonna give it no way. So here we sit.
It is not that white people are “racists”. It is that white people live and breathe a sense of privilege that they themselves are not even AWARE OF. And so they live in complete denial, while still benefitting from it every hour of every day. There are a million ways this plays out. They are never doubted for their intelligence, their morality, their ability to do a job, teach a class, buy a certain product, or even their athleticism, due to their skin color alone. They are never followed in a store, so how can that behavior still happen? They never see it. They are never turned down for a date due to their skin color alone — ever. These experiences do not exist in their daily reality.
Yet, they know in their heart, how their parents or aunts and uncles at the family reunion would react, if they married a person of color. Suddenly, color would be an issue. But never mind, we are all just individuals. We can live in that reality UNTIL something happens that smacks us in the face with another reality. Like thinking about attending a function where they might be the only white person there. Never happens. So color doesn’t exist. Until it does. Until a black man is elected President, or they contemplate being the “minority” in the year 2050 or whenever that is predicted to happen.
is the white cop a “racist”? That is not the right question. Was he affected by Gates calling him a racist? Absolutely. Would he have arrested an older white man in his own home? Probably not. Was the arrest of Dr. Gates unnecessary? I think evidence says yes, absolutely. Was D r. Gates out of line? Any time words are shouted and not stated, bad things will come out of that interaction. Either side could have calmed the situation down. Neither side did. And today, demanding an apology? Not the right tactic. Insisting on a private consultation, for the purpose of promoting better relations? better one. Adamantly stating race had NOTHING to do with this situation? That is “acting stupidly”. Of course it did, it always does, especially when a dignified professor is calling you a racist. Next time, GIVE THE MAN YOUR NAME AND BADGE NUMBER! That is his right as a citizen to have that information and you know it. You both were out of control.
President Obama was nieve about his use of the word “stupidly”. He is learning the magnitude of denial. He is used to interacting on an academic level. My students have no understanding of racial profiling as a reality. The very topic offends them and brings a strong emotional reaction. But I thought his comments were fair and wise. He evidently did not understand Gates was arrested finally for disorderly conduct — not breaking and entering. He is learning.
Doctor Grandma 
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