More issues of race in America
Black scholar’s arrest raises profiling questions
I’m sure his arrest has EVERYTHING to do with being black and NOTHING to do with the officer’s repeated attempts to get the man to identify himself. It’s not like the responding officer has a photo of the homeowner. How can people bitch about being racially profiled in a situation like this when they refuse to even cooperate with police? Who’s to say that the officer wouldn’t have just told the guy why he was there and to have a nice evening if the professor would have just said “I’m Henry Louis Gates, this is my home,” instead of
“Why, because I’m a black man in America?” Gates said
Seriously, how would anyone react to a comment like that? That’s just offensive.
I suppose I could try seeing it from the flip side, where this man may have been hassled repeatedly during his travels because of his race. It’s possible. But that’s still not how you respond when an officer says he’s responding to a report of a break-in.
curlycoloradan said,
August 11, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Yeah…I don’t quite believe the story either side put forth. It’s like that saying…there’s one side, the other side, and the truth in the middle.
I’d be more apt to believe both parties had a hand in the escalation to arrest. And playing devil’s advocate here, but to the neighbor lady’s defense, people just don’t know their neighbors anymore. So if one of my neighbors I didn’t know (and they just didn’t recognize me) saw “someone” breaking in, I’d be happy beyond belief if they called the cops. I’d probably do the same.
All it takes is a photo id and a utility bill to prove residence. If you don’t have those at your HOUSE….wtf. You’re just dumb.