Post Racial Pipe Dream

Arrested development -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
After reviewing the entire brouhaha of Harvard professor Henry Gates (a black man and highly regarded expert on race relations in America) I have to say that I was amazed. He was arrested “breaking in” to his own home when the front door became stuck. He was arrested by a white Cambridge police officer, Sergeant James Crowley for disorderly conduct. It seems that the men’s encounter at the front door escalated into a heated verbal dispute when Gates assumed that the questioning was racially based. Crowley asked for Gates’ ID and Gates replied, “Why, because I’m black?”

From here things degenerated into name-calling and challenges -- “What’s your name and badge number young man? ”. Not only did Crowley not comply with the request, he brought Gates in for a disorderly conduct arrest (charges since dropped since the story went global). The story was simmering down until Obama’s health care news conference late last week. The news conference went well and Obama was about to leave the stage. A reporter asked a highly combustible question about the Henry Gates affair. Obama responded that he thought the Cambridge police had responded “rather stupidly” and the whole issue reignited with supernova strength. American police groups demanded an apology while Gates himself mulled over a lawsuit.

Here’s what blogSpotter makes of it… Both men seriously overreacted. When Henry Gates was asked for I.D., his first reaction should have been as a citizen not as a black man. (I know, easier said than done). “I’m sorry you were called out for this. That was me and a cab driver unsticking my door. Here‘s my license with my address”. Gates eventually did produce the license but not before scorching verbal invectives against the young white man. Men being men, the testosterone plays a factor (on both sides of this equation). Police are supposed to roll with a certain amount of verbal taunting but apparently Crowley couldn’t roll with it.

This is where I think Obama was right. When it was obvious that Gates, a slight older man who walks with a cane, was the resident of the house that should have been the end of it. Either of these men could have defused the situation with a measure of politesse and common sense. I, an Anglo man, recently set off my home alarm. I was listening to my iPod on high volume when I walked in and neglected to notice I’d triggered the security alarm (and accompanying high pitch beeps). My alarm service summoned the police and they were there in 5 minutes. I yanked the door open and nearly gave the investigating policeman a heart attack -- he thought maybe I was Freddy Kruger with my aggressive (but friendly) door answering. I was nice and assured him I was the owner -- most burglars wouldn’t open a front door or dawdle for a conversation.

Would the Gates arrest have happened if any other color combination was involved? Probably not. Obama decided to put the controversy to rest by speaking to both men. It should be noted he did not apologize to Crowley -- none was required. Instead, Obama described the incident as a “teachable moment” and invited both men to commiserate together with him at the White House. Some people have prematurely described America as “post racial” (even before Obama was elected). America is still a racial stewpot and sometimes it reaches the boiling point. When that happens, we need to set it back to simmer and make sure the seasonings are agreeable.

© 2009 blogSpotter