Dr. Henry Louis Gates Arrested

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by deepimpact2

They just have to be careful.

Which means he should probably refrain from answering reporters' questions about this.

Originally Posted by KSigkid

I know - one of my favorite blogs (Above the Law) has had a few postings on it, and we even talked about it in my criminal procedure class last night, in a general manner.

It is a hot topic in a number of professions.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by deepimpact2

Right now he is upset at Obama's remarks and claims that Obama doesn't know the full story.

Obama doesn't know the full story. We're all going by what we have read and have been told.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Makes sense.

ETA: Why is Obama speaking on this?

Because he is the MESSIAH!

But yeah, why is he? I thought it was a dream when I heard it first--my alarm radio is set to NPR and I put it on snooze this AM. No, it's real and it's ridiculous.

[ASTalumna06]

I know I'm late to this party, but...

Why are we focusing on how he was handcuffed? If this has some underlying meaning, which some people here seem to imply, wouldn't it tell you that they DIDN'T have a bias and they were considerate enough not to cuff him behind his back?

Obama should not have commented on this, if for no other reason than to not make HIMSELF look biased. While he said the officer acted "stupidly," he also admitted, "I don't know all the facts." No one does, therefore, why is the President making such a strong, public statement when he doesn't know the details of the situation?

I, also, do not know all of the facts. But I do have a question... has Gates denied that he became enraged and caused a scene?

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Obama doesn't know the full story. We're all going by what we have read and have been told.

And we won't know the fully story as long as Crowley continues refusing to comment. If he was able to comment on the fact that he was disappointed in what Obama said, then he should just go ahead and "set the record straight" so to speak. Until then, we only have what we have read to go on, and based on that, he was being a jerk.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I know I'm late to this party, but...

Why are we focusing on how he was handcuffed? If this has some underlying meaning, which some people here seem to imply, wouldn't it tell you that they DIDN'T have a bias and they were considerate enough not to cuff him behind his back?

Obama should not have commented on this, if for no other reason than to not make HIMSELF look biased. While he said the officer acted "stupidly," he also admitted, "I don't know all the facts." No one does, therefore, why is the President making such a strong, public statement when he doesn't know the details of the situation?

I, also, do not know all of the facts. But I do have a question... has Gates denied that he became enraged and caused a scene?

I don't think Gates ever denied being angry. As far as causing "a scene," that is subjective. Following the officer and requesting ID would not necessarily make some people think he caused a scene. I think people are forgetting that we have the right to ask for that information and they have to give it. It's not an option for them.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

Why do you think would it be in poor taste for him to refrain from commenting on a story that has no relevance to his overall message? He didn't comment on any other arrest last night (at least, if he did, I missed it), so why should he comment on this one?

Obama's overall message from the beginning has been about change. One area that needs change is the way minorities, particularly blacks, are treated in this country. A President, particularly one that is popular, has the ability to affect change. If incidents like this don't receive attention from the right people, it will be swept under the rug and will continue to take place. I don't know why anyone would see anything wrong with a President speaking out on an issue that represents a problem in this country. What I don't want to see happen is for people to expect Obama to keep his mouth shut about anything involving race. Yes, he is a President for ALL the people, but you can't expect or demand him to turn off his feelings about race relations and never address them.

[Kevin]

The massive assumption here is that this was about race. No one has proved that or even offered anything [other than their opinion] to suggest that race was a factor in anything here.

Or are we not talking about Gates anymore?

[ASTalumna06]

Sidenote: I'm listening to 96.9 fm talk (out of Boston) online, and I am currently listening to someone who called in to say that this is racial profiling. He said, "The neighbor called and had to give a description, and said the burglar is black, and the police responded to that call because of the description." What? People are so ignorant.

[justincase22]

Police normaly handcuff behind the back unless there is a physical problem which it seemed was there and the cuffs were placed in the front of him.
Did anyone notice that the sgt. was not the only officer there and in the front of the picture there was a black officer in it?

[Kevin]

The police report:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...092gates1.html

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Why are we focusing on how he was handcuffed? If this has some underlying meaning, which some people here seem to imply, wouldn't it tell you that they DIDN'T have a bias and they were considerate enough not to cuff him behind his back?

It "tells" "us" whatever "we" perceive and interpret it as "telling" "us."

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by deepimpact2

Obama's overall message from the beginning has been about change. One area that needs change is the way minorities, particularly blacks, are treated in this country. A President, particularly one that is popular, has the ability to affect change. If incidents like this don't receive attention from the right people, it will be swept under the rug and will continue to take place. I don't know why anyone would see anything wrong with a President speaking out on an issue that represents a problem in this country. What I don't want to see happen is for people to expect Obama to keep his mouth shut about anything involving race. Yes, he is a President for ALL the people, but you can't expect or demand him to turn off his feelings about race relations and never address them.

Making a public statement about this incident has little to do with change. We don't care what Obama's feelings are. We're talking about the fact that he publicly spoke on this situation.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Making a public statement about this incident has little to do with change. We don't care what Obama's feelings are. We're talking about the fact that he publicly spoke on this situation.

A couple of issues I had with it:

1) Stuff like this legitimately happens around the country on a number of occasions. Beyond the Professor Gates' fame, what makes this a "special" case, so to speak, to the level that it bears mentioning by the President?

2) I don't know why, but something strikes me wrong about the President criticizing a local police department (except for some rare instances). That's especially so in this case, where I'm guessing that he hasn't had the time or inclination to look too deeply into the situation.

He's entitled to his opinion, but I don't understand why he would make a public statement on it.

[Kevin]

Reading the police report, [yeah, I know, police reports don't tend to always be completely accurate] there were certain statements, e.g. "Yeah, I'll speak with your mama outside" that would be hard for the officer to just invent. If even a portion of Dr. Gates' antics are true, it was Gates, not the police who initiated the racial aspect of this case.

That is, unless anyone actually thinks that a burglary report of two white men with backpacks trying to force their way into a home would have been ignored by the Cambridge P.D.