A blacksploitative post laced with lazy statist majoritarianism and a big fat dollop of dumkopfery.

re:1

Lazy comment by dumbass.

The other day, someone called the police because there were open windows at our office on the ground floor. We were closed to outside business, having a training day. When the cops showed up we didn't know why they were there, but approached them in a cautious and respectful manner. They explained the situation, accepted ours, and we both went on our with our business.

Sounds like Gates tried a different approach, and it didn't go so well. I would have expected a similar response if I had run to the door, refused to open it and shouted nasty things at them.

What a dumbass.

It sounds like he was caught doing something he shouldn't. People don't get "loud" for no reason.

First, I'll admit to having some bias in this area, still, Gates behavior in this matter is about what I'd expect from a tenured professor.

Something fishy with this story, Slice. Cops don't arrest people that aren't belligerant and out of control, and generally speaking, they aren't idiots.

I'd bet a lunch that things went south when Gates tried to imitate Cynthia McKinney:

"Do you know who I AM?"

A long time ago, I used to tease my little daughter that Daddy's First Rule of Power was to "Never tickle somebody who could hold your feet off the floor."

There's a real life analog to Daddy's First Rule of Power. And I bet Gates broke it.

Basically, I agree with the neighbor's analysis. The police got a call and they were doing their job. It would have been nice if Gates had taken 15 seconds to explain the situation instead of shouting racism. Gates might have been more grateful if he was still away and the cops showed up and it was another black man breaking and entering (albeit kind of rookie-like by going through the front door). Anyway, it's so convenient to cry racism but we have this last presidential election thing where the United States elected an African-American. I bet even some cops voted for Obama.

This is why tenure is such an evil thing that keeps idiot professors going instead of them having to actually work for a living.

Academia has a pretty sweet recession proof scam going, but it should never be allowed at any taxpayer funded institution.

The sad thing is this peice of Affirmative Action SHlT teaches kids of America.

None of this had to happen is Gates had simply answered the Police Officer when asked who he was and what he was doing.

I also wonder if Gates might have responded differently if the Police Officer was not white. If yes, then Gates is the one who needs "sensitivity" training. If no, then Gates is simply a pompous ass berating those he considers beneath him.

".....a pompous ass berating those he considers beneath him."

Hank, that can serve as part of the definition for the term: tenured professor.

"When the cops showed up we didn't know why they were there, but approached them in a cautious and respectful manner."-epador

And the moral of the story is...
Always bring spare underwear to work?

Anyway, in the spirit of this municipal election season , I say,
No, we DON'T need more cops on the street.
The roster is sufficient and cops neither stop nor solve crimes unless the criminal is mentally retarded or wishes to back to the can, generally speaking. See Kevin's post.

In fact, note the photos of the frontal hand-cuffing of Gates. It denotes that the cops realize they've mishandled things but are too mulish and jealous to abort a clusterf#ck.

" But they shouldn't have arrested him. He had just gotten off a 20-hour flight. He couldn't get his door open. He got frustrated . . . They should have just said forget it." "

Sure, just forget it.
And if it turned out he was not the homeowner or he was a burglar or an abusive spouse or ..., then we'd be hearing about how the police 'didn't do their jobs properly' and how they 'don't care about black homeowners'.
Because we all know that the police are mind-readers who instantly know everything about everyone without even asking any questions or doing any investigation.

How can victims play a victim card?

A photograph of an outraged Gates in handcuffs is used to suggest he deserved to be arrested? The photo shows his outrage after he was arrested, not before.

The police used racial profiling - and so does the writer of this article.

LOL, no spare underwear needed at work. Cops don't scare me, but I do respect their authority. Unlike a few tenured professors and some commentors here. Any guess as to the similarity in political and victimhood philosophy in the latter two groups?

The Oblivious One -

It's real simple - if the police come up to you and you refuse to ID yourself, and it looks like you're trying to break into a house, adn then you give 'em a ration of shit - then they've got to assume the worst.

That's not racial profiling by the cops, that's acting like a friggin' idiot by the person the cops are talking to.

So quick to scream Racism.. damn.. after almost THIRTY YEARS being a cop, it's so obvious what happened here even a LIBERAL like BryanDD214 should see it. The man let his mouth overload his ass.. plain and simple. We used to call it a mind explosion. Most people..(MOST) when dealing with the police, are respectful. Some.. as in this case, chose to "Bust the cop's balls" and yes...... you bust mine, I bust yours. There were times, when we ran into a white guy who chose to call a cop "Nigger".. it was ignored.. TO A POINT! if it continued, the "gentleman" was cuffed and arrested for disruption. Now a LIBERAL will scream "False Arrest" ok.. so be it.. racism? no way. Pull your head outta your butt and be real here..the guy pushed the edge of the envelope, cuz he thought he could, but he wasn't in the classroom with a bunch of airheads, he was in the real world. I'd be VERY surprised to find one cop out there that doesn't see what happened here. Pass judgment if you must, but there's no doubt in my mind, you haven't a CLUE what you're talking about!

I would hope that if the police ever see someone forcing their way into my house, they stop and ask for his ID.

Now of course, if you live in Cambridge and the police see a black man breaking into your home, you can thank Gates when the police simply assume that that man is the home owner.

Oblivious One -

I had a black sheep business partner once, smart as a whip. Father, mother, and older sister all MD's. Assembly language programmer (very rare).

Only problem was he simply hated cops. He drove like a maniac and then consistently acted belligerently and violent every time he got stopped. I personally had to cancel a meeting once to bail him out of jail. The desk sergeant at this little police station told me before they took me back to his cell that he was pulled over for rolling through a stop sign and was only going to get a friendly warning, but he was such an ass they ended taking him away to jail in handcuffs.

His comment? "That was one of the nicest jails I've ever slept in."

You would think he would learn, but this is what happens when you pick a fight with cops trying to do their jobs. It's also what happens when you build your whole identity around the idea that you're somehow special and being picked on.

He deserved what he got, and so did our esteemed Ever So African-American Tenured Harvard Perfesser.

He's lucky he didn't wake up in jail with knots on his head. He's a racist jerk, like Al Sharpton, Jessee Jackson and many others who think they're separate and special.

Screw him.

Gates was supposed to be innocent until proven guilty - to say anything else is UN-American. Obviously as the resident of the house he was purely innocent. Police should have a level head when dealing with someone who can't keep theirs, there is nothing wrong with exercising 1st Amendment rights, especially on one's own residence. Gates (who just got off an insanely long flight) is not to blame at all here and is the victim of one or a couple of overzealous, overbearing police officers. They should have thanked him for his time and apologized for inconveniencing him then they should have left immediately. You people disgust me for attacking the victim.

Tom, I've been on innumerable 14 hour+ flights and never once came out aggressive, abusive and stupid. You write apologies for pirates and terrorists too?

Maybe Gates is a victim of Jesse, Al and Tom and his ilk, eh? Believing in their alternate reality. He needs to watch COPS once or twice. But maybe his twisted mind would still see victims instead of criminal behavior.

I thought innocent until proved guilty was in a court of law....not on the streets or in public opinion. I mean if that were the case then how could anyone get arrested in the first place. You go on the best evidence at the time...and then a court of law....or am I wrong???

Stupid. Just stupid.

My father-in-law was a cop for 22 years, and had plent of "racism" crap hurled at him by "victims" of "racism." He's totally unsympathetic to Gates.

But this whole episode perfectly illustrates the public divide over police. On one side (where I am), when a police officer tells you to pull over, stop doing what you're doing, etc., you DO it. "Yes sir" and "no sir" are the proper and respectful responses to police.

On the other hand, there are people who believe that police are the agents of oppression, or representatives of "the Man," and any opposition is justified.

Personally, I think the latter is utterly stupid, but there you go.

Sounds like Mr Gates has a rather BIG chip on his shoulder to go with a rather over-sized ego.

As for Tom's "Innocent until proven guilty" bullshit. That's in a courtroom buddy. Not on the street when you're trying to determine if the person you're talking to has just committed a crime. Or do you have a problem with a cop asking to prove who you are after he gets a report from neighbors that the house was just broken into?

Too bad the local (liberal) prosecutor rolled over and refuses to press charges against the good professor, who is still beating his gums about his treatment. You were an ass and you got treated like one. So much for 'intelligence'.

As Crowley tried to question him, police said Gates bellowed, "This is what happens to black men in America!"

great way to deal with police.. sets a grand tone.

I love watching the votes ticking up and down on specific posts. The victims are busy silently voting this AM it seems.

So to be clear: Mouth off to police, refuse to identify yourself in an ambiguous situation, get loud, get angry and impugn the officers' professionalism and integrity...

You get arrested.

If your black, it's all the cops' fault.

Seems to me prof. gates is a jack-*ss. Some ID and a quick little explanation and the cop goes away. How can anyone defend the way this idiot acted? He is not a victim of anything other than his own ego.

Those who think otherwise are merely repeating mantras they have been spoon-fed for decades and they can no longer distinguish theory from reality. Yeah, I'm talking about you bryanD, obvious one and Tom.

Maybe if they opened his skull with a blackjack he'd be a "victim". Then again...maybe not....

Listen..
People in Boston, New York, Washington, and a few other selected places will become racially livid about this. The MSM will make it out to be a 1940's lynching in Mississippi.
I believe he probably made an ass of himself. I have seen it happen before.
I could really give a rat's ass about him.

If Professor Gates was white he wouldn't have been arrested.

If a white professor had been arrested for unruly conduct this right wing blog never would have written a story about the arrest.

Gates was arrested and this blog wrote about solely because of his race.

The police and this blog are targeting Gates because he's black.

Why does everyone take the police report at face value? They lie Especially, when they make a mistake as big as this one. I've lived in Cambridge as an African-american woman and attended the other top school in the area (MIT). It seems that the situation has not changed in over 25 years.

If a white professor had been arrested for unruly conduct this right wing blog never would have written a story about the arrest.

That's true, because the media would have barely mentioned it and most people would have sided with the police. As it should be in this case.

Gates was arrested and this blog wrote about solely because of his race.

No. It's his exploitation and justification of his abhorrent behavior that people are writing about and hopefully criticizing.

The police and this blog are targeting Gates because he's black.

Actually, it was Gates who brought it up in the first place. Should make you stop and think about who to side with concerning this incident.

Diverse America, why do you take Gates at face value? Do you have anything factual to support that view? I mean, were Klan robes lying on the front seat of the police car or something?

What leads you to believe Gates' version is the truth? Start with the facts at face value: he was an obnoxious, arrogant ass and refused to cooperate with the police responding to a felony breakin. He refused to show ID. He launched into an angry racist tirade.

Just for an experiment, try to imagine the cops were honestly trying to do their jobs as carefully as they could, trying to deal with a pompous jerk.

Try to imagine cops racially abusing our poor victim. Including the black one in the photo.

Where do you get the idea that Gates is the victim? I mean with facts, not your own prejudices.

Obvious One,
And that's why you're allowed to post here,
because of what Wizbang is.

Just out of curiosity - if you're white, please raise your hand (well, not actually, this is a blog) if you think you could get away with losing your keys, having someone call the cops because they see someone (you) trying to force their way inside your home, and then verbally assault the cops when they show up and ask you what's going on, including following them outside continuing to scream at them after they've done their job and determined that there was no break in. You see, there are a number of people commenting that actually seem to believe that in this situation the cops would just walk away because you're white.

Look, it's real simple: the number one dumb thing to do in this country is mouth off to the police. I don't care what the situationi is, that's the guaranteed fastest way to find yourself decorating the back seat of a patrol car. Just shut your yap and do what they say. If they're in the wrong, if they're harassing you for no reason, if the search is illegal, or whatever, that's when you get yourself a big ol' ACLU lawyer and sue they ass. That's how you get back at some police officer behaving like a dick (if, in fact, he was behaving like a dick).

As they say, revenge is a dish best served cold.

If Professor Gates was white he wouldn't have been arrested.
If a white professor had been arrested for unruly conduct this right wing blog never would have written a story about the arrest.
Gates was arrested and this blog wrote about solely because of his race.
The police and this blog are targeting Gates because he's black.

Wrong. The exact same type of thing happened here in San Diego, no blacks involved, with the exact same result.

A Democrat candidate for the House of Representatives held a fundraiser at a local home. When the cops showed up after a neighbor complained about noise (they were using a bullhorn, for some reason), the homeowner refused to identify herself, blew off the cop's questions, and walked away. The cop grasped her arm to stop her, she started screaming. Upshot: she got her ass arrested too.

Now granted, this whole incident was obviously contrived as a publicity stunt (she'd had been arrested for the exact same thing before) to save the floundering candidate, who immediately began bleating about a "right-wing conspiracy." Nevertheless, the point is: when a cop asks for ID, produce it, and don't mouth off - or else. Race has nothing to do with it.

bobdog....... they can't do any of what you've suggested.. they can't wrap their heads around the possibility that Gates is an ass!
I worked beside both hispanic and black cops all of my career and found that they were called "oreos" and "Coconuts" by their own race OFTEN! No bobdog, don't try using common sense on these people... not in their makeup.

I know someone who was in a similar situation. Long story short, he was staying at his coach's house for the summer, the neighbors saw him in the yard and eventually, helicopters were flying overhead...sad, sad world.

H&H, next time you get pulled over, or standing next to a broken door or window, and a cop asks you for ID, I encourage you to rant, rave and refuse to prove your identity.

To answer another poster, I am whitish (depending on the cop, I may be whitey, I may be ethnicy) and if I mouthed off like that, I'd be in trouble.

This kind of incident happened to me once. We were moving and I wanted to give away some golf clubs. I inadvertently dialed 911 instead of 411. The Police show up at my house while the moving people are there. They walk right up to the front door and I meet them there removing all of my belongings. I tell them my story and they ask me for identification. Instead of being a jerk, I show them my license and apologize for the error. The cop then gives me a number to call where I can donate my used items to the local PAL. There are two ways to handle situations like this. You get more flies with honey than with vinegar. Someone should tell the "wise" professor this.

Among the things are liberal friends (Gates included) have apparently failed to grasp is

1) that cops use willingness to provide ID as an early indication of involvement in wrongdoing, and

2) the cop will generally have to file a report on the call, and "talked to some guy whose name I didn't bother to get" isn't going to look good - especially if it later turns out there really was a crime in progress.

"Wrong. The exact same type of thing happened here in San Diego, no blacks involved, with the exact same result."
...
Now granted, this whole incident was obviously contrived as a publicity stunt[...]

So it wasn't the exact same thing, was it? In your San Diego example, the perp was going to do anything and everything to get arrested. That's wasn't the instance in Gates case.

Face it folks. This blog wrote this article solely because Gates is black and that makes this story fresh meat for the right wingers bigots to huddle around and throw rocks at...

...Proving Gates point to a "T". It's a race-based bias that thrives in sections of America, including law enforcement, the south, and the Republican party... and apparently this blog.
depp=true
notiz=Broadbrushing will get you disemvoweled everytime

I think the police officer was a jerk. Gates was already in his house when the officer came. If Gates had been white the officer would have treated Gates more respectfully. And, if a policeman were to knock on my door and asks for my id card out of the blue, I'm going to ask "Why?" and be very suspicious of him. Of course, as soon as he sees I'm a white mom he'll just say sorry I bothered you. Why did the officer even ask for Gates id? He was on his own property doing nothing.
Even though I'm a mild-mannered white mom, I've been known to raise my voice when I feel something unjust is coming down, and follow a jerk out onto the porch yelling at him. That policeman has no excuse for arresting Gates. None. The policeman from his own experience should have known better. And why didn't his superior release Gates the minute he was brought in? Like I said, the police behaved like jerks in this case and Gates deserves a huge apology.

Mom, rubbish.

You do realize that the point of breaking and entering is to...uh...break and enter, right?

The fact that someone is in a house doesn't necessarily mean that he's entitled to be in the house. Also, please re-read my comment above: the cop has to file a report, and saying "talked to some guy who said he's a Harvard professor and owns the house" doesn't make it.

It is absolutely ridiculous that the police arrested Professor Gates. It would be pretty ballsy of an actual burglar to start mouthing off to the police and claiming he lives in the house.

It's funny how the white conservatives on here are so quick to side with the police and completely justify their behavior. It's obvious that so many of you are racist yourselves, so of course you side with the white police officer. Not to mention most of you seem to have a major issue with a Black man who is more educated and probably makes more money than you. Pretty clear where your heads are... up your asses.

I can only imagine how pissed off I'd be if I was accused of a crime I didn't commit, IN MY OWN HOME. While it's easy for a white person to say "i'd be respectful to the police, blah blah," that ignores the history of racial profiling and brutality of the police in Black communities across the country.

The bottom line is that cops are just generally assholes and idiots and love nothing more than to abuse their power. I'm pretty sure you don't even need a GED to be a cop, you just have to pass a drug test (although it's fine to be a raging alcoholic).

Is wizbang censoring comments? A post of mine has disappeared.

Cleanup on aisles 50, 51, and 52. Someone's putting up real estate ads all over the place...

Gates could have defused this easily, simply by showing his ID.

He didn't.

He WAS in the wrong - protestations of 'oppressive past history' and racism and the like to the contrary.

My contention in 23 nicely supported by the trolls above. We don't have a Generation of Vipers, we have one of Vapids.

comment #49 from F*** the Police quite likely the dumbest generalization I've ever read - and I read Shot in the Dark all the time!

F**k the police,
You don't mind slathering your bigotry on
Wizbang do you. How do you know who is white
on this site. Unless you can confirm the race
of every commenter on Wizbang, the broad brushing needs to stop.

The bottom line is that cops are just generally assholes and idiots and love nothing more than to abuse their power.

Does that include the black cop who arrested Gates? (Check Gates's Wikipedia entry for a photo.)

Just checking.

Either Gates is full of crap or the black police Sgt in front of him is just an Uncle Tom. Am wondering if anyone's applied that label yet. This gets tiresome.

This just keeps getting better (not for Obama or Gates)...

The arresting officer is a racial profiling expert whose been teaching a course on how to avoid racial profiling at the academy for years. In other words...the absolute last person in the entire region likely to engage in rampant 'racial profiling' for 'no reason', just arresting a nearly 60 year old black guy for giggles.

Methinks it was Gates that didn't know who he was messing with before he fired up his racist mouth.

If this piece of shit sues and wins anything more than 30 cents every citizen in Cambridge should feel obligated to throw bags of flaming poo on his doorstep.

Ummm read the professor's writings and you'll see where this guy is coming from.

hi ,I inadvertently dialed 911 instead of 411. The Police show up at my house while the moving people are there. They walk right up to the front door and I meet them there removing all of my belongings. I tell them my story and they ask me for identification. Instead of being a jerk, I show them my license and apologize for the error. The cop then gives me a number to call where I can donate my used items to the local PAL.

I'm amused by a few of the comments posted here that suggest a long flight is any kind of excuse to smart off to police. In that line of logic, I think that next time I get pulled over I'm entitled to act like a smartass because I've got 'a heavy flow'. Therefore it's certainly not my fault then when I act irrate and refuse simple requests. Give me a break...

What lies beneath the righteous indignation that Gates displayed? What set him off on a verbal tirade? Gee... might have been having to comply with AUTHORITY.

After all, can't the world see that he is very special and the rules don't apply to him???

Another narcissist... this one makes a living off of his anger and resentment. Shame on Harvard for legitimizing his courses.