Comments on: History and Race: The Gates Affair http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/ Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:13:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: JohnRJ08 http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-363585 JohnRJ08 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:34:23 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-363585 I think the mistake people make in this discussion is that they begin to speak in broad terms about racism and historical police behavior. It's important to try to stick to the specifics of this particular incident in order to avoid arguing over irrelevant anecdotal evidence. I would agree that police in the Boston area have had a long history of questionable behavior toward African-Americans. However, in this particular case, the white police officer happens to be an example of the gains that department has made in dealing with its unfortunate history. In other words, Sgt. Crowley was the wrong person to accuse of racial profiling. The man has a history in the community and personal relationships within the department which indicate that he is anything but a racist "rogue cop". On the other hand, it is quite clear that Professor Gates has built his academic career on the study of racism and the oppression of the black man in American society. Could it be that his heightened sense of awareness about this problem led him to apply a similar kind of racial profiling to a white cop? Sure looks like it. I think the mistake people make in this discussion is that they begin to speak in broad terms about racism and historical police behavior. It’s important to try to stick to the specifics of this particular incident in order to avoid arguing over irrelevant anecdotal evidence. I would agree that police in the Boston area have had a long history of questionable behavior toward African-Americans. However, in this particular case, the white police officer happens to be an example of the gains that department has made in dealing with its unfortunate history. In other words, Sgt. Crowley was the wrong person to accuse of racial profiling. The man has a history in the community and personal relationships within the department which indicate that he is anything but a racist “rogue cop”. On the other hand, it is quite clear that Professor Gates has built his academic career on the study of racism and the oppression of the black man in American society. Could it be that his heightened sense of awareness about this problem led him to apply a similar kind of racial profiling to a white cop? Sure looks like it.

]]> By: rightwink http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-361131 rightwink Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:16:58 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-361131 Same comment as #14 from Patrick of Atlantis. I read until "The knee-jerk reaction of both sides" and quit in disgust. What a bunch of baloney! Officer Crowley DID NOT DO ANYTHING WRONG! Same comment as #14 from Patrick of Atlantis.
I read until “The knee-jerk reaction of both sides” and quit in disgust. What a bunch of baloney! Officer Crowley DID NOT DO ANYTHING WRONG!

]]> By: El Grande http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-360678 El Grande Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:25:28 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-360678 Typical Boston cops: arrest the coloreds for acting like a white man, insert lies and made up facts on the report, have all your ginger brothers close ranks. So what is the problem? Typical Boston cops: arrest the coloreds for acting like a white man, insert lies and made up facts on the report, have all your ginger brothers close ranks. So what is the problem?

]]> By: Dave http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-360529 Dave Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:14:37 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-360529 p.s. Rick M., You accuse our society of being unable to 'talk honestly about race' TODAY, in 2009, and for an example of this political inability to address it, you cite a speech given by LBJ in 1964!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How about a little contemporary EVIDENCE to prove your contemporary social theory! p.s. Rick M.,

You accuse our society of being unable to ‘talk honestly about race’ TODAY, in 2009, and for an example of this political inability to address it, you cite a speech given by LBJ in 1964!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How about a little contemporary EVIDENCE to prove your contemporary social theory!

]]> By: Dave http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-360523 Dave Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:10:44 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-360523 Rick M., Lots of us are perfectly willing to have this conversation you think we can't have. It's about honesty, and most of us are fully capable of it. I think you'd find, if we did have that talk, that most white people in America are not the LEAST BIT 'prejudiced', and that it's a rapidly fading problem except for the desperate race-baiting of the Jackson/sharpton/gates/obama crowd. Half the people I know these days are MARRIED to a different race. Even GATES HIMSELF was married to a white woman and has a couple of half white kids. Not to mention Obama is one too. I suggest the discussion doesn't even NEED to be had. All it needs is time, and the forced retirement of any Democrat race baiters who like to fan those flames. Gates was clearly abusive for a PURPOSE-- he was trying to provoke that officer into something more like what Gates wanted to broadcast to the networks, a real physical attack, perhaps with some real juicy race words. Gates would have been happy to take a few lumps in order to be the one to carry this stupid football into the 21st century. But, surprise, it DIDN"T WORK. Crowley was professional, disinterested in race, just doing his job and doing it well. Too bad for Gates. Now he looks like he was behaving STUPIDLY. Rick M.,

Lots of us are perfectly willing to have this conversation you think we can’t have. It’s about honesty, and most of us are fully capable of it. I think you’d find, if we did have that talk, that most white people in America are not the LEAST BIT ‘prejudiced’, and that it’s a rapidly fading problem except for the desperate race-baiting of the Jackson/sharpton/gates/obama crowd.

Half the people I know these days are MARRIED to a different race. Even GATES HIMSELF was married to a white woman and has a couple of half white kids. Not to mention Obama is one too.

I suggest the discussion doesn’t even NEED to be had. All it needs is time, and the forced retirement of any Democrat race baiters who like to fan those flames.

Gates was clearly abusive for a PURPOSE– he was trying to provoke that officer into something more like what Gates wanted to broadcast to the networks, a real physical attack, perhaps with some real juicy race words. Gates would have been happy to take a few lumps in order to be the one to carry this stupid football into the 21st century.

But, surprise, it DIDN”T WORK. Crowley was professional, disinterested in race, just doing his job and doing it well.

Too bad for Gates. Now he looks like he was behaving STUPIDLY.

]]> By: JackT http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-360023 JackT Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:26:01 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-360023 You article really says nothing. A lot of words to try to explain something that is very simple, Gates is an a hole. End of story. It has nothing to do with Obama, Crowley or race relations in America. Crowley was just unfortunate enough to run into a whiny old black dude, that thought he could use this unexpected incident to milk the media into labeling it racial injustice. But it backfired,and he slowly changed his tune and then proclaimed "this is not about me", oh really, he started out sounding like Sharpton, and a few days later he tried to sound like a professor again. Before anyone had made any public comments, I knew Gates was the problem when I heard that he had said something about being black in america, or that this could happen to any black man. Once he crossed that line, it was obvious he had ulterior motives. How can you call a cops actions racist when you don't even know the guy. And I've been around long enough to know that "show me your ID" is not sinister. Many will argue that whites often try to control blacks by requiring "proof" of legitimacy. But if you just finished busting in your own front door and the cops show up and explain that they received a call regarding a break in, your job is to help the officer resolve the complaint, prove that you are the owner in a calm and professional manner, offer the cop a refreshment and let him get back to work catching real criminals. It's guys like Gates that might diminish the effectiveness, or willingness to fight real racism and weed out rouge cops by crying wolf. You article really says nothing. A lot of words to try to explain something that is very simple, Gates is an a hole. End of story. It has nothing to do with Obama, Crowley or race relations in America. Crowley was just unfortunate enough to run into a whiny old black dude, that thought he could use this unexpected incident to milk the media into labeling it racial injustice. But it backfired,and he slowly changed his tune and then proclaimed “this is not about me”, oh really, he started out sounding like Sharpton, and a few days later he tried to sound like a professor again. Before anyone had made any public comments, I knew Gates was the problem when I heard that he had said something about being black in america, or that this could happen to any black man. Once he crossed that line, it was obvious he had ulterior motives. How can you call a cops actions racist when you don’t even know the guy. And I’ve been around long enough to know that “show me your ID” is not sinister. Many will argue that whites often try to control blacks by requiring “proof” of legitimacy. But if you just finished busting in your own front door and the cops show up and explain that they received a call regarding a break in, your job is to help the officer resolve the complaint, prove that you are the owner in a calm and professional manner, offer the cop a refreshment and let him get back to work catching real criminals. It’s guys like Gates that might diminish the effectiveness, or willingness to fight real racism and weed out rouge cops by crying wolf.

]]> By: Panini http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-359955 Panini Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:36:37 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-359955 Racial reconciliation can succeed only when racial stereotypes are systematically exposed. President Obama lost a golden opportunity of doing so by referring to the police as 'stupid'. The police let's admit will have to be 'stupid' because they have to follow the code of self defence and the rule book that would insist on following certain procedures while performing their duties. I would put the onus on the enlightened Professor Gates who could have shown more restraint and followed the instructions of the police. President Obama needs to show greater restraint than to profile the entire police as stupid. The problem is not just a 'racial' problem. It is also a 'class' problem. To a certain extent, white police men as well a large majority of blacks are drawn from the lower income groups and their mental and moral compasses are bound to be stenotopic. Bridges have to be built by intellectuals who can transcend their limited circumstances. However painful it may be, they have to tear themselves from their ethnicity and evolve a new inter-racial discourse that can dissolve rock hard sediments of mistrust. Racial reconciliation can succeed only when racial stereotypes are systematically exposed. President Obama lost a golden opportunity of doing so by referring to the police as ‘stupid’. The police let’s admit will have to be ‘stupid’ because they have to follow the code of self defence and the rule book that would insist on following certain procedures while performing their duties. I would put the onus on the enlightened Professor Gates who could have shown more restraint and followed the instructions of the police. President Obama needs to show greater restraint than to profile the entire police as stupid.
The problem is not just a ‘racial’ problem. It is also a ‘class’ problem. To a certain extent, white police men as well a large majority of blacks are drawn from the lower income groups and their mental and moral compasses are bound to be stenotopic.
Bridges have to be built by intellectuals who can transcend their limited circumstances. However painful it may be, they have to tear themselves from their ethnicity and evolve a new inter-racial discourse that can dissolve rock hard sediments of mistrust.

]]> By: Paul -Indiana http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-359928 Paul -Indiana Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:11:45 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-359928 Another Harvard elite. Like Obama? Another Harvard elite. Like Obama?

]]> By: Moho http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-359861 Moho Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:11:26 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-359861 Realist: Keep it up, you're winning over hearts and minds. By the way, its obvious that with four articles on Gates, the lackies who run these blogs are hoping that they've finally got a little powder in their guns on the race thing. But the unfortunate thing for you all is that over the weekend, the conversation turned over to the power of the state to make unnecessary arrests, and that's where it's stayed. Though many people here pretend to be libertarians, many of the independents out there whom the Republican party wants to win over are REAL libertarians. The message they've received from this whole incident is that police abuse their power when they get annoyed, violating the rights of citizens and wasting the time and money of the state on frivolous arrests. This issue has already broken out of the narrow focus of race and become one of police abuse of power--and that's something, unfortunately for you power-felating drones, that almost everyone has experienced in some way. These kinds of views are turning them off in a big way--if you all were smart, you would have gotten behind the issue, still criticizing the Democrats for making it about race, while saying the real issue was freedom of expression and abuse of power. But, you know what they say about the kid with the hammer. This is back-firing on you in a serious way, and you're way behind the curve. Stick to the fake birth certificate issue--at least that's entertaining for the rest of us. Realist: Keep it up, you’re winning over hearts and minds. By the way, its obvious that with four articles on Gates, the lackies who run these blogs are hoping that they’ve finally got a little powder in their guns on the race thing. But the unfortunate thing for you all is that over the weekend, the conversation turned over to the power of the state to make unnecessary arrests, and that’s where it’s stayed. Though many people here pretend to be libertarians, many of the independents out there whom the Republican party wants to win over are REAL libertarians.

The message they’ve received from this whole incident is that police abuse their power when they get annoyed, violating the rights of citizens and wasting the time and money of the state on frivolous arrests. This issue has already broken out of the narrow focus of race and become one of police abuse of power–and that’s something, unfortunately for you power-felating drones, that almost everyone has experienced in some way. These kinds of views are turning them off in a big way–if you all were smart, you would have gotten behind the issue, still criticizing the Democrats for making it about race, while saying the real issue was freedom of expression and abuse of power. But, you know what they say about the kid with the hammer.

This is back-firing on you in a serious way, and you’re way behind the curve. Stick to the fake birth certificate issue–at least that’s entertaining for the rest of us.

]]> By: Mike http://pjmedia.com/blog/history-and-race-the-gates-affair/#comment-359859 Mike Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:09:50 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/?p=62560#comment-359859 Obama is a racist. He is also a Communist and a Muslim. Mr. Moran in my opinion in his article is being way to pandering to Obama or else has chosen to avoid the evidence about Obama and who and what he really is. Obama also happens to be a friend of Gates, who has had strong ties to Communist organizations in America as well as black liberationists just like Obama has Gates has held at least one fund raiser at his home for Obama. As a side note. When Obama graduated from Harvard in the 1991 he left with 17 unpaid city of Cambridge parking tickets. According to at least one source in MA (the story can be read on WND.com) non of those 17 tickets were paid until just before he got nominsted last year or in some cases for up to 18 years after the tickets were issued. Obama is a racist. He is also a Communist and a Muslim.

Mr. Moran in my opinion in his article is being way to pandering to Obama or else has chosen to avoid the evidence about Obama and who and what he really is.

Obama also happens to be a friend of Gates, who has had strong ties to Communist organizations in America as well as black liberationists just like Obama has

Gates has held at least one fund raiser at his home for Obama.

As a side note. When Obama graduated from Harvard in the 1991 he left with 17 unpaid city of Cambridge parking tickets. According to at least one source in MA (the story can be read on WND.com) non of those 17 tickets were paid until just before he got nominsted last year or in some cases for up to 18 years after the tickets were issued.

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