Usually I would have commented on an incident like this and moved on. Now, it would seem, Henry Gates himself says it's time to move on .The turn around came so fast it made my head spin. I know Obama can be persuasive, but still...
Did he have an ulterior motive when he stated plans to use the incident to improve fairness in the criminal justice system? He continued to say, "in the end this is not about me at all."
I'm not so sure.
We know he had consulted his legal team and was considering a lawsuit. I present a rationale for reading articles to their conclusion. It would seem he vowed to make an documentary on his arrest to "tie into a larger project on racial profiling."
Did he see opportunity here and exploit it?
I am fully aware racial tension still exists in this country and no amount of denial will make it go away. Just like the neo-Nazi's still have a presence in northern Idaho even if we prefer to think they have been eradicated. They have not and on occasion remind us of just that. Such seems to be the case of Professor Gates use of an arrest to further his own agenda.
Two things you might find of interest. One is a website he oversees, The Root. The other is the narrative on the arrest report. Click on the image to enlarge it or follow the link.
While I understand many prominent blacks defending Professor Gates, it would appear that he may be equally culpable in the escalation of this incident as a few unwise words from the President. We should also understand that racism is not a one way street.
Yes. Racism is alive and well. We do not need people of prominence making an issue of it when it's questionable there is an issue to be made.
As for police behavior, Professor Gates should be glad he is in Cambridge rather than Spokane. He'd likely have been tasered or worse and if a lawsuit had been filed the police would probably been found guilty of - nothing. It would not have mattered what his race happened to be.
2 comments:
One of the things that made me wonder.... was why didn't the woman who called it in (as she should have) know Mr. Gates? I guess he isn't very friendly with his neighbors.
What Mr. Gates doesn't seem to realize is, had he been white, he would have been treated the same way.. the police would want to know if he belong there.
Looks like Mr. Gates was the only one yelling to the choir, as the pictures show on the news.
Once again, it is the story that, somethings are not what they appear to be.
Yes racism is alive and well. As it has always been and will probably always be. As of late however it seems that racism is used as an excuse for laziness and/or lack of education and common sense. There are many cases of racism that are legitimate. Most seem like nothing more that someone making a half hearted attempt of taking the easy way out of something.
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