On Being a Black Man in America
Don't we live in post-racial America? Not judging by the case of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who was arrested at his own house for his temerity to live in a predominantly white neighborhood. Some would say he had it coming, but from where I'm standing, from the moment arresting officer Sgt. James Crowley appeared at Mr. Gates' door, Gates had every right to be fucking furious.
Let's follow the path of racism and profiling, shall we?
1) The Scared White Lady
What started this whole incident was a woman calling the police to report a break-in at one of the houses in the neighborhood. She clearly had no idea what her neighbor in that house looked like (much less that he was black), otherwise the call might not have gone out. Not knowing the exact contents of the phone call, it's hard to say whether she called about a break-in, or a black guy attempting to break in. Since I can't find out, and the latter bolsters my argument, let's go with that.
In her mind, a black anyone had no business being in her neighborhood; his very presence meant he was up to no good. Never mind it was broad daylight. Never mind there was another man there who drove a car (presumably a nice one) right up to the house in broad daylight, and that man ultimately left with that same car in a manner completely consistent with the behavior of someone who had every right to be there. I doubt this woman had the patience to observe the entire scene, and just jumped to "criminal black guy doing criminal black guy things."
2) To Serve and Protect (White People)
The first responder was Sgt. James Crowley. The fact that he even showed up so soon after the call says a lot about how the police view this neighborhood ("safe" for officers and residents, and worthy of defense), and the seriousness of such a call.
Sgt. Crowley immediately pegged Mr. Gates as a suspect. Why? Because he was a black man in that house, fitting the profile given to the police by the Scared White Lady. This is evidenced by the first things Sgt. Crowley said to Mr. Gates: to immediately step outside. Were Mr. Gates white, the officer might have had the courtesy to identify himself and his reason for being there -- possibly to also apologize for the intrusion. Instead, Sgt. Crowley jumped immediately into "I need you out here to make sure you're not hurting any of the nice white folks inside" mode. Yeah, genius, because the first thing someone breaking into a house is gonna do is answer the front door when the police show up. Jesus Christ.
3) Not Following Police Procedure
It goes without saying that Mr. Gates did not respond well to such a rude request (now infamously quoted as "why, because I'm a black man in America?" He pretty much nailed it). This obviously lead to Sgt. Crowley becoming agitated, because he apparently felt it was necessary to repeatedly refuse Mr. Gates' request for his name and badge number. However, when Mr. Gates was asked a similar question, he answered, and when he was asked to produce identification, he also did so (I'm sure protesting vociferously the whole time, but he still did it).
Mr. Gates had to go into his kitchen to retrieve his identification, and Sgt. Crowley stepped into the house without permission. Why? Because he had already judged that he house was the scene of a crime, and not the private residence of a person who is owed any sort of courtesy. He obviously felt he needed to follow Mr. Gates into the kitchen unannounced so as to be sure he wouldn't try to pull a knife or a gun. Because that's what happens when black guys break into houses: they answer the door when the police show up, make up a lie about being a "Harvard Professor" or some nonsense so he can disorient the officer long enough to retrieve a weapon. Good policing, Sergeant!
Continuing not to give out his name or badge number, Sgt. Crowley inspected Mr. Gates' identification, which had a photo and everything. And what did the officer do after verifying that Mr. Gates was Mr. Gates, Harvard Professor, who lived at that house? He didn't apologize for the confusion or inconvenience. He didn't seem at all concerned with Mr. Gates' safety (he had already seen one black guy in the house, so it stands to reason there weren't any others holding family members hostage, right?), and didn't ask if there was anyone else in the house. He just turned and left for the front door, probably because there weren't any white people to worry about.
4) Disproportionate Police Response
Mr. Gates, obviously not satisfied with being ignored, followed Sgt. Crowley to the front door. During that time, several more police officers had gathered (at least three total -- probably four, since one more would have had to take the photo with three officers in it). By this point, it was pretty clear that the police were not there for Mr. Gates' protection and well-being, but rather that of his white neighbors. Maybe they were hoping that the Scared White Lady who had called in the "incident" and any other neighbors were still watching, and would be able to sleep soundly that night knowing that the scary black man had finally been removed from their presence, and wouldn't lurk in the shadows that evening ready rape them with his powerful black man penis.
Why watch at all? Because once Mr. Gates exited his own, properly-identified front door (which Sgt. Crowley had asked him to do initially), he was arrested publicly in broad daylight without any further explanation of what was going on.
5) Disrespecting The (White) Man.
Mr. Gates was treated like a criminal from the moment the police showed up because he was presumed to be one by his own neighbors. The police report makes quite a bit of how loud, rude, and initially unhelpful Mr. Gates was. So why, after identifying himself, was he arrested anyway? I can only guess, but it was probably to shame him. I'm sure part of it was not showing a police officer "proper" deference, but given every other factor in the scene that played out, it's not unreasonable to suspect that an agitated Sgt. James Crowley wanted to punish Mr. Gates for being an uppity n***er who doesn't know his place.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32010985/ns/us_news-race_and_ethnicity/
http://www.theroot.com/views/lawyers-statement-arrest-henry-louis-gates-jr
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/23/officer.gates.arrest/index.html?eref=rss_topstories (thanks, Megan!)
~Sean
Let's follow the path of racism and profiling, shall we?
1) The Scared White Lady
What started this whole incident was a woman calling the police to report a break-in at one of the houses in the neighborhood. She clearly had no idea what her neighbor in that house looked like (much less that he was black), otherwise the call might not have gone out. Not knowing the exact contents of the phone call, it's hard to say whether she called about a break-in, or a black guy attempting to break in. Since I can't find out, and the latter bolsters my argument, let's go with that.
In her mind, a black anyone had no business being in her neighborhood; his very presence meant he was up to no good. Never mind it was broad daylight. Never mind there was another man there who drove a car (presumably a nice one) right up to the house in broad daylight, and that man ultimately left with that same car in a manner completely consistent with the behavior of someone who had every right to be there. I doubt this woman had the patience to observe the entire scene, and just jumped to "criminal black guy doing criminal black guy things."
2) To Serve and Protect (White People)
The first responder was Sgt. James Crowley. The fact that he even showed up so soon after the call says a lot about how the police view this neighborhood ("safe" for officers and residents, and worthy of defense), and the seriousness of such a call.
Sgt. Crowley immediately pegged Mr. Gates as a suspect. Why? Because he was a black man in that house, fitting the profile given to the police by the Scared White Lady. This is evidenced by the first things Sgt. Crowley said to Mr. Gates: to immediately step outside. Were Mr. Gates white, the officer might have had the courtesy to identify himself and his reason for being there -- possibly to also apologize for the intrusion. Instead, Sgt. Crowley jumped immediately into "I need you out here to make sure you're not hurting any of the nice white folks inside" mode. Yeah, genius, because the first thing someone breaking into a house is gonna do is answer the front door when the police show up. Jesus Christ.
3) Not Following Police Procedure
It goes without saying that Mr. Gates did not respond well to such a rude request (now infamously quoted as "why, because I'm a black man in America?" He pretty much nailed it). This obviously lead to Sgt. Crowley becoming agitated, because he apparently felt it was necessary to repeatedly refuse Mr. Gates' request for his name and badge number. However, when Mr. Gates was asked a similar question, he answered, and when he was asked to produce identification, he also did so (I'm sure protesting vociferously the whole time, but he still did it).
Mr. Gates had to go into his kitchen to retrieve his identification, and Sgt. Crowley stepped into the house without permission. Why? Because he had already judged that he house was the scene of a crime, and not the private residence of a person who is owed any sort of courtesy. He obviously felt he needed to follow Mr. Gates into the kitchen unannounced so as to be sure he wouldn't try to pull a knife or a gun. Because that's what happens when black guys break into houses: they answer the door when the police show up, make up a lie about being a "Harvard Professor" or some nonsense so he can disorient the officer long enough to retrieve a weapon. Good policing, Sergeant!
Continuing not to give out his name or badge number, Sgt. Crowley inspected Mr. Gates' identification, which had a photo and everything. And what did the officer do after verifying that Mr. Gates was Mr. Gates, Harvard Professor, who lived at that house? He didn't apologize for the confusion or inconvenience. He didn't seem at all concerned with Mr. Gates' safety (he had already seen one black guy in the house, so it stands to reason there weren't any others holding family members hostage, right?), and didn't ask if there was anyone else in the house. He just turned and left for the front door, probably because there weren't any white people to worry about.
4) Disproportionate Police Response
Mr. Gates, obviously not satisfied with being ignored, followed Sgt. Crowley to the front door. During that time, several more police officers had gathered (at least three total -- probably four, since one more would have had to take the photo with three officers in it). By this point, it was pretty clear that the police were not there for Mr. Gates' protection and well-being, but rather that of his white neighbors. Maybe they were hoping that the Scared White Lady who had called in the "incident" and any other neighbors were still watching, and would be able to sleep soundly that night knowing that the scary black man had finally been removed from their presence, and wouldn't lurk in the shadows that evening ready rape them with his powerful black man penis.
Why watch at all? Because once Mr. Gates exited his own, properly-identified front door (which Sgt. Crowley had asked him to do initially), he was arrested publicly in broad daylight without any further explanation of what was going on.
5) Disrespecting The (White) Man.
Mr. Gates was treated like a criminal from the moment the police showed up because he was presumed to be one by his own neighbors. The police report makes quite a bit of how loud, rude, and initially unhelpful Mr. Gates was. So why, after identifying himself, was he arrested anyway? I can only guess, but it was probably to shame him. I'm sure part of it was not showing a police officer "proper" deference, but given every other factor in the scene that played out, it's not unreasonable to suspect that an agitated Sgt. James Crowley wanted to punish Mr. Gates for being an uppity n***er who doesn't know his place.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32010985/ns/us_news-race_and_ethnicity/
http://www.theroot.com/views/lawyers-statement-arrest-henry-louis-gates-jr
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/23/officer.gates.arrest/index.html?eref=rss_topstories (thanks, Megan!)
~Sean