Professor Gates, Harvard's Pride

[Shawnee123]

I don't disagree with you, HM, but I have to say that throwing the race card is about as shitty as it gets. Like a woman crying rape, out of revenge, it belittles everyone who has actually been hurt as a result of such crimes. It's a cheap cop-out, pun intended, and slimy and sick. It's a bit more than a little "attitude." Someone who is out there every day dealing with the dumbasses of the world might be a little taken aback to be accused of such a thing when they are trying, against all the crap in the world, to be one who protects all law-abiding citizens, regardless of race.


There, I said it.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

I don't disagree with you, HM, but I have to say that throwing the race card is about as shitty as it gets. ... It's a bit more than a little "attitude."

I don't disagree with that, but a) ideally, it shouldn't figure into whether to arrest him, and b) if it does figure into it, it makes arresting him even stupider.

The story should have been "Harvard Professor accuses cops of racism when they respond to 911 call". Gates would not have come out well in that exchange. Instead, the story was "Harvard professor arrested out of his own home after burglary reported." If someone is accusing you of racial profiling, tossing him in jail to teach him a lesson can only hurt your case.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

I don't disagree with you, HM, but I have to say that throwing the race card is about as shitty as it gets. Like a woman crying rape, out of revenge, it belittles everyone who has actually been hurt as a result of such crimes. It's a cheap cop-out, pun intended, and slimy and sick. It's a bit more than a little "attitude." Someone who is out there every day dealing with the dumbasses of the world might be a little taken aback to be accused of such a thing when they are trying, against all the crap in the world, to be one who protects all law-abiding citizens, regardless of race.


There, I said it.

And you said it well, Shawnee.

I think there's hope for you yet. Great meringue heaps of hope if you keep writing like this.

I was just going to quote your first sentence and say that was my take on it all, too, but the rest of your para changed my mind. The good professor showed an ugly bigoted side to him -- maybe a beer at the White House with the sergeant would be just the thing to finish the affair.

And Obama's not dumb; I just wish he believed in better things. He's got this little social chip on his shoulder that doesn't become a President and I'd sure like to see him flick it off.

The last sentence summing up the cop's task -- well, that is known to come with the territory of being a policeman. It also tends to be one reason not every young policeman stays in to collect his police pension at twenty years. I've met one -- started as a football lineman, then a cop, and one day to defend his partner's life shot a man dead, quit police work, went to seminary, and ended up as the Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles.