| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
duh 
"catpurrs"
|
 Posted - 07/21/2009 : 15:25:39
|
Links
Geez! I think of all the times I've had to break into my own house because I forgot my keys.
I've also had the experience of a police officer standing at my door, yelling and threatening to kick the door in, OVER A CIVIL MATTER FOR WHICH HE HAD NO REASON TO BE THERE.
I do not blame Professor Gates one little bit; I would have been angry too. It SUCKS that he got arrested for expressing his ire ON HIS OWN PROPERTY! A man's home is his castle!
|
|
|
RockGolf 
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
|
Posted - 07/21/2009 : 16:12:52
|
Your link doesn't work, but when you get to that page, just enter "Professor Gates". Overreaction on both sides to my mind.
If I & a cab driver had to break into my own house because of a stuck door, and the police responded, I think I'd understand their concern that the investigation in and of itself was a reasonable act. I wouldn't immediately assume it to be a racist incident.
But having shown the police ID, there was no reason other than "putting this black guy in his place" to arrest the professor.
Of the sins committed in this case, those by the police are much more serious. |
 |
|
|
Sal[Au]pian 
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 07/21/2009 : 16:52:52
|
The link worked for me.
The police were in the wrong, but it's hard to judge from the information whether they were being racist. What I mean by that is that it is a likely explanation but that on the other hand the police will abuse their authority with absolutely anyone at all, especially anyone who refuses to just meekly do what they are told. In particular, the use of handcuffs seems ridiculous.
The professor did also react badly (although it does depend on the initial wording and tone used by the police). I've had to climb through windows a couple of times (overlooking busy places) and no one has batted an eyelid. He should be somewhat glad that the woman called the police, although one does have to wonder whether she would have found him suspicious if he were white -- how many people his age rob houses during the day? It also depends upon the legal details -- does one have to come out and talk to the police if asked, or do they need a warrant of some kind? (It would seem odd if they did need a warrant, or it would be quite hard to stop actual burglars.) |
Edited by - Sal[Au]pian on 07/21/2009 17:06:37 |
|
|
|
RockGolf
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
|
Posted - 07/21/2009 : 17:40:29
|
I can answer your last question, thanks to Law & Order reruns. If the police have a reasonable suspicion that a felony is underway (eg., assault, rape, burglary) they may enter a premises without a warrant.
I've just started watching Law & Order: UK in Canada. It seems they are taking 15-to-20-year-old original Law & Order plots and updating the technology and slang, as well as adopting British legal technicalities and language.
Any excuse to see Martha Jones again. |
|
|
|
Sal[Au]pian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 07/21/2009 : 18:56:15
|
| Yep, that sounds right. Trouble is, reasonable is so subjective, and the police's norms are distorted from the, well, norm. |
|
|
|
RockGolf
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
|
Posted - 07/21/2009 : 19:52:18
|
Huffington Post now reports that the charges are dropped.
Basically the police say no harm, no foul. Riiiiight. |
|
|
|
ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
|
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 07:58:29
|
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
The police were in the wrong, but it's hard to judge from the information whether they were being racist.
Um... did you see the picture of Gates? He's white haired and well dressed. Normal everyday humans who see a well-dressed older gentleman having a hard time getting into a home in broad daylight, would probably stop by and ask if they lost their keys or were having problems with the lock. The police officer apparently didn't see these teltale signs of a non-criminal and the only conclusion one can jump to is that he was being oh, so very racist!
|
|
|
|
RockGolf
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
|
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 13:26:35
|
| By the time the cops got there, the prof was already inside. A neighbour walking down the street saw him and his cab driver trying to push in the front door. Calling the police was the right thing to do. Getting all pissy about the police making sure your house wasn't being broken into was the wrong thing to do. Arresting a guy for getting pissy was the most wrong thing done. |
|
|
|
Sal[Au]pian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 16:59:56
|
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
Um... did you see the picture of Gates? He's white haired... in broad daylight...
I'd already pointed out all of that. My point wasn't that the police are not racist, but that their power goes to their heads and they will treat any citizens badly who they think have not bowed down to their authority. So, as I'd already said, racism is the most likely explanation but cannot be assumed without further investigation. Apart from the point of principle, unproven charges of racism against the police actually undermine the aim of identifying definite cases and reducing their institutional racism. |
|
|
|
Sal[Au]pian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 17:00:59
|
quote:
Originally posted by Ro�k G01f, MD+
Getting all pissy about the police making sure your house wasn't being broken into was the wrong thing to do. Arresting a guy for getting pissy was the most wrong thing done.
Quite. |
|
|
|
Whippersnapper. 
"A fourword thinking guy."
|
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 19:35:53
|
It's interesting that how easily people adopt other discriminatory positions - in this case classism and ageism - to argue against racism.
There are strong suggestions here that because he was a professor - not a plumber or, God forbid, unemployed - and because he wasn't a young man - that he obviously wasn't a criminal.
If you want to say that people are more suspicious because they are young, or lower class, because this is a statistic fact, why can't we say that a black person is more suspicious because it's statistically correct (as, unfortunately, it often is)?
My point is that these days people are appropriately careful in discriminating on grounds of race but insensitive to some other forms of discrimination.
|
|
|
|
Sal[Au]pian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 20:26:28
|
| Unless I am much mistaken, the demographics of burglars are massively skewed towards those much younger than this man, so it's not really ageism to take his age as an indication against his being one. |
|
|
|
turrell
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
|
Posted - 07/24/2009 : 01:03:48
|
quote:
Originally posted by Ro�k G01f, MD+
By the time the cops got there, the prof was already inside. A neighbour walking down the street saw him and his cab driver trying to push in the front door. Calling the police was the right thing to do. Getting all pissy about the police making sure your house wasn't being broken into was the wrong thing to do. Arresting a guy for getting pissy was the most wrong thing done.
Yes probably a case of a bunch of a-holes more so than a bunch of racists. Sometimes when you are an a-hole to someone of another race it makes you look like a racist when in fact you are just an a-hole. |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Black professor arrested breaking into own home
