The Arrest Of Henry Louis Gates Jr. Cont'd

As many of you know by now, the storm created by the arrest of Gates one week ago took a dramatic turn two nights ago at President Obama's press conference. At the conference, the President fielded a question about the arrest and put forth rather honestly that he did not have all the facts in the case (and that Gates was a friend), seeming to want to avoid any serious commentary on what has been a rather touchy issue. Quickly following that admission though, the President declared that the Cambridge Police Department had acted "stupidly" in its arrest of Gates. The President, like so many others, seemed to get caught up on the fact that Gates was in his house when he was arrested. Add to that fact that the police were called to the scene by someone who thought a robbery was taking place and yes, it does seem incredibly unjust that someone would be arrested in their own house for breaking and entering. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED. Gates was arrested for DISORDERLY CONDUCT, something (initially) even his Harvard ID couldn't protect him from, much to his surprise. We all can be arrested anywhere and at anytime for disorderly conduct, yes even in our own kitchens and living rooms and front porches.

I understand that it would be a little frustrating to have the police come to your house after you arrive home from a long trip (Gates had been in China working on a film) after you had just broken into your own house because you didn't have a key. But that does not give you a right to harass and taunt police officers whether you are black, white, Harvard professor or otherwise. You still have to obey the law, cooperate with the police and they will leave you alone. That is not what happened here. Gates got incredibly belligerent and at a certain point the officer decided that enough was enough, and booked him for being disorderly. That doesn't seem stupid to me. In fact, it seems like justice. What is stupid is that large numbers of people are being duped into believing that there is some sort of racial profiling going on here and taking it out on an officer who was just doing his job and was verbally abused by an angry and arrogant black Harvard professor. What a shame.