sophiaserpentia | (no subject)

I assume by now most of you have probably heard about the arrest last week of a Harvard professor on his front doorstep for being "disorderly." This incident happened about a five minute walk away from where I work.

While the police were called ostensibly because "two Black men with backpacks" were seen trying to force their way into a house, the arrest happened well after it was established that Professor Gates was not a burglar but the actual resident of the house, and that the other person with him had been an assistant. The police report, filed later, described Gates as being confrontational, yelling at the police over and over that they were racist. The police officer then led him out of his house onto the front porch, where he claims Professor Gates's yelling was disturbing and shocking people so much he had no choice but to arrest him for being disorderly.

Never mind that what was causing the disturbance was the continued and at that point completely unnecessary presence of police on the scene. It wasn't that Professor Gates was being disorderly and *then* the police came along to defuse the situation; he was "disorderly" because he was having a bad day and the police, by not leaving when their job was done, were making it worse. Their continued presence was the sole antagonist. If the police had left after Gates's identity was established, there would have been no more yelling; the tension would have been de-escalated.

So what it boils down to is, Professor Gates was arrested plainly and simply for not being properly cowed and obedient, and for no other reason. The charges against him have been dropped, but, notably, the arresting officer is completely unrepentant.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Even assuming the police report is given entirely without bias, what law did Gates break? Is it against the law to be in a "bizarre and puzzling incoherent" rage? (I won't add "uncontrolled," because he wasn't by any account being violent.)

My only thought on that is that getting arrested because you lose your temper at a cop is not especially racist. Which is what is being said. Maybe the professor should come right out and honestly defend the rights of people lose their tempers.

Im not even sure the context is that racist. Is it because the woman identified the two men forcing entry as black? Is it that weird to report two men forcing entry to a house? My only thought on that is she should have known that he neighbor is black and so it might be him. But wouldn't it be strangely racist to see some black men breaking into your black neighbor's house and just assume it must be them? How would you explain that to the neighbor it they did get robbed?

What was in the woman's heart might have been racist but I don't think her actions prove it. What was in the police officers heart might have been racist but I don't think his actions prove it. The professor has made a much better case for his own sense of privilege that something like this could happen to HIM. And as far as responding to authority respectfully I wonder how much of his own behavior he would have accepted from a student?

My take is that its a 50/50 who was in the wrong or maybe more likely both parties failed to behave like the perfect buddhas the peanut gallery always expects humans in any given situation to behave like.

From what I can tell from reading several articles, the police were refusing to leave the house after Gates showed them his ID and proved that he was the owner of the property.

I admit that under those circumstances, I would very likely to lose my temper.

From the point of view of the police, I would not like to be cursed and yelled at. However, at no point was Gates actually breaking the law. Arresting him for yelling at them was an abuse of power and I can't help but think that there are racial factors operating.

"be very likely" (can't edit).

I guess its all in how you read things or we are reading different things. I have not read anywhere that the police "refused" to leave. What Im reading is that gates was belligerent from the first moment and escalated things from there. Even if he is the legal resident wouldn't it raise suspicions that he was so uncooperative from the start? Being uncooperative usually means you have a reason not to cooperate.

And nothing, absolutely nothing implies racism to me. Which of coarse is what Gates is making this about because it makes him a martyr. If you are white I suggest to start screaming at the police the next time they show up trying to help you. While they are still trying to get your ID call the police and start filing a complaint. Really try to shake things up and test the bounds of white privilege. It'll be cool.

It is my personal conviction that violence is violence. And gates started the violence rolling. Laws aren't written that way though, so from a legal stand point the police were in the wrong. From my perspective a privileged douche bag just got inconvenienced. The unfortunate part is that he is a famous black professor who writes about race and is pumping this incident for all its worth. Indeed, gates was right when he kept saying "You don't know who you're messing with". A blowhard apparently.

I think this really comes down to personal perspective. I think screaming is someone's face and threatening them with authoritative action is violence. Most people don't.

Really try to shake things up and test the bounds of white privilege. It'll be cool.

The thing is that Professor Gates has all the social/economic characteristics of the type of person (male, not young, educated, socially conforming, well-to-do) of the type of people who do get away with acting like privileged douche bags to the police when they have broken no law but are inconvenienced - except for the fact that he is not white.

That is what makes it racist.