Black first, President second
President Obama commented today on the arrest of African-American studies professor, Henry Louis Gates, stating that the Cambridge police “acted stupidly.” So what exactly happened?
Gates arrived at his home and found he couldn’t enter. So he and his driver broke into the house, including using a shoulder to break the door in. Naturally, an observant neighbor called the cops to report a possible break-in. Sergeant James Crowley responded to the call, and according to police reports, observed someone through a window at the front door, and calmly asked to speak with the man, who was Crowley. Let me clarify, at this time, all Crowley knows is that two black men may have broken into this home, and the man in the window was black. When Crowley told Gates he was there investigating a possible break-in, Crowley answered the door and said, “Why, because I’m a black man in America?”
Before I continue the story, I would like to address this nonsense. A white cop approaches the home of a black person, and IMMEDIATELY, the assumption is racism. Aside from the fact that the officer who responded to the call is an expert on racial profiling, appointed by a black police commissioner, this pernicious garbage is the primary reason racism still exists today. Black racism, not white racism. I’m not calling all black people racist, but there is a disturbingly high number of black racists of prominence, namely Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, whom are celebrated rather than scorned. I welcome any and all to name a prominent, powerful white racist in America.
Back to the facts of the case… Gates reportedly continued yelling and whining about the racism of Sgt. Crowley. Eventually Gates produced ID confirming he was the owner of the home, at which point, Crowley attempted to end the confrontation. Gates would have nothing of it. Gates continued to yell as he followed Crowley outside. At this point, Crowley warned Gates that he was acting disorderly. Gates ignored him. Crowley took out his handcuffs, and again warned Gates. Gates ignored him and continued to yell, at which point Sgt. Crowley placed Gates under arrest.
It doesn’t matter whether you think a man in his 50s with a cane needs to be handcuffed. People under arrest are always handcuffed for the safety of citizens and police officers. The only reason race became an issue in this instance was due to the preconceived racism that Gates projects to police officers.
President Barack Obama, without knowing all the facts of the case… simply pontificating on the subject based on his cursory knowledge of one version of the story, decided he would comment on a local police matter solely based on the fact that he knew the person arrested, and the race of the parties involved. A police officer did his job, but because he arrested a friend of the President who happens to be black, Obama’s first reaction is to play the race card. What the hell does the arrest rates of blacks and latinos throughout history have to do with this case? Do we have to address historical statistics every time a non-white is arrested?
“Now, I don’t know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that, but I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know, separate and apart from this incident, is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. And that’s just a fact.” He added later that the incident was “a sign of how race remains a factor in this society.”
Barack Obama has illustrated, once again, that he is black first, American President second. It was more important to him to quickly comment on the case of a black man being arrested in Cambridge by a white cop than to wait for the facts of the case to be determined, and for local law enforcement to handle the situation. This incident was none of his business, but because it involved race, he was incapable of remaining silent. The problem is race was not made an issue by the officer, but by the arrestee.
Obama’s knee-jerk racist reaction has understandably angered police unions (see story). Personally, I have about as much use for African-American Studies professors as I do white studies professors. I am so sick of this constant, incessant race card playing by prominent blacks, including the half-black President. Professor Gates acted like a prick in his home, and then in public, and rather than calm down and behave, he decided to continue being disorderly. I submit, as did Rush Limbaugh, that Gates partially wanted to be arrested so he could create this controversy out of thin air. A cop came to make sure Mr. Gates’s home wasn’t being broken into, and Gates repaid him by accusing him of racism. And President Obama reinforced this behavior. It was unpresidential, and more importantly, racist.