Can Prejudice Be Justified?

By now everyone has heard of the incident that occurred with Professor Henry Louis Gates and officer James Crowley of the Cambridge Police department. Just to recap, a woman calls the police to inform them that two black men are breaking into a house. The police end up arresting a Harvard professor at his own house for disorderly conduct. At his own house. President Barack Obama calls the actions taken by the Cambridge police "stupid," the officers apparently get offended and return with criticism that the President commented without knowing all of the facts. As if there was a missing piece of evidence that supported arresting a man for breaking into his own house and citing the reason for the arrest as disorderly conduct.

President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Joseph McMillan stated:

Once Gates was identified as the lawful resident of the house, the police contact should have ended.

Sounds reasonable. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. Officer Crowley, in describing the chain of events, explains that Professor Gates was arrested after he proved to him that it was indeed his house, showed the proper identification, and began to become in Crowley's words "disorderly." I guess he expected bygones to be bygones, and to receive an invite for some donuts and maybe a good laugh at the absurdity of being detained or even questioned for breaking into one's own house. Or maybe Crowley expected Gates to say something along the lines of, "Oh, that's O.K. Mr. Police Officer, I know you were just doing your job and the fact that you treated me like a common criminal despite the fact that I am a Harvard Professor with numerous honorary degrees, widely considered one of the nation's foremost authority on black culture, didn't even bother me. Thank you for keeping our streets safe."

To add insult to injury, Crowley has proclaimed that he will not apologize because he feels he did nothing wrong. This father of three (not sure why articles keep pointing that out so I decided to reiterate) and police academy instructor on the dangers of racial profiling, who the Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas describes as "a stellar member of the department," who Academy director Thomas Fleming calls "a good role model," described by his colleagues as an overall wonderful human being, told the Herald, "I just have nothing to apologize for, it will never happen."

My four-year-old son Malcolm knows that saying you're sorry for something you have done to offend another person is what you are supposed to do. He knows that even if it was an accident and you had no intention of disrespecting or affronting the person, the correct thing to do is to offer a sincere apology. Oh, if we could all have the mentality of a four year old.

But to make matters worse, Crowley brings up the fact that he tried to save basketball star Reggie Lewis with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, as if that proves that he couldn't possibly be a racist. What is he going to say next, that he enjoyed watching every season of The Cosby Show? Michael Jackson was one of his favorite entertainers? He has black friends?

President Obama has invited them both to the White House to sit down and iron out whatever happened. I'm sure they will shake hands, maybe even apologize to each other for their parts in the incident and take a picture together or something. However, there is a bigger issue that this incident has sparked.

An article on CNNPolitics.com called "Obama's Rush to Judgment on Police" by Maria Haberfeld, professor of police science at John Jay College, offered a very interesting perspective. In the article she says:

Police work is about sub-cultural contexts, war stories, about suspicion, about unpredictability, about danger and fear of one's life. Police make their decisions based on not just a given situation but also based on their prior experience, the experience of those they have worked with and the stories they have heard about incidents that happened in the past... Police officers hear about these stories and unlike the members of the public who forget a story no matter how sensational within a day or two, police carry these stories as their secret weapons. This is part of their armor. An officer responding to a burglary in progress arrives at the scene with a heightened sense of danger, anxious and ready to fighting mode.

Sounds a lot like she is justifying prejudice. So would I be well within my rights to utilize the same method of thinking that was described by Professor Haberfeld? Would I be justified in thinking that every police officer I see is a racist pig? I mean, I have "prior experiences and the experience of those I have worked with and the stories they have heard about incidents that happened in the past." Personal experiences such as being stopped and dragged out of my car while I was in high school by members of the Tulsa Police Department and made to lay on the ground while on my way to one of the biggest games of the season because the officers thought they saw my face in a lineup or on a mug shot. It turned out they had just seen me in the papers playing basketball, but I definitely didn't receive an apology. Or while I was in college being put in handcuffs by the Syracuse Police Department, in the snow mind you, my freshman year along with one of my teammates because they thought we had stolen the car we were in. They actually had the audacity to tell us to stay out of trouble afterward, but no apology. Or after I was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, being stopped by the Dallas Police Department and told that my Navigator would be impounded if I could not provide proof of a job that would allow me to purchase a car of that magnitude. Again I received no apology. Or driving through Virginia on my way to one of my teammate's house and being stopped by the Virginia Police Department and asked what business I had in that neighborhood, detained for hours and later told that I "fit the description" of something that happened. Still no apology.

As far as "war stories, unpredictability, danger and fear of one's life," just in the past 5 years there has been an abundance of horror stories of police brutality. Events that seemingly are forgotten about by the general public within a day or two that I could carry around as "secret weapons." Accounts such as the NYPD shooting Sean Bell fifty times on the morning of his wedding day on November 25th of 2006; the image of half a dozen Philadelphia police officers beating, kicking and punching three men while holding them on the ground on May 7, 2008; Oakland transit officer Johannes Mehserle executing 22 year old Oscar Grant while he was handcuffed and lying face down on the pavement in January of 2009. Unfortunately I could go on and on with example after example.

I'm not alone in having personal accounts of "war stories" that could shift the entire way I look at all law enforcement. President Barack Obama wrote in his book The Audacity Of Hope:

Although, largely through luck and circumstance, I now occupy a position that insulates me from most of the bumps and bruises that the average black man must endure -- I can recite the usual litany of petty slights that during my 45 years have been directed my way: security guards tailing me as I shop in department stores, white couples who toss me their car keys as I stand outside a restaurant waiting for valet, police cars pulling me over for no apparent reason. I know what it's like to have people tell me I can't do something because of my color, and I know the bitter swill of swallowed-back anger.

So my question is, would I or any other black man who shares "war stories" involving the police be justified, utilizing Professor Haberfeld's method, in immediately going into "a heightened sense of danger, anxious and ready to go into fighting mode" type of a mentality every time I see a policeman? Would I be justified in prejudging them before knowing anything about them? Do the isolated incidents in my past and what I have seen justify an overall prejudice toward all policemen? The answer of course is no.

My Grandfather told me a long time ago that he couldn't put all white people in the category of devils because he had to judge each person as an individual. Now, if they prove themselves to be devils, then that is a different story, but they have to prove that first. He had a long list of previous experiences that I couldn't even imagine living through or being able to deal with, but he always concluded that there are good white people and there are bad white people, just as there are good black people and bad black people. This is my point: no matter what our past experiences are, it is not intelligent, nor is it fair not to see people as individuals. Furthermore, if a policeman is to prejudge a situation and not have the ability to view it on a case-by-case basis, he has no business being a policeman.

If not responsibly honed, their power can become catastrophic, dangerous, destructive and corrupt.

For more from Etan check out his new project, Etan Thomas Presents: Voices of the Future

Comments

[yappnmutt]

police forces throughout history and across every culture, country and civilization have a well deserved bad reputation. that's the primary reason why the usa was so radical in adopting the innocent until proven guilty legal basis. i use the word "was" because the idea that a person is innocent until proven guilty has been steadily eroded through vagaries like disorderly conduct charges(your punishment is the police bureaucracy and a few hours in jail) to laws meant to fight the war on drugs and terror that are eventually applied to traffic stops.

[pixy242a]

Let us take Crowley at his word. He would have arrested a frail 57 year old white professor in exactly the same circumstances. That still makes the arrest "stupid".

However, I wonder in that case whether Crowley would be supported by the Rightwingers ?

[darker]

You've gotta be kidding. Ever HEARD OF A CLASS PROBLEM?

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090728_america_the_great_police_state/

[DietrichMoody]

Although I think this is a well thought out post I have some issues with it. No - Not everyone has heard of the incident that occurred with Professor Henry Louis Gates and officer James Crowley. It just shows how narrow minded and self centered people are. To be fair, if Crowley was racist, he wouldn't have saved basketball star Reggie Lewis with mouth to mouth. Think it's funny but its true. Ever watch that episode of the Jefferson's were the white man said he'd rather die than have George Jefferson save him. I think it was more about Crowley, a police officer, on a power trip with an arrogant Professor who had no business being arrested.

By the way, a woman calls the police to inform them that two black men was Lucia Whalen, and she did not mention black men in her initial call.

And as far as your son - you taught him well that saying you're sorry for something you have done to offend another person - is right. But it would be better to emphasize and teaching him a habit of NOT doing things to offend other people in the first place. Basically, don't say anything.

[Dupree]

ONE

You are confused with making a comparison to an episode in a sitcom to real life events. One is scripted and based on fiction while the other is life in motion. Second of it all, the fundamental framework of examination can not be suspended to overlook the fact that Gates was arrested because he exercised his constitutional right to free speech. I have seen rallies where white men in sheets have espoused pure hate of African Americans and Latinos and Jews...but they were also covered under the first amendment the right to articulate their hate speech as long as they did not render it as an absolute threat for then it would have felled under terrorist threats which is a crime.

[Dupree]

TWO

Are you telling me that it was perfectly fine for Crowley to use his badge as a weapon against an individual citizen that hurt his feelings? Since when is it a crime to state annoyance that your rights are being infringed upon? And what does that say about our country. I read on the post every single day people calling the President of the United States names and insults by the dozens....what would happened if society decides that those people should be arrested? And where do it states that the role of a police officer demands more respect than that of the leader of the free world? It is a dangerous precedent to allow so much room for a police officer to abuse his power and what is even more threatening is the willingness of the citizens in this nation who thinks it was perfectly fine to arrest Gates for speaking his mind. That is Basically an attempt to change this from a democracy and a country with a functioning Constitution into the birth pangs of a police state. And if that does happened...trust me...when it is at your door...it will not be so well received. But I know, as long as it is Gates or someone likes Gates...it means does not matter to you.

[Kiri sute gomen]

Thank you for your thoughts on this issue. I believe the topic of racial division is one that has been sorely neglected and is vital to moving forward as a country and as a species.

[mommyatty]

Great piece.

I remember going to a boss' house for a Christmas party once. He lived in a large house in a very nice neighborhood. When I got there, pacing on the sidewalk in front of the house was our newest attorney, a young black man. He explained that he had not written down the address and had been walking back and forth on the sidewalk for ten or so minutes, trying to decide what to do. It hit me like a brick that he was afraid of knocking on the wrong door, at night, in a nice neighborhood, while black. It had not even occurred to me that anyone would ever question my presence in that neighborhood. But he felt threatened because he knew his mere presence could be perceived as a threat.

I am sorry for what you have had to endure. Thank you for taking the time to write your article. It is so important to the discourse.

[sharonh]

Not only justified but one could argue that it is out of your control--fight or flee reaction. An apology was absolutely in order but the badged one made it clear there would not be none--when asked at the presser if anybody did so he answered curtly "No". That said, the president is a politician and handled it as a diplomat would, i.e., let's agree to disagree without the overreaction.

[juskidding]

absolutely,

except toward those officers

who challenge their own bigoted institution by putting everything they got on the line.

and we know they are far and between.

[elaygee]

Stick to playing ball. You've got no future in relating deep thoughts and logical themes.

[blindjester]

So you're a life coach now?

How about commenting on what he said?

I'm more interested in his ideas than his style.

And I'm an English teacher.

[cered]

You are one stupid person. Want to actually make a comment with any relation to the article? Or are you going to keep proving your limited intelligence cannot understand "deep thoughts" or anything to do with logic?

[RTIII]

Thanks for this well written article.

You ask:

"So my question is, would I or any other black man who shares "war stories" involving the police be justified, utilizing Professor Haberfeld's method, in immediately going into "a heightened sense of danger, anxious and ready to go into fighting mode" type of a mentality every time I see a policeman?"

Except for the "fighting mode" part, yes. You SHOULD have a heightened sense of danger. Police _are_ dangerous. Unlike the vast majority of the public, they are heavily armed. Unlike non-police, they are given a presumption of innocence that _should_ but is so often _not_ given to the rest of us in the early stages of being charged for a crime - before court. Unlike the rest of us, Police are a self-selected group who chose to take a sometimes violent job and thus, both from their predilections and from their daily exposure are more comfortable with violence than the rest of us and so, therefore, they are more likely to employ it. Indeed, unlike the general public, the police often see violence as a necessary tool of their trade, so to them, it is just one of a number of things they do as an ordinary course of "business."

End Part I
.

[RTIII]

The difference I have with you is simply that unlike the general category of "race", in which we all fall involuntarily into whatever category society puts us, the police are a self-selected group. While surely there are plenty of great police officers, I submit that they have a sufficiently higher likelihood of resorting to violence than any of the rest of us and therefore it would be rather foolish to NOT perceive a threat - a sense of danger - especially if you are a member of a known target group (gay, black, etc).

However, the trick is to not let this sense of personal risk cause you to lose sight of the individualism of which you so eloquently speak - and for dogs sake, remain non-violent always.
.

[juskidding]

bingo.

bigotry / stereotyping is something against a biological group,

whereas GOP or the Police or the Military (except under draft) are self-selected groups who voluntarily subscribe to what the group stand for.

but then again, you can't expect the bigots to understand the glaring line between the two kinds of groups.

as they have no functioning brain cell.

thus stupidity ALWAYS comes with arrogance.

[MrJoyboy]

This is one of those chicken and egg type things. Which came first? Is the cop's prejudice justified because cops have been shot at (and sometimes killed) by black offenders. Or is a black person's prejudice toward cops justified because of the abuse some blacks have suffered at the hands of cops, which abuse is often overreaction to fear of the angry black man who has been known to shoot at them? It goes round and round. In both cases there is an assumption of hatred in the other person that leads to prejudice. Of course if we go back far enough to slavery, we have a clue as to which came first.

[cered]

No it is not. Oh, right, I forgot, white people never shoot law enforcement. Any officer that justifies his prejudice by that crap you wrote is an idiotic bigot.

[PPatt]

Thanks for that Etan.

I particularly liked the very rational comment by the President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives which should have been the centerpiece for any subsequent discussion. It would have been great to have heard Crowley explain what was so difficult about walking away from the scene of the non-crime.

Even if Gates had started giving him an earful, IT WAS HIS HOME! I would have done the same thing.

At that point if Crowley didn't like it he could have simply left faster.

I hope you shot the lights out after having been dragged from your car that time...

[rflctammt]

Powerfully written, thank you!

[sueno]

Excellent article!

[Lulu2]

We are a tribal species--always have been and, I'm afraid we always will be. "RACE" is an artificial thing, something we've created to distance "us" from "them." The idea that "blacks" are "African-American" is false; some of the darkest skin I've ever seen was on people in India. If we can look at skin color as just an adjective and realize that culture is often the REAL issue, we might be better off.

[DeWayne]

Police Dept's and Officers are no longer looked upon as individuals, just as the DEM/GOP political parties are no longer considered seperate nor individuals seperately elected. Both of these agencies are a composite and tool, and neither serve "we the people", but must bend to those that control in the shadows.

And those in the shadows of control if their works are properly observed and understood, must certainly be mentally unbalanced and devoid of any intellect or logic in perception. How else can their achievements be understood, how else could their accomplishments be described.

Of the citizens of this nation, no one could be so a fool, no one could have slept in ignorance so long. I have tried to understand how all of this could be possible, false and contrived assurances in the face of calamities growing, the only answer I have found, is that indeed the theorum called the Lucifer Effect has credence.