Whiteous Indignation

"How cute!" my adults would say when they passed a black baby or a small black child. They'd grin approvingly at the baby and smile their acceptance at the baby's mom. Sometimes they'd extend a hand to brush the baby's cheek to prove their gentility. And then they'd walk a bit further, lean into each other and snark the zinger that angered me then and now, "yeah, they're cute now but wait till they get older." There it was. There it is. The not-so-subtle prejudice I witnessed in my family that millions of impressionable children witnessed in theirs.

As far back as I can remember, I was offended by this language. But others in my family, in my generation, were not. Many assumed the attitudes and language of our adults and continued these prejudices into their own adulthoods. Some more strongly than others. Some used the "N word." Some used "ditsoon," the Italian pejorative for blacks. In my large extended family, which includes several police, racial insensitivity was the norm.

That same racial insensitivity ran throughout my New York community. They weren't violent racists. They didn't burn crosses on black people's lawns. They held no memberships in the Klan. They never attended segregated schools or used "white only" bathrooms. But somehow they just knew that they were "better." They had that white smugness -- that air of superiority I still witness on some faces. I see it on the faces of certain whites in the House and Senate when they speak of President Obama. I see it on the face of CNN's Lou Dobbs when he conspires against President Obama. I saw it on the faces of the thick blue line of police unions on July 24th when they challenged three Black officials (President Obama, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons) for speaking against racial profiling and the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Gates.

I've seen persistent smugness from Gates' arresting officer, Sergeant James Crowley, in his encounters with the press. This supposed expert on racial sensitivity has shown no sensitivity at all. But he does seem pleasantly taken with his fame. And why shouldn't he be? He out-maneuvered the President. He arrested a man for yelling-while-at-home and scored a beer at the White House as reward!

And, of course, there's no chance of an apology. Not from smug Sergeant Crowley -- he's the winner! Here, see for yourselves:

The police unions, the few officers of color who fell meekly behind their blue line, and the many who won't acknowledge their part in perpetuating inequality, made a dreadful error in supporting Crowley's arrest of Gates. This is a win for racism. Rather than narrow the gap of insensitivity, they've expanded the racial divide.

On December 13, 2007, Congressman John Conyers of Michigan introduced the "End Racial Profiling Bill of 2007" (H.R. 4611) into the 110th Congress where it died, just like other Bills before it in previous sessions of Congress and the Senate:

110th Congress: S. 2481Dead
109th Congress: S. 2138Dead
108th Congress: S. 2132Dead
108th Congress: H.R. 3847Dead
107th Congress: S. 989Dead
107th Congress: H.R. 2074Dead

End Racial Profiling legislation is long overdue, yet it will probably languish for many more years because legislators don't Do The Right Thing (love ya, Spike!). If such legislation did exist, Professor Gates would have more leverage to challenge Sergeant Crowley. But just like single-payer health care, that which levels the playing field is too uncomfortable for Washington to do. Only when We-The-People rise for equality will reforms be enacted. Until that time, law enforcement will retain its power to target certain victims. Corporations will retain their power to target certain victims. Be they the Sergeant Crowleys of America, the Aetnas or the Cignas, inequities will continue until The People make them end.

Follow Linda Milazzo on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LindaMilazzo

Comments

[queensboro]

i love you Linda! and thank you so much for your honesty!

[akena]

Among Europeans, Italians are looked down upon because they know that the mix of African blood in that population is long and deep. Italians know it too. There is a white supremacist political party in the North of Italy that want to separate themselves from the Southern Italians. There have been instances of Italians being lynched in the American south because the "real white people" knew them to be impure because of this historical interaction with Africa. Italian-Americans decided that the best way to join the club of whiteness was to show how much they hated African-Americans [and the black DNA within themselves] which resulted in decades of racist acts perpetrated on African Americans by Italians while they climbed the ladder of social mobility and gained entry to whiteness on the backs of African people. Up to this day, they still think they have to prove they hate AfricanAmericans by such acts. One of the worst in recent memory was when a NY cop; Volpe is the name, viciously raped an African American man with a broomstick. The example has been adopted by many immigrants, African and non-African, who know BEFORE they come here that they must avoid and denigrate African Americans to get in the good graces of whites. CNN's Black in America PT2 even had a segment saying that new African immigrants feel that they have more values in common with whites than AfricanAmericans. Amazing!

[Linda Milazzo - Huffpost Blogger]

Where do I begin, akena??!!

First of all, my article is NOT an indictment of Italians. The attitudes of my family were NO WORSE than other ethnocentric families in the US in the 1950s and 60s. In fact, my family was less prejudiced than others I encountered. On the whole, they're deeply loving, incredible fun and generous. But like other white families, and whites in general, they absorbed the dismaying historical perception that blacks were 'less," which was endemic across America, and tragically, as evidenced by today's climate of derision and insensitivity, has yet to go away.

As for Italians having an add-on hatred for blacks because of mixed bloodlines, I'll tell you up front that this is not a driving force for Italian-Americans. Those in my family were never inclined to study the history of Sicily. Indeed, NO Italian-Americans I know harbor an active bias predicated on ancient Sicilian history. Your characterization is provocative - just not real.

[akena]

I was not necessarily responding to your article. Just took the opportunity to state some things here only because they related.

[Dap]

Dear Linda,

Outstanging post eloquently expressed a real tell it as it is, I could not agree more. Agape, dapper

[Rob Kall - Huffpost Blogger]

great article. Now we know the truth. The 911 caller did not mention race and DID say that the men had suitcases and might be just having problems with a key. The POLICE dispatcher asked about race. Then, Crowley distorted the story, saying that the dispatcher had said the men had backpacks. The police clearly engaged in profiling and Crowley mischaracterized the initial report to make the men seem more itinerant. The facts are handy things.

[AntiSheep13]

Yea, lets just ignore the fact that Gates initiated this problem when he immediately profiled Crowley because of his uniform and the color of his skin. That way we can use Crowley as our scapegoat for all of the racial injustice that every officer has ever inflicted. Let's also just give the 911 operator a pass for being the one who initially injected race into this matter. Lets teach everybody that they should discriminate against law enforcement and test their ego and professionalism during every encounter that we experience. And when law enforcement comes out to make sure that we are safe then we should treat them as if they have a lot of nerve to inconvenience us.

[S1m0n]

Setting aside the substance and projection of your objection, I'll simply note that the constitution forbids cops, not citizens, from racial discrimination in this situation.

In this exchange, the law demanded far more of Crowley than it does of Gates, because Crowley is that man who was on the job, who represented the government and the law, and who had been entrusted with special powers, including the power of arrest, unavailable to Gates. The law asked more of Crowley and got less.

Yelling at a cop isn't a crime. False arrest is.

[WebForce1]

The sad thing here is that white people in the inner city are discriminated against all the time but have no voice. There is no nation full of bleeding hearts for the thousands and thousands of white people who suffer the indignity and injustice of racism. There's no media blitz demanding people be fired or apologies made. The white victims suffer in silence and then have to see people on blogs like this painting a false picture of reality in the United States.
If Crowley had not arrested Gates there would have been no story, no outcry for the things that Professor Gates said regarding race. Even with audio tapes of the incident. But reverse it and the same people who defend Gates now would be screaming and pickiting Cambrige for the immediate dismissal of such a racist and elitest white professor. How dare him talk that way to the good and decent African American law enforcement officer. He was only there to make sure the professor was O.K. and didn't deserve such treatment.
Come on, you know that's exactly what would be said. Stop posting these alleged heart fealt truths about race when the vast majority of people on here are fake.

[jazzence]

You're one of those smug white people. So you'll never see anything beyond your high towered walls. But that's fine.

[RustyGranite]

The facts, as you people like to conveniently ignore:

Crowley lied on an official police document:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/27/gates.arrest/index.html

Charges immediately and emphatically dropped:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124819548233769057.html

CNN, FOX and MSNBC Admonishing Crowley After Dissecting 911 Call:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH6SjZ5wEzw

Mayor apologizes to Gates:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/23/gates.arrest.mayor/index.html

Police chief "deeply regrets" arrest: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/23/officer.gates.arrest/index.html

Massachusetts statute does not support arrest:
http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/07/gates-gate-whats-the-law-say.html#comment-6a00d8341cce2453ef0115723467f8970b

And why is HuffPo incessantly allowing this non-factual drivel to be posted but when someone posts FACTS, they get scrubbed?

[Klimb]

Thank you...Knowledge is power!

[BxRonin16]

The tape is out and as I KNEW there is NO yelling. Sgt. Crowley identified Dr. Gates as the owner and then PROCEEDED to call for back-up. Also Sgt. Crowley lied in his report the person who placed the call to 911 did NOT say "2 black men". However you and those like you will keep insisting otherwise, but I know why... cause you're a savage hateful animal. There is no justice it's just us. And the sad part is we have to kowtow to this crap! Even the President had to bow his head to a WHITE police system. UN-BE-LIEVABLE. Feel proud I know I would if I were a shallow scared ego driven person.

[DurangoSteve]

Well stated. Painfully true.

[dsws]

I'm not sure that legislation is the way to go. You can't legislate people's thoughts and feelings, and those are an inextricable part of the problem. Talking it out over a beer may be more effective. That smugness can't stand up indefinitely against a reality where authority and competence often enough are prominently manifested by black people.

[pwilliams54]

Thank you. I often witness people that can't believe they are racist because they don't burn crosses or use the n word. But that belief that they are in every way better just oozes from them in encounters with anyone of color.

[Palomares]

The sergeant is smug? What I see is a policeman who, by all reports from his department including coworkers both black and white is an exemplary officer, knows he did his job correctly in the Gates case. Gates´ hysteria caused this unfortunate event. And then Gates got into race-card playing. Pathetic.

And then Obama, stepping far outside his job description, weighed into it before having all the facts. Actually, he should not have weighed into it even with the facts. This is far below his level. Or should be. The man lacks the gravitas a president should have.

By the way, I was raised in the rural south, and my parents never made derogatory remarks about blacks.

[BxRonin16]

The case was closed! What facts was he suppose to wait for? And now in the end President Obama was right, and Sgt. Crowley better pray he don't get hauled off to court on violation of civil rights, falsifying documents, false arrest, and slander!

[Elmomex]

Stepping outside his job description? He is still a citizen of the US and is entitled to have and express an opinion. Bush showed a lot of gravitas didn't he...

[DobleM]

"By the way, I was raised in the rural south, and my parents never made derogatory remarks about blacks."

But what about their attitudes towards them? Racism is no longer as blatant as that. It's the unjustified trepidation and fear that they may have had in encountering them that's just as important.

Would they have celebrated and welcomed your spouse, had you married one? If not , then that is racism. Did they get angry at the injustice that blacks experienced (and still do) in the South? If not, then this might be the result of racist attitudes, whether they openly admit it or not.

[Liberty101]

I agree with everything you've said. Except for the fact that this was not an example of profiling, that is. If Sgt. Crowley was driving by, witnessed them "breaking in" and stopped them and gave them a hard time, you've got racial profiling. Showing up at the scene because dispatch called you there, not knowing if the people in question were black, white, hispanic or something else is certainly not profiling. You obviously missed the 911 recording too. I agree with the President that race needs to be addressed, but he sure misfired by using this incident as the stepping stone. The race-baiting was done by Gates, pure & simple (who I have empathy towards, having to justify his presence in his own home). You are actually setting back race relations by seeing racism where there is none. Much like crying wolf, you are only serving to lessen the impact when something truly racial does occur.

[robXdion]

Compare Crowley's report to the 911 call and what Gates said about Crowley's behavior. You can't take Crowley's report as gospel and disregard Gates' description of events and act like you're being impartial. Nor can you guilt people into not calling out profiling and the race element in it because it makes you uncomfortable. That is so passe.

[RustyGranite]

So when Crowley, not Gates, injecting race into the situation by throwing the 911 caller under the bus and telling Gates she "Described 2 black men with backpacks" in order to save his own ass, what do you call that, sir?

Crowley lied. The 911 called Whalen and Gates both agree here.

[augusteighteenth]

I love this. Thank you. For some reason when a white person says it, more white people listen and adjust. So...thank you

[bamabelle]

I'm 62 year old and white. No one in my family or my friends' families even way back then ever did/said anything such as Milazzo describes in the first sentence of this ridiculous piece. Moreover, I do not believe that "millions of impressionable children witnessed" any such thing either. Gates wasn't a victim of racial profiling. Gates wanted what happened to him and instigated it. He wanted his 15 minutes of fame and that's what he got. He's a whining racist. He's just like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton and others of their ilk, fomenting hatred and animosity for their own gain any time they get a chance to create an opportunity.

[Linda Milazzo - Huffpost Blogger]

How fortunate for you, bamabelle, that as a white person just slightly older than I, you were miraculously unaware of racism in America. Perhaps you would have been more aware had you not been white, which apparently insulated you from the rampant inequality.

Somehow you seemed to have "missed" the civil rights movement and the segregated housing, schools, restaurants, etc., that existed in America. Life's been quite rosy for you, bamabelle, as it's been for most of us whites. We're quite a lucky lot.

By the way - would you care to identify the "paradise" in which you grew up? :-))

[DobleM]

You should note that she did not say that all whites did this. And it would be very hard to believe that no one in your family, if you are white, ever reveled in their whiteness and the superiority that it brings. This is a notion that is constantly, though to a lesser and lesser degree, reminding whites that they are superior and others are "other." The proof would be in the reaction of your family to you or someone else marrying a black person.

[MyNameIsJames]

There is no-one the White majority hates worst than another White person who tells the truth about how many Whites view others-especially Blacks.

Its supposed to be a closely held secret.

Your comments are very timely and accurate.

[sheikwil4]

WOW, you are going to get hate mail from the bloggers for telling the truth, so only look for your reward from God himself. You are a brave soul and a righteous soul, but thank you for telling the truth and shaming the devil.

[VSamuels]

Exactly. Some love to perpetuate their delusion and moreover force it upon others. No way, no how the situation would have been reversed and a black cop arresting a white academic would be knocking down beers at the Whitehouse. Some whites want so hard to believe that things have changed, and some things have, but the vestiges of racism have not---thus how the word 'stupidly' elevates over the real notion that racial profiling still has not been realized in American society.

[bdaved]

If racism were confined to the indecent and ill-meaning among us it wouldn't be much of a problem.

[CRGirl30]

Interesting how our upbringings color our views. I would submit that just because the author was raised in a racist (even if sometimes subtly) environment, that perhaps she shouldn't assume that everyone else was too. I was taught to treat everyone with respect, and to treat people equally. Isn't that the subtle racism of low expectations, to assume that a police officer must be extra sensitive to Professor Gates simply because he is black? To define him solely by the color of his skin in expecting special treatment (as I would fully expect that an officer would respond to my house and question me - a white woman - if I had been seen breaking into my house), seems racist to me.

[sheikwil4]

you keep telling that lie to yourself and it burn my a$$ when people like you who doesn't know or understand what any AA or non-white person has gone thru in this country with racism to state how a person of color should act. It's more likely than not that you grew up exactly the way this author stated he did, but you want to stick to your lie like the rest of white american who want face to truth of their racism. Until white America admit the truth to themselves of the racism in our coutry, we will be still fighting this when Jesus comes back for the church and on judgement day.

[AntiSheep13]

I'm a minority who has had family and friends beaten by cops just because of the color of their skin. I have also been profiled on many occasions. I grew up in an environment where I witnessed discrimination on a regular basis. That doesn't mean that I carry a bitter grudge on my shoulder and feel that I have earned the right to discriminate against another group of people. I agree with CR's post and feel that sheik's response has a disappointing tone of discrimination. Also, not everybody believes in your Yahushua.(Actual name that you misinterpret as Jesus)

[bamabelle]

Sheikwil4, it's obvious that the Jessie Jacksons, Al Shaptons and others of their despicable ilk have gotten to you and brain washed you into believing that all whites are racists. That is simply not true. I'm 62 year old and white. No one in my family or my friends' families even way back then ever did/said anything such as Milazzo describes in the first sentence of this ridiculous piece. Moreover, I do not believe that "millions of impressionable children witnessed" any such thing either. Gates wasn't a victim of racial profiling. Gates wanted what happened to him and instigated it. He wanted his 15 minutes of fame and that's what he got. He's a whining racist. He's just like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton, fomenting hatred and animosity for their own gain any time they can create an opportunity. You have been misled by these so-called black leaders who don't give a dam about you and it's ruined your life. I feel sorry for you. You're obviously an angry, unhappy man. Whites did not cause your problems.

[HSmith]

1. We Didn’t Just Fail To Support President Obama And Professor Gates; We Failed To Support The Common Sense Values We All Share As Americans.

The president of the United States made a straight forward common sense comment about the Gates’ arrest at a national press conference. I’m sure he assumed that there would be universal common sense understanding throughout the media and our society about the injustice of arresting a middle-aged man within his own home for being rude to a police officer. Sadly the media, law enforcement, political institutions and race baiting public in this society allowed this common sense evaluation to spiral out of control. The minority population in this country has always and will always need a coalition of proactive citizens with a similar sense of values in this society so injustices can be expressed without chaos, political unrest or violence. That has been the basis of every minority civil rights movement of our country.

[RustyGranite]

No such luck, unfortunately.

[Klimb]

Co-sign!