Whatever ultimate effect President Obama's "stupid" remark may have on his popularity, whatever long-term impact it will have on Professor Gates, Sgt. Jim Crowley, the Cambridge Police Department, or aggrieved cops across the land, it has certainly set us to talking. (Or SCREAMING, to judge by the multitudes of uppercase ranters who believe Obama really, really blew it.)
I didn't care for the "s" word (either as adjective or adverb), but had the president selected a more measured, politically palatable word ("questionable," "imprudent," "unfortunate," "regrettable") his take on the professor's arrest would have been buried on A-19, if reported at all. Instead, the whole country's abuzz over a hornet's nest of an issue we've conveniently neglected as a nation, for decades.
Historically, police have been experienced by black communities across the land as biased and brutal, oppressive as well as dismissive and neglectful.
There's been progress, for sure. But, whether you're a 22-year-old laborer or a 58-year-old Harvard scholar, if your skin is black your history with the police is likely to have been spotty at best.
Families and friends tell stories. They forge "truths" about the institutions that affect them. They pass along their views from one generation to the next. We all do it.
So, if you're a white middle class suburbanite whose local cops have recovered your stolen Audi, convinced the boomer next door to turn down their Steppenwolf at two in the morning, or pulled a loved one from a burning wreck you're like to have a positive attitude about the police, telling uplifting stories about them. And siding with them, automatically, when their behavior gets questioned or criticized.
But if you're a struggling black mom, for example, whose husband is serving a long prison term for simple possession of pot (when, under identical circumstances, more affluent offenders, disproportionately white, walk), and whose well-behaved male teens have been stopped and frisked repeatedly, called names and/or had guns drawn on them, you're not so likely to have warm and fuzzy feelings toward the local PD.
Facts? Intentions? "Reality"? They matter, but they don't count. What counts is perception, and belief. After all, the consequences of what we perceive and believe are always real.
So, what do we do about this deep, destructive divide between (not all) white cops and (not all) black citizens?
Two things, I think. First we insist on rigorous standards of police conduct. There can be no room for racism, sexism, homophobia or any other brand of bigotry within the ranks.
For the record, I did not label Sgt. James Crowley a racist. I did offer my opinion that had Gates been white he would not have been arrested. This belief was reinforced when Sgt. Leon Lasher, the imposing black officer pictured standing with Crowley and the small handcuffed prisoner on the porch of that cheery yellow home, answered a reporter's question. Yes, he said, the outcome likely would have been different had he handled the contact with Gates. This from a man who supports his white colleague's actions "100 percent."
The second thing we must do is strengthen police competence, and come up with a better definition of what it means to play "by the book."
See, Crowley may in fact have "followed protocol," as Lasher maintains. But I take issue with the all-too-common practice of police officers baiting a citizen into committing an act of disorderly conduct so that he or she can arrest that citizen for... disorderly conduct. However offended Crowley may have been by Gates's conduct inside his own home, that behavior was not a crime. But to coax the man outside, where a crowd might well gather, and where a continuation of the professor's tirade would (disputably) justify an arrest? (Then writing in his report of poor kitchen "acoustics"? Please.) Can you say "contempt of cop"?
I think the officer perhaps didn't know how to handle a "real American": a person who believes in the law and in the sanctity of his home, who has a healthy skepticism of authority, and who demands of those who wield it that they abide by the rules. Yes, it's possible to hold these views and still behave rashly, or "overreact," as I now firmly believe Gates did.
As George Thompson of Verbal Judo fame might put it, any cop can handle nice guys and wimps; give me the cop who can deal effectively with a real American, a cop who can skillfully defuse rather than escalate a conflict. I'm just saying.
The president, wounded by a wave of criticism, hounded by police union demands for an apology and struggling to get the country's focus back on health care, did a very smart thing. He phoned Sgt. Crowley (later describing him as a good man and an outstanding police officer), and suggested they meet, with Gates, over a beer.
The Cop, The Professor, and The President sitting down over brews in the White House is mind-boggling symbolism. And yet altogether "American."
Perhaps, instead of shouting at one another the rest of us can take a cue from these guys and sit down over a Bud or an ice tea and talk police work, and how to make it better.
Follow Norm Stamper on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CopsSayLegalize
See:
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/a-teachable-moment-and-a-beer/
As Larry Wilmore said last night, "Alcohol is how you START a racial incident" (rather than solve it).
(1) Why did Officer Crowley put "2 black men with bags" in his report when the woman only said she saw two men, with one possibly being hispanic?
(2) When the reporter asked Crowley what he thought about Obama's comments, why did Crowley say, "I didn't vote for him"?
(3) Why did Crowley stay around when he could be heard over the dispatch saying "keep the police cars coming"? He had already estblished that the house belonged to a Henry Louis Gates?
(4) Why did the white police officers at that infamous press conference last week say that recording exist that prove Gates was unruly and uncooperative, but no recordings have emerged?
The media wants to go with the narrative that "both sides were equally wrong" when very clearly, the white cop went over board and arrested gates for nothing more than "yelling". That's what he wrote. Yelling.
Crowley needs to be investigated about why he inserted "2 black men" when the caller never said that.
Gates went into the kitchen to get his identity, Crowley followed him. In his quote, that made Gates (naturally) angry, "I didn't invite him." YET if it were possible that he was a burglar posing as owner, following him could be good strategy. (His age a burglar?) Evidently the angry yelling began. If I heard right, Crowley twice gave his identity properly, but the report indicates Gates was angrily talking, not listening.
Crowley then began leaving, still being angrily talked at, and, "If you have more questions, it should be outside." An indication that this COULD be the end of the affair, not exactly an invitation.
But Gates did come outside, evidently there was a small crowd attracted by the police cars. Gates loudly complaining. Technically, an opportunity for a charge of "public ". But, for me, here's the "stupidity", Crowley could have told the crowd, "It's OK folks," And drove away. Maybe understandable, but too bad he didn't do that.
I am SO glad that good people who have "over-reacted", including, admittedly, the President, can sit down for a beer, and at least agree to disagree. And the issue IS one that needs to be thought about.
This is not always a black or white issue, but one of indignation. A policeman' job is not an easy job. Generally, just obeying an officer's command for compliance results in a less confrontational situation and ends with less frayed egos.
BUT, if you don't break the law cops should not be able to arrest you (nor should a bunch of people defend him for doing so) for failing to show ENOUGH respect.
This is an issue of whether police RULE us. I cannot fathom why people would defend such things?
Michigan had a law a few years back that, on highways, you had to pull one lane away from a cop car parked on the shoulder, ostensibly because too many cops had been hit. The young buck who pulled me over bristled at my contention that traffic inhibited me from pulling over as quickly as he would have liked (long story) and I narrowly avoided being taken in. At the hearing, I met a young black man, very nice, who said the same thing happened to him, but he was taken in when he questioned the officer. Coincidence? Was the black man more upset than I because of past experience? Does such emotion justify being treated differently?
There are still different views of this country. If you're white, and especially affluent, you see the country one way, and if you're not wealthy, and, especially a minority -- any minority -- you see the country a different way. I think affluent minorities thought that they had made it into THE CLUB. Obviously, that's not the case.
President Obama never claimed to be objective. He was asked for his opinion and he gave one. He DIDN'T 'defame' anyone. He shouldn't have changed one word of his original statement. He was right. Some citizens just couldn't handle the truth. Freedom of Speech lives!
But enjoy a brewski anyway!
I can identify with Prof. Gates about how the attitudes of police officers differ as they, deliberately or not, stereotype people.
I believe that officer Crowley did not act in a professional manner.
I, however, have not been in the President's place either as President, or as a minority who has directly or indirectly experienced the effects of racism (percieved or real).
But - please note - the President never said the Officer, or any Law Enforcement Officer was 'Stupid'.
The criticism was directed at the action of the officer specifically - NOT the officer. As they will tell you in any parenting class, or any management training course - do not criticize the person, criticize the actions of that person. Then, suggest a means of changing that action.
Perhaps that is what the President, Prof. Gates & Sgt. Crowley will discuss over beer?