Class and Race Again: Brewskies and Jungle Monkeys

So today the President will sit down with Skip Gates and his arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge PD to have a beer. A lot of Internet bandwidth and airwave time have been spent dealing with trivialities, such as who is consuming which brand of beer (Obama a Bud, Gates tossing back a Jamaican Red Stripe. Crowley's will opt for a Coors Blue Moon).

I just want to point out that the fact that we're talking about a beer summit confirms the role of class in this whole brouhaha, an issue I raised earlier ("Why class does matter in the Gates arrest debate"). They are not sitting down to share a bottle of wine; the decision to "lower the class bar" by using the alcoholic beverage of the working (class) man is quite purposeful. Beer is a social signifier that Gates, Obama, and Crowley are on the same level as regular guys shooting the sh*t. Palin aligned herself with "Joe Six Pack" for the same reason -- to indicate she's down with the working class American.

Of course this is all artifice; Crowley is sitting down with the President of the United States and a superstar scholar from Harvard. Gates and Obama are way above Crowley's station in their professional and social spheres. However, what the Gates incident has taught us is that if you take Barack Obama, Henry Louis Gates or any prominent black man out of context -- they can still easily and quickly drop well beneath Crowley's station given the right (or more accurately, wrong) circumstances. In the often-disappointing real world colored by perception and stereotypes, it's a rude awakening. If the President and Prof. Gates are anonymized into the average black man, it is still a world of driving while black, voting while black, shopping while black, hailing a cab while black, and now, being in your own home while black that they would experience.

What will these three talk about today, as they chug a cold one? I venture they will touch upon race in some, hopefully productive way, but I can put money on it that class won't be on the table.

***

On that note, I am really perplexed about the definition of racist at this point. The Oxford English Dictionary:

racism

• noun 1 the belief that there are characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to each race. 2 discrimination against or antagonism towards other races.

-- DERIVATIVES racist noun & adjective.

It's clear no one wants to be labeled a racist, no matter how insane and inappropriate an action or comment they make. Some people seem to have a definition of it in their heads that excludes the possibility that anything they say or do might be steeped in racism, intended or not.

Take Boston Police Officer Justin Barrett, whose beat is District B-3 (Dorchester and Mattapan). He mass-mailed an execreble piece of trash to his presumably fellow non-racist friends (as well as The Boston Globe(!) and colleagues in the National Guard):

"His first priority of effort should be to get off the phone and comply with police, for if I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a banana-eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC deserving of his belligerent non-compliance."

"He indeed has transcended back to a bumbling jungle monkey, thus he forever remains amid this nation's great social/racial divide..."

"That paragraph was as pathetic as jungle monkey gibberish."

You are a Fool. An infidel...You should serve me coffee and donuts on a Sunday morning."

I am "not a racist but I am prejudice [sic] towards people who are stupid and pretend to stand up and preach for something they say is freedom but it is merely attention because you do not get enough of it in your little fear-dwelling circle of on-the-bandwagon followers."

"Gates is a goddamned fool and you the article writer simply a poor follower and maybe worse, a poor writer. Your article title should read CONDUCT UNBECOMING a JUNGLE MONKEY-BACK TO ONE'S ROOTS. JB"

Ummmm...never mind racist, this man is a dumbass for it sending to the media. Or maybe he really thought there was nothing wrong in that missive. No one is saying he can't have an opinion over who is right or wrong in this incident -- why in god's name is it relevant to refer to Gates as a "jungle monkey" in his criticism? BTW, the Police Commissioner, Edward Davis took Barrett's gun and badge; Barrett is awaiting a termination hearing.

Look at this apology -- and watch the video for an insane defense of Barrett's screed by his attorney, who said "there was no racial tone" to the email:

"The words were being used to characterize behavior not describe anyone," said Barrett. "It was a poor choice of words. I didn't mean it in a racist way. I treat everyone with dignity and respect."

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wants Barrett fired from the department.

"I just say that we want to rid our department of the cancer, and that is what we did -- rid the department of the cancer. All the police officers I know don't condone any of that," Menino said.

Help me out here -- If Officer Justin Barrett's that transparent in his racism and yet doesn't consider himself racist, what in his mind constitutes racism? Burning a cross on a lawn? Lynchings? Unleashing dogs and training high-blast fire hoses on people? Fire-bombing a church and killing four girls? If that's the line that people like Barrett draw to cleanse their consciences of any ability to say or do anything racist, then we are so far away from a post-racial society that I want to weep.

Don't get me wrong -- this cuts both ways, because it's equally damaging for blacks to throw down the race card at the drop of a hat in a confrontation; do so is signaling that the slight automatically presumes intent and malice when it may be simple ignorance and the defense shields go up because one must avoid being labeled a racist at all costs because it is toxic. The escalation rate is high, and damage is hard to undo, so both sides need to take care when assessing a situation. Most of the time it isn't clear cut, and as we've seen in the Gates case and even in The Valley Swim Club debacle, some people will defend the indefensible, regardless of the obvious, so consensus only appears to exist when it's instances of outright violence and lack of remorse involved. What is wrong with America?

 

Follow Pam Spaulding on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Pam_Spaulding

Comments

[YoMama]

Glad to see you back here, Pam. Way to go.

[rocketman19]

the other day i was having lunch with a couple of my co-workers one was african american, the other white, i am asian american. the white guy was reading an artical about the gates situation, and wondered out loud about gate'had over reacted, the black man became very angry, which surprised both of us because normally he was a very calm collected individual. to which the white guy replied "how do you know if you weren't there? to which he replied, i didn't have be there ,i know what happend" we finished our lunch in silence. and went our ways. lately they don't speak to each other. who was right? who was wrong? all i feel is a kind of sadness for both of them, and i think that we all have a long way to go to solve the many problems of racisim.

[MelRoy]

It would be great if you could try to act as a "peacemaker" between your two co-workers. I think you're in a unique position to do something really positive.

I don't know you, so can't speak for you and wouldn't presume to tell you how to handle it, but just to give you a talking point. Incidents of racial profilings are not so much white on black or Latino but cop on black or Latino. The police, generally and statistically speaking, have an absolutely abysmal record when it comes to racial profiling. Sgt Crowley may be an exceptional officer and may not profile himself, but note I say he is "exceptional". So it is a very natural assumption for any person of color, no matter how well educated or politically sophisticated they are, that when a white cop goes to a black man's home and challenges his right to be there, that the black man has been profiled on the basis of his race.

Sgt Crowley and Professor Gates are actually poor models for any lesson on racial profiling by the police because none of them has a history of acting with animous towards people of other races. Just the opposite. So perhaps Sgt Crowley didn't racially profile Dr Gates. The point is, too many cops of all colors automatically assume that if a person is black, they are up to no good. That is not how your co-workers judge each other. Why should they start now?

[db08]

I am not so sure that rocketman19 should try to be the peacemaker. There is a lot of baggage here. I might speculate that the african american coworker has been stop by the police; it happens to so many law abiding black men. If you talk about it, it can only make you feel more powerless. When you see a man like Gates arrested in his own home, it is simply depressing. I think that some people would like two things: give Gates the benefit of the doubt; wonder why Crowley might of overreacted. Colin Powell suggested that Gate swallow that bitter pill of mistreatment as he himself has done so many times but sometimes it is just too much to swallow especially if you are in the sanctity of your home and you have not broken any laws.

[bilmardre]

Interesting poll showed that Obama's numbers dropped amongst white's polled before and after the Gates/Crowely racial profiling situation.
Also interesting is I saw many talking heads talking about it, interviewing folks who disagreed that it was racial profiling, but not one of the pundits had the journalistic competence or integrity to mention that Obama prefaced his "acted stupidly" remark with stating that he didn't know if a racial component existed.
Oh well, there's always Jon Stewart, maybe he can give the story justice.

[kwoodberryesq]

I think this guy is far worse than Crowley! He completely scares me, because you know that he probably echoes the sentiments of thousands of other officers!

[ShyShea]

"Help me out here -- If Officer Justin Barrett's that transparent in his racism and yet doesn't consider himself racist, what in his mind constitutes racism? Burning a cross on a lawn? Lynchings? Unleashing dogs and training high-blast fire hoses on people? Fire-bombing a church and killing four girls? If that's the line that people like Barrett draw to cleanse their consciences of any ability to say or do anything racist, then we are so far away from a post-racial society that I want to weep."

Thank you Pam for that comment because I have been saying this to people for years. I've never understood how people could justify their bigotry simply because they weren't likely to be violent towards another person due to race, but they label them based on stereotypes. If you spout the same views as an admitted racist how are you any different?

[rbndc]

"I treat everyone with dignity and respect. Including Jungle Monkeys."

[benren]

Barrett starts off his his e-mail to Globe columnist Yvonne Abaham with this sentence:

"Article writer, That was, by far, the worst article I've ever read. I am a former English teacher, writer, current police officer. father, husband and military veteran."

I have no idea how well Barrett is performing as a " father, husband and military veteran," and passing over the issue of how well he was performing as a police officer his suspension, he was well advised to end his career as an English teacher.

A pity for him that he didn't end his career as a "writer," as well.

And if suspended-officer Barrett happens to read this post, I'd like to "ax" him a question about one of his questions to Ms. Abraham: "What has [Gates] done for the law enforcement community or military veterans or to secure freedoms and our borders in this country?"

And that question is this: Isn't one of the freedoms we enjoy in this country the freedom NOT to be sprayed in the face with OC by an angry, if not deranged, police officer?

[hapaglloyd]

That officer should be fired asap. If he is just suspended and given 5 days off ,defence attorneys will rip him to shreds if he ever appears as a witness in a trial,especially involving African Americans. Furthermore the Boston Police will have a serious liability issue if ,say he shoots a black person in a questionable incident. Fire him now. The Military has already suspended him,you can bet he will be in deep doo doo wioth them as their standards of conduct are very strict ,they dont play.

[mazaza]

What if they start firing every racist cop in the country ? How many will that leave ?

[kwoodberryesq]

These kind of guys undermine effective policing. Consider a person being approached by this guy. He has already established himself as a cop who will mace you just for asserting your rights, so in the minds of a suspect his life could be endangered. Boston PD has to get rid of this guy the military as well.

[trebutts]

The OED dropped the ball with its definition of racism, which is far more pervasive than simply the belief that each racial group has specific qualities. Racism is very much tied into power, an idea that comes across in the beginning of Ms. Spaulding's article. That Gates and Obama have to "lower the class bar" so as to be on the "same level" as Crowley and, therefore, make this "meeting" palatable to the president's many critics and detractors speaks volumes. I find it shameful and disgusting that the "President and Prof. Gates [have to be] anonymized into the average black man" so that some can bask gleefully in their ordinariness and sleep at night.

[Endora]

I actually think this is part of the reason the racism charge that Dr. Gates leveled did not stick. He has power and station higher than Sgt. Crowley. Then the mayor of Cambridge, the governor of Massachusetts and the President of the United States, friends chimed in his favor. Dr. Gates has power, and even said so during his arrest "you don't know who I am" ....

I don't believe that Obama and Gates were anonymized into the "average black man." To me it was kitschy to "have a beer" at the White House - painfully kitschy - like somebody affecting a Southern accent. If you don't have one, and you try to sound like you do, it is offensive because it appears that you are mocking people. (Incidentally, I believe that is why Gates said "yo mama" to Crowley - he was mocking his perception of Crowley's opinion/treatment of him as some kind of "black from the hood" in a very affected manner, as he was obviously insulted that Crowley did not know or respect "WHO he was."

That being said, I think it was a very, very good thing that they met. I would like to see Sgt. Crowley and Professor Gates work on some community outreach, Gates could give a lecture for the police academy profiling class, or maybe they could do a series for TV about the respective points of view and how to work together. Something very good could come from this unfortunate incident,

[db08]

Given that Crowley had the power of the state and a weapon, power that he used to call other people with guns and the power of the state to deprive Dr. Gates of his freedom....tell me again how Gates had more power....Gates who now has an arrest record...help me understand? Gates denies saying "yo mama" but he did protest the arrest and for that he is being called a racist and elitist.

If Gates called Crowley a racist, we only know that because Crowley said it, not Gates. So, how does Gates have more power?

[whybaby]

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis did the right thing in placing Officer Justin Barrett on administrative leave. It is gratifying that the understandable presence of police bonding and interdepartmental loyalties did not obscure or trump the requirement to excise the cancer that is represented by Barrett's vitriolic racism. My hope is that the sustained courage to follow through in doing the right thing will lead to the termination of Barrett's employment as a civil servant.

I've read Justin Barrett's poison pen letter, a barrage of ugly language, blame, wild projections, and a "me vs. them" world view. His default position is an antagonistic and unreasoning rage; I assume this is the attitude with which he goes to work. Scary! He is clearly a danger to the community, and should never be allowed to carry a gun or a badge. I hurt for all the "suspects" that he may have insulted, abused, or arrested without cause, when there were no witnesses. He is a prime example of why police have sometimes been viewed with suspicion and fear.

In removing him from the ranks of the B.P.D., Commissioner Davis raised the level of mutual trust and respect that should be enjoyed by police officers and community members alike. A racist like Justin Barrett who doesn't know that he is a racist must not represent the Boston police force, nor does he represent me as a member of my community or as a white person.

[Nommo]

Ms. Spaulding, need you be reminded that Black people do not play race cards, in fact the race card is played when people act in collusion to deny Black people fundamental rights such as equal protection.

[FearlessFreep]

Clarence Thomas played the race card in his confirmation hearings.

[db08]

true

[JimR]

Shame on your for equating Barrett, a clearly racist cop, with Crowley, an officer who has absolutely no history of racial bias, and who was selected by an African American commissioner to teach a class in preventing racial profiling. Paint with a broad brush much?

[Pam Spaulding - Huffpost Blogger]

I didn't equate the two, I merely discussed both in this piece to illustrate the wide range of people who believe themselves "not racist." The issue is that the word's meaning has been pushed to the most egregious, violent behavior in some people's minds that they cannot comprehend that they are capable of racism even when it is obvious, as it is in Barrett's case. Same goes for some of the members of the Valley Club.

[daneyuleb]

Still, it did have the feel of "look, ANOTHER racist cop" to it since it came right after your discussion of Crowley.

I would have liked a little clearer distinction between the two. It's been too easy for Crowley to get unjustifiably be lumped into a category there's no evidence he belongs to.

[fraught]

above (Below) statement directed to boblablah:

[fraught]

Sarah Palin was until Sunday the Governor of a state. How does that make her middle class? How dose she manage, despite all of her accomplishments, to remain a member of the same class she was born into, while Obama, simply by going to Harvard becomes an elite, or as you put it, an elitist? Is it because Palin went to a State college? Is that what you're basing your class designations on? That seems unfair. Would that mean that state college graduates are never able to move beyond their birth status? And that all Ivy Leaguers jump to the upper classes simply by virtue of being admitted to these colleges?

Nah. I think you're just making s**t up.

[BobLablah]

I think you might benefit from looking up "straw man" in wikipedia.

[MelRoy]

The definition of class comes not from what you do but what your parents do/did. Are teachers "middle class" or "professional class"? That's all you need to define Mrs Palin.

What she is not is working class.