Gates arrest reminds arrest highlights a key change in race relations. In the 70s, the arrest of a Black man by a policeman was frequently the result of an abuse of power by the cop. In the Gates arrest, we witnessed the attempted abuse of power by the Black man.
It is easy to infer from the situation that the police Sgt. James Crowley must have done something to enrage Professor Gates. This may be true, but the indisputable facts are that Professor Gates reacted to what was at worst verbal abuse and at best polite policing, with shameful behavior which involved:
- Calling the Mayor
- Threatening the officer, “you don’t know who you’re messin’ with”
- Talking about his family, “I’ll meet yo’ mamma outside”
- Disturbing the peace
- Ignoring repeated requests to calm down
It is really a shame that, at a time when more Black men are in jail than in college, we are wasting time defending a college professor who should know when to hold his tongue. There were possibly hundreds of victims of profiling last week. Many of these victims were unfairly incarcerated and beaten. Professor Gates was not one of them.
The Black community’s reaction to Gates’s predicament is not surprising, but what is surprising is the reaction of the President and conservative politicians and talk show hosts. The President’s reaction was particularly surprising. He typically avoids race and only talked about it when forced to by Jeremiah Wright. I still suspect that he intentionally drove the Wright conversation. That was going to blow up no matter what he did. He could only control timing. Gates was different, though. That only blew up BECAUSE he talked about it. He is very precise and teleprompted in his wording on most things. On that night, he was tightly scripted on healthcare. The Gates Arrest question was unexpected.
Conservatives reactions have been equally interesting. The Gates controversy seems to have touched a nerve among a minority that believes the President is a closet Jesse Jackson or Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and that it was just a matter of time before a racist bone flew out of his mouth. The reality is that their reaction to him and Sotomayor is sign of the skeletons in their closet instead.
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