In a heralded meeting of the "Big Four" not seen since the likes of FDR, Charles De Gaulle, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin brewed it up at the end of World War II, President Obama and other members of Racegate 2009 met for beers on the White House lawn on July 31.
Why were these powerful men meeting (if you don't know by now, you've been living on another planet)? Well, it all started on July 16th, when prominent Harvard professor Henry Louis gates Jr. was arrested at his home after returning from a trip to China. The professor, who is black, wrestled his front door open with the help of a driver because the door was jammed. A passerby called police thinking a possible burglary was occurring and a confrontation ensued between Gates and Sgt. James Crowley. Gates was ultimately arrested for disorderly conduct.
Things got really interesting after the arrest. The story had little publicity until it was picked up by the Associated Press (AP) a few days later. Afterwards the story spread across newspapers, the web, and TV like wildfire. Pundits, pastors, police, and a wide variety of talking heads all took sides on the issue and offered their opinions. So did President Obama, after giving a nationally televised speech about healthcare.
The end result? Gates, Crowley, Obama and Vice President Biden all got together for beers and hugged it out. Case closed right?
Well, I'm curious as to what you think. I'd like you to research some stories on the web and newspaper about this incident. Was Crowley racist? Was Gates' reaction appropriate? Was Obama's? What lessons can we take away from all this? And what about the 911 caller--Lucia Whalen--who was vilified as a racist for describing "two black men" breaking into a house (police recordings later revealed she did not mention race at all, but that did not stop leading pundits from criticizing her at the time)? Was Obama's beer summit an appropriate response?
Please be sure to respond to at least one other writer's post, and be sure to check spelling and grammar before publishing. I look forward to your posts!
To see the original police reports of the Gates arrest, click here
To read Gates' original account of the incident, click here.
Here is the first AP report about the incident
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Beer Summit Cures What Ales You!
Posted by Mr. P at 8:04 AM
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I believe that we, as in the American citizens, will never fully understand what exactly went down in this specific situation unless we were there. Mr. Gates Jr.'s story basically makes the policeman look like the bad guy while the policeman's story makes Mr. Gates Jr. seem like an uneducated short-tempered jerk! I think that both of them are lying so I really can't say who's right and whose wrong in this situation. If Mr. Gates did behave in the manner the policeman says he did, then he totally deserved to go to jail for disorderly conduct. However, if the policeman behaved the way Gates claimed he did, then he was a racist cop and he should be thrown in jail! But who knows what really happened unless you were there to see it.
As for how Obama handled the situation, I feel that was a totally childish way to handle it. He basically said, "Hey, let's get drunk and call it a truce!" If that's the only way this situation could be handled, then that's sad. Less talking and more drinking! I feel that this situation could've been handled in a more serious manner, such as talking, explaining, debating, etc. Getting drunk only settles things temporarily. So I don't think this argument is over; it's just been put on the back burner for now.
I think that this whole situation could and should have been avoided altogether. Both Mr. Gates and the policeman should have acted more maturely. Mr. Gates should have just calmly explained to the officer what was going on while the officer should not have arrested him until he knew all the facts!!!
The whole altercation could have been avoided.Mr.Gates as well as the police should know by now that you should treat and talk to people how you would want them to treat or talk to you.If Gates did respond how police say he did, then he deserved to arrested.I wasn't there to witness the account but both parties could have responded better.
Ok well....Honestly I do believe that the witness, that white lady was racist. She saw two black men trying to get into a locked apartment and she assumed they were breaking in. I think if she would have seen two mexican men doing this she would have also been quick to judge and think they were trying to break in. However, if she would have seen two white guys trying to get into the apartment, she probably would have offered them help. No joke!
I don't blame Gates Jr. for the way he acted (if he did over-react) because he was angry and upset that someone looked at his skin color and assumed the worst.
I do believe more of Gates Jr.'s side of the story because at times, cops do tend to be all dramatic and they think they're all that in a bag of chips (lol) just because they carry a gun. Police do racial profile and think everyone should respect and like fear them.
As for Obama, I understand that he wanted everything to be all good in the hood or whatever lol but calling truce with beers? Wow does alcohol really solve all problems? Sheesh, he might as well given them a thousand dollars each or algo.
I agree with 'Count Olaf'. We will never know what exactly happened unless we were there ourselves. There are always three sides to a story: his side, her side, & the truth.
In this case, the officer expressed how HE took Gates' reaction and that was the way it came off to him being a police officer. Gates' explained how HE felt also. Of course Gates would be upset seeing as he knew that he lived there; however, the police didn't until identification was provided. Now as for the continued dispute AFTER proof of residence was given...Gates was in the wrong for reacting with the negative comments he made IF he indeed did make them. BUT, that's his opinion. When a person feels an emotion, they react with that emotion. Gates took it as racism and the police felt disrespected; both reacted in how they felt. The officer, to me, handled the situation in the way his JOB required that he did. He may or may not have had inside racist or non-racist feelings and opinions but in the end, both made little mistakes that added fuel to the fire.
Now as for the lady who reported that she saw two men who seemed to be breaking an entering...That's how she saw it. If I saw two men banging on a door and trying to go in but without keys, I personally wouldn't call the police. But, if I wouldve saw Gates use his shoulder against the door then I would have been a little worried myself simply because it LOOKS sort of off. I don't think she was racist, but even if she was: that situation couldn't prove it to me.
Like 'miss opinionated' said, the situtaiton could have been avoided in many of ways.
The entire situation with Gates and Crowley, I believe, was blown completely out of proportion. But I do believe that's the media's (specifically the Associated Press)job. Their job is to entertain and engage readers and all citizens and what's more engaging than the story between Gates and Crowley? Since we've all read the blog, I won't summarize it but I do believe that everyone (Gates, Crowley, and the 911 caller Lucia Whalen)were all at fault. Everyone jumped to conclusions during this entire situation. The Harvard professor assumed he was being racially profiled against, the officer assumed that the 911 caller was right and that the person breaking in was African American, and lastly, Lucia Whaley assumed that the Harvard professor was breaking into a home when he was simply searching for his keys. The entire situation could have been avoided if the individuals involved would have thought before reacting. Most African American people (not all, but most)would automatically believe that Crowley was racist for his reaction to the professor, and I probably would've thought just the same if i hadn't put myself in the officer's shoes. It's been said that the Harvard professor made some harsh remarks about the officer's mother, even though that doesn't justify what the officer did, I have to say that I would have probably reacted the same way by arresting the man. He was mad and I would've been too. I'm just being realistic, in today's society, it's more realistic to get even than to sit back and do nothing. And that's what the officer did, he got back at the professor by arresting him. I don't think you should put your feelings in your job (which is what the officer did by getting emotional) but he did and he ultimately did not prosper from it. Instead, he's being seen in society as a racist and an unfair cop. I don't necessarily agree though, I just believe that he was reacting with his heart instead of his badge. As far as President Barack Obama’s method of dealing with the situation, I disagree with the blogger “Count Oloaf” simply because I don’t think it was childish for them all to have a drink and agree to disagree with the matter- it was mature. Today’s society is so used to wars and battling to solve their problems, but I think that forgot that there are other ways to solve issues and President Barack Obama exhibited that quality perfectly.
P.S: I know you told us not to use our real names but I use this blog for AP Envi Sci too so it was kind of mandatory.! Sorry.! =)
It was not wrong for the witness to call the cops due to the fact that she saw two men trying to open their door. It could have been either way, maybe she did think wrong because it was two african american men, or because she did think someone was trying to rob that house. Since this lady did this I think that either that being racist or not in her part, it made it seem like she was due to the community and enviroment that we live in.
I agree with the people under me, that we will not know the truth, and that every person will say their side of the story, switching different things to make them not look so bad. But if Mr.Gates Jr did react the way that he did then it was right for the police to do what they had to do.
As for Obama, that was not the right way to deal with things. It was not right to celebrate with alcohol, and I feel that since this was done, it will be even more controversial. If the president does not care and laughs it off with beer, then people will say something about this.
I believe that the whole thing was blown out of porportion because apparently they were wrongly accused of breaking into gates house but the lady didnt know that it was gates house and neither did the police officer. Now i think that obama beer summit wasnt caused for because i believe that it makes obama look prejudice because i personally dont think he wouldve did that with a white person.
Yes this is a story that can be considered as the truth or can be considered as a bunch of lies. Just as 'Count Olaf' and other peers have stated, it is hard to tell the difference from what the lie may be from what the truth is since we wasn't present in the act. Eventhough this is the case I still feel as though the officer was in the TOTAL WRONG for arresting Mr. Gates. There was no reason, in any of the stories, for the officer to make any push towards arresting Gates. Gates was excersing his right to Freedom of Speech and at no time did he come into any type of physical contact with the cop or any other person in the scene. I feel that the officer displayed an act of racism because he knew that if a 'Black' man was yelling at him and asking questions that would benefit the 'Black' man, then he knew that citizens and spectators would look at him with a different eye and think that he couldn't fulfil his duty as an officer.
As for the way Obama handled the situation, I feel that it was done in a mature and friendly way. I do disagree with 'Count Olaf' when he states that this is considered to be childish. This is, in no way, an act of child's play. If you think about any conflict between men, then you would realize that the end result would be a handshake and talk with complementary DRINKS or CIGARS. This is what men do and this is how they relax and show a truce to become friends.
Some people may belived when they see a black man in a non-color neighborhood that they may be up to no good but in most cases that isn't true, especially with Gates'
case.I believe that Crowley was racist due to the fact I did outside research and one of the articles that I read mentioned that Gates showed Crowley his state ID to prove that he wasn't breaking in but he actually lived there but Crowley took matters into his own hands.Gates' reaction was very appropriate due to the fact he was being accused of a crime that he surely did not commit and he even gave evidence to prove that he lives in that residence.Obama didn't do anything wrong by inviting Gates over for a couple of beers, that was maybe just Obama's way of saying sorry for the trouble that you was caused.As for the witness, Lucia Whalen, I belive that maybe she wasn't racist but maybe she believed exactly what the stereotype wants everyone to believe.Lucia saw a black men in a white neighborhood and that seem to her that he was breaking in a house.. A black man in a white neighborhood can somtimes means there are up to no good in there neighborhood.Just because Lucia believed the typical stereotype of a black man dosen't make her accusal of Gates right.The lessons that we can take away from this is that don't always judge a book by its cover or don't believe every stereotype that you belive because sometimes believing something that isn't true can hurt someone else.
This entire situation was blown out of proportion, on both sides of the argument. Starting with officer Crowley's approach to the situation, I believe he handled it in a calm matter. From, his police report it seems as though Crowley used the correct approach. One area where Crowley went wrong at was not giving Gates his information he asked for. Now, Gates reaction was not at all calm and not at all disorderly. I do believe Gates might have given the officer problems or ignorant remarks about the officer being racist. The officer had given Gates a warning that he was beginning to be disorderly and that should have given a hint to Gates. I believe the arrest was all procedure and was not an act of racial profiling. In response to 'Rich Boy' I do not think this was a racial arrest because the arrest was needed. Gates does have the right to express himself, but if an officer is giving you a warning that you are being disorderly, then there has to be a limit. President Obama's take on the situation, at first was not appropriate, but after rewording what he meant and trying to settle the situation by having all three men sit down and talk it over with a beer, is not wrong at all.
AFTER REViEWiNG AND RESERACHiNG FURTHER iNTO BATES VS.CROWlEy iNCiDENT i MUST SAy, My UNDERSTANDiNG AND kNOWLEGDE HAS BEEN WiDENED.
-i AGREE WiTH COUNT OlAF WHEN, HE STATED NO ONE Will EVER kNOW WHAT tRUly HAPPENED UNlESS yOU WERE tHERE,bUT THERE iS SUFFiCiENT ACTiONS REPORTED AND EViDENCE TO HElP DECiPHER THE TRUTH THROUGHOUT THESE TROUbliNG HOURS.
-bUT i MUST DiSAGREE WHEN i SAy RACiSM WAS A FACTOR&& i Will GO FURTHER TO SAy i FiND NEiTHER AT FAUlT bUT SiMPly A MUTUAly RESPONSiBlE tO AN ESCAlATiON THAT COUlD HAVE BEEN AVOiDED.
-PROFESSOR GATES iS A PROMiNANT AFRiCAN AMERiCAN iN THE COMMUNiTy,WORlD,AND NOW POliTiCS, HE iS WEll CONNECTED AND AlSO WEll EDUCATED, HE iS iNFACT AN HiSTORiAN OF RACiSM AT HARVARD SO NATURAl iNSTiNCT WOUlD BE TO FEEl THAT yOU ARE BEiNG TREATED WRONG BECAUSE OF HiS RACE. MR.GATES liVES iN A PROMiDENT WHiTE NEIGHBORHOOD AS OPPOPSSED TO A AFRiCAN AMERiCAN NEiGHBORHOOD.
-OFFiCER CROWlEy, AlSO A PROMiNANT MAN WiTH HiGH RESPECT AND REGARDS iN HiS DiSCTiCT AND WiTHiN bLACk AND WHiTE PERSONS,iNFACT CROWlEy PERFORMED CPR WHiCH AS A RESUlT SAVED AN AFRiCAN AMERiCAN MAN. i DONT BEliEVE HE iS A RACiST.
-CROWlEy WAS iN UNiFORM AND AlSO AT THE TiME WASNt AWARE GATES WAS THE RESiDING PERSON THERE, SO iDENTiFiCATiON WAS ASkED, REPORTS SAy THEy WERE ASkED MUlTiPlE TiMES AND i TRUTHFUlly DO THiNk iT TOOk A FEW REPETiTiVE DEMANDS FOR GATES TO PRESENT iDENTiFiCATiON. NOW WHETHER OR NOT CROWlEy iGNORED GATES DEMANDS FOR HiS BADGE NUMBER AND NAME iS AlSO bEliEVEAbLE SiMPly bECAUSE BOTH MEN ARE HiGH ESTEEMED WiTH RANk iN THE jOB FiElD AND COMMUNiTy SO iN A WAy EiTHER ONE COUlD OF FElT iNSUlTED By THE OTHER WHEN QUESTiONS SUCH AS THESE WERE ASkED.
-THE iNSUlTS AbOUT CROWlEy SAiD By GATES i SO bElEIEVE SiMPly BECAUSE GATES WAS AGiTATED AND FElT ViCTiMIzED BECAUSE OF RACE,SO yEA ANGER WOUlD BE PRESENT.WHEN GATES SAiD"yOU DONT kNOW WHO yOU ARE DEAliNG WITH" iF HE SAiD iT, MOST DEFiTNily FAllS UNDER THE OFFENSES OF "MiSORDERly CONDUCT".GATES THREAT iF TRUE,iS yES A THREAT AND AN OFFENSE tO A PERSON.WHERE RACE CANNOT BE ADDED OR DEDUCED, HE THREATENED HiM iN All ACTUAlly, AND SO RUDEly,iMMATURAly,bROUGHT FAMily MEMBERS iNTO THE PiCTURE(SO UNNECESSARy)...
-NOW THiS iS WHAT i HAVE BEEN WAiTiNG TO EXPRESS OR QUESTiON...
MANy SAy GATES WAS ARRESTED iN HiS OWN HOME, RiGHT.NOW iN EVERy REPORT i READ, RESEARCHED, iT ClEARly SAiD GATES "FOllOWED CROWlEy OUTSiDE" MEANiNG MANy THiNGS,-GATES COUlD HAVE lEFT THE SITUATiON AS iT WAS AND AllOWED THE OFFICER TO LEAVE, AlSO ADDiNG TO iT THE OFFICER HAD GiVEN BACk HiS iDENTiFiCATiON SO TO FOLLW BEHiND HE COUlD OF STOPPED.AlSO iTS REPORTED MANy WARNiNG WERE SAiD TO GATES.SO yOU CANT BE ARRESTED iNSiDE YOU HOUSE W/O PROPER REASONiNG OR A WARRANT BUT WHEN ONE iS OUTSiDE OFFiCERS HAVE THE RiGHT TO PROCEED iN ARREST,RiGHT? WHETHER RIGHT OR WRONG, JUST lIkE WHEN A CAR IS PUllED OVER OFFICERS SAy"PlEASE STEP OUT THE CAR", THiS WAS DiFFERENT GATES WilliNG FOllOWED OUTSiDE. AND SEEiNG HOW HE liVES ON HARVARD PROPERTy THAT iN ANy MEANiNG iSNT HiS OUTSiDE PROPERTy.
-THE ARREST EViDENTly COUlD HAVE BEEN AVOiDED BUT likE MOST SITUATiONS PEOPlES lOGICAly THiNkiNG,REASONiNG, AND GOOD jUDEGEMENT iS AlTERED OR bliND By iMPUlSE, ANGER, OR MiSUNDERSTANDiNG.(PERFECT EXAMPlE)
-GATES,CROWLEy,BiDEN,OBAMA HANDlED THE SiTUATiON WEll iN My OPiNION.NiCE SOOTHiNG CAlM MASCUlINE WAy TO SETTlE THiNGS.bUT i MUST SAy OBAMA SHOUlDNT HAVE EVEN PARTOOk iN THiS MEETING LET AlONE HOSTED iT SIMPly bECAUSE iT COUlD HAVE BEEN RESOlVED lOCAlly, iNSTEAD OR GROWING FURTHER TO THE POiNT OF A MEDiA OUTbURST OF POliTiCAl iSSUES.
i DONT BEliEVE RACiSM WAS iNVOlVED bUT i DO THiNk THE SiTUATiON HAS A lOT OF FACTORz tHAt ADDED TO THE PROBlEM.GATES WAS WRONG, bUT i FEEl CROWlEy WAS SiMPly DOiNG HiS jOB,&& OVERly HANDlED THiNGS.THiS likE AlOT iS A lESSON THAT Will STiCk WITH ME
The very thing that we all should be reminded of in this incident as Jalyssa stated was the role of the press in this incident. We all have different accounts of the facts depending on what news television report we saw or what paper we read. Each time getting a different side to each story and getting different updated information. The public is never truly given accurate accounts of news reports so we should start there when speaking about the incident.
No one knows what happened that day except those who where there. We can all assume what happened but most of the information we are receiving are from angry or defensive accounts of what happened at the time of the incident. The clouded judgment will cause us to never get accurate accounts of the event. I feel like many that the incident was not handled properly on either part. We need to learn to effectively cooperate and stand up for our rights in the process. Mr. Gates stated that he was defensive because he felt he was wrongly accused and the officer reacted based on what he was seeing and treated Mr. Gates the way he felt he needed to handle the situation which was not all correct. We can continue to go back and forth about who was right and who was wrong but instead of placing blame on anyone try to figure out ways this never occurs again to anyone of any race.
Obama in my opinion handle the situation well. Many of my fellow bloggers felt that he was being childish and immature but he was taking a tense situation which was not being resolved and created a neutral setting for dialect. The purpose of beers was not to get drunk but to create a relaxed setting for adult dialect to come to a common ground.
Racism is something that does exist in the world today and it due lack of understanding amongst different races. President Obama took a step to bridge the gap with his method.
I leave you with this believe half of what you see and none of what you hear but open your minds to facts of society.
First, I do believe the 911 caller did the right thing by calling the police. Two men of any race wrestling to open a door does look rather suspicious. So, I disagree with Jalyssa saying everyone was at fault, what else could the caller, Lucia Whalen, have done? What if it really was a break in? As for her calling Gates and the driver "two black men", I read the police report and she called them "two black men" when she was describing them to the police officer. Is that being racist? I don't believe so, because it's a desciption to the police, it sounds necessary. As for Gates showing his identification to the police officer and the officer still unsure about the man living there, it seemed a little prejudice if his address was on the license. However, I feel as if Mr. Gate's behavior was inappropriate, yelling at the police officer for ultimatly doing his job. The only thing he could do was arrest Gates or take some action. For President Obama to have a "beer summit" I believe it wasn't called for, seeing as Mr. Gates was exactly 100% a victim and it wasn't the end of a war. And, would he have done the same thing if Mr. Gates wasn't a Harvard professor?
Just like some of the previous post state i believe it could have been avoided. This whole situation just trips me out.All of this could have been avoided without a doubt. I mean cause like they both should have known that it was going to get blown way out of proportion, even Obama should have known with his comments that they would get twisted some way. The stories seemed different from the way that i understood as i read them. One seems more calmer as the other seems like gates attacked right away. In my opinion i believe gates story seems more realistic as to what happened. I believe that he has the education and knows better than to just go off on a officer like the way it was said he did. And by asking for the badge number was the way to go from the way that i have seen things when the badge number is asked for, most officers get really offended. I guess race is an issue in this case. But all of this could have been avoided. Why did they still take him in even after he showed his id. They should have let him go then and there instead making it a major issue and taking him for something else. What took place not only shows the conduct of officers but shows where the country still stands on the race issue. Drinking a beer is ok i guess for solving the problem,but it wont work all of the time.We will never know what truly went down therefore it makes it som much harder to pick a side.
The situation that occurred was unnecessary, it so amazing how everyone always assumes the worse scenario. Mr. Gates could have explained to Crowley what was going on and Crowley could have ask for evidence, that Mr. Gates actually lives at that house. What confuses me a little is how Crowley did not recognize Mr. Gates? (I guess he did not). This was something that could have been handled from the start. Lucia Whalen, the 9-11 caller of the incident, should have thought for a second, before calling the police. If someone were going to rob a house, they would not enter through the front door, right? Why didn’t Lucia, think about that?
I agree with Jalyssa, Everyone was at fault! I do not believe that Crowley or Lucia are racist, but they both needed to think about the situation, before they did anything that would cause a problem. I truly feel sorry for Mr. Gates and what he went through and even though his reaction was inappropriate, he still had a right to act as he did, because he knew he was innocent. I know as a person, when some one accuses me of being wrong and I know that I am right, I would react the same way Mr. Gates had.
The media brought this story to the world, and the story was everywhere, that even President Barack Obama heard about it. Obama’s reaction was slightly inappropriate because he should not have called the officers behavior “stupid”, but he made up for it with his invite to the White House. President Obama’s way of dealing with the situation was odd, but still appropriate. It was a peaceful and refreshing way to deal with a situation like this (This shows a lot about how Obama truly deals with situations and problems in the United States).
There is still one question that lingers in the back of my head, if the two men where white, would this situation occur?
This entire situation could have been avoided if the police officer had looked at the i.d. that Gates presented, and the lightbulb should have gone off in his head that this man owns this house and the officers should have left.
The fact that President Obama said what he said, and then having a Beer Summit kind of makes him look like he cares about something.
This also could send a message that some Americans don't like. But who knows.
The situation could have been avoided with just a little amount of careful thinking. The officer acted in the right manner only the fact that he did not take the time to examine gates and the license that he was holding while he was yelling for being judged. The officer was acting in a rude manner in the fact that he quickly judged gates and did not take the time to listen to what gates had to say, but instead made assumptiions that were not good ones.
Gates acting in a rude manner in tha fact that he did not calm down and tell them that he was the one that lived in the house. Gates should have been more calm and took the time to tell him the story of what really happened. Gates had the right to be mad but not to the extent in which will cause him to be accused.
Obama acted the way that was good. He held a meeting were the men all just say there sorries for the situation and make up for it.
i think crowley was acting racist at the time because gates was already in the house when crowley arrived. crowley did not ask any questions at all and just arrested him. the preident was right in calling his actions stupid. crowley had no right to arrest gates at all because lucia whalen did not specify a particular race that was "breaking into" the home in the 911 call. race was ask but she said she did not know what the men races were and that one "looked" hispanic.Gates reaction was inapprite because the officer was miss informed about the details of the alleged suspect, he did not have to pull the race card and say "why?because i'm black in America?" No gates, its not because you are black in america, its because you tried to get in you house and some white lady thought you were breaking into the hoouse, called police and a stupid acting police officer came based on the white lady's discrption on you. if anybodies racist in this situation it would be the people who thought lucia whalen said that the man going into the house was black. she never even said the word black. she said the person appears to be hispanic and could not identify the seconds mans possible race.obamas reactions was beyond inapropriete. just because obama had good relations with gates, do not mean that a beer summit will make it all better. i think that if obama did not know the harvard professor, the beer summit would have never happened. they probably would have all had a meeting like they did but beer would not be involved. and men of their status-why are they having beer, wine or scott from scotland would have been more apropriete than beer.
I think its too hard for me or anyone to say whether Crowly or Lucia were racist or not unless we were there. Crowly's report says that Gates was yelling and constantly saying he was being arrested because he was black. According to Gates, he makes it seem like he did absolutely nothing wrong and was arrested only because he was black. With these two different stories its hard to form an opinion because I don't know exactly what happened. If I had to choose I would say Crowly's explanation was more believable. I can imagine a person being angry for being wrongly accused more than a white cop who just wants to arrest a black man (though I'm not saying that that's not a possibility). Gates reaction was not appropriate if Crowly did report the truth. As for Lucia, I can't say it was racist unless I see it from her eyes. I can't tell if she's justified or not because I don't know how aggresive they seemed or if it would still seem like a burglery if the two men were white. I think Obama's reaction was approprite though. He has been dealing with racial issues all his life. I don't think it's relevant to say "he wouldn't do that for a white guy" because who committed the crime is irrelevant. I think Obama organized the beer summit to show people of a different race putting issues behind them and coming together, just like what he most likely wants to the entire nation.
I don't think it was right how Lucia Whalen would just unknowingly excuse two African Americans males of robbery. But Gates didn't have to react like that even though he did prove that he lived there. Thats shows that there are corrupt cops in the system. I think President Obama had the right idea to sit them down and have a beer summit because it gives the people s chance to sit down and relex while talking about this serious matter.
in my opinion, i think the simplest way to put this whole situation is stupid. ok so in the article talking about what happened it said that Mr. gates got arrested for disorderly conduct. Mr. Gates acted extremely immature about this whole mess. What he was doing was unnecessary and childish. he should have listened to the officer and shut his trap.
ok so Pesident Obama now, i don't believe he was wrong for settling the problem with beer. That's how stupid he realized this whole situation has been. Some people are thinking that President Obama shpuld've handled the situation more seriously,...but there was nothing to be serious about! What do people expect Obama to say, "oh i'm sorry for the mistake of the break in and i'm sorry you hate police officers." ??? there's nothing to settle. ok so what if he was being disrespectful it was his house, i'd be mad too if someone accused me of breaking in my own house.
I believe that it hard to determine whether or not Crowley was racist. However, many sources do say that he had said some very racist things. The only people who are able to determine whether or not Crowley was racist are the people who witnessed the situation first hand. It is also hard to determine whether Gates is racist. Although, in my opinion I don’t think he is. I mean come on the guy teaches at Harvard University. It is a bit hard for him to be racist don’t you think? I do think that his reaction of asking for the Crowley’s badge number was appropriate. If someone were to come inside my house I would at least want to know who they are. However, I don’t think it was right for him to call Crowley a racist. I think that there is more than what both Crowley and Gates have said. People tend to say things in a way that will benefit them and I don’t know whether this was the case with either of them. I think that the situation has gotten way out of hand and was taken too far. If Gates has received threats that concern his safety it just shows that there is still discrimination against race and class and that it has not ended even though it is the 21st century!
I am unsure if Obama’s reaction was appropriate or not he is the president and he had his own reasons for doing what he did. It is sad to know that cops can act unprofessional when they are supposed to “protect us”. I think that people overreacted about this situation if both Crowley and Gates have been able to break the ice I guess it wasn’t such a big deal to them then. Also, they were the ones who experienced the situation. About Lucia Whalen it is also hard to determine whether or not she mentioned race when she called 911. Obama's beer summit was an appropriate response because it shows that two men can sit down as mature individuals and clear the air about this whole situation. However, I don't think they needed the whole beer thing.
Most people believe it was discrimination and Obama drank beer with Gates to close the argument. I say that Obama could have handled it more in a serious matter, but also, there was nothing that could have been done, there is racism all over the world. Gates incident just made it national news but really, if you think about it, there is racism everywhere and it could not be stopped right away. Gates did not receive anything special from Obama because Gates, like many other people in the world, is one of millions that have been discriminated. Though, Obama apologized for how Gates was treated by policemen and just took things lightly because he cannot stop racism in an instance. I think another thing that should’ve happened was an apology from the policemen, but that’s just my opinion.
The police report didn’t seem completely accurate to me. It seemed like the police officer was making Mr. Gates seem more aggressive than he actually was. After reading the police report, I still didn’t see a reason for the arrest. Yelling doesn’t seem like a reason to arrest someone, and it seems like the police officer wanted to arrest him and that is why he asked him to come outside; so that he could show everyone that he had a reason to arrest him. The police officer wasn’t the only one that was in the wrong though. Mr. Gates could have avoided being arrested by cooperating with the police officer and by having a better choice of words. The situation could have been avoided if the identification of the officer was shown just as Gates had to show his and if the police officer left instead of unnecessarily calling more officers to the scene. I don’t really know if the police officer was racist but President Obama was right to call the police officers stupid because they had no valid reason to arrest Gates.
I think the police was wrong for arresting Gates even after he saw his identification and proved that he actually lived there and works at Harvard.
I think that in this arrest, everyone is at fault. According to the media, Lucia Whalen assumed that someone was breaking into the Gates’ residence only because he was black. This could have been the truth, but why then did the police report not include, “two black men” breaking into a house. If Lucia was racist, she wouldn’t have hidden it. She would have told the police about the race of the person breaking into the house, yet she didn’t. I believe she is at fault because she should mind her own business. Gates was seen with suitcases because he had barely gotten back from China. Whalen should not have reacted the way she did with her neighbor because no robber etc who wants to break into a home, would dress or have suitcases the way Gates had. Furthermore, Crowley was not racist. He was only doing his job. Like any other officer, he went to check on the 911 call and tried to solve things the best he could with Gates, but it was Gates the one who did not want to listen or cooperate with the officer. The reaction that Gates gave was awful for his reputation as part of such a prestigious school. I understand that he got offended because he was arrested for going to his own home, but he should have listened to the reason the officer was there. There was absolutely no necessity for him to neither play the racist card nor offend the officer for doing his job. Just because I said this about Crowley, does not mean he is free of fault. If it were any other police officer, they would have ended up in the same dilemma. Gates should not have been arrested, because I really do not see a good reason for his arrest. Crowley did not want to provide him with the information of the badge number etc, and as far as he knew, the officer was racist for asking him to prove his residence at the home. Moreover, I am not completely sure if Obama’s beer summit was appropriate because why did the president of the United States have to get involved with this particular conflict and not with any other racist conflict.
This situation did not click to me at all at first but now I see that this situation was NOT RACIST! I disagree with most people up here. This was not a racist act. The police office arrested Gates because things escalated. I feel that the officer was scared that he might lose his job or get written up for thinking that the "burglars" was "Hispanic" and "black". The officer arrested the professor because he supposedly said "I'll speak with your mama outside,”. But, from the looks of what Gates said, the officer arrested him because he didn’t step onto the porch when asked. But he only did this because it seemed like he was afraid; Gates said that he kept asking for the officer’s information and he didn’t. The officer was just worried about the accusation he made. The whole thing about going to Gates’ home, identification, and getting arrested was not racist, but responding to the “burglary” asking if they were “black” was racists. The act in general was not racist, it was more worried-ness and ego-ish.
After looking at news reports and evidence. I believe it was kind of a racist situation. If the man was really a burgarist why would he have stayed trying to open his door, when the police arrived. So the police had to think, this is not a burglary if the mans not trying to escape the seen. Come on its common sense, I believed the situation could have been settled much better if Mr. Gates didnt become disorderly,according to police. But i really believe Mr.GAtes beeing a black guy trying to get into his own house brung the tention, which i believe is a form of racism. But we will never know the true story, we can only speculate. Obama bringing the men to the white house to drink a beer was a good idea, to cool down the situation defiantly Obama knowing Mr. Gates. It looked good for Obama so it didnt seem like he was taking favor of Mr.Gates side
Was Crowley racist? Was Gates' reaction appropriate? Was Obama's? What lessons can we take away from all this? And what about the 911 caller--Lucia Whalen--who was vilified as a racist for describing "two black men" breaking into a house (police recordings later revealed she did not mention race at all, but that did not stop leading pundits from criticizing her at the time)? Was Obama's beer summit an appropriate response?
I think Crowley was not a racist, but from what I read and heard on the radio I think he abused his authority as a police officer. It is to my understanding that Mr. Gates asked the officer (Sgt. Crowley) who he was, but he never answered he just asked him to step out on the porch. In an interview on the Tom Joyner Morning Show Mr. Gates stated that the officer started to get upset when his authority was questioned.
In the end I don't believe he was a racist I just think Sgt. Crowley didn't like to be questioned.
From my point of view, I see that Crowley wasn’t being racist. He is just a police officer that was sent to do his job. As I read the Gates arrest, I saw that Crowley wasn’t being rude or offensive with his words towards Gates. Gates took it the wrong way because he knew that was his property and that he did nothing bad. Where I see culpability is when Gates refused to come out of his residence. If he had nothing to hide then he shouldn’t have resist the officer’s authority, but he did. He responded Crowley back in a rude manner which I see wrong. Gates shouldn’t have answered in that manner. He could have responded in a peaceful way so things wouldn’t have gotten out of control. It resulted in chaos. Crowley wasn’t offending Gates in the first place, then why did Gates have to answer back to the officer if he wasn’t being offended. I don’t think that being arrested for answering back to a police officer is justified, but answering back when he wasn’t been attacked is wrong. Obama calling the Cambridge police ad acting stupid is ok since he didn’t know all of the facts, only the information that made Crowley seem like being racist. What I see kind of racist is Obama getting interested in this case because professor Gates was his friend. It shows favoritism because there’s a lot more of racist accusations that aren’t being brought up. Obama’s apology of beer summit wasn’t that appropriate. I know it was an action to bring Gates and Crowley together but the accusation that was made will remain and not only this invitation with president will erase this incident. He could apologize another way rather than the way he acted. I don’t think that Lucia was being racist because she never mentioned race. She just gave the description of the people she saw go in to the house. Maybe if Lucia would have paid close attention that it was Gates who got in the house she would have avoided causing chaos. A big lesson we can learn is to know the facts first rather than go straight to accusation. I know that people mostly commit the error just like Obama did, but this can make us reflect. Learning to not accuse before acting can help us avoid problems. We don’t want end up like Lucia, as been thought of been racist.
I would like to start by saying that for this case I am not really on either side. I believe that first off, the neighbor should not have called the police. She should have tried to observe the situation more to see if there was really a break-in going on. Also if she was a neighbor she should have recognized Gates.
When the first officer, Crowley, showed up and started questioning Gates, i didnt think it was wrong for Gates to kind of overreact because with so many issues involving race going on in the United States, is likely for a person to think someone is being racist. What I thought was wrong with the policeman's story was that he said Gates was yelling and stuff in public, but he was actually in his own home.
I think that it was o.k. for Gates to yell a little bit because he was wrongly being questioned for something he obviously didnt do. But on the other hand, he should have not yelled and hollered at the policeman as much because that could seem like a threat to a policeman, but it still was no cause for an arrest. Especially if the cop knows Gates is mad because he thinks he is being racist and was just trying to express that.
Lastly, I think that Obama handled the situation in probably the easiest way possible. Without involving any serious legal action, Obama was able to sit these guys down solve the crisis, so I believe that it was a good idea for a beer summit.
To start off, I do believe that Lucia was racist. Like "Mzlala" said, she was quickly to judge them because they were black. She just assumed that they were breaking in without actually attempting to find out the truth. But I guarantee that if it were two white men that she seen she would have tried to help them or at least went up there and really investigated the situation. I do think that officer Crowley and Mr. Gates should have handle the situation much better then what they did. I don’t think that the officer was racist like Gates had said. I think that once Crowley had found out who Gates really was he could had left the situation alone and said sorry for the mishap instead of arresting him. Gates should have been way more mature then he was instead of being rude like he did. As for Obama, he could have handle this better because the proper way to resolve this is not to go on the lawn and have alcohol. That is not appropriate for this situation and him in this situation, he is not being a good role model. Basically he is showing that if you get into any type of situation you can just resolve it with going on your lawn and having a drink or two.
I agree with the majority that this situation could have been handled much better, however I don't really believe that its possible to instantly pin Crowley as a racist. He was just responding to a call reporting an attempted burglar. He was merely doing what he felt was his responsibility in the situation. Gates was also doing what he felt was right, however he took it somewhat too far when he quickly drew the "race card" called the cop racist, and insulted him when he was merely following up on a report of two people trying to break into a house (that didn't even mention race mind you). Gates could have handle the situation much better, but he instead seem to do the thing I have come to expect from the black community at times is to pin the "racist" tag on something without a second glance.
At first glance, the details of what actually took place are a bit unclear but, nevertheless both accounts seem to be similar on many different levels. After reading the police report I initially thought...”Ok Gates totally lost it.” Then after reading the statement Gates’ lawyers released I thought…”Ok someone’s lying.” I do agree with Count Olaf we will never know what actually happened because we weren’t there. But , think about this…If you were just coming home from a long trip and you find that your door is broken and you had to deal with the police wouldn’t you be a little bit agitated? Being a Harvard Professor or not…He’s human. And if he did become belligerent do you think he’s going to come right out and admit what a jerk he was being? I don’t think so. But, by no means am I saying that Gates alleged behavior was that of the appropriate nature but I’m simply stating what could have happened. On the other hand, it just might have been a racist encounter. But I doubt it. In the police report the officer stated that the witness said she saw two black men breaking in. All of a sudden she’s racist?! She was simply sating what she saw. Is Gates not Black? Then if he isn’t, she needs to be arrested for falsifying a report. And President Obama, in my opinion didn’t handle the situation correctly from the start. Saying that the Cambridge police acted stupidly was not the best choice of words seeing as though he wasn’t there and he was holding a press conference. And to settle it over beer? That was unprofessional by all means. I do believe all parties were at fault. I also believe all parties may have distorted the truth and those actions are coming with a full blown media blitz. And everyone knows how the media is!
LaTasha Smith
I think that gates responed in an apprpiate manner.if it were me , i think i would respond in the same way. Based on his report and the officers report it became clear to me that the officer may have been lying. The officer stated that he didn't want to show id, but he claimed that he showed id showing that he worked at harvard.If he didn't show id then how did he see that. I do actually think that him responding the way he did was because of the way he was being treated. I don't think that he was just going off no reason, i think the officer tried to make it seem that way, just because black people tend to over react sometimes. When it all comes down, i truely do believe that this was a race issue, because he was black. It's more then ironic in my opinion that he lead Mr.Gates outside, because that's what is required to do, when officers want to arrest someone at their residence. so i think that the officer had the intentions to arrest him in the first place, with or without a reason. So i think Mr.Gates should take legal action, because it just wasn't right, and i think that Obama saw that, and that's why he reacted that way as well.
I don't think neither one of them should be blamed for the accident that did occur. We don't know both sides of the story becuase we wasn't there to witness it. It seem like the policemen and Mr.Gates made each other look like the bad guy in the situation. Maybe it did have something to do with racist and that's why he wanted to put Mr. Gates in jail. The way they settled it wasn't fair just by going out and having a drink wasn't the right thing to do. I think they should had sat down and talked it out. Therefore, the situation isn't over and it shouldn't be until they get full details of what really happened.
Based on the altercation with Gates, I wouldn't automatically assume that Crowley was racist. I think he was simply trying to do his job, and the fact that so happened to be black made it seem like the officer was racist. I do agree with Count Olaf, on the account that the stories made their rival look like they were wrong and person reporting was innocent. I don't think either reactions were appropriate. It could have been handled in a more professional,mature manner; rather than yelling and making biased accustions. I think Whalen should have waited a little longer to see if someone was actually breaking into the house before she called the police. As for Obama's reaction, I don't think the matter should have ended with a beer. I think lunch or dinner would have been more appropriate.
I feel as though this little situation was really some nonsense and got taken way out of proportion. Also the AP were totally out of line with the story that was told (far from, im guessing, the truth). I agree with Count Olaf, that they did make Mr. Gates seem like an uneducated short-tempered jerk! However, I don't think that anyone was trying to be racist in that situation.
Although the happenings were taken care of and settled, it should have been settle in a diffrent manner other than drinking. And this may come back up because how do one know if that the only reason it was forgotten about/looked passed was because they were intoxicated with beer? I guess we'll just have to see on this one!
I believe that both Mr. Gates and the police officer had the wrong conduct. Mr. Gates should not have started acting how he did until he exactly figured out why the police officer was there and he should have explained exactly what had happened, to him. If the police officer did not understand the situation then Mr. Gates should just have gone and respected the authorities,and he could have explained everything in the the police station, since he had not done nothing wrong.
As of the policeman he did not have the right to use the force he used. I think that they both over reacted to this situation and could have taken this in a cooler manner. This situation was made bigger by both of the people invovled, they did not mutually respect each other making it seem like a racist situation. Its up to everyone to form their own opinion because we do not know exactly what happened that day.
Regarding President Obama'a action, I think that the decision that he took comming from a president was a little immature. In my opinion he should have first figured out what really happened that day, and if it was true that the police officer had racist acts, then he should have repremended him. But for me, sitting down in the White House's backyard and drinking beer does not solve anything.
Lucia Whalen, was the only person trying to do something good for her community, by calling 911. Even though this was a false alarm, it shows that the woman does care about her community and its willing to keep it safe.
I think the whole situation was unnessesary. If Whalen would of minded her business or at least checked to see what was happening before calling the police, none of this would of happened. i think Gates was justified in his action because he wasn't doing anything and the police were arresting his for no reason. I also think the "beer party" was good on Obama's part because in situations like this, you can only sit down and talk it out to come to a closing.
With a story like this you can never find out the truth. Our minds play tricks on us when we try to rationalize what would usually be seen as inappropriate behavior on our part. It's clear by Mr. Gates' description of the incident that he left out details that would be very telling of his character, and I'm sure the same can be said about Mr. Crowley. The problem is the people who immediately think the woman who called the police is racist. She did not mention race in the phone call, and to jump to conclusions would be an indictment against her.
However, we should focus on the personal issues that Gates and Crowley don't want to seem to face themselves. We can talk all day about how the situation could have been avoided, but it happened. After the fact, both men should have been man enough to admit that maybe they were a little bit to blame too.
Some criticize Obama, but you have to be glad that he took the issue head on whether you agree with what he said or not. If Obama hadn't addressed the issue, the ill feelings would continue to fester inside the two parties as well as all of us.
I belivee that maybe before Ms. Whalen called the police she should have called to the gantlemen to get there attention so that they would be aware that someone saw what they were doing. But in a world much like today's she played it extremely safe by calling the police regarding her concerns for her neighbors property and her community. Gates may have been sick and tired ofm the racism that had been inflicted on black people (I'm sure he's witnessed alot during his lifetime) that he thoughtwas probably about to take its turn on him and reacted as if he were trying to inform the Sgt. that this was 2009 and of his high educational status. But today what really does that mean for any minority or person of color and low economic staus? The Sgt. was just doing his job which in this case was a breaking entry in progess. Each major player in this scenario were reacting how they felt best at the moment.
I think that this happens all to often and every now and then we hear the same stories, but yet the officers and people who report these things always make the assumptions and they never learn. The way President Obama handled this was the way men handle their problems I guess, as for Gates Jr. who is still wondering to press charges I think he more than deserves to. As for this being in the media I believe there are more stories like this that have died out.
I totally agree with Kristen. They should have talked to each other with respect and maybe this whole situation could have been avioded. Both of the reports,made by Stg. Crowley and Professor Gates, seemed a little shaky in the way they described the event that took place. I would take both reports with a grain of salt. Both of them wants to make the other look like a totally jerk. We may never know what truly happened between them that night.
As for the beer summit called by President Obama, I believe he was trying to create a light atmosphere between Stg. Crowley and Professor Gates so they wouldn't just be screaming and yelling at each other, which would kind of defeat the purpose of him calling them together in the first place. Would I have handled the situation that way? Well, not neccessarily but thats because I dont like alchohol, but I don't think it was such a bad idea either.
Was this racist? Yes it was to a certain extent. It was racist in the way that it was 2 black males aprubtly going in to a house so thus they're trying to break in. Those types of stero types are what make racism a reality ,but this same thing could have happened to a white man and someone would have calle dthe police on them to. I beleive it began to get racist when the cops showed up they handled it intirely wrong and Obama statement was correct!
The way Obama handled it was great from his use of words to everything. The police acted stupidly and Obama stated that. I feel most governments don' want to say anything to make others mad ,but Obama stood up for what he believed in and said what he thought and that's great for him. The inviting everyone over and talkin over beer was great because they all got to relax {kind of} and tell what happened and get it all resloved.
Racist? probably ,but this is a great way fo American citizens can see how deep we are rooted in racism.
Personally, i feel that the entire situation got out of hand. Things were taken too far. i do not think that the truth is really known. I think that Mr. Gates was telling it to make it seem like he did absolutely nothing wrong, while the police tried to protect themselves. If the police never identify themselves or never gave their reason for a arrest following Gates showing his identification the police are in the wrong. But, if Gates did disrespect the police in that matter as a reaction, his punishment is deserved. In the end though its about a person's perspective and which story is believed.
However, the 911 call is ridiculous and completely racist. She never started the race of the 2 men that she had seen, therefore there should have NEVER been any type of remark made. It only goes back to blacks being picked on and stereotyped purposely. This is the only fact that has been proved true that makes this conflict about race.
"The police acted stupidly," said the President of America and then turned around to settle things with beer. Firstly, being the President,Obama, was out of line at his statement, but crossed it at deciding that alcohol is the way to settle it. What type of message is that sending? Obama could have definitely handled things in a different way. A way that would have not sent out such a negative message.
As i stated before though things went too far.
I believe that no one was being racist. I say this because of the fact that Gates was only arrested because it seemed as though he was breaking in to a home. Although, I believe that the officer should have gotten facts about what was going on before arresting Gates. I also think that Obamas beer summit was an appropriate way to calm the situation. This is because at the summit, the men can talk about what happened and resolve what will happen next.
I beleive that what was a big misunderstanding got out of hand. Of course things aren't going to go smoothly if someone was told that someone said that they were breaking in their own house. After everything got straightened out they all probably thought, hey lets talk it out over a beer. I don't see anything wrong with that.
SincerelyI believe this whole situation is pointless. This lady is one nosy lady she should really start minding her own business. The police acted very stupid upon this case. I also believe there is some sort of racist thing going on with this.
Mr. Gates has all the right to try to get in to his own house I mean that is why he payed for it. Now what I dont understand is why that lady cares if there breaking in into somebody elses house she should care if they break into her own house. She should also get to know her neighbors. mr. Gates should be able to tell his own story because the police reports where very biased as all police reports are.
As for the police men they should start doing a better job in protecting and servimg pur community in a non biased or racist matter.
Was Crowley racist? I believe in some way he was because a call was reported that a break in had occurred, and immediately after he sees the black man, he is postitve that he is the criminal. This shows that he bases criminal action on skin color. There are two different stories on Gates reaction, and I believe that the police was incorrect because Gates is a highly educated man, and as his job, he deals with many types of people. I highly doubt that he said I'll talk to your mama outside. And he is also a older gentleman, I dont believe he was acting so out of order that he couldn't be reached. I think that Obama's actions were appropriate, as being the 1st black president, it probably upset him to see racial injustice still present amongst our society. Yes the, the officers did act "Stupidly" and should be offended by his comments. THe lesson that I recieved from this story is to rise above any injustice that comes my way because stupidity will always be experinced with narrow minded people. Obama's summit was not appropriate, this is not something you can not settle this over beer. This a major issue that racial bias is experinced not only by Gates, but by many African-Americans everywhere.
TNae
Yes,there's always two sides of a story but will we ever know the true (100%) facts unless we were there on the scene as a witness? No! With a case like this it can be very controversal because although Sgt. Crowley ultimatley was in the wrong there could have been other reasoning behing Gates getting arrested. Police Reports stated how disrespecful (in words) Gates was towards Sgt. Crowley on the scene which may have gotten him arrested.(when asked by Crowley to speak with him outside the residence, Gates replied, "ya, I'll speak with your mama outside.") On the flip side many view Sgt. Crowley as being racist which is completley understandable. Lets not ignore the fact that racial profiling happens everyday and 9 times out of 10 African American men are the victims. However in this case I believe it was totally blown out of proportion just as the majority of people here that blogged. I do believe the situation could have been investigated and handled much easier than it was.Ofcourse with people talking and the media , who play a great role in exaggerating it was made out to be more than what actually happended.
As far as Barack Obama, he could have definetly handled the situation more professionally especially being in the public eye. I agree with Count Olaf, it could have been handles in a more serious matter because small things like this can turn big especailly with racism envolved. Drinking beer and calling it truce? Im not sure that'll cut it!
This is Bea.
I think that this was a huge misunderstanding. It amazes me that there are so many sides to this stoy. It is also amazing that this issue had to go this far. I believe that Mr Gates should have been more composed. However, I understand his frustration, but ike there is a time and a place for everything, I think that Mr. Gates should not have been so blunt. But i totally agree with Count Olaf on the Obama comment. I also feel like that Obama gets targeted on a lot of his statements. Everyone is human, like he was just saying his opinion, maybe it wasnt the right time and place but yea..
I disagree with Mzlala. I feel the responsibility should be on all parties. I also believe many people ignore the fact that when you try to analyze people by their actions to a situation you are stereotyping. All people are NOT the same and you cannot judge a book by its cover.
On the contrary, I believe this situation could have been avoided on an account of all parties. If what is being said is true. In the police report Crowley said Gates asked for his name several times yet he only attempted to answered once. He told the other officer he told Gates more than once. If he did why did Gates continue to ask the same questions? We don't know. Later on, according to the police report, it seemed as though Gates calmed down when he saw Crowley was trying to be helpful. Maybe if Crowley's approach to Gates would have been different and if Gates would have been more professional the issue would have been resolved sooner. As the case became more public President Obama had a right and somewhat of an obligation to help solve this issue. Because he stepped in that stopped a lot of he say she say stuff and halted some arising racists conflicts.
I think that maybe both Gates and Crowley over reacted a bit. Crowly should have explained things better and maybe actually ask why Gates was trying to "break' into the residence. He was being racist saying that the report was of two black men, when Whalen never stated the race. As for Gates I understand him to some extend about being mad that an officer had accused him of breaking into his house. But responding by yelling and making threats was not the best way to resolve this problem. Whalen was probably trying to do some good deed but seriously did she not realize that it was her neighbor when she called the police .I think that President Obama handled it really well. With a couple of beers just like any other person in America would. So he should get points for that. -Jeamy :D
First off, I believe Gates, Crowely and the 911 caller didnt handle the situation appropriately. I dont think Lucia the 911 caller didnt mean any harm but the fact that she thought an African American was trying to break into a house does need give off the right idea. I also think the situation was going well when the officer and Gates asked for identification. Gates cooperated but the officer didnt and I dont understand why. Gates showed him his identification so why couldnt the officer do the same? I also dont understand why the officer arrested Gates after he knew that Gates really did live there. Gates also should have acted more maturely because he based what happened to him on his race. It is a simple misunderstanding. I also think Obama should have acted more mature especially being the President. They could have had a discussion without the alcohol.
I do believe that this situation was in fact uprooted from a form of streotypical racism. There are three sides to the story, and based on what I've read, all three accounts were based on the race of Dr. Gates. I believe yhe officer did intentionally over-exaggerated the situation so that it can benefit his position in the situation, and so did Dr. Gates to a certain extent, however I believe that the officer made more adjumments to his story. Because no one will never know what really happened, however I do agree with Mr. Gates reaction to the what happened to him, beause if I place myself in his shoes, I probably would have reacted in the same manner. I do believe Preseident Obama did take the situation rather lightly, but I President Obama probably thought it would be better than the American citizens thinking that he over-reacted, ecpessially bieng a black man. I do believe that Obama knew the severty of the situation in America thought, but just didn't want to seem as if he was choosing sides.
The situation blown totally out of proportion. It could have been avoidedwith a little bit of reasonable thinking. Crowley was racist because he still arrested Gates after he showed him proper id that it was his home. Gates had every right to react the way that he did because there was really no probable cause for his arrest. Obama's reaction was a little too over the top, he told the situation to a whole different level. He didn't have to call what they did stupid even though it was ignorant of them. We can all learn from this by trying to get past the race issue and look at others for their personality and character.
I believe that as outsiders looking in to this incident we really cant judge either person. It is possible that Mr. Gates Jr. could be lying about how the incident happened, because if the officer really didn’t tell him what he was arrested for then he should have contacted his lawyer with his first call from jail. But also the cop could be lying about the comments that Mr. Gates Jr. made, so the charges against him could be false.
The way president Obama handled the incident was not appropriate because getting drunks doesn’t solve the issue, it just makes you forget for the moment but the feelings will return later. The lessons we can take away from this is that the press doesn’t always correct information and that not every thing is true. Also we could learn not to wear backpacks at night while trying to open a stuck door. The caller well we can’t really say much about her she was just doing what she thought was right and neighborly
I do not think that the arrest of Henry Gates Jr. by James Crowley was made because of racism. Sgt. Crowley had every right to arrest the professor for his loud and tumultous behavior. The professor's reaction was unneccessary and uncalled for. If he had did what ever the officer told him to do he could have avoided being arrested.
I do not believe that Obama should have had a meeting with this two men. It is the year 2009, we need to stop blaming every arrest of a black person made by a white man on racism. I feel that the meeting fed into to this ignorant way of thinking.
I do not think that the witness, Lucia Whalen, was racist either. She saw what looked like an attempt to break into someones house so instead of just watching it progress, she did the right thing and called the police.
I believe that the arrest was just a misundertsanding and that the whole situation would've been avoided if the police didnt question him so much because he was already mad. If someone had to break into their own house and then the police dont believe that its their house, it could be an act of racism depending on how the police attitudes were. But as the things progressed it seems as though neither one of them was in to right, Mr.Gates story was filled with anger, and the police officer's argument made Mr. Gates seem like an evil entity. Now with Obama stepping in where he doesnt supposed to and calling their actions "stupid", wasnt a very smart move considering today's media. Now trying to make them make peace is a good thing but, someitmes it's better just to keep your hand out of certain fires. The bottom line is that neither man was right, it was just a misunderstanding that turned into a race battle that involved somebody that is our president unfortunately. All in all this isnt over and it wont be by a long shot, this country is still too racy to let something like this go.
I dont think the lady was being racist; just a concerned citizen. Whenever a black person gets harrassed by the police, the first thing they want to shout out is racism. Sometimes that is the case but not all the time. I think that Obama and others didn't do anything wrong they were just trying to ease the tension between the whole thing.
If there is anybody in this case that is racist, it would be the Crowley. He denied the request of Gates many times, and arrested him without even telling him why. Is he racist? Only he knows. However his actions definitely puts forth the belief that he is. The media is very hyperbolic when it comes to stories that could possibly include racism.
As far as Obama's reaction, he handled it the best way he could. It didn't seem like there was THAT much tension between Gates and Crowley if they just met up and had a couple of beers with each other.
I think that with this situation this could have been avoided. The reason that I say this is because it was blown out of proportion. They were saying in the article that Mrs. Lucille was a neighbor and she called the police but why was she paying that much attention to his house. Me personally I don’t like that anybody was in the wrong I wouldn’t say that Mrs. Lucille was being a concerned citizen but I wouldn’t say that she was being a racist either. In fact it could be argued that she was being quite noisy if you ask me. But everything was blown out of proportion and it was all the media’s fault.
Well, going by what we said in class, i do not think this was a racism act. I believe that the information got screwed up in translation, and i feel that the media took this to a level of unnecessary extremities. I feel that it was not a racist act on the witness' part, for she was only being a law-abiding citizen. She saw something suspicious, and called it in. As for the police officer, Mr. Gates was refusing the officer's request. As a citizen of the United States, Mr. Gates is forced to oblige. Seeing as he did not do so, the officer was forced to do his job, and arrest Mr. Gates. As for Obama, he went too far too. He did not even need to get involved. If anyone, Obama made this a racism thing.
I also agree with Count Olaf, we don't really know anything, because we weren't there. All we can do is hypothize, theorize, infer, and make judgements that might or might not be correct.
well i believe that both gates and the officer acted childish. we never will know the exact story, but if this is a race issue it is a prime example of the social resentment we have in America.
I believed that Ms.Lucia should have been using more common sense because as a good citizen she did the right thing but who would try to get in someones house by using the front door.Technically no one would because if they were trying to break in they would try to get caught.
Also, I believe that no one should have made a small problem into a huge one. It might have seemed racist but when you actually think about it, it's not. Since Lucia didn't say it was two black men, she basically said that she thought it might have been a hispanic man. It's just that it's stupid that the president had to get in the situation that's not even worth it.
First of all the whole little incident was uncalled for. Okay yea Lucia had the right to call the police when she seen what looked like a possible break in. As for people saying that she was being racist for saying that it was two black men, how else was she suppose to describe them. After all they are black. I think people just made that statement to make the story more of a conflict. They didn't even have to make a big deal out of her saying that they were black.
In this situation i don't think that Gates was wrong because he probably did just think it had something to do with him being black. I do believe that Mr. Gates should've been cooperative with the police and just explained to the officer what took place. If Gates would've done this in the beginning, he and the officer could've explained both why the police came and why Gates was bulging the door.
For the officer i feel that he handled the situation rather maturely at first. He didn't act immediately and instead of him hollering and joining Gates in his argument he just walked out. I do not think that an arrest should have been made though because the whole incident was a misunderstanding.
I agree with Kayla we will never really know the true situation because we were not there but according to the information that we do know, the situation could have been avoided.
at first i believe that the witness was racest and foolish blaming him of breaking in his own home,and the police officer also was a racist, for not giving his info and how he handled his situation, but that was before i talked about what happened and leveled headed judged what happened and it seem Gates was in the wrong, the women was just helping the police was doing his job, and and even if the police said something crazy to Gates, being a role model for millions he should've swallowed his pride and handle it a little more perfeshional, and realized the state in which the U.S is in and kept his cool, because at the end of the day all people saw was this black professor at harverd yelling out his mind and this white officer occamindating this loud mouth black men who was to proud to bite his tounge for a second and go throw what millions of black men go through in their lives, and he wasn't even getting beat and Barak is a men so he do have emotions and things do come out and he acted like the adverge joe and solved it like any one from the real world and had a beer =) We aint mad at u Barak
Mr. Gates was obligated to his opinion. I don't really think the situation caused for all that commotion none-the-less be on the news. The media just made this case bigger than what it was supposed to be.
Was Gates' reaction appropriate
Gates is a grown man. I beleive when you are grown you can do anything you want but he still should've conducted himself properly. Gates should have thought about his actions before they took place, in terms of his altercation with the police. No matter how fired up he was he could have known what his actions were going to lead to his incarceration. So I definately beleive that gates' actions were inappropriate.
I believe that it was Gates' fault as well as Crowleys. First off, Gates, he should have never opened the door for the police because Crowley should have had a warrant. The police officer did to much physical action to Gates once getting into the house. I have heard Gates speak of this as well, he talked about it on WVON. It was also said that Gates said things to the police officer. A police, with a gun, badge, taser (maybe), etc. and a black man speak up and back to the officer. That was not a smart thing to do, period. All Gates should have done was be quiet and probably just call for help if needed and necessary. Really, what was the officer going to charge Gates for? Pushing the door to hard on his own house? They both had their faults and both got their troubles for it. But if both had dealt with their personal situation better the outcome would have been better.
As for how Obama handled the situation, getting drunk was not the best thing. It should have been more of a talk rather than getting drunk and then talking about it. Was it suppose to be a easier way to say things? If so, they should be well enough to say it without the help of getting drunk. If they couldn't, without being drunk then perhaps they should not have had the meeting. To me, it wasn't handled properly, should have been handled more...maturely.
I believe that the situation could have been avoided with a simple phone call to maintenance to hellp open the door. It would have made things easier for Mr. Gates because he would have to get his door replace. However the officer's story doesn't make complete sence. I believe that after it was shown that Gates was who he said the officer should have just said I'm sorry for the misunderstanding and ignored any and all comments coming from Gates. He could have just told Gate his name because if he had just followed up on the call and any outrageous comments Gates may have made would have gone into the report. I think they both may have gotten a little 2 hot headed and were both being stupid. Simply because I couldn't really image some of the racism/racist remarks not coming form Gates after an encounter like this or the officer not feeling like he had to prove himself as an authority figure. Everyone's STUPID in this case. And the women did nothing wrong she just saw something that very much so could have been a robbery and reported that's not racist it's being a good citizen.
I feel like this is a case of he said she said even though they are both males. The professor shouldn’t have reacted how he did toward the officer but then I feel like the officer didn’t do his job very well either. And as for Lucia Whalen who wants to call the police on her own neighbor, I was just thinking how does she not even know who or knows how the people on her own block look. But I don’t think this was such a major event for Obama to sit down and drink beer with them. If that was the case I want something like that to happen to me so I can go meet the president. But overall all parties should have learned from this experience.
ALthough it is obvious that the entire truth will never be revealed about the incident, I personally believe that the policeman, was racist. He might not admitt it, but from what we've discussed, its implied racism. I say this, because according to the reports the only information that he received was that two men appeared to be breaking into a home. He never knew their ethnicity, yet when he arrived to the location, he automatically assumed suspicions about the two men. I believe that if the man who was with Gates, had talked, or seen everything, we would be able to come to a full and acurrate conclusion about the situation.
As for Obama's response to the situation, I completely disagree with "Count Olaf's" response. I personally thought it was necessary and smart, not only on behave of the Gates and the Officer, but also on his behave, do to his first comment on the situation.
The articles shows that our midsets can change. That maybe there is a chance that we can sometime in the near future forget about racial judgements and we can accept people no matter what we have heard in the media.My results showed that I show no preference between Whites or Blacks.Which is good because i don't discriminate between people based on their ethnicity.
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