There is this theory that states, since we have a black US president, that surely the USA has resolved the issue of racial bigotry. And that esteemed Harvard professor,
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a big bad bully who posed a threat to the uber-sensitive, mild-mannered Cambridge, Massachusetts police force recently and had to be arrested for disturbing the peace.
What utter hogwash. For an intelligent look at this, see Newsweek's article
here. This is unfortunately a
he-said-she-said situation, but on this much both parties agree :
.
A
(white) officer responded to an attempted-burglary call-in after Gates had jumped his own fence because, after returning home from a business trip, he realized he didn't have his house keys. The officer demanded to see some identification. Gates initially refused, but then relented, showed ID, and it was established that indeed, he did live there.
.
Here the stories diverge. Gates says the officer got mouthy; the police say just the opposite. The truth most likely lies somewhere in between. But in a pinch, I believe Gates more than the cops. I have had police on my doorstep a couple times, wanting information. The thing is -
police carry guns.
I don't. I therefore tend not to get too sassy with them. The thing about being
dead right is, you're still dead. In any case, keep one thing in mind -
it is not against the law to yell at a policeman when he's in your home. Stupid, yes. Illegal and/or peace-disturbing, no.
.
The truth is -
its a very different world for black Americans than for white Americans. I can think of two different times when that fact was brought home to me, but for the sake of brevity, we'll keep those for another post. Racial Bigotry - both conscious and subconscious - seethes in the US right now, in part because one of
"them" is in the White House.
.
We shall see how this all plays out. Obama called the officer's actions stupid, then did a two-steps-backward political tango. Cambridge released Gates from jail almost immediately
(but not before subjecting him to the above mugshot), and apologized without actually coming out and saying so. The Massachusetts police force is deeply hurt that one of their officers was portrayed as an over-reacting bully, and is demanding a presidential apology. And the dittoheads are already trying to tell you how Blacks have more rights than Whites nowadays.
.
Yeah right. And
Rodney King was a grave threat to those four LAPD officers when he was handcuffed and on the pavement, so they had to beat the living
sh*t out of him. And the KKK is just a bunch of good-old boys out having fun. And surely the USA has resolved the issue of racial bigotry.
What utter hogwash. For an intelligent look at this, see Newsweek's article here. This is unfortunately a he-said-she-said situation, but on this much both parties agree :
.
A (white) officer responded to an attempted-burglary call-in after Gates had jumped his own fence because, after returning home from a business trip, he realized he didn't have his house keys. The officer demanded to see some identification. Gates initially refused, but then relented, showed ID, and it was established that indeed, he did live there.
.
Here the stories diverge. Gates says the officer got mouthy; the police say just the opposite. The truth most likely lies somewhere in between. But in a pinch, I believe Gates more than the cops. I have had police on my doorstep a couple times, wanting information. The thing is - police carry guns. I don't. I therefore tend not to get too sassy with them. The thing about being dead right is, you're still dead. In any case, keep one thing in mind - it is not against the law to yell at a policeman when he's in your home. Stupid, yes. Illegal and/or peace-disturbing, no.
.
The truth is - its a very different world for black Americans than for white Americans. I can think of two different times when that fact was brought home to me, but for the sake of brevity, we'll keep those for another post. Racial Bigotry - both conscious and subconscious - seethes in the US right now, in part because one of "them" is in the White House.
.
We shall see how this all plays out. Obama called the officer's actions stupid, then did a two-steps-backward political tango. Cambridge released Gates from jail almost immediately (but not before subjecting him to the above mugshot), and apologized without actually coming out and saying so. The Massachusetts police force is deeply hurt that one of their officers was portrayed as an over-reacting bully, and is demanding a presidential apology. And the dittoheads are already trying to tell you how Blacks have more rights than Whites nowadays.
.
Yeah right. And Rodney King was a grave threat to those four LAPD officers when he was handcuffed and on the pavement, so they had to beat the living sh*t out of him. And the KKK is just a bunch of good-old boys out having fun. And surely the USA has resolved the issue of racial bigotry.
2 comments:
So I read a post one of my acquaintances put on facebook today, talking about how all races need to be equal so that no one oppresses the other. She cited how whites used to oppress blacks with slavery, and did all the horrible stuff to Japanese Americans during WWII etc. She said we now even had a black president, whcih "proves" that blacks and whites have gotten on an even footing. She went on to say that this particular incident proves that the black race is rising above whites in order to oppress us. It was difficult, but i managed to keep my mouth shut and not comment. I'll bet it isn't hard to guess that the woman who said this is a white Utah Mormon who thinks gays have equal rights because they're equally able to marry someone of the opposite sex...
"...how Blacks have more rights than Whites nowadays.".
the above statement was actually made to Liz at her former place of employment, right after Obama was elected.
you will be unsurprised to know that she worked at a Mormon doctor's office, where about 75% of the staff was also Mormon.
and it is equally true that it is a different world if you're gay.
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