[Stealth]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_harvard_scholar_disorderly

BOSTON – Supporters of a prominent Harvard University black scholar who was arrested at his own home by police responding to a report of a break-in say he is the victim of racial profiling.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. had forced his way through the front door of his home because it was jammed, his lawyer said Monday.

Cambridge police say they responded to the well-maintained two-story home near campus after a woman reported seeing "two black males with backpacks on the porch," with one "wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry."

By the time police arrived, Gates was already inside. Police say he refused to come outside to speak with an officer, who told him he was investigating a report of a break-in.

"Why, because I'm a black man in America?" Gates said, according to a police report written by Sgt. James Crowley. The Cambridge police refused to comment on the arrest Monday.
No, you idiot, because 15 minutes ago several people saw you and someone else forcing your way into an apartment, after scouting the apartment first, looking for open windows and doors...

Gates — the director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research — initially refused to show the officer his identification, but then gave him a Harvard University ID card, according to police.
Never heard of an institute for White and Caucasian research.  Ever.  This reminds me of the 'clubs' they'd have back in high-school.  There was an African-American club.  No i'm not kidding, there really was.  When I tried starting a "Caucasian-American club", i was told by the administrators that that was unacceptable, since i was doing it "for racial reasons".  what the heck?  Africans in this country want equal rights, well here's a noval concept: stop trying to tell everyone how different you are, and maybe you'll get these equal rights.  We have a black man as the president for crying out loud, don't come whining that you don't have rights. The more of these "African american" magazines, TV-shows, clubs, research centers, etc. that we have, the more UNequal you're making yourself!].  Everyone wants to forget the days of old, when you were slaves, and abused in this country.  Sure, we ALL want to forget about that, and we'd love to, but you keep bringing it to our attention!.  Some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind were committed against racial groups, such as the Jews in Germany, far worse than what happened to African Americans but when's the last time you saw a Jew that got arrested screaming that it was because he was a Jew!?  Geez guys.  You want equality, then you should be the first to be displaying it

"Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him," the officer wrote.

Gates said he turned over his driver's license and Harvard ID — both with his photos — and repeatedly asked for the name and badge number of the officer, who refused.
At this point, the only person that has done anything remotely racial, is the acclaimed Mr. Gates...
He said he then followed the officer as he left his house onto his front porch, where he was handcuffed in front of other officers, Gates said in a statement released by his attorney, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree, on a Web site Gates oversees, TheRoot.com

He was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after police said he "exhibited loud and tumultuous behavior." He was released later that day on his own recognizance. An arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 26.
As anyone would have been

Gates, 58, also refused to speak publicly Monday, referring calls to Ogletree.

"He was shocked to find himself being questioned and shocked that the conversation continued after he showed his identification," Ogletree said.

Ogletree declined to say whether he believed the incident was racially motivated, saying "I think the incident speaks for itself."

Some of Gates' African-American colleagues say the arrest is part of a pattern of racial profiling in Cambridge.

Allen Counter, who has taught neuroscience at Harvard for 25 years, said he was stopped on campus by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification.

"We do not believe that this arrest would have happened if professor Gates was white," Counter said. "It really has been very unsettling for African-Americans throughout Harvard and throughout Cambridge that this happened."

The Rev. Al Sharpton said he will attend Gates' arraignment.

"This arrest is indicative of at best police abuse of power or at worst the highest example of racial profiling I have seen," Sharpton said. "I have heard of driving while black and even shopping while black but now even going to your own home while black is a new low in police community affairs."

Ogletree said Gates had returned from a trip to China on Thursday with a driver, when he found his front door jammed. He went through the back door into the home — which he leases from Harvard — shut off an alarm and worked with the driver to get the door open. The driver left, and Gates was on the phone with the property's management company when police first arrived.
And that didn't look suspicious?  i would've called the police if i'd seen that too!

Ogletree also disputed the claim that Gates, who was wearing slacks and a polo shirt and carrying a cane, was yelling at the officer.

"He has an infection that has impacted his breathing since he came back from China, so he's been in a very delicate physical state," Ogletree said.

Lawrence D. Bobo, the W.E.B Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard, said he met with Gates at the police station and described his colleague as feeling humiliated and "emotionally devastated."
lesson learned: next time don't follow the police back to their vehicles yelling at them.  the fact that he was arrested at their vehicles, and not in the apartment, PROVES that he followed them.  and it would make sense that he was following them while accusing them verbally.

"It's just deeply disappointing but also a pointed reminder that there are serious problems that we have to wrestle with," he said.

Bobo said he hoped Cambridge police would drop the charges and called on the department to use the incident to review training and screening procedures it has in place.

The Middlesex district attorney's office said it could not do so until after Gates' arraignment. The woman who reported the apparent break-in did not return a message Monday.

Gates joined the Harvard faculty in 1991 and holds one of 20 prestigious "university professors" positions at the school. He also was host of "African American Lives," a PBS show about the family histories of prominent U.S. blacks, and was named by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997.
But i've yet to see "the top 25 most influencial whites" in ANY magazine.  yet the top 25 most influential africans isn't racial!?

"I was obviously very concerned when I learned on Thursday about the incident," Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust said in a statement. "He and I spoke directly and I have asked him to keep me apprised."

So for those of you that don't want to read the whole thing, this is what happened.  People saw a man break his way into an apartment, and so they reported it to the police as a break-in.  Turns out it was Gates, a 'prominent african american' scholar, and his door had been jammed.

Police arrived, and asked him for identification.  He started accusing them of racism (??).  After providing them with identification, the officer was leaving, but Gates went after him, yelling at him, and accusing him of racism.  It's at this point, that Gates was arrested, for disorderly conduct.

Now him, and others, are crying that he was racially profiled.

I disagree.  If anyone's racist in this situation, i think it's the "prominent" african american scholar. 

because i hate this kind of thing, i've taken the liberty of adding my own comments to the above article.

That's my rant.

[General Battuta]

Boy, this is a tinderbox.

It's definitely a problem, and kind of a paradox.

On the one hand, things like these African American Institutes are absolutely needed, because if we simply 'let it be' and try to pretend race doesn't exist, implicit associations will still lead to subtle prejudice against Black individuals.

On the other hand, the more attention is called to the differences between White and Black individuals (as you point out), the more stereotypes are created and the more tensions are exacerbated.

I don't think it's as simple as you make it out to be, though. For instance, the reason you couldn't make a 'White Club' in high school is because White individuals are already in a position of power and privilege. They don't need comparative advancement. The establishment of a 'White Club' would be an act intended to reinforce pre-existing advantages White individuals have.

So I think there's something to be said for both sides.

[Stealth]

I don't think it's as simple as you make it out to be, though. For instance, the reason you couldn't make a 'White Club' in high school is because White individuals are already in a position of power and privilege. They don't need comparative advancement. The establishment of a 'White Club' would be an act intended to reinforce pre-existing advantages White individuals have.

but that's racial profiling right there - white individuals are already in a power of power and privilege? OMG OH NO YOU DIDNT JUST SAY THAT!!111

we have a black president of this country - there's no way that "white individuals are in a position of power and privilege" over black individuals.  maybe 50 years ago, but not now.  look at the number of black politicians, actors, professors, businessmen, etc.

[General Battuta]

Statistically, it's still true. Average income and level of education is far higher for White individuals. So is proportional representation in government, corporate leadership, educational faculty, and law.

Moreover, if you put an African-American and White individual with equal hiring qualifications in a competitive situation for a single job opening, the White person will be hired most of the time in controlled experimental circumstances. This is due to something called 'implicit bias', which everyone exhibits and which is very difficult to control. Similarly, in what's called a 'shooter game', where people have to make rapid decisions whether to shoot or not shoot people presented on a screen, Black individuals are far more likely to be shot than Whites (by both Black and White people alike.) Implicit bias sneaks into the cracks when a decision is difficult - for instance, it won't appear in the hiring game when the Black individual is clearly more qualified than the White; only when they're on fairly similar grounds.

Until the stereotypic associations between Black individuals and violence, crime, and poverty are gone, Blacks will remain at a disadvantage.

[Stealth]

Until the stereotypic associations between Black individuals and violence, crime, and poverty are gone, Blacks will remain at a disadvantage.

unfortunately, those aren't just stereotypic associations.  they're quite true many times.

[iamzack]

Until the stereotypic associations between Black individuals and violence, crime, and poverty are gone, Blacks will remain at a disadvantage.

unfortunately, those aren't just stereotypic associations.  they're quite true many times.

Men commit nearly all rapes. Does that mean we should assume men are rapists until we know otherwise? Religious people commit nearly all crimes. Should we assume all religious people are criminals?

I don't think it's as simple as you make it out to be, though. For instance, the reason you couldn't make a 'White Club' in high school is because White individuals are already in a position of power and privilege. They don't need comparative advancement. The establishment of a 'White Club' would be an act intended to reinforce pre-existing advantages White individuals have.

but that's racial profiling right there - white individuals are already in a power of power and privilege? OMG OH NO YOU DIDNT JUST SAY THAT!!111

we have a black president of this country - there's no way that "white individuals are in a position of power and privilege" over black individuals.  maybe 50 years ago, but not now.  look at the number of black politicians, actors, professors, businessmen, etc.

The fact is, you can still, to this day, find places in the US where black/white segregation is still around. In my hometown, whites (a tiny minority) own every single property, and blacks can only live on one side of Main St, where rent is cheap because the trailers are packed three to a lot and really ****ty.

There are places in the "land of the free" where a Realtor will tell you, without any fear of reprimand, that she won't sell you a particular house because it would cause trouble.

So, yes, whites are still in a position of power over blacks.

[Rodo]

Until the stereotypic associations between Black individuals and violence, crime, and poverty are gone, Blacks will remain at a disadvantage.

unfortunately, those aren't just stereotypic associations.  they're quite true many times.

[General Battuta]

Until the stereotypic associations between Black individuals and violence, crime, and poverty are gone, Blacks will remain at a disadvantage.

unfortunately, those aren't just stereotypic associations.  they're quite true many times.

No, that's exactly what a stereotypic association is - they arise from the brain's tendency to over-represent the link between two rare events. In this case, the comparatively rare Black person, and the comparatively rare occurrence of crime. On a biological level, it appears that most people will remember a minority person committing a crime more than they will remember a White person doing so.

As for the co-occurrence itself, perhaps it's because poverty leads to crime? Meaning that the solution is more equality, maybe even some assistance? Black people do not yet face a level playing field, and the very problems they face contribute to the stereotypes that create even more such problems. It's a vicious cycle.

[SpardaSon21]

GB, if I was doing what this guy did, and to black police officers, there would be no story.

[Flipside]

I've been stopped by the Police for breaking into my own house, not only did I apologise to them profusely for wasting their time (after all, it was my fault, I'd forgotten my keys), but I also went over to the neighbour who phoned them and thanked them for doing so.

[General Battuta]

GB, if I was doing what this guy did, and to black police officers, there would be no story.

Nothing that I said was particularly relevant to this individual's actions. I think he was being quite absurd.

If you were targeted by black police officers for hostile treatment due to your race, of course that would be racism. On an overall social level, it would be less harmful than white officers targeting a black individual, because it doesn't play into an existing power dynamic of fear and oppression, but I doubt that you - as the victim - would feel that way.

You'll note that at no point in my posts did I engage with the original situation; instead, I was addressing some of Stealth's comments. Your comment is therefore a bit of a non sequitur.

[jdjtcagle]

Statistically, it's still true. Average income and level of education is far higher for White individuals. So is proportional representation in government, corporate leadership, educational faculty, and law.

This reminds me of a paper wrote by Havard Professor Roland G. Fryer Jr. called 'Acting White'  It's an interesting read and suggest that racial profiling goes as far as to stop some African Americans from succeeding because they feel they are 'acting white'.

http://economics.harvard.edu/faculty/fryer

Here's the paper - http://economics.harvard.edu/faculty/fryer/files/aw_ednext.pdf

"‘Acting white’ very well may explain the lack of minority students in elite colleges and universities,”

He says that the phenomenon is more common in public schools with less than 20% Black students.  But almost non-existent in all black public schools and all black private schools.

This whole situation seems more to involve race rather than discrimination based on race.  The two are often confused.

[Janos]

I don't think it's as simple as you make it out to be, though. For instance, the reason you couldn't make a 'White Club' in high school is because White individuals are already in a position of power and privilege. They don't need comparative advancement. The establishment of a 'White Club' would be an act intended to reinforce pre-existing advantages White individuals have.

but that's racial profiling right there - white individuals are already in a power of power and privilege? OMG OH NO YOU DIDNT JUST SAY THAT!!111

Guess what's the point of racial profiling?

Trying to get rid of ooold priviledges which are largely based on ethnic and economic history.

In any western country your success is largely based on pure chance and your economic status. If you lack economic status, your children are going to have difficulties trying to reach the children of the upper classes in every single area of life. If there weren't historic reasons for trying to forcefully bring the minorities to equal footing with those which's priviledges run back for centuries, then there wouldn't be racial profiling.

I find it absolutely unbeliavable that white people are complaining about racial profiling. It is a tool that has an explicit goal of getting rich of itself.

we have a black president of this country - there's no way that "white individuals are in a position of power and privilege" over black individuals.  maybe 50 years ago, but not now.  look at the number of black politicians, actors, professors, businessmen, etc.

Bull****, I cannot believe you fell for this trap.

Look at the prisoner statistics. Look at income statistics. Look at the fact that your beloved president is not, in fact, one of the majority of black people in the USA. Look at the effects of segregation - one that, in some parts of USA, only ceased to formally exist about 40 years ago. Look at literacy rates, look at crime rates, look at goddamn beauty models and what society ranks as "pretty". Tell me that even legal racism that existed till quite recently does not have a profound effect here, and that white people aren't statistically better off than their colour counterparts that in every other way equal them.

Tell me there isn't a history of negligence and unconscious colour-based class society that still exists in US. Tell me. I dare you.

Tell me that history is completely irrelevant nowadays.

[Stealth]

buddy, rather than reply to all 'that', how about you just help me stick to the topic at hand.

Was the professor right? Did he have reason to be upset and act the way he did?

[General Battuta]

No, I don't think he did. He took the racism thing too far and tried to use the Black social position as a defense against perfectly reasonable police action.

That said I think all the critiques Janos makes are very valid.

EDIT: After re-reading the article more closely...I don't know. I think maybe he did have reason to be angry like that. I can understand his feelings.

[jdjtcagle]

Was the professor right? Did he have reason to be upset and act the way he did?

From what I read there was no excuse to act that way.

[TrashMan]

You'll never get perfect equality and perfect distribution.
So just because statiscticly there aren't as many mexicans in the government as there are whites, or as many asians in the Richest 100  as there are indians or whites - well it doesn't mean anything. It means jack s***.

you're not going to get a perfect round distributon, especialy since we can discuss at length what such perfect distribution would be. As long as all have equal rights and can apply to any position and reach it, then it's all good. Period.

I friggin hate humanity for it's stupidity.

[Scotty]

Man, where's High Max?  You think he'd be all over this topic?

That said, it is my firm opinion that this man was in fact the only person involved (as far as the article states) that was acting in a racist manner.  The fact that he wasn't even arrested at the apartment gives credence to much of the story.

[General Battuta]

you're not going to get a perfect round distributon, especialy since we can discuss at length what such perfect distribution would be. As long as all have equal rights and can apply to any position and reach it, then it's all good. Period.

This is what's currently missing, however. So you are in agreement with Janos and myself, then?

Man, where's High Max?  You think he'd be all over this topic?

That said, it is my firm opinion that this man was in fact the only person involved (as far as the article states) that was acting in a racist manner.  The fact that he wasn't even arrested at the apartment gives credence to much of the story.

I don't think he was acting racist, I think he was acting in a way motivated by racism. I agree that he was the only one acting improperly. I can see his reasons but I don't think they're enough.

But do you recognize the fundamental problems that lead to this kind of bitterness?

[jdjtcagle]

EDIT: After re-reading the article more closely...I don't know. I think maybe he did have reason to be angry like that. I can understand his feelings.

Help me understand how he had an excuse to act that way...?  

If anything he was "could" be upset with the fact that his neighbor called the police because of a "break in." Which he presumed was based on discrimination, could of been I don't know.  

But the police was respectful from what I read unless I missed something?
He acted irresponsible, irrational, and didn't control his anger.  There is no excuse for such behavior.