Its been reported that Gates called the cops 'racist'. I would be interested to now if he said that and when. Was it when the cops approached him? Was it when they asked for ID? Was it after he showed ID and they still gave him shit?
To me it matters. If the cops approached him (or when he was asked for ID) and he started spouting off the racial crap, then he started the process of making it a bad situation (which the cops continued). However, if the cops continued to harass him even after showing ID, well, then they are solely to blame. Sometimes people who bitch about the police don't really have a clue of how dangerous of a job it can be. Just look at the bloodbath in Jersey City last week - 3 dead cops and 4 injured. Now, I understand Cambridge is not Jersey City, but that does not mean the potential for danger does not exist. The cops are not always the bad guys when shit hits the fan. There was a time when I wanted to be a cop. I am so glad that I decided against it. I would not be able to work in a world where every move I make is questioned. Where I might second guess pulling my weapon out of fear of being smeared in the media - because that can get cops killed. I think sometimes we need to give the cops the benefit of the doubt until we know all the facts. But I guess ' innocent until proven guilty' only applies to low life scum bag criminals. On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 8:24 AM, Vivec<[email protected]> wrote: > > http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html > > "Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's > pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon > at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The > incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a > victim of racial profiling." > > "Counter, who had called Gates from the Nobel Institute in Sweden, > where Counter is on sabbatical, said that Gates was shaken and > horrified by his arrest. > > Counter has faced a similar situation himself. The well-known > neuroscience professor, who is also black, was stopped by two Harvard > police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect as > he crossed Harvard Yard. They threatened to arrest him when he could > not produce identification. > > That incident was among several that ignited criticism from black > students and faculty, highlighting the prejudices that many black > students say they continue to face at Harvard. > > This is very disturbing that this could happen to anyone, and not > just to a person of such distinction, Counter said. He was just > shocked that this had happened, at 12:44 in the afternoon, in broad > daylight. It brings up the question of whether black males are being > targeted by Cambridge police for hara > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Want to reach the ColdFusion community with something they want? Let them know on the House of Fusion mailing lists Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:300729 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
