Profile This

There's a huge story out of Boston that has made national headlines and I feel compelled to write about my own views of this because when this story broke, my subjectivity led me to side with the alleged "victim" but now after a day of wrapping my head around this entire fiasco (and it is a fiasco), I believe I will now stand firm on my belief that the cop involved is not the bad guy but the stranger (a woman) who created her own profile which led to this ridiculous incident.

Quick review: Recently, Henry Louis Gates Jr., a renowned Harvard scholar, and a black man, arrived at his home in a very upscale, wealthy Harvard neighborhood to find that his front door was jammed. He asked his driver - also a black man - to assist him in trying to open the door. Apparently, both men were leaning their shoulders against the door attempting to gain entry into Gates' home, which, by the way, is owned by Harvard University.

A female passerby saw two black men trying to gain entry into a home and immediately called the Cambridge police department to report a possible burglary.

Sgt. James Crowley, a very well respected high ranking police officer appeared on scene. Gates had gained entry into his home and apparently called the real estate office that handles the property management of Gates' home to inform it of the problem. This is where the story gets blurry and plainly confusing. Gates claims that Crowley illegally entered his home and asked Gates for identification. Initially, Gates refused and asked Crowley for his name and badge number. Gates continued to badger Gates even after Gates produced ID which clearly indicated that the home was, indeed, Gates residence. Gates allegedly became belligerent, calling Crowley a racist, accused Gates of "racist profiling" and god only knows what else.

This tirade of Gates continued onto his porch and apparently, Sgt. Crowley had enough of Gates' rantings and ravings about racism and racial profiling and arrested Gates for disorderly conduct.

This is when the firestorm began.

The arrest has sparked outrage beyond comprehension. President Obama got involved - making the statement that the "Cambridge police department acted stupidly" by arresting Gates.

Such is this country where I get to state my opinion about our president and not get arrested but President Obama was extremely out of line with that comment.

Crowley defends the arrest, defends everything he did as "procedural" and the Cambridge chief of police stated that Crowley's actions were "consistent with national law enforcement protocol."

The charges of disorderly conduct have been dropped but Gates is making a federal case out of his arrest. I'm sure Al Sharpton will get involved and a host of other anti-racist activists.

But frankly, I think the woman who made the initial call to the police is the true profiler here, the true racist. In a neighborhood of mansions where wealth weaves itself like golden fibers in kings'
gossamer-spun robes, she saw two black men allegedly tearing at that fiber, staining the neighborhood robe by appearing to break into one of the kings' mansions. Well, that mansion happened to belong to one of those black men. But she did not know that and her actions created a horrendous domino effect which has caused a very well-respected cop to come under fire for doing his job. He responded to a possible burglarly, he asked a man for his identification and arrested same when the man became belligerent and offensive.

Gates was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct which is a broad term but used when police are attempting to keep the peace "when a person is behaving in a disruptive manner, but presents no serious public danger." Gates apparently was behaving in that manner which prompted Crowley to arrest him.

Gates accused Crowley of racial profiling. Let me fill you in on two very important facts about Sgt. James Crowley. First fact: Sgt. James Crowley was at the Boston Garden the night that Reggie Lewis collasped (and later died). Reggie Lewis was a member of the Boston Celtics, a very talented young black man (yes, I said black) and Crowley rushed to his aid, administering CPR (yes, to a black man) in a futile attempt to save Lewis' life. Lewis' death was a result of a heart ailment. Hmmm. Gates accuses Crowley of racial profiling but Crowley's history includes attempting to save a very famous sports athlete's life - a black sports athlete's life. Doesn't quite fit that racial profile now does it?

Second fact: Sgt. Crowley is and has been an instructor and co-instructor for the past five years at the Lowell, Massachusetts Police Academy teaching a racial profiling course. According to Deborah Friedl, deputy superintendent of the police department, Crowley "seems to be a highly regarded instructor at the academy. He consistently received high praise from students."

Apparently Gates did not know these very two important facts about the man he accused of racial profiling.

But I am going to get on the fence and sit in the middle for a minute and try to see both sides.

Should Gates have simply produced his ID without indignation and simply asked Sgt. Crowley to take leave of his home at that point? Yes. Should Sgt. Crowley have accepted the ID as valid and wished Mr. Gates a good day, thank you for your cooperation yadayada? Yes. Should Sgt. Crowley have simply listened to Mr. Gates rantings and ravings and then tipped his hat and left Mr. Gates home without making the arrest? Yes.

None of these things happened. What was a sensitive local situation has escalated into national news in which our own president has become involved and in which a police officer has been put in the middle of a highly charged alleged racial firestorm.

Black and white, black and white. Why are two colors that are perhaps the most boring colors in a crayon box the most highly charged and volatile colors in our world? What is wrong with you people? What if Mr. Gates and his driver were pink? Or purple? Or part of the Blue Man Group? Or a member of the Evil Empire? Would the woman who called the Cambridge police made the same call of a possible burglarly? I can just imagine the call to 911:

"911 What's your emergency?"

"Hi. I am on Our Shit Don't Stink Street in the Harvard University neighborhood and good heavens, there is a little man - why its ET and a man - good lord it's Darth Vader trying to get into one of the houses here on my street. And they left their silver something running! Someone could just come along and steal their vehicle!"

"I understand Ma'am. We'll send someone out right away. Are you taking any prescription medications? Have you been drinking?"

"Young man, I resent those questions. I can see perfectly well, I only had three whiskey sours at lunch and I took my qualudes a few hours ago. The men have backpacks on. I can just imagine what is inside those backpacks. Someone needs to come out here right now and investigate."

"Thank you ma'am. We'll send someone out right away. Do you live close by?"

"Why, no, I don't. I am from Takagongakajagoogoo. I just happen to be walking through this lovely neighborhood which so reminds me of my neighborhood back home. No one of "color" comes into our neighborhoods back home - at least not without a restraint of some sort. Good heavens. That's against the law."

"Thank you again, ma'am for your call. We appreciate your, uh, keen sense of observation Have a nice day."

Click.

My point is the tattletale who started all this is the racial profiler - not the cop. If she has just minded her damned business and kept walking all the way back to Takagongakajagoogoo, Gates would have been in his house screaming at the real estate office about his door and Sgt. James Crowley could have sat in his backyard the last couple of nights enjoying the summer air and grilling up a few steaks for he and his family.

Instead, controversy swirls around him like an Arabian desert dust storm which doesn't seem like it's going to let up anytime soon.

Gates wants an apology from Crowley. Crowley states he is not going to apologize for doing his job.

And this opinionated blogger who remains objective. I think Gates was extremely subjective in his assumptions of racial profiling and Crowley simply should have walked away, having the foresight perhaps to know that an arrest would make an already volatile situation worse.

This story is not going away anytime soon - kind of like poison ivy. Once you touch it, it spreads it's nastiness all over you because you just keep scratching and scratching and making it worse and pretty soon you are so far beyond miserable you wish you'd never touched it in the first place.




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