On the arrest of distinguished professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., there are many angles to view this telling incident, as evidenced by the myriad of links below. For one minute, consider this case from the perspective of the caller. If my front door was jammed, as many times happens, and my daughter and I (both of us white with blond hair) were taking a few moments to push it open, no one would phone the police. Non-incident. No second glances. Non- starter. Nothing.
Some people muse that perhaps we've reached a "post-racial society". Sisters and Brothers, to get to that plane, we have "miles to go before [we] sleep," as Robert Frost writes in his "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" poem. President Obama was joking, but correct in my view, when he said last night at his press conference, that if the front door to the White House was stuck and he stood there, shouldering it open, "'Here, I'd get shot.'" (Boston Globe, 7/23/09, p.A12)
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
~by Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
We have "promises to keep," Folks.
Choose an article. Each one has a different take. Then again, you might prefer to dwell on Robert Frost's poem instead.
The Boston Globe, Thursday, July 23, 2009, "Obama scolds Cambridge police" by Joseph Williams, p.A1
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/07/22/obama_says_police_acted_stupidly_in_arrest/
The Boston Globe, Thursday, July 23, 2009, "Professor is down-to-earth, friends say" by Tracy Jan, p.A12
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/07/23/friends_say_skip_gates_rides_no_high_horse/
The Boston Globe, Thursday, July 23, 2009, "Machismo and the Gates incident" by Joan Vennochi, Opinion Page A17
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/23/machismo_and_the_gates_incident/
The Boston Globe, Thursday, July 23, 2009, "Officer at eye of storm says he won't apologize" by Jonathan Saltzman, John R. Ellement and Erica Noonan, p.A1
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/23/officer_at_eye_of_storm_says_he_wont_apologize/
The Boston Globe, Thursday, July 23, 2009, "Gates's neighbor captured the moment" by Jack Nicas, p.A13
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/23/birth_of_a_flashpoint_gatess_neighbor_captured_the_moment/
The Boston Globe, Wednesday, July 22, 2009, "No charge, but Gates case seethes" by Tracy Jan, p.A1
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/22/no_charge_but_gates_case_seethes/
The Boston Globe, Wednesday, July 22, 2009, "Racial profiling is alive and well" by Carol Rose, Opinion pageA11
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/22/racial_profiling_is_alive_and_well/
The Boston Globe, Wednesday, July 22, 2009, "The unfinished work of equality" by Georgianna Melendez and Robert L. Turner, Opinion page A11
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/22/the_unfinished_work_of_equality/
The Boston Globe, Wednesday, July 22, 2009, "A Professor's arrest" editorial, p.A10
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2009/07/22/a_professors_arrest/
The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1969, "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" pp. 224-225
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(89)
-
▼
July
(13)
- On the eve of the sales tax hike and with the curr...
- Whereas many times I disagree with Derrick Jackson...
- They Looked Suspicious . . . Why???
- I'll Take a Pair of Hot Pink Stilettos With A Clot...
- Yesterday's Globe told about a ceremony that took ...
- Are you beginning to get the idea that whatever or...
- "I Feel It In Me Bones" ~ anonymous sailor
- The Coverage Continues
- Day 3 and he still makes the front page -- below t...
- "a policy wonk with charisma" ~The Boston Globe o...
- It's positively patriotic -- and economic!
- "...one drop of giant rain" ~Emily Dickinson
- "Tax-heavy and Reform-light" ~ Lew Evangelidis
-
▼
July
(13)
17 comments:
What would you do if the cops asked to see your ID? Would you go on a tirade or would you show your ID? If a neighbor called the cops and said she thought someone were breaking into your house, and the cops show up, would you want the cops to ask you to identify yourself, or would you prefer that the cops just let you bust into the house, not knowing if you were the occupant or the burglar? Forget what the participants say, the WITNESSES back up to cops!!
Robert Frost might have miles to go, but Barack Obama slandered the Cambridge police department. It should only be a matter of a day or so before Al Sharpton leads a protest in Harvard Square.
Thank you for your comments, Mr. Frum. As I wrote in the blog, no one would call the police if I was involved, because I'm a white woman. The reason the phone call was placed is because two black males were trying to open the door.
We, as a country "have miles to go" with race relations and I disagree with you about President Obama. No need for him to apologize. He got the matter right. Matter of fact, "stupidly" is a euphemism.
Ms. Princeton GOP, now that the President has backtracked from his original, stupid statement, I will remind you that the police were called because two men were seen jimmying the door. Please note the house had been broken into before. The caller gave a description of the two intruders as "Black". Had the caller identified the intruders as white, do you think the cops would have asked Prof. Gates for his ID?
You also evaded my questions. As to your being a natural blond white woman, had two African-American police officers from Princeton asked to see your ID after being informed that two women were prying open a door at your house, would you have said: "Why, because I am a white woman in America?" or would you have shown your ID?
Again Mr. Frum, I appreciate your comments and interest in The Mayflower Commentary. The arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has prompted much discussion and emotion. Please allow me to clarify my thoughts. I never intended to dodge your questions. I typically do not answer hypothetical questions that revolve around circumstances that are so far removed from reality they cannot be entertained. You see, Mr. Frum, blond white women are not usually considered suspicious. Black men are. The police would not be called to my house if my daughter and I were struggling to open the front door -- not even in a Disney movie would this/could this happen. So I didn't answer your question because I cannot put myself into those situation. Also, Princeton has no African-American police officers.
Today's posting should satisfy any other questions you may have. To answer the remaining one, yes, of course, the police would have asked a white man to show his ID, however I'm guessing the original phone call would not have been placed. Time to "cool off," though.
Ms. Natural Blond White Woman Princeton GOP, may I respectfully ask you one more "hypothetical question that revolve around circumstances that are so far removed from reality they cannot be entertained"? What do you think your response and the national media response would have been had the cop been Black and the professor White?
Had the Professor and his driver been white, Mr. Frum, a passerby would have barely noticed the two men (note I omitted a black or white adjective) trying to open the front door. Simply two guys on the front porch. No call would have been placed.
Ms. Princeton GOP, Please remind me not to call the police if I suspect two men of any or no color are trying to force open your door as I drive by your house. Personally, I hope my neighbors will call the police if they suspect someone is trying to jimmy my front door.
Mr. Frum, if anyone is struggling with my front door, there's a 99.5% chance that that person belongs in my home. I'm not worried about break-ins in this neighborhood, so thank you for not calling the police.
One more thing, Mr. Frum, if you're in the neighborhood, rather than driving by, why not stop by for a tall glass of ice cold lemonade? Then we can continue this conversation -- similar to what's happening on Thursday, no less.
Ms. Princeton GOP, two quick points to be made. First, unlike your house which I assume has never been burglarized, Prof. Gates' house was previously broken into. He should THANK the neighbor for calling the police. Second, never having been in your neighborhood, but assuming from your description that it is not an demographically and ethnically diverse community, someone as sinister looking as me would surely arouse the suspicions of the neighbors.
I'll take your second point first, Mr. Frum. You are correct in assuming that my home, or for that matter, my entire neighborhood, has not been burgled, at least not in my lifetime. Therefore, someone such as yourself, that is, a person never having been seen in these parts of town before, would be unrecognizable or different, which supports my premise that anyone struggling with my front door belongs in the house.
As to your first idea, true, the Professor's house had previously been broken into and the caller has said race was not a factor in her suspicion, so I should retract my assumption that race was the motivating factor behind the call, and as well, I apologize for that assumption. However, after being arrested, handcuffed and dragged away from his own home, Professor Gates is under no obligation to thank his neighbor. If someone phoned the police while you were you trying to get into my house, I would not be grateful. I would be dismayed and embarassed.
Ms. Vanilla Princeton GOP, Your first paragraph contradicts your second paragraph. In your first paragraph you recognize that I am an outsider to your neighborhood and thus I should not be trying to jimmy your door. In the second paragraph, you state "If someone phoned the police while you were you trying to get into my house, I would not be grateful. I would be dismayed and embarassed."
Why would you be embarrassed if a neighbor reported someone who he did not recognize trying to break your door down?
There seems to be a breakdown of logic here.
Mr. John Butterscotch Frum, I should have gone further in my first paragraph. Yes, I said you are an outsider to the neighborhood, however my point was to to say that although that is true, you do have a right to be jimmying my front door because you're my friend. I would not want a neighbor to phone the police, simply because she happened to spot an unfamiliar person playing around with my door. The reason for that is that anyone trying to get in my house belongs in my house. I would be mortified if the police showed up to interrogate a friend. That includes you, Butterscotch.
Ms. Wonder Bread Princeton GOP,
>>I would not want a neighbor to phone the police, simply because she happened to spot an unfamiliar person playing around with my door. The reason for that is that anyone trying to get in my house belongs in my house.<<
I feel quite the contrary. Were someone unfamiliar to my neighbors be playing around with my door, I certainly would hope they would call the police. The fact that burglaries happen is testimony that people break into other's houses. I am shocked that you would risk the safety of your family on the presumption that someone jimmying your door is probably entitled to be there.
Also, a natural blond is unheard of in my neighborhood and the presence of a natural blond woman in this area would cause great suspicion and alarm.
Mr. Latte Frum, it's all about statistics. What are the odds someone would break into my home? Confining our thinking using 100 as the number of times for simplicity sake, I'll give that likelihood 1/4 over 100 because that's about as low as we can go. Divided out, you get .0025. Spelled out, that very small number is twenty-five ten-thousandsth.
Now let's consider the flip side, or the positives involved in living in a laid-back manner. If you think about the value of living freely and in the absence of fear, placed high on my scale, and weigh that against the possibility of something bad happening as a result of that living, those chances being calculated out to 0.25%, the stress-free lifestyle is the better, more logical way to go. Taking it a step further, Mr. Latte, rather than being alarmed by what you perceive as a cavalier, risk-taking attitude, you might want to instead consider the gift I have given my family of living in trust and relaxation within our little corner of the world.
"Also, a natural blond is unheard of in my neighborhood and the presence of a natural blond woman in this area would cause great suspicion and alarm." Guess I'll wait for you to answer the door when I come over.
Dear Ms. non-Clairol GOP, I am delighted that your neighborhood is immune from break-ins. You are very lucky to live in such a secure neighborhood. I suggest you give the "gift" of ultimate security to your family by leaving all the doors of your house unlocked.
You mentioned your family. I trust there are children involved. Assuming they are old enough to take care of themselves and not need a babysitter, would you leave them overnight and advised them not to lock the doors? I suspected not.
I think your likelihood and statistics argument,is completely specious. The statistics go out the window when there are people trying to break down your door.
Furthermore, had the two gentlemen been trying to jimmy open a window, would that change your thinking? I realize this is a hypothetical question and you are reluctant to answer hypotheticals, but the world is full of hypotheticals. I trust you have some type of insurance, perhaps life or car or homeowners'. Insurance is 100% based on "what if", which is entirely based on hypotheticals.
>> Guess I'll wait for you to answer the door when I come over.<<
I don't answer the door for strangers with natural blond hair. Only dyed blonds.
Mr. John Cinnamon raisin bagel Frum, How I appreciate our spirited discussion! It's all about balance and common sense, My Friend. Yes, I consider myself blessed, living in a secure neighborhood, however I realize no town is immune to crime. That being said, the chance of anything bad happening here is virtually nil, therefore statistics do come into play. I encourage my children to take reasonable precautions, but not to overdo, something I feel has set them up well for relaxed living.
The word "jimmying" carries such negative connotations. If two men are working on a window, I regard it as such, rather than assuming they're doing something nefarious. This is where common sense comes in. Look at the situation, think about what's going on, consider the likelihood,then make a decision as to whether to act or not. In my neighborhood, a good rule to follow is put down your phone, relax and enjoy the day.
Yes, I have insurance and that in itself is based on statistics.
Post a Comment