Comments on: Black Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. Arrested at Own House: Racial Profiling Suspected

By: brad

brad — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:00:34 +0000

also, I think many of you are missing the point. Gates was not arrested for being black. He was arrested for yelling at cops and causing a scene. It doesn’t matter what his job description is or the color of his skin. I’ve almost been arrested numerous times for simply trying to speak to officers during our encounters. Think about this : Race was only mentioned by Gates. If anyone could be considered Racist in this situation it would be Gates. He assumed that he was being arrested because he was a black man. The more and more I encounter these type situations the more I realize that many black men have this preconcieved notion in their mind that they are/or will be treated differently due to the color of their skin. I think the most important step towards racial equality at this point would be for minorities to get out of this mindset. Do you not agree that this mindset only henders true progress?

By: White Police Officer Attacks Obama and Then Obama Gets Soft , Calls Him to “Apologize” |

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:54:35 +0000

[...] officer who used the old “disorderly conduct” charge to arrest Harvard African American Studies Henry Louis Gates went hard on Obama today and then our President [...]

By: Jim Kessler

Jim Kessler — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:27:43 +0000

Gates is a presumptuous racist. He didn’t determine the cop was racist, he presumed the cop was racist.
That is the essence of bigotry and racism, and Prof. Gates demonstrated it admirably.

By: MajorCrisis

MajorCrisis — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:21:35 +0000

This event is manufactured– by Dr. Gates. It is only logical to arrest someone, of any race, who appears to be breaking into a home and refuses to identify themself. Dr Gates however, only reflects a larger misconception unfortunately spawned by the equal rights movement– the idea that all negative things that happen to all blacks under all conditions in all places and times are are always due to racism. Talk about racism!

By: ela

ela — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:03:49 +0000

I am amazed at how most in the black community are pulling that “RACE” card once again. This had absolutely nothing to do with race. Apparently, a concerned neighbor saw someone who appeared to be breaking into a house and they did what any concerned neighbor would do,call the police.

You see, blacks in this country really need to stop whining about race. First they whined about not having a black president and they got that. Now, I guess new laws need to be drawn whenever a police officer runs with the black people. How ridiculous is this ?

Prof. Gates should have identified himself with proper identification. Period. Things did not need to escalate to such a point he ended up being arrested. It is clear he was an influential person both at Harvard and in the African American community. But, I will tell you, I never knew who this man was until this incident.

People are running around talking about his accomplishments, well, one’s accomplishment does not exclude one’s ability to commit a crime. Doctors, even people like Madoff were “upright” citizens, until we found out they too are capable of committing crimes.

So this had nothing to do with racism. I also believe the PD dropped the disturbance of peace charges to appease the situation. So there.

But please Black People, if you cry racism when a neighbor blindly felt they were being good citizens when your home looked like it was being broken into, I guess from now on, when you see a black person in an emergency situation, it’s best not to call 911. Because “Racist” accusation will come right after.

Race is not everything. And black people need to get over it.

By: ctizzile

ctizzile — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:06:15 +0000

How ever the story went i think both parties are a lil to blame. and we all know boston is and will mostlikley be the home of undercover racisim.

SMH @ this whole situation.

By: star

star — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:54:26 +0000

He was not wearing a suit. he was coming from vacation wearing a polo t-shirt and pants and the door was jammed so he and his black driver tried to push it in. the person supposedly then made the report of two black men with knap sacks breaking down the door.

When the police arrived, he was already inside. I suspect there is some race element here but the professor seemed to have that “do you know who i am” attitude. HE should have just showed them the ID and out them later. The police should have left him alone after they realised that he was the resident. there was no need for any arrest or charges of disorderly conduct. I would have been annoyed if police were in my house asking me to prove that i live there.

By: Moremony

Moremony — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:40:10 +0000

Wanting an apology, and having an expectation of getting one are two different things. It’s interesting how quickly the CPD dropped the charges and backtracked to try and put this thing behind them.

By: Reading is fundamental

Reading is fundamental — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:25:58 +0000

Apparently, many of the people commenting here either can’t read or struggle with comprehension. The post clearly states that Mr. Gates DID show his ID! Quote:
“Counter said he spoke to Gates, who told him police continued to question him after he showed them his license and Harvard identification. “They did not believe him when he said that he was in his own home,” Counter said. “

By: Maria

Maria — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:28:38 +0000

Listen up people, eminent scholar or not, once your skin is black that is ALL that is seen by white America – so get with the program. That gentleman should be wise to that fact by now.