Comments on: Racial Profiling and the Professor

By: wondering

wondering — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:45:09 +0000

And to the earlier posts made by Nancy

(CNN) — The woman who made the 911 call that led to the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. never referred to black suspects when she called authorities for what she thought was a potential break-in.
Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested after a break-in was reported to police.

Police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, released the 911 phone call Monday. In the call, Lucia Whalen reports seeing “two larger men, one looked kind of Hispanic, but I’m not really sure, and the other one entered, and I didn’t see what he looked like at all.”

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/27/gates.arrest/index.html

By: Shakaama Live

Shakaama Live — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:51:16 +0000

I’m Black. [very black] I came home one night, when i lived with my cousin, ex-patriots player. It was freezing in the dead of winter. No one was home, which was shocking, because they had two little boys and never left the home empty, either my cousin or his wife were always there. I had just finished a 12 hour shift and this was just … *sigh* great. Now i knew that next door to him was his old football coach. [white man and family] I knocked on the door, introduced myself and asked if i could use the phone or stay until my cousin returned. [ door slammed in my face ] I later learned, from my cousin, whom I now know is a total snake, was berated by the neighbor as [ some strange black man came to our door, how dare he ] And, instead of my own flesh and blood defending me [ law school educated, world traveled, foreign service, diplomatic ties ] to this middle-class neighbor, he returned the favor and berated me and asked me to leave his home.

I share this story because it reveals something in America. This neighbor accepted my football playing, Black, cousin, but TO HIM, I was still just some poor dumb negro. Which he found unacceptable. [ of course my cousin was too stupid to understand this ]

By: wondering

wondering — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:54:28 +0000

And that’s where I start to question things Chazman.

By: m2c

m2c — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:19:52 +0000

Nancy @ 8:40 pm Not racist, but perhaps very very class conscious??? An Oklahoma chip on the shoulder? That’s the problem - even when writing about others one reveals so very much about oneself.
On a covered porch that might be in shade, what exactly could “a neighbor” see? But I’m glad that if the neighbor had been from Ok they would have known who it was and exactly what was happening. Brilliant people in Oklahoma. I think someone even wrote a musical about the place. (Happy now?)

By: Chazman1946

Chazman1946 — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:49:28 +0000

Prof. Gates’s daughter was interviewed on TV and she stated that if the police officer wasn’t a racist, and indeed taught classes on how to avoid racial profiling in the academy for years, “he should have known that a black man would be enraged at the sight of a white police officer in his home”.

That’s interesting, just what makes an educated black man enraged at the mere sight of a police officer? Is it the uniform, or the color of his skin.

Just who is the racist here?

By: wondering

wondering — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:59:52 +0000

I’ve asked this question before. A white man that questions a black man or looks at him is obviously racist, right? Now I understand sometimes the white man does racially profile the black man. But a black man that has his prejudice against the white man isn’t a big deal? The answer I hear the most is that black people can’t be racist. That’s just what the white man deserves for lets say 200+ years of slavery and oppression. Now where I get confused the most is that even though the black man doesn’t want to be judged and wants to be completely equal and on the same social level as the white man at the same time he doesn’t want to be like the white man or have any association with him. For instance, BET, the black man’s entertainment channel isn’t matched by WET a white man channel. That would be too far over the edge. The NAACP is matched by any white group, non-supremist. Yes the KKK is bad. Why shouldn’t the white minorities in some cities have a group that wants to promote their welfare? I just want to let it be known im not racist. Although that might sound cliche for someone who states the above to say, I seriously just want an answer.

By: Nancy Reyes

Nancy Reyes — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:40:34 +0000

well, I come from Oklahoma and our neighbors (white, black, and Native American) all recognize each other.

But I guess in rich upper class Cambridge it’s different…and yes, I lived in nearby Chestnut Hill, and our neighbors knew us…

By: m2c

m2c — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:18:12 +0000

I was with you, Nancy, right up until you blamed the neighbor. Why blame anyone?
Gosh knows it’s rare enough these days for someone to actually CARE about a crime possibly happening to someone else. The neighbor did the right thing - call it in.
For you to expect the neighbor (or anyone) to be able to “tell from their body language that it was an educated person” is absolute nonsense. A taxi could be a get away car. And the neighbor should NOT figure what door criminals would try to get thru or get close enough to find out who it was. Too dangerous.
So the neighbor did the right thing and I really don’t appreciate you coming down on that person when “good samaritans” / caring people (even those who stay at a distance) are so hard to find.
I put the whole thing up to “air rage” myself.
Let’s blame the airlines. They sure enough deserve it for all the indignities and discomforts they pile on us (which we pay for).