That's Something You Could Do, Safely

Several months have passed since Harvard Professor Louis Gates was arrested in Cambridge, Mass., and I am only now getting around to giving my take on the matter. After hearing both sides it seems to me that the Professor over-reacted; let me explain. Many early reports emphasized that Mr. Gates was in his own home when arrested, or they diminished Gates' role in the episode, and of course race was mentioned as a motive (because that is what civilized people first expect/) even though there were black officers present too. All of this took place before anyone had heard the arresting officer's story. Sure, it was Gates' home, sure, the officer did press Gates to make sure that the officer was getting the full story, and certainly one would not expect to be arrested at one's home for nothing. But Gates did more than nothing, rather than appreciate that the police were there to assure his security, Gates took offense and created an awful situation. Had Gates thought about the following scene from the movie Panic Room he may have been able to put his reflexive paranoia on the back burner long enough to allow the officer to perform his duty.

Take a look, the pertinent section is the first six minutes, with special mention of the section beginning at 4:50 wherein the officer presses the matter to provide the homeowner an opportunity to signal their danger if they dare not speak.



When all of the hyperbole was put aside, and when the full version of events was presented, it is certain that Sargent Crowley was acting in the best interest (Police Report) of Mr. Gates. I can even imagine a situation wherein Mr. Gates continuing rants, and his act of following the officers as they left was an attempt to get arrested to seek protection, a signal which he could not speak. Of course, as time bears out, that wasn't the case, the story is that Mr. Gates behaved like a spoiled child and was subsequently rewarded when the DA elected not to prosecute, (no doubt as a token of good faith, to keep the rabble from rousing).

[note: use of the symbol "/" after a sentence is called a "sarc tag", and denotes the previous statement was sarcastic.]