But the arrest happened after he provided ID. In fact from Gates' account it sounds like the handcuffs went on the moment he accused the cop of racism.
I think the fact that he was asked to show ID is exasperating, and probably far less likely to happen to a white person, but understandable given the circumstances. The arrest is completely unjustified.
The charges have apparently been dropped now. But I've been enraged by some of the comments on the links I posted above.
Actually, I was asked to show ID by the police when I was napping on my own couch. (I am a white woman, as the picture shows.)
My then-roomate, who was not home, had just phoned her shrink with a suicide threat, so he sent the cops over. They burst into my living room and were quite visibly taken aback by me not being dead, but they did ask for my ID.
That said, once that happened and the cop satisfied himself to the identity of the person in the house, he bloody well should have apologized (as the officer and EMTs in my case apologized to me) and started taking his statement about the damage to the front door, no?
As I say, it's not so much the demand for ID that bothers me. I think, though, that it's understandable that Gates was irritated by it, and the cop's statement that he was "surprised" by his reaction seems disingenuous at best.
It just wears me out, all this. There are days I would like to secede from the human race, I swear.
SO MUCH THIS! even if Gates was rude or god forbid, mean? NOT AN ACTUAL CRIME YOU DOOFUS! Not that I would be rude to a cop, was scared to death to say anything at all when they were in my home, but really. really!
Racism, and the fact that some people are sensitive to/about it, are facts in this country. Cops should be prepared to deal with it.
Should Gates have realized that being seen forcing a door might worry someone, and not jumped straight to "it's because I'm black?" I think so. I haven't had the same experiences as other people. But on the other hand, the cop should have known that sometimes people DO get hassled because they are black and just told him, "No, sir. Someone reported seeing an unknown party trying to force your door. I just want to make sure everything's okay. Wouldn't you want me to demand ID if it really was a burglar?"
Hard to say if it was racially motivated on-the-spot (i.e. cop hates black people - he might just be a petty junior official who likes to throw his weight around and feel important) but it's hard to see how it wasn't exacerbated by racism in this country, at the very least.
(The comment has been removed)
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(The comment has been removed)
The charges have apparently been dropped now. But I've been enraged by some of the comments on the links I posted above.
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My then-roomate, who was not home, had just phoned her shrink with a suicide threat, so he sent the cops over. They burst into my living room and were quite visibly taken aback by me not being dead, but they did ask for my ID.
That said, once that happened and the cop satisfied himself to the identity of the person in the house, he bloody well should have apologized (as the officer and EMTs in my case apologized to me) and started taking his statement about the damage to the front door, no?
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It just wears me out, all this. There are days I would like to secede from the human race, I swear.
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Oh, my fellow monkeys, why must you suck so much?
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Racism, and the fact that some people are sensitive to/about it, are facts in this country. Cops should be prepared to deal with it.
Should Gates have realized that being seen forcing a door might worry someone, and not jumped straight to "it's because I'm black?" I think so. I haven't had the same experiences as other people. But on the other hand, the cop should have known that sometimes people DO get hassled because they are black and just told him, "No, sir. Someone reported seeing an unknown party trying to force your door. I just want to make sure everything's okay. Wouldn't you want me to demand ID if it really was a burglar?"
Hard to say if it was racially motivated on-the-spot (i.e. cop hates black people - he might just be a petty junior official who likes to throw his weight around and feel important) but it's hard to see how it wasn't exacerbated by racism in this country, at the very least.
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