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Racism is real, but it isn't the only reason people get arrested.

Regardless of your political opinions, it’s clear that our President is an important part our Nation’s credibility.  When our President is uninformed, we look uninformed.

The President’s latest comments regarding the arrest of prominent Harvard professor Henry Gates are just another example.

Obama said: “I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there’s a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately,’’ the president said. “That’s just a fact.’’

I’ll agree, I’d be angry, but I’d understand, for one simple reason; Yes, this time it’s me breaking into my own home, but next time it might not be. (If you’ve ever been the victim of burglary, you understand.)  Do we expect our Nation’s police officers to go into a situation assuming there’s no crime being committed?  No!  Plain and simple.  We pay our police officers to put their lives on the line for us.  We must allow them to assume that each situation is not as appears on the surface.

Additionally, if the President had informed himself by reading the police report (here), then he would have known that Gates wasn’t arrested for breaking into his own home.  Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct.  Who among us can insult and degrade a police officer in public without having our mugshot taken?  If I were to act in this manner (race irrelevant) I would expect the same treatment (plus a bloody nose).  It goes to show that respect isn’t a native reaction in our country. (Meaning, first we yell, make a fuss and carry-on … then we gather facts and … maybe … apologize, but only if taken to task.)

Of course, the President defended his remarks;

“I think it was a pretty straightforward commentary that you probably don’t need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged man who uses a cane, who is in his own home,’’

I don’t know if the President has ever been hit by a big stick before, but it is common sense to the rest of us that a cane, propelled at the cranium, can inflict a serious sensation of displeasure.  (Don’t believe a cane can inflict pain? Look here and here.)

I think the President’s latest remarks make him appear to be out of touch with reality.  Our police are paid to protect us from the worst.  To do so, they have to assume that everyone’s lying, and that a man who’s just broke down a door has committed a crime. (Also, it’s important to remember that breaking into your own home doesn’t mean you’re not committing a crime.)

In conclusion, I have a few tips for Mr. Gates and President Obama;

1. Yelling things like “You don’t know who you’re messing with” and “This is what happens to black men in America” are not comments that are going to soften the situation.  Those statements were intended to provoke.

2. If you’re the subject of a 911 call, you’re going to be asked to identify yourself, even if you’re white. You can’t expect everyone to recognize you. (Unless you’re President Obama, in which case you have a reasonable expectation that the media has done a sufficient job of showing people what you look like, what you sound like, and what you and your wife had for dinner.)

3. What you should have said was nothing.

M.

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