Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Gates' Arrest

Having seen egregious and offensive racial profiling in action in my neighborhood, I don't doubt that it is still a major problem in the U.S. But, what I find interesting about this article is its political bias. If you can tell what I'm talking about, put it in the comments box.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Racial profiling is an unfortunate reality. This incident is likewise unfortunate. However, the connection between the two is murkier than being reported.

The police were called to Gates' home after a NEIGHBOR reported seeing a man try to pry open the front door. When they arrived, they found a scene consistent with the report. If there were "racial profiling", it was on the part of the neighbor, not the police. If the police had not responded to the report, they could have been accused of racism for neglecting the property of an African American....

Second, Gates was not arrested for B&E but disorderly conduct after he became belligerent to police requests relating to their investigation of a reported crime scene. Apparently, he became verbally abusive to the investigating officers-- one of whom was African American (judging by the picture).

I'm not saying I wouldn't have acted the same way-- I probably would have been very angry. It is also important to acknowledge the reality of racial profiling. Still, Gates' arrest has as much to do with his own reaction than any alleged profiling. Again, the police were responding to a neighbor's report.

Hope all is well, Dr. Gotcher!

Kolbean Scotist

Robert Gotcher said...

Bob,

My concern was not so much about racial profiling, which I agree didn't really occur in this case, as the political bias of the article. So far no one has noticed what I mean.