Leave that up to you to decide

Well in his defense, his entire third grade class was lynched (apologies to Chris Rock).

I’m guessing Gorgon isn’t a doctoral candidate in American History.

Considering Crowley’s exemplary history with the department and wtih race relations, maybe he was pretty pissed at being accused of something as heinous as racism. I hope he sues for defamation and I hope he wins. Gate’s false accusations of racism are not just childish, they are hurtful not just to the police but to his neighborhood. When the cops decide they’d rather just avoid going over there altogether lest they be accused of racism, their absense just allows more crime to happen.

I took it to mean A. was talking about Crowley’s statements about the incident, not the incident itself. Suing for defamation for what Gates said at the time would be pointless; suing for Gates’ statements about the incident would make a bit more sense.

J.

And a cop arresting someone because he was personally offended “and pretty pissed” by what that someone said to him doesn’t strike you as a problem?

As for as to why Crowley is taking this so seriously, here’s a notion: an un-challenged charge of racism is quite often a death penalty for a cop’s career. He’s specialized in helping cops avoid situations just like this.

A commenter over at Ann Althouse’s blog had a very interesting observation:

I note that the black culture and value system appears so different from the way whites, asians and most hispanics expect one another to interrelate – that a Famous Harvard Professor on Race Relations and a cop who trained others in how to avoid profiling cannot bridge the gap.

Provocative sentiment, wouldn’t you say?

J.

But conservatives here seem to think that “fighting words” give the police an excuse to arrest a crotchety old man.

Considering Crowley’s exemplary history with the department and wtih race relations, maybe he was pretty pissed at being accused of something as heinous as racism. I hope he sues for defamation and I hope he wins. Gate’s false accusations of racism are not just childish, they are hurtful not just to the police but to his neighborhood. When the cops decide they’d rather just avoid going over there altogether lest they be accused of racism, their absense just allows more crime to happen.

If I were a burglar, I’d hit Gates’s house right about now. No cop on the Cambridge PD is gonna wanna go there!

Here’s a question. Do you know anything about Prof. Gates, other than how he acted on this one day? I admit I was pretty ignorant about who he is, and I still don’t know that much about him. But I don’t call a person a dick just because they once had an altercation with the police. That’s just stupid.

Y’all are gonna eat a shit sandwich on this one. Keep doubling down on stupid though. It’ll be that much funnier when you have to wolf it down.

This site has to be full of the most stubborn people I’ve ever seen on any blog. LOL! Holy shit.

In a neighborhood around Cambridge I assume there are noise ordinances, and if Gates was yelling loud enough to make a scene, I think it’s fair that Crowley should have at very least cited him for that. Being too loud is against the law pretty much everywhere in residential areas.

No matter who “started it,” the cop certainly finished it by arresting Gates on charges that later had to be dropped — thus opening up the police department to a potentially costly lawsuit. What a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Excuse me? Cops often arrest people for disorderly conduct when you talk back to them. Most officers I’ve met are not inclined to tolerate you raising your voice and confronting them, even if it is deserved. If you don’t believe me, try running your sorry mouth like that to a cop next time you get pulled over.

In this case, his lawyer portrayed him as very calm, whereas the police said he was very belligerent. How can YOU be sure of how it went down if you weren’t there?

Gates was still on private property and by your logic anyone who ever yells or shouts while outdoors is engaging is disorderly conduct.

“Not my fault you don’t know what a loophole in the law is.”

Neither does webster’s dictionary according to you.

Where do you get that from?