This article is right on the money! If Gates had simply responded, "yes sir, be glad to give you my I.D. My neighbor must have seen us pushing on the door and mistaken it for a buglar, because my key didn't work. I'll have to thank her later for looking out for us, Here you go".
Nothing would have happened. Cops don't go looking for problems, it causes headaches and paperwork. The last thing they want to do is arrest someone. If you treat them with respect, they will return the favor in almost all cases.
On the other hand, cops will almost never walk away from a problem, or behavior which is outrageous. They're trained and hired to fix problems, and they're not shy about doing so. If Gates, or anyone in a similar situation, needs at attitude adjustment, a cop may provide it.
The Gates lesson should be this; whether you're white or black, respect the cops. If you have a problem with a cop, report it later to the police chain of command. Never, and I mean never, challenge a cop in the performance of his duty, and especially don't start yelling and screaming abuses at them, unless you want to get arrested.
It's simple common sense, something Gates and his mighty Harvard education seems to have missed along the way.
I think it's hilarious the guy who's good friend is the Mayor and who's friend is the President of the United States is made to look like a victim by the press. Are we supposed to believe he checked his brain at the door of his house or something?
I wasn't there, but I believe any reasonably respectful behavior by Gates would have been reciprocated in kind.
Saying "yes sir", just doesn't come easy to high and mighty professors who think they can flash a Harvard ID and get away with any nasty behavior they want.
The President should have instilled the lesson of "respect the police, no one is above the law, not even my friend Professor Gates", instead of going down some ugly racially divisive path to no where. |
