Conservatism in Action

Project Launch 9/2/09

By: Kyle VanDecker

President Barack Obama recently claimed that the incident involving a black Harvard professor and a white Cambridge police officer proves "race remains a factor in this society". That happens to be one of the few things I’ve heard him say lately that I actually believe. Ironically enough, however, he told the truth unintentionally. The reason race is a factor in this case rest solely with Professor Henry Gates. After reading various news articles from notoriously liberal media sites, I have to say it sure looks like Gates went into the confrontation looking for racism.

Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department was responding to an emergency 911 call by a woman reporting two black men with backpacks were forcing in the side door of her neighbor’s home. The accounts of Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley differ from then on and you should read both of them (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32122233/ns/today-today_people/). There were a variety of witnesses and the truth will come out sooner rather than later. Still, the fact of the matter is that even if you look at Professor Gates’ story, he cannot be taken seriously. He complains that while he was walking to get his identification, “He (Sgt. Crowley) followed me without permission, I gave him the 2 ID's and I demanded to know his name and badge number. He wouldn't say anything. He was just very upset and I said, ‘Why are you not responding to me? Are you not responding to me because you're a white officer and I'm a black man?”

I have unfortunately had a few personal experiences with police officers and can tell you that how Sgt. Crowley addressed the situation is not unusual. On a routine traffic stop I have witnessed my friend ask a police officer a much more respectable question then demanding “to know his name and badge number” and he did not receive a response. For Professor Gates to follow that up immediately by accusing the officer of being a racist is irresponsible and an embarrassment. Could you imagine in a similar situation if a white professor asked a black officer if he wasn’t responding to him because he’s a black officer and I’m a white man? I’m sure that wouldn’t be tolerated.

Professor Gates concludes his account by him having said, “I want to know your colleague’s name and his badge number” to the officers outside his home and that Sgt. Crowley then said, “Thank you for accommodating my earlier request. You are under arrest.” This is completely unreasonable. At this point the two are in front of a decent amount of witnesses and for Sgt. Crowley to have acted this out would be professional suicide. On top of that, it is completely out of character.

It is worth mentioning that Sgt. Crowley is an expert on racial profiling and has taught a class on the subject for five years. He was specifically chosen to teach the class by former black Police Commissioner Ronny Watson. In addition to that, he once gave CPR to black Celtics star Reggie Lewis. If there is a prototypical white cop that isn’t likely to have race impact his actions, I would have to say Sgt. Crowley appears to be it.

Now, putting the more plausible account given by Sgt. Crowley aside, Professor Gates still has proven himself to be out of line. I don’t think a man like this, with unabashed disrespect for the officer who was initially trying to protect Gates’ home, deserves to be teaching at all. He is currently instructing the brightest young minds in the world, and we trust him to mold them adequately? This case seems cut and dry to me but amazingly the worst was yet to come!

The President of the United States of America addressed the issue, a local arrest, in the midst of a myriad of national problems he has yet to address sufficiently still sitting on his desk. Not only did he comment on it but did so in a disgusting fashion. Immediately after stating he did not know the facts, Obama said, “But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry. No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home.” Are you kidding me? Here is a decorated and respected police officer following routine procedure. He was verbally attacked by the man whose house he was trying to protect, he has seen his mayor apologize for his actions to Gates and now his President is saying he acted stupidly.

Police officers are a major element in the backbone of this country. There is a good chance that almost all of us will have a higher salary then the average police officer, yet they go to work every morning not knowing if their going to come home ever again and they do so in order to keep us safe. I’m not saying that racial profiling and the mistreatment of black Americans is completely over or that racism doesn’t exist. It certainly does and I’m sure in some cases it is unfortunately a factor, however, it isn’t in this one. Professor Gates, Barack Obama and all the others who condemned this man need to be held accountable and it needs to begin with direct apologies to Sgt. Crowley.

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