Race-Baiter or Not, The Media Misses The Point

(No surprise).

Professor Henry Louis Gates does himself no favors by insisting he is the unfortunate victim of racist police behavior. Not only does he do a disservice to himself, he hurts us all by not arguing the more compelling point of being arrested for being argumentative or abrasive with a police officer in his own home. No citizen should be the victim of police overstepping their legal bounds in such a fashion.

Misunderstandings happen.  Gates was arrested for what can only be considered “contempt of cop” (barring some type of evidence that Gates threatened violence or had a weapon to assault the officer) on one’s own property. That is the real problem, that is the real stupidity.

No matter how decorated or professional a cop, you can’t expect to overstep your bounds and not get hassled and criticized for it. I don’t give a damn if Gates called him every obscenity in the book and screamed it at the top of his lungs, after his identity was established as the lawful resident of the home, it is the police officer’s duty and the citizen’s expectation that he apologize to Gates for the misunderstanding and go back on patrol preventing actual criminals from assaulting law-abiding citizens.

Gates has the right to lose his temper at a misunderstanding in his own home,  and even to be a pandering race baiter (which his behavior and comments increasingly indicate). The police officer does not. Its his very job as a law enforcement figure trusted to use lethal force to use the best judgment at all times and face the consequences for not doing so.

In reality, the police are rarely held to proper account for misconduct. We need only look at recent cases of serious police misbehavior to see how lightly their screw-ups are taken by the authorities.

State Trooper Assaults Paramedic While Ailing Man Goes Untreated in the “bus”- Gets 5 Day Suspension….

Cops Concoct Utterly Bogus Reason For Breaking Into Home

Chicago Cop Savagely Beats Female Bartender- Gets Probation

Denver Cop Brandishes Gun At McDonald’s Worker For Slow Order (on Video no less!)- Only gets suspended leave