Obama: Police "Acted Stupidly" in Prof Arrest

yeah, and if one has never experienced discrimination, then one tends not to understand or be aware. I will share one more story:

I am white and was brought up in a home that taught respect for everyone, and especially for those in authority--I did not grew up in a wealthy home, but I did grow up never knowing what it meant to be discriminated against because of the color of my skin or how much money I had or the fact that I am a girl.

On our farm, we had equal opportunity--we all did chores and suffered the consequences if we did not. So, I had no frame of reference for being treated differently because of any those things.

As a young married woman I went live in a country where the people were a different color from me and they were the residents of their country. We were the "outsiders". When we first arrived there was no housing available for us, so we lived "in the village" -- and what a great experience that was. My husband and I both loved it--we had great neighbors, and there were lots of children, and we were invited to the fiestas and to homes for meals. I had a red MG convertible that was constantly needing to be worked on, and my husband was a great mechanic for cars, so the car was more often than not in our carport, with the hood up undergoing its latest "tune up"....one day, we came home from work to find the car still in the carport, but all four wheels were gone! Not just the tires, the rims, everything. We were aghast--who would steal our wheels? We did what every American has been taught to do: we called the cops.

The officer came over and looked around and asked us some questions and then said he would need to get our statement, so could he come inside and sit down. We said sure and invited him in...he sat at our dining room table, and wrote out our statements and we signed them, and then he stood up and looked around our house. As he was going out the door, I asked "when do you think we will know something? do you think we will get them back?"

I will never forget what happened next. He was a very tall man, so tall that he needed to look down at me--I am 5'7"--he looked down at me, then looked around our house one more time, and said, "well, you are a rich statesider, you can afford to buy more. I don't imagine we will find them."

We were speechless. And yet, he was the authority--there was absolutely nothing we could do.

That would have been the end of the story except for our neighbors. They had seen the policeman over at our house and when he left, several of them hurried over. We told them what had happened and what the cop had said.

At that moment, my faith in humanity was restored because, to a person, our neighbors all said, "that is not right, we will find your wheels."

My husband and I spent that night wondering what on earth would happen next not really believing that the neighbors could get the wheels back even if they were sincere in wanting to...

The next afternoon, when we arrived home from work, there was my little car--complete with all four wheels waiting for us.

Our neighbors had put out a "whisper campaign" that we were good people and that whoever had taken the wheels needed to return them, and they had.

Not only that, but the chief (Mayor) of the village came by to let us know that the policeman had been reprimanded for his attitude and the chief apologized to us on behalf of the police department.

We were of course delighted to have our property back, but I will always be grateful for the lesson that I learned about how it feels to be a minority and to be treated badly just because I was different.

BTW...why did Obama key in on this and TOTALLY ignore the mess in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been the deadliest month of '09 for our troops, and he chose to admonish a cop when he admittedly didn't have the fact. Good Lord...our priorities are way out of whack...

He didn't. This was a press conference, it was a question from the press. I couldn't believe it came up.

He didn't. This was a press conference, it was a question from the press. I couldn't believe it came up.

Ipso facto, it was something he was prepared to acknowledge and discuss because we all know well and good that the press who ask questions are all contacted in advance so it was hardly an unforseen question. He knew it was coming...

Dude- if someone calls the cops and says that 2 purple guys are breaking into a bank and you are at that bank, on the front porch, with a damaged door and you happen to be purple, the cop is going to consider you a suspect... period, there was probable cause for them to be suspects...if he would have cooperated, like he should have, the cops would have realized that this is his house, cased closed, etc....

I don't know. Smart people know how to get a read on things. Residents look like residents, and burglars look like burglars. Black residents break into their own houses as do white residents [I've broken in to mine]. If I had been the arresting officer I'd have said "hello sir, I hope everything is OK. We had reports of somebody trying to break in to your house and we noticed that your door was damaged". Then gauge the guy's reaction and take it from there. Cause you know that's what the officer would have said if a white man answered the door and the alleged burglars had been white.😀

Ipso facto, it was something he was prepared to acknowledge and discuss because we all know well and good that the press who ask questions are all contacted in advance so it was hardly an unforseen question. He knew it was coming...

Are you saying that Bush knew for the last eight years what questions were to be asked at press conferences and still could only come up with" 911" and "terrorists" for answers?

I don't know. Smart people know how to get a read on things. Residents look like residents, and burglars look like burglars. Black residents break into their own houses as do white residents [I've broken in to mine]. If I had been the arresting officer I'd have said "hello sir, I hope everything is OK. We had reports of somebody trying to break in to your house and we noticed that your door was damaged". Then gauge the guy's reaction and take it from there. Cause you know that's what the officer would have said if a white man answered the door and the alleged burglars had been white.😀

You must be joking, right? Most cops don't have time to assess as you suggest here. Maybe I'm jaded but there are cops who get their heads blown off if they were to stand around and ask cordial questions.

The professor acted like a a-hole and so he was treated in kind.

And burglars act like burlgars. What the helll does that mean?

You must be joking, right? Most cops don't have time to assess as you suggest here. Maybe I'm jaded but there are cops who get their heads blown off if they were to stand around and ask cordial questions.

The professor acted like a a-hole and so he was treated in kind.

And burglars act like burlgars. What the helll does that mean?

How does not being cordial help to assure a cop's safety??? That makes no sense at all. And what did the cop end up doing? Standing around and asking questions. I'm not sure what you're getting at. Acting like an a-hole is no crime. Nobody should get arrested for that.

i think that if he would have provided his id and said "this is my house officer, check it out" - the officer would have checked and said "sorry bout the mix up, have a nice night", but yelling and causing a scene in public is illegal, it doesnt matter what color you are...

In public? This man was in his own home, and then in his own yard. Not public property or public commons. His privacy was invaded. He had every right to raise a stink and last time I checked it's not illegal to have some righteous indignation in your own home.

True, but there was evidence of burglary and they were there on a felony call... I think the professor got arrested because he showed out enough to piss the cop off, which in itself isnt illegal( i hope, ive pissed a few off). you know thinkin about it, you cant just drive off when you get pulled over, so how could he justify walkin away while the cops there investigating a felony report? both parties could have dealt with it differently, but the cop wasnt in the wrong here imo....

Evidence of a burglary, or mere suspicion of a burglary?

How and why would anyone live in a neighborhood and not know who the hail their neighbors are? Anyway, sounds like the Professor was fluffing his wings, If called, a police officer is just doing his job by asking for ID. Not unreasonable. It wasn't like he pulled a gun on the man.

One time, when I was away on vacation, my sister set off my alarm. She couldn't remember the password when alarm central called. She didn't hear the police bust in my back door. They held her until a neighbor came over who verified who she was and gave them the password. She cooperated and everything was pleasant, but she didn't get all pissant about law enforcement doing their job. The only time I would comply with an officer's request is if it sounded totally unreasonable, like a time I was pulled over for a headlight out and he asked me to step out of the car on a dark highway. Drove out their like a bat out of hell and went to my closest PD. :blink:

Why use the word stupid without "knowing" the person? Sounds pretty "stupid" to me. Matter of fact, I would never call anyone stupid. We are not even allowed to use that term in my own family with each other.

Same here. Neighbor just recently set my alarm off and of course really handsome Cop shows up. She has records to this house, so all was ok. It was several hours before I knew what was going on.

Another time, friend entered my home, alarm goes off, and I drive up to my house to greet cops all over my property.

Trust me, in every incident, every person is extremely cooperative, polite and thankful that our police show up as quickly as they do. They are always happy when it is a false alarm.

The word stupid isn't in my vocabulary.

I wonder how quickly the officers will respond next time if there is truly a breakin' at this residence.

I am afraid the professor was not acting in his best interest.

They take oaths. I expect they respond post haste.

I knew that this was too much to ask for :bang:

The White House says President Barack Obama was not calling a Cambridge, Mass., police officer stupid when he criticized last week?s arrest of black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. ?
On Wednesday Obama said the police ?acted stupidly? when they arrested Gates even after it was clear that he was not a burglary suspect. Gibbs said that Obama did not regret the remark, but wanted to clarify that he was not calling the arresting officer stupid.

Semantics!!

What? We don't have a racism czar? :idontno: :roll:

It's coming.

I just saw a headline that said the officer has told President Obama to butt out.

The President has no business being involved in this incident.

We always want the police to understand what's "really" going on and we always want them to be there when something that shouldn't be going on is.

Police are stuck between a rock and hard place 100% of the time. That's why we as citizens have a responsibility to always give them the benefit of the doubt and do our best to work with them within the confines of the rules they must follow.

I don't blame this cop for taking a stand on his procedure and protocol. I wouldn't make an apology either. Municipalities have sovereign immunity. It's exactly situations like this that they need this protection. Or, they would risk being sued in more frivolous cases than physicians! Now, had the cop been out of line, that would be a different story.

Interesting:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The white police sergeant criticized by President Barack Obama for arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his Massachusetts home is a police academy expert on racial profiling. Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley has taught a class on racial profiling for five years at the Lowell Police Academy after being hand-picked for the job by former police Commissioner Ronny Watson, who is black, said Academy Director Thomas Fleming.
The course, called "Racial Profiling," teaches about different cultures that officers could encounter in their community "and how you don't want to single people out because of their ethnic background or the culture they come from," Fleming said.
Meanwhile, Crowley disclosed in an interview with the Boston Herald that he gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to NBA star Reggie Lewis.
"I wasn't working on Reggie Lewis the basketball star. I wasn't working on a black man. I was working on another human being," Sgt. James Crowley, told the Boston Herald.
The Celtics star suffered a fatal heart attack in 1993 during a practice at Brandeis University, where Crowley was a campus cop.
Crowley also said there is no way he'll apologize to Gates, who has demanded an apology.
"I just have nothing to apologize for," he told the Herald. "It will never happen."
Gates was arrested last Thursday after neighbors reported a possible break-in at his house. But Gates was simply trying to get into his own home.
When he was confronted by cops, he refused to identify himself, the police said.
As he was taken away, Gates said, "This is what happens to black men in America!"
He was charged with disorderly conduct, though the charges were later dropped.
Gates believes he was targeted because of his race.
President Obama weighed in on the issue last night at a press conference, saying cops acted "stupidly" in arresting Gates.


***


I am trying to look at this from the angle of what I would I have done if I had been the prof. Hard to say because things may have been different in my mind AND in the mind of the cop. If a cop saw me he'd probably assume I lived there - not the case necessarily with the prof. even though this seems to have been a highly trained police officer.

Being the daughter of a police captain (now deceased) I can say without a doubt that it is a difficult job and even the best cops make stupid mistakes. (my dad was a great police officer of course! :wub: )

In this case, even though it was his own home, the prof. might have thought - hmmmm, what if this were in fact a real burgler, I'd be thanking this police officer. Instead, he got defensive. I understand why the prof. acted as he did - he thought this wouldn't have happened had he been white and that his home is his castle. It is so hard to be perfect and he was tired and upset and SHOCKED I am sure to be questioned in his own home. Perhaps the cop could have approached the entire thing differently.... we were not there. We will never know.

Obama, like any other politician, should have refrained from using the word "stupid" and have stuck with the standard "no comment until I know more." Damned if you do and damned if you don't - so don't - at least there won't be a sound bite which I am sure is being played over and over.

I hope this is the end of all this. It gets us NO WHERE. Group hug is right!!





G

Maybe someone can write a book and produce a movie.

edited part: I was going to state something that occurred to me, but I just don't have the energy.

Are you saying that Bush knew for the last eight years what questions were to be asked at press conferences and still could only come up with" 911" and "terrorists" for answers?

I absolutely did not say that Bush knew what was coming his way. I absolutely did say that Obama does. It's no secret. Where have you been? It's bad enough that even the liberal press, who supports him, complains about it because they aren't getting called on. Obama's own people have admitted that they vet all the questions prior to conferences, and there has been a first hand account from a reporter about how he was contacted and how it was discussed regarding what he was going to ask.

I'll start your homework assignment for you...
Obama, Like All Presidents, Tries To Manage The News - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston

The Liberal Lie, The Conservative Truth: OBAMA PRESS CONFERENCE UNIMPRESSIVE HAND PICKED SOFTBALLS Oh my God! A conservative link!

White House reporters take aim at format of Obama's health care town hall meeting - syracuse.com

The Press Revolts Against Obama ? The Foundry Yeah yeah...Heritage.org. Whatever...

Scripps columnist: MSM eating out of Obama's hand | No Silence Here | knoxnews.com

I could go on and on...

I'm sure all past Presidents have tried to use the press to their advantage, but Obama seems to be the master. The problem, now, is that everybody knows it so his question and answer sessions are basically a joke. I'm sorry if you truly thought that all the questions he gets are legit.

What would I like to see? I'd like to see one of the hand picked reporters turn around and ask Obama a really hard hitting legitimate question on a serious topic of the day. You could be sure of a couple things...
He would be a hero in the press corps
He would never be allowed in another press conference (Gee...wouldn't that be obvious)

Sorry...not trying to hijack the thread. Let's get back on topic...

I absolutely did not say that Bush knew what was coming his way. I absolutely did say that Obama does. It's no secret. Where have you been? It's bad enough that even the liberal press, who supports him, complains about it because they aren't getting called on. Obama's own people have admitted that they vet all the questions prior to conferences, and there has been a first hand account from a reporter about how he was contacted and how it was discussed regarding what he was going to ask.[/url]

I could go on and on...

I'm sure all past Presidents have tried to use the press to their advantage, but Obama seems to be the master. The problem, now, is that everybody knows it so his question and answer sessions are basically a joke. I'm sorry if you truly thought that all the questions he gets are legit.

What would I like to see? I'd like to see one of the hand picked reporters turn around and ask Obama a really hard hitting legitimate question on a serious topic of the day. You could be sure of a couple things...
He would be a hero in the press corps
He would never be allowed in another press conference (Gee...wouldn't that be obvious)

Sorry...not trying to hijack the thread. Let's get back on topic...

Most of this is just untrue. While Obama DOES have a predetermined list of people he is going to call on in press conferences (and yes, that smacks of media control to some degree, and I don't think it is a good system), questions are NOT vetted and prescreened. Obama does NOT know exactly what questions he is going to get. I'm sure he guesses and prepares but he does not know.

I don't care how you feel about Obama or the press -- the press just does not work that way. If this is the way Obama tried to do it, there would be a massive and loud and unmissable revolt, 24/7. Because media loves to talk about the media. And prescreening questions (or offering questions to be prescreened) is flat out unethical. No president in this country has or have ever had this kind of control over media in press conferences. Just doesn't happen. Won't.

There was the Huffington Post Iran question. I'll link to Politico (very middle of the road) on it. The rest of the press did not like it because Nico Pitney was told in advance he would be called on. Someone in the administration knew Nico was soliciting questions from Iranians in hopes of asking Obama one in the press conference about Iran. Nico was doing important work. That was a good move, to single him out for a question. To tell him in advance - meh, maybe not so great. The question itself was not prescreened. Here's the story.

Obama calls on HuffPost for Iran question UPDATE - Michael Calderone - POLITICO.com

Town halls are a different matter. Bush's, I seem to recall, were also very tightly controlled. I am disappointed that Obama has not been as transparent as he promised. But the press conferences? Not scripted, other than the opening remarks. Will never ever, ever happen.

Carry on ...

How does not being cordial help to assure a cop's safety??? That makes no sense at all. And what did the cop end up doing? Standing around and asking questions. I'm not sure what you're getting at. Acting like an a-hole is no crime. Nobody should get arrested for that.

In this case, even though it was his own home, the prof. might have thought - hmmmm, what if this were in fact a real burgler, I'd be thanking this police officer. Instead, he got defensive. I understand why the prof. acted as he did - he thought this wouldn't have happened had he been white and that his home is his castle. It is so hard to be perfect and he was tired and upset and SHOCKED I am sure to be questioned in his own home. Perhaps the cop could have approached the entire thing differently.... we were not there. We will never know.

(🙂wub: Obama :wub: Cop :wub: prof ))​

G

My point exactly. The lives of police are in jeopardy every day they are on duty. Most are polite but don't have time to placate an adult having a temper tantrum. Good lord.

I would probably have gotten arrested in this situation too - but sadly I wouldn't have been IN that situation, because when someone sees me, they don't automatically see a criminal.

I can pretty much do whatever and go wherever I want - because I am a young white female w/ a smile - so noone thinks I am a threat or a danger to them. Security patrols just wave at me, people unlock doors for me, noone ever questions my right to be anywhere - me in sneakers and ratty jeans can go more places and be treated better than a black man in a suit and tie.

Does anyone doubt that the reason the neighbor called the cops is that the professor was black?

Does anyone doubt that the professor lost his temper because this was yet another in a long series of incidents where he was singled out or treated differently for being black?

Of course Obama said the officer acted stupidly - he did!

I have a great deal of respect for the law enforcement community, and I appreciate all that they do to keep us safe - but that doesn't mean that they never make mistakes or assumptions - especially based on race.

I don't care how you feel about Obama or the press -- the press just does not work that way. If this is the way Obama tried to do it, there would be a massive and loud and unmissable revolt, 24/7. Because media loves to talk about the media. And prescreening questions (or offering questions to be prescreened) is flat out unethical. No president in this country has or have ever had this kind of control over media in press conferences. Just doesn't happen. Won't.

There was the Huffington Post Iran question. I'll link to Politico (very middle of the road) on it. The rest of the press did not like it because Nico Pitney was told in advance he would be called on. Someone in the administration knew Nico was soliciting questions from Iranians in hopes of asking Obama one in the press conference about Iran. Nico was doing important work. That was a good move, to single him out for a question. To tell him in advance - meh, maybe not so great. The question itself was not prescreened. Here's the story.

Obama calls on HuffPost for Iran question UPDATE - Michael Calderone - POLITICO.com

Town halls are a different matter. Bush's, I seem to recall, were also very tightly controlled. I am disappointed that Obama has not been as transparent as he promised. But the press conferences? Not scripted, other than the opening remarks. Will never ever, ever happen.

Carry on ...

Nobody ever ever ever meets in the middle in the political forums so I don't really put stock into anything I read here. The folk on the left site only left slanted rags and the right only right slanted rags. The left discounts the right's sites and vice versa. All I'll say is there are pages and pages and pages of articles from all kinds of news agencies, both left and right, that say he does exactly that. I just started at the beginning and started copying.

All I have to the contrary is you saying that he doesn't with nothing to back it up so I guess all the sites that say he does must be wrong. Sorry...I will carry on. I will assimilate...

Some view it as racist, as did the professor obviously.
But I don't see it that way at all. I see it as a guy doing his job, no matter what color, plain and simple. He probably did over react, but better safe than sorry.

Sure makes you think twice about being in a position like this. Can't do your job w/o people thinking you're being racist. :blink:

Nobody ever ever ever meets in the middle in the political forums so I don't really put stock into anything I read here. The folk on the left site only left slanted rags and the right only right slanted rags. The left discounts the right's sites and vice versa. All I'll say is there are pages and pages and pages of articles from all kinds of news agencies, both left and right, that say he does exactly that. I just started at the beginning and started copying.

All I have to the contrary is you saying that he doesn't with nothing to back it up so I guess all the sites who say he does must be wrong. Sorry...I will carry on. I will assimilate...

None of those links actually documents the prescreening of media questions in press conferences. I know you don't want to read up on journalism ethics (yes! there are some!) but what I just wrote is absolutely, 100 percent true. I am not a knee-jerk lefty. But I DO know four people who deal regularly with the Obama administration in a media capacity, and I am telling you -- that is not the way it works. In the words of the immortal Sarah Palin, "I know what I know what I know." Don't know health care or what it is like to be black in America or how hard it is to be a cop. This, however, is stuff that I know. 😀 And I believe it to be useful information, even if it doesn't fit neatly into a certain meme.