July 24, 2009
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Behaving Stupidly
A police officer and a Harvard scholar found themselves in the spotlight this week when the President made a reference to them.
The Harvard scholar happened to be black. The police officer was responding to a call that reported that two black men were trying “to force open the front door.” The Harvard scholar was trying to push his door open because it was jammed.
The police officer arrived and confronted him. The Harvard scholar yelled at the white police officer and accused him of racial bias. The police officer determined it was the black Harvard scholar’s home and tried to calm him down. When he kept yelling at the officer, the police officer arrested him for “disorderly conduct.”
President Obama was asked about the arrest of the Harvard scholar and 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.” Here is the link: Link
Who do you think acted stupidly in the incident?
1. The Harvard Scholar
2. The police officer
3. President Obama
Comments (172)
The neighbor who made the original call to 911.
1 and 3
President Obama, everyone else has an excuse, even if it is just being an arrogant fool.
YOU!
3. President Obama
The guy shouldn’t have yelled at a police, that’s means for arrest. The police officer figured out that the scholar was not of any threat or breaking in, so he would have probably backed off. Not being racially biased myself, I think Obama was dumb to address and defend someone who was in the wrong.
Well the thing is, when Obama said, “that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home.”
The issue wasn’t that the police still thought he was a burgler. He was being an idiot and that’s why he was arrested.
The policeman was just doing his job for goodness sakes!! Of course the racist card had to come out. Obviously the proffesor and the president are being ridiculous.
@Xcholo4u - Its Miquel
The Harvard Scholar for being angry that the police man responded to a call that he was supposed to respond to…his anger should have been directed at the person who made the call.
The president for not having more important concerns and also for publicly calling the police department that was doing its job stupid.
4. Alex Trebek.
Everyone was wrong. The neighbor, the man, the cop, and B.O.
@Paige
Believe it or not!
The scholar needed to calm down and just let it go once it was established that he lived there. The police officer didn’t need to arrest him for being mad and making a fuss. Obama shouldn’t have said what he said. They all acted stupidly.
All three of them. Plus the neighbor who called the police.
Obama ALWAYS acts stupidly.
I wouldn’t be angry. I mean, the prof’s neighbor was doing him a FAVOR by calling the police to investigate a potential crime. How ungrateful!
Humanity, no doubt.
Obama. If you’re the president, do not use the word STUPID. That makes you look bad. Say something like, “He acted poorly… ” or “He could have acted better.”
Obama, for assuming that every time a black man get’s arrested it’s because of racism. It is possible for a black man to deserve being arrested (just like anyone else for pete’s sake).
Well, the police were doing their job. I don’t think the scholar had a right to pull the race card, because in this situation, I think it was irrelevant (just as a physical description given by the neighbor to identify the person “breaking in”). I’m sure that once it was discovered that the man “breaking in” was the owner of the house, the issue was pretty much resolved, yes?
So Obama is the biggest idiot. For someone who isn’t even 100% black, it seems as though he’s bringing up the “race” card way too often these days.
THE NIGGERS
Whoever phoned in the first place…
the first two.
my hubby once was tired from a trip and locked his keys in the car and took out his driver and broke his car window and said that is a cop came he won’t know what he would have done cause he was tired and not putting up with any shit
1 & 3, and I cannot see why the neighbor would be stupid. They were doing the neighborly thing by calling.
1 and 3. Granted, it was the professor’s home, however, the police were responding to a call and checking to make sure that everything was alright. And President Obama… he wasn’t arrested for breaking and entering, he was arrested for disorderly conduct. The President should have enough sense to not use the word “stupid” in this situation, nor should he have made a statement before he had all the facts.
Barack Obama is the only I can say for certain. It’s about impossible for me to get enough facts about the case to say for certain about the other two…something Obama should have realized.
the neighbor would be stupid for calling the cops. i don’t talk to my neighbors but i know what they look like and what they dress.
xo
Umm, the fact that Obama felt the need to address this issue when there are so many more pressing issues in the country and entire world that need addressing leads me to cast my vote for him in this poll.
@emberfly_layouts - Agreed.
Obama!
@Native_Texan - Naive_Texan*
Silly harvard boys. I wonder if he would’ve been as angry had the police officer been black
The neighbor who didn’t even recognize the Harvard graduate next door?
The Harvard graduate who continued yelling at the cop even after the confusion was settled?
The cop who didn’t just leave since it was the guy’s house?
Obama for blaming everything on the cop and none on the overreacting Harvard graduate?
“Yes!” My answer is “Yes” to all three of them and I would add the media for making such a huge commotion about it. There is enough stupidity in this story to spread around.
The scholar. Jesus Christ, not every arrest of a black person is about race. Black people misbehave too. And yelling at a police officer when they’re trying to calm you down and are going to let you off and probably even help you get back into your house if you need the help is just fucking stupid.
Probably everyone involved, but I think it’s unprofessional and dangerous to comment or give an opinion, such as the President did, on a fresh case where all the facts may be unknown. He wasn’t there – he doesn’t know for sure what happened. Just because someone is in their own home, that doesn’t mean you can’t be arrested.A simple, “I cannot comment on that,” would’ve done just fine.
Ah, poor elitist Obama, I forgive him… I always get in trouble for that one, too… using ‘stupid’ as an adjective to describe actions when everyone is just going to incorrectly take it as a personal insult.
For the record, #2
@AFS90 - you make me laugh every fucking day I swear …
I say 4 – all of the above.
@shandiiee - Obama was asked about the incident at his press conference the other night. So it’s not like he gave his opinion out of the blue or anything.
For the record, I vote all of the above, along with the dog from Duck Hunt. I hate that dog.
yes
Both the student and Obama.
Gee, I’m not surprised at Obama’s opinion…
1 and 3
President Obama. He’s the president. He shouldn’t use the word ‘stupid’.
all those who commentin
Professor Gates and President Obama – The President was the worse of the two because he didn’t have all the facts, the professor, was irritable and tired from a long overseas trip, but still made a scene and caused his own arrest.
Maybe we should just nuke the entire eastern seaboard.
It’s funny to read what those who dislike the President have to say. You guys never let me down when it come to a good laugh.
Now to the question at hand. I really don’t feel any of them behaved stupidly.
The cop was doing his job by responding to the call. I do feel after he found out that it was the owner of the house, it should have been over.
The professor, should’ve appericated the response to the call seeing that it was his home, though I’d be pissed also (I’m not going lie and say otherwise) if after I’ve proven that the home was my residence, I’m still get BS from the cops.
Now Obama’s remarks kinda caught me off guard. I was rather surprised at first, but then I understand the emotion (we have to learn to keep those in check) behind it.
I feel it was a HUGE misunderstanding and all three of them have reason to apologize!
I hate you all.
1 and 3
The thing that’s weird about this situation is that the professor was in his home and then the officer asked him to leave after having determined it was his house so he could arrest him. That I think is rather inappropriate and possibly stupid. But it’s also stupid for the professor to leave his home and not realize he might be arrested. That should just be common sense.
But it’s hard to say who was being stupid. We weren’t there. How much was he yelling? Is any of it recorded? Do we have any other eye witness accounts besides that of the two men? Or is it just one word against the other? What’s the record and history of the officer? Of the Professor? Are there other incidents that might shed light onto what was likely to have transpired that day?
Maybe the officer was more upset and threatened then he ought to have been. Or maybe the Professor was. Maybe one or the other was trying to promote their agenda. All we know is that the Professor accused the police officer of racial bias. Would that be enough for him to decide the man should be arrested for disorderly conduct in his own home? I don’t know. But it seems like there ought to have been another way to diffuse the situation.
It’s all the officer’s word against the professor’s, and having seen that guy and heard him speak before he doesn’t seem like the kinda guy who would explode in rage. Then again who knows. Maybe he had a bad day. Maybe he had an axe to grind. Would the same thing have happened to him if he was white? I have no idea. Probably if it was a passive elderly woman trying to jimmy open her home she would not have been arrested whether she was black or white, but if it was a white man of the same build and occupation and the same attitude and behavior, I can only wonder. Obviously being accused of being a racist though is likely to charge the situation and make someone upset whether they are one or not. Still if you’re a police officer you should be disciplined enough not to take such a statement personally.
But the bias is generally to take the police’s account as truth and rightly or wrongly disorderly conduct laws very much favor the police. What’s surprisingly stupid is that the harvard professor wasn’t aware of the risk of being arrested for talking back to the police. So either he was aware and wanted to make a scene, or he didn’t think his words were particularly antagonistic enough to warrant an arrest. It may well be a cultural variance. The way he was speaking may have seemed normal to him but to the police officer it was out of line.
So who acted stupidly? I have no idea if the police officer or the harvard professor acted stupidly not having been there. I’m guessing both did at least a little.
However, I don’t think President Obama acted stupidly. Quite the opposite. I think he’s acting with ridiculously calculated cunning here to bring about a discussion he wants people to have and then diffuse it quickly. My guess is he used the word “stupidly” quite intentionally. He doesn’t seem to be a person known for his gaffes.
But then who knows. Maybe he was being stupid to use the word “stupidly”. Virtually everything else he said in that statement and further statements about the incident though makes a lot of sense and is quite true.
In any case saying someone acted “stupidly” should not be seen as such a horrible critique. People act stupidly all the time. I do it far far too frequently. One stupid act doesn’t make someone stupid. And those who are suggesting that the President is calling the entire Cambridge police department or police departments and officers around the country “stupid” are WAY out of line. Those people are just stirring up trouble. They’re the ones acting the stupidest in my opinion.
Obama.
1 and 3. Smart in books…
Take away his cue cards and teleprompter and he can’t help but stick his foot in his mouth… his press people gotta be dyin’
everyone is stupid
stupidly?
Whoever called the cops acted stupidly. If I saw someone trying to force there way into a house, I would just wait and watch and see if they came back out carrying loads of stuff. THEN I would call the cops with photographic evidence/video.
They were all in the wrong to some extent, but at least the cop was only doing his job.There’s no reason to say he acted stupidly when he was doing his job and following the law.
Obama already retracted his statement after another black officer at the scene and the police chief backed the white officer’s actions.
PWNED!!!
Everyone posting here.
1 and 3
The professor only showed his school ID (which usually does NOT have an address on it so would not prove residency) initially so the police still needed to continue asking him questions. It is absolutely ridiculous…he should have been applauding them on doing their job of protecting his property! Â
The president, for continuing to show himself completely ignorant of issues at hand.Â
It should also be mentioned, charges was dropped without the professor showing up in court — which is not supposed to happen and -never- does for your average citizen. Elite friends of the president…another story apparently.
Obama…as usual
How about more posts that don’t involve Obama!
Obama, for speaking “off teleprompter”.
All of them. And the dumbass who called the cops. For real, a) Mr. Harvard Scholar should’ve just calmed the fuck down. b) The cop should’ve just let it go. For real, how can you not expect someone to get pissed when they’re accused of breaking into their own house, and I will admit, most likely ’cause he was black. Minorities tend to get defensive about that shit, and I don’t really blame them… and c) The cop didn’t really act stupidly I wouldn’t say (though it is pretty dumb they arrested him after they determined he was just trying to get in his house), and Obama should’ve just left it alone.
You’re all equally stupid.
A man has a right to be disorderly in his own home. If the policeman wanted to end this “disorder,” why didn’t he remove the cause of annoyance? That is, himself.
The police officer and the scholar… even if the officer made a stupid mistake the scholar should have chilled…
I think the prof should have been calmer and the police officer should have offered a warning. And if that had happened, Obama wouldn’t have had to say anything. ♥ So in that context, 1 and 2.
4. The one that post a blog on this….
Everyone! The Harvard scholar shouldn’t have yelled at the officer. That IS disorderly conduct. The officer should have left him alone after realizing it was HIS home. And President Obama shouldn’t call people stupid.
1, 2, and 3.
1. For being an arrogant jerk.
2. For being white
3. For not bothering to get all the facts before inserting his foot in his mouth.
I was told…if you put two white men in this situation they would both be assholes. If you put two black men in this situation they would both be assholes. You put a white and a black man in this situation and you have one a racist and one a victim….but I don’t know. I think we shouldn’t judeg.
1 and 3.
It’s really rather obvious. The man was arrested for a lack of respect. He is/was an asshole. What makes it worse is that President Obama stod up for him. Yeah, people would most likely be upset, but that is no excuse for going haywire.
The Harvard Student and the President. I’m sorry. I’m an Obama supporter and all, but why would someone get angry at a Police officer when the policeman had already agreed with you?
For once, I don’t side with Obama.
@haloed - @one_eared_batman - Exactly!
Obama shoudl keep his mouth shut. He didn’t know the situation and he spoke out of his presidential ass. Disorderly conduct is a valid means for placing someone under arrest…which is why they arrested the professor – NOT for breaking and entering.
Everyone.
Everyone acted stupidly, and everyone made the same mistake that anyone would have made in their situation. We are all stupid as hell.
4. The Human Race
@mrsprosa -
I blame Mrsprosa! It was all her fault. Much like the rest of the problems in the world.
Obama
The door, for being jammed! It has a simple job, but yet it can’t even do it properly.Â
@Milieul - agreed.
The Cop, I mean, who actually does their job these days. Seriously, how
dumb is that…. that he showed up to a call and when a man got in his
face , being disorderly.. the cop actually does what he is supposed to
do and arrests him for disorderly conduct…
how silly… he
should have knows that it would turn into a racial thing and turned a
blind eye to anything the black man was doing… because that is the
NEW American way…
i like peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich’s. ♫
Society. It’s the reason why this crap happens.
1 and 3.
The cop was doing his job. The harvard scholar should have given his legal license…not a school id……Never resist or talk back to a police officer ever….and Especially not being hostile towards a cop.
Obama should defend a police officer…who is following the law…by its state’s government.
If you watch the press conference, you will find that Obama was asked about the situation. He also stated that he wasn’t aware of the situations details.
When asked if he thought race was an issue, he simply stated that he, and most Americans, are aware of a history of racial issues. This does not seem like pulling the race card. It’s just not ruling it out.
It’s also not bad logic to assume that most people would be annoyed if they were accused of “breaking into” their own home.
The real problem arrives with using the word stupid. He made a poor decision to cast judgment on either person without knowing the situation in detail. Seeing and hearing that was disappointing to me.
I would call the police, if I saw a stranger trying to fiddle into my neighbors home – it’s just good manners.
An officer of the law is supposed to respond to a call – no harm done there.
If the scholar made a statement about prejudice without any evidence, it shows a sign of insecurity on his part – not stupidity.
I think it is lazy to assume the president is “pulling the race card”, and insensitive to call anyone stupid.
1 and 3.
The cop was doing his job. The harvard scholar should have given his legal license…not a school id……Never resist or talk back to a police officer ever….and Especially not being hostile towards a cop.
Obama should defend a police officer…who is following the law…by its state’s government.
#3 for making comments when he did not have all the facts; a statement that he himself made at the same time that he called the police actions ‘stupid’.
The third one, FTL.
I would hope my neighbors would identify the target before they emptied their magazine. We try not to over burden our men in blue.
ALL of the Above, With the stupidest reaction being the scholars that started the whole mess, then Obama’s comments, & the police officers being the least stupid out of the 3, but still stupid.
obama ftw
@Iobot - giggling now, thanks
3.
I do not think the President shoudl have said anything. He needs to get back to running the country. I feel like this has become even more of a racist situation since he said something.
@Xcholo4u - BINGO!
This all wouldn’t have happened if the neighbor didn’t assume “OMG BLACK MEN PUSHING ON THE DOOR, MUST BE A BREAK IN!” She could have had some balls and been like “hey, what’s going on?” and then found out whether or not they were actually thieves… She could have even fucking gotten to at least know her neighbors, so she would KNOW that this residence belonged to the man pushing on the door. Nope.
it is not the president’s job to stick his nose into this situation. he should stay the hell out of the spotlight for awhile, he is starting to stink !
obama. there was a clear misunderstanding on the other two accounts. aie. i feel that the racial card should only be pulled if it’s a good reason, otherwise, keep it hidden.
@TheGiantSlayer - hell, in detroit the damn cops don’t even show up !
@droptop11 - yeah, good point. I know that If I had to break into my house, and the cops showed up… I personally would have a bit of gratitude for them watching out for my house… IF it wasn’t me breaking into the house, I would want that person busted.
I still would be grateful to them for responding.
@TheGiantSlayer - absolutely, bingo ! we are definetly on the same bus here.
they all did.
everyone in the country needs to relax
it seems like everyone one thinks that everyone is in the wrong and suspects that everyone is evil. i see it everyday and i only work at the movie theaters .
Obama and the Harvard scholar are idiots.
There’s something not right about this story. This harvard scholar is apparently a well known man. I find it hard to believe his neighbor could not recognize him. Point two, it has nothing to do with race. It seems every time there’s an agenda Obama can’t handle he pulls out the race card, coward. He can’t even prove to his own country he was born here.
I think Obama is totally out of line injecting his opinion into the issue when it really doesn’t concern him. I mean, yes, I think I heard he and the scholar are friends, but no, that doesn’t mean the head of the country should condemn the conduct of police officers because they arrested him. If anything I think such a statement undermines the security we’re supposed to get (or feel like we do) from our police force. He shouldn’t have commented on the situation at all, it seems inappropriate to me. And it blew it way further out of proportion than it should have been. I’m sure people accuse police of being racist or racially motivated often enough, whether justified or not, and this one case really is no more or less important than the others. Being a Harvard scholar doesn’t put this guy above anyone else in society, and if you’re belligerent to a cop they’ll charge you.
I think it’s stupid that police can arrest you basically for being rude to them, but… that isn’t really the issue here, I guess.
the stupid guy who couldnt open his door
I’ll partially answer your question and go with Obama for acting “Most Stupid”
All of the above?
@AFS90 - is that really necessary?
1. Well, I still have to see this “disorderly conduct.” But, disorderly conduct is still disorderly conduct.
123
All of them…
Leave Obama alone!!
I agree with Obama mostly. I would be pretty peeved if someone arrested me for banging on my own door! And the man might have honestly thought he was being targetted, and got upset about it. I would if i were him too.
@The1Dark4Angel54 - AGREED!! (But i’m not American, so times that onto a world scale.)
My son said it best, “I hate cops and snotty professors.”
The Prresident’s comment was unnecessary. That showed arrogance. We should respect people who risk their lives trying to protect us. I hope the whole thing calm down. He has more important things to do.
3
@Xcholo4u - agreed. you don’t recognize your own neighbor?
@WakeUpLaughing - Even after the scholar established that he lived there…he was still being arrested. I think you’d be upset too if you were being arrested for trying to open your front door.
I heard about that yesterday on the NPR in a car that I was parking. It said that there was a black officer there as well and he said that the white officer did nothing wrong. If I remember correctly, he said that he would have done the same thing.
@sushi_porfavor - what? LMAO…….hahahahahahahahaha. I laugh @ people like you…woooo.
if that was so…how is he now the president? I’m pretty it has been made clear that he was born here.
next.
@ziggswife - the cop was acting “stupidly”
why arrest someone after knowing they were in their own home?
@jazzysolovely - uh…did you read my WHOLE comment? The scholar wasn’t arrested for breaking and entering. It was established that he lived there, but he still wouldn’t calm down and kept screaming about racism, so he was arrested for disturbing the peace. If you watch the news, a black sergeant was also at the scene and said that Gates was totally out of control. Yes, I would be upset too, but the cop was just trying to doing his job. Maybe Gates should be pissed at his neighbor for not knowing who lived next door, or at himself for not getting to know his neighbors. But I also thought the cop was wrong for not being able to diffuse the situation. You shouldn’t have to arrest someone for disturbing the peace at his own home unless it’s an out of control party. And Obama was way out of line with his comment and made the whole situation worse. They ALL could have made better choices.
@WakeUpLaughing - Well i’m sick of police talking about respect me blah blah that’s bs. Your going to arrest someone for being upset because he was accused of breaking into hos OWN HOME?!?
whatever.
@jazzysolovely - Once again…did you ready the WHOLE comment?
i can only choose one? i see 2 acting idiotically in the situation..and i think it’s obvious who those two are.
The police officer of course. He, the professor is an older man and a Havard professor, if the cop had been respectful towards the man I’m sure he would have acted civily. I’m from that area and my girlfriend went to Havard and I’ll tell you, those cops are considered to be doofy boors by the people that know them, incompetent toy cops. The police forces in most of the nation are excellent except in Cambridge. You tidy-wipes who are on the side of the cops in this matter know nothing.
@jazzysolovely.
maybe you should read more, but you probably don’t do that considering you cant even get through a whole comment –
http://theliberaldemocrat.com/?p=2029
haha, nexttt.
The person who made the call.
first two. they both pushed it. and obama has to have an answer because he was asked to his own opinion of the sitch.
@trunthepaige - im not sure 1 has an excuse.
i say 1 and 3. here’s the thing. if a cop is there saying that a burglary has been reported, unless you know he knows you live there, you’re a dumbshit to start crap about it. i myself have had to break into my car because my keys were locked in it. there was a cop parked not 10 feet away and he did NOTHING. that pissed me off. what if it wasnt me? i’ve had my car broken into, vandalised and robbed several times. and believe me, as much as i would like to get the criminals alone in a room with a baseball bat, moreso any cop who just sits there and watches.
so, 1: had i been in the cops situation, i would have just tazed his as soon as he started getting beligerent(good thing i aint a cop huh?) and 2: maybe they should just make his house a “no fly zone” i mean after all, if they get a call about a break in it’s probably just him right? so if someone actually violates the sanctity of his home, we should assume it’s authorised by the owner and not question it.
All three. This is a ridiculous example of the depressing cycle of race profiling, when the issue shouldn’t be about race at all. It should be about general police conduct.
Obama shouldn’t have said it. That was dumb, politically. I do agree that the police officer acted stupidly to arrest the guy when only words were exchanged. It was just the professor being arrogant and the police officer being a bully. The only reason the issue of race is coming up is because the professor happened to be black. I think Obama agrees with this view, as he said he doesn’t know what role race played in the incident.
@Iobot - This.
4. the door
had the door opened like it always did, had the prof gotten to better know his neighbors, had the president not given his personal opinion on every little thing, had the policeman enough self confidence to not be offended so quickly, had people asked why does it matter what color they are?… it would be sooo nice
Obama. Duuuhhh.
1 & 3 were retarded in this case. Obama really shouldn’t have made any bias comment bout the situation without being fully informed. The “scholar” should not have yelled at the police for investigating a potential break in to his own home.
The neighbor should have made sure by double checking who was trying to get in. But I think 1 and 3 for the same reasons already stated by those before me.
The police officer. if he were doing his jon correctly then he wouldn’t have had to take the guy in for his conduct.
i think maybe all three of them. and the neighbor.
@sushi_porfavor - Nah, it’s pretty clear he’s an American.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-22-2009/the-born-identity
Watch that and you will not only see the overwhelming evidence that Obama was born in Hawaii, but also you will learn the stupidity the media has when talking about it. The proof is there, if you care that much, go find it.
I would like to know WHO called the Police. Seriously!!!
Obama and the scholar. The police officer was doing his job. The scholar just assumed and misinterpreted what the officer said from his own biases. Obama, mainly for saying the world “stupidly” among a couple other things. But oh I guess the neighbor too for calling about a break-in, which is good, but in this case stupid since he never took the opportunity to get to know his neighbour, which led to the commotion in the frist place. If the neighbours knew each other somewhat then this never would have happened.
@maniacsicko - agreed.
@AFS90 - ignorant little prick.
@Special_Brownies_4u - oh shut up
obama, i really don’t like him. and whether people are racist or not he was elected because he’s a minority and that won the support of gays, blacks, and other minorities. he won because people wanted him to win because he’s black, nothing else to say about it, at all.
The police officer MOST CERTAINLY behaved stupidly. Police officers have a duty to protect and serve. If the police officer failed to make the home owner feel as if the police officer was protecting, then he FAILED. and, he was acting stupidly.
http://www.health-boundaries-bite.com/Fingernail-Lines.html
Your fingernails reflect your health, learn some warning signs.
Karen Kline
@sushi_porfavor - LOL, good one.
@busu_busu - quoting you:
4. the door
had
the door opened like it always did, had the prof gotten to better know
his neighbors, had the president not given his personal opinion on
every little thing, had the policeman enough self confidence to not be
offended so quickly, had people asked why does it matter what color
they are?… it would be sooo nice
***** I have to agree about the professor needing to know his neighbors better, that thought came to my mind pretty early on.
All three.
Prof. Gates should have kept his cool, especially once the officer was leaving the premises. It’s understandable that he’d be very frustrated in that situation, but he should have controlled himself better.
The officer made an illegal arrest, plain and simple. There are a number of court rulings in Mass. that clearly establish that yelling at a police officer is NOT grounds for an arrest under the ‘disorderly conduct’ statute. So even if you take everything in the police report to be the unvarnished truth, there was no legal basis for the arrest. That’s why the prosecutor tossed the case out immediately. It’s perhaps understandable that the officer was frustrated at being shouted at, but that doesn’t justify an illegal arrest.
And Obama chose his words poorly and in doing so added the media furor. The officer deserved criticism, but someone in Obama’s position should have phrased the criticism more carefully. Happily he is going to considerable lengths the make amends and draw something positive out of the situation.
@Xcholo4u - +1
Everyone.
The scholar and the President. I believe he even said, before making the ‘stupid’ comment, that he didn’t know the whole story. So why comment?
Obama. Definitely. He reduced himself to a new low level by calling a fellow public servant stupid, unless of course, he doesn’t really consider himself a public servant. I remember watching it on T.V., as soon as he said that the officer was “stupid”…I knew he was in for it. When you’re President, you don’t insult citizens like that.
Additionally, it wasn’t as if the guy was beaten or anything. I don’t care what color you are, or where you went to school, or even if you teach at Harvard…citizen’s don’t have a right to get belligerent with cops, period. They are to be respected because they put their lives on the line for us every day. If you don’t agree, you obey first, then file a complaint later. Sure they make mistakes, but I highly doubt that if the Prof would have calmly explained the situation, like the obvious GENIUS that he is, it would have been over and done with in 2 minutes, no news to report, and nobody would have been any the wiser.
So, yeah, the two Ivy League Idiots. The Cop was the only one with any sense.
@Ryzaen - Exactly, why comment. Not so smooth for Mr. O.
This whole thing just chafes me. I mean, 1st Black President….HELLO! You should be setting the standard for everybody else!! Injustice is injustice, no matter the color. You can’t expect white people to put away their prejudices unless you first put away your own. I’m white (well, mostly, about 1/3rd Latino, but who cares), and racism and slavery are the, excuse the word, “blackest”, part of our nation’s history, in my estimation, worse than what we did to the Native Americans. I don’t abide by any of my coworkers making any racist remarks, and the only ones I’ve ever had to confront were, unfortunately, coming from a Latino and an African American.
You can’t end racism and prejudice with laws. The only way to end racism is if we as individuals take it upon ourselves to remove it from ourselves. Make it a non-issue and just judge people based on their character and their actions, how they treat you, treating everyone with respect (NOTE: I know it is pretty popular to say “don’t judge others”, but that’s not really practical because if we didn’t, then nobody would ever be able to make a wise decision about anything, and there would be no such this as accountability, responsibility, or consequences any longer). Duke Ellington, one of the greatest American composers who ever lived, lived his life this way. He dealt with racism more than any of us will ever know, white or black, and he just considered it a non-issue. White, black, red, yellow, whatever…for the Duke, it was just people and music, period. That’s the attitude to have.
I’m getting off my soap box now.
All of the above.
My first reaction was that the police officer was clearly in the wrong, arresting a man for breaking into his own home. In the privacy of his own home he can be as “disorderly” as he wants, as long as it doesn’t disturb the neighbors.
But then, when i read and heard more about the story, it became clear to me that this man is the type who has been waiting his whole life for something like this to happen, so he can be a martyr and play the race card. He missed his chance in the 60s, so now he’s trying to milk it now.
I love our President, and I support a lot of what he says and does, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t make mistakes. And saying that the police acted “stupidly” in a case where he was admittedly lacking details, was definitely one of his mistakes.
Both Gates and Obama! I just can’t figure out why Crowley would even consider going to the White House for a beer with those two jokers!
It wasn’t the police officer. The Cambridge police responded to a 911 call from a lady who observed two men apparently attempting to force the door of a nearby house. This was in a neighborhood that had suffered a rash of recent break-ins. She did not, by the way, make any mention of race, as the tapes prove. The police responded and quickly ascertained that the man in question was the homeowner. It would have ended there, but for the fact that the professor (whose history of racial agitation is lengthy) chose to hurl verbal abuse at the police officer because he was white. The temper tantrum became so violent that the officer was forced to make an arrest. The officer was a long term veteran of some renown. The “stupidity” was not his. It was that of a radical “scholar” whose own race-hate could not be self-contained. It was also that of a President who’s own bias came to the surface in a knee-jerk reaction, thereby casting aspersion on a man who was faithfully performing his duties to his community.
@mZEROq - It’s not even that he was in for it for calling the officer stupid– but the President isn’t supposed to call people stupid, and it’s generally frowned upon when he says it period. If he had said something along the lines of ‘I believe the officer has wrongfully accused Mr. Scholar’, that probably would have been okay with most of America.
@STEVENPILL - It’s funny, to me, because what the officer did was perfectly legal. I’d even go so far to say it was the correct thing to do in that situation. Obama really just made himself look ‘stupid’ saying what he did, imo.
Try talking to a police officer like that. I think the perp was setting himself up to file a lawsuit.
2! Can you imagine dealing with the frustration of being locked out or trying to open a jammed door and then having a police officer show up and accuse you of breaking in? After deducing that the house was indeed the man’s, the police officer had no business being there! He should have left! Police officers should not be allowed to arrest people on their property simply because the person yelled at them. Cops need to just move on and get over it. Total abuse of power.
I’m white and it really sucked having people yell crap at me when I lived in a black neighborhood. I can’t imagine being under public scrutiny simply because my skin is darker. It really saddens me because the reasons people are siding with the cop are painfully clear. If the man who was arrested was white and was arrested by a black cop- people would be siding with the man.
@Ryzaen - Yeah, something a little more ‘presidential’ thank “stupid”.
@h__a__l__e__y - He tried to leave. The man was still yelling at him while he was getting in his car.
@Ryzaen - Oh, well, in that case. I didn’t know Harvard scholars were endowed with the magical power of holding people hostage with their words.
President Obama acted stupidly
The ‘scholar’ and Obama. Obama should’ve stayed out of it… The officer was doing his job!
Everyone knows you can’t arrest a black man for doing a crime because that’s racism.
1 and 3.
I think that there are too many back people that think EVERY white person is raisest. I mean I have a best friend that is black. I’m not saying that every black person is like that. But many of them use it as an excuse to try and get out of somthing. The police officer was just trying to do his job like everyone else. For all the Scholar knew the cop could have helped him get into his home.
Obama was just stupid in making that statment. The officer didn’t arrest him for the breaking into his own home. The guy kept yelling at him for no reason. I believe that the cop had the right to arrest him. And if the Scholar was sooo smart he could have came to reason and realized that what he did was stupid. I’m sure if the cop was black he would have arrest the scholar too if he kept yelling at him.
@h__a__l__e__y - It’s all that book learning. Has that effect on your after a few decades.
Us, for acting like we actually know what happened. We have heard what each person said happend and they all may be porefectly accurate in their description of their view of what happened. We, however, do not know what happened, so we are left with applying our pre-concieved opinions of the police, race, professors, politicians, etc. to a situation that whouldn’t even be a nationwide story.
It’s interesting how much the “Harvard scholar” bit is thrown in there. I think it sends out the message “this wasn’t a regular black man, he was better!” What college did the white man graduate from?