ARE PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY ALWAYS RIGHT?
July 27th, 2009 Posted in General Domain News
CARA KNOTT
Hi Gang,
Saw a few posts from domainers over the weekend about the 58 year old black Harvard professor, Henry Gates, being arrested on his front porch. Seems this farce touched a lot of nerves, left and right, literally.
The ultimate response which really tells the story is what the Cambridge District Attorney did when he read the police report on the arrest. He clutched his heart, turned pale and said “GOOD GOD, YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!” (poetic license here) and then dropped the charges against the black Harvard Professor. Soon after, the Spin Game began…
First off, if I was arrested for just “yelling” at a cop from my front porch for whatever reason, I guarantee you it would be a long nightmare for that police department. Since the cop in this case already established that Gates was the owner of the home (as per the officer’s filed report), he should have left quickly, saying “sorry for the trouble, glad you got home okay”. No, this cop (Sgt. Crowley) decided to lure the tired and angry older man onto his front porch so his tirades would be heard by witnesses outside. This cop was so threatened and intimidated by Professor Gates, he took the time to call the Harvard police to handle Gates’ property as he was arresting him. Crowley’s partner, Officer Figueroa, was so worried about the “threat” from Prof. Gates that he walked outside Gates’ house to talk to the witness who first called the police. You can just feel these two policemen’s tenseness, anxiety, and fear in facing the immense personal danger from the 58 year old bespectacled potential criminal, Professor Gates.
Professor Gates, remembering again that he was black, but hoping things had changed, and probably sick of past profiling by cops, voiced his opinion, whether his opinion was right or wrong. So this professor, not charged with any crime, had the nerve to break no laws and question this policeman from his own porch, and do it in front of witnesses!
SUMMARY (Sarcasm aside):
- Professor Gates REALLY blew it by not allowing the cop to do his job, and getting the cop out of his house as calmly as possible. Maybe the long flight made Gates cranky. However, he should know that cops sign up to become cops because having authority feels “good” to them. There’s no other reason. They’ll say things like “I want to give back to my community” and “I want to help others”. The Professor should have known this. Or maybe he did, and decided he just wanted to get some national attention by pushing the cop’s buttons.
- Officer Crowley REALLY blew it by not having thicker skin and just walking away after he established Gates was the homeowner (which his report said he did before he arrested him). Maybe the Officer was embarrassed at being called “racist,” so he did what most cops do to “satisfy” their ego-deflation after being called out – they arrest the person to show who “really is the boss”. Sgt Crowley, maybe it was a bad day for you, but don’t arrest people on their front porch for venting at you. It looks “Orwellian”, because it is.
- President Obama REALLY blew it by commenting on it publicly. I cringed when I saw it on the news. Maybe Obama has some old memories digging at him from unfair treatment of him by law enforcement in his past. Those memories might have clouded Obama’s ability to step back from it and say nothing. Dang, I guess a black President should learn to “bury” those moments in his life where he was treated less than a man. I’m not black, I can’t comment on the reasons he blurted out his opinion, but it didn’t help matters.
- We ALL will blow it if we just blindly follow authority at any level. It’s only been 65 years since millions of people died following the directives of the Nazis, and every minute, government sanctioned deaths of hundreds of citizens in Africa happen everyday by using “authority” in an official manner. Not only Africa, but all over the world.
So, to be an American, ALWAYS QUESTION AUTHORITY. Why? Because we’re talking about it right now, and that keeps those who have a license to kill us us as honest as they can be. An infamous case in San Diego perfectly describes why we SHOULDN’T blindly give in to people of “authority”. This was one of the most disgusting stories of the year (1986). The victim Cara Knott’s photo is at the top of my blog, and the reach of sorrow, grief and sadness from this “authority abuse” was frightening, expansive and long-lasting, even today.
William Pitt, the Elder, The Earl of Chatham and British Prime Minister said in a speech to the House of Lords in 1770:
“Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.”
If you love history, you already embrace this quote and others like it.
Followup articles of interest: Time magazine report on the Professor Gates arrest
4 Responses to “ARE PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY ALWAYS RIGHT?”
By jp on Jul 27, 2009
Its just like anything else. Before talking back to the cops you’ve got to weigh your options. Unfortunately mood and emotions tend to get in the way of these situations. At the same token, sometimes those emotions are just what you need at the moment.
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
Yo Joe… sometimes getting your buttons pushed by law enforcement is done as a test to see just how “reactive” you will be, and to draw you into a penalizing position by doing what normal would do when pushed to the limits… we all know how well “car chases” turn out when running from the police. Of course, the car chases you see on the TV news 95% of the time deal with small time crimes, car theft, no drivers license, a warrant for something lame, etc.. However, if you run, notice how many cops join in, including helicopters and police from different jurisdictions. The more they chase, the more dangerous the runner becomes… and if they keep running, they could crash into an innocent family and kill them all. However, the police get their man!!! Five family members dead, the runner gets prosecuted for “murder”, but… THE POLICE GOT THEIR MAN!
Nevermind that they can get the guy’s address from his license plate, or just pull back the cruisers and let the copter follow him. You think some guy running from the police would keep speeding (not saying he’s high on drugs or alcohol) if he didn’t see any cops around? After a few minutes, he’s calmly park somewhere, or go to his mom’s house. But, cops want that visual proof, that media coverage showing “don’t run from us, because our dog packs will get bigger and bigger, and force you to become more desperate and crazed, but that makes for a great collar when we eventually take you down.”
If I was governor, I’d outlaw any police car chase unless someone’s life was at stake, or a murder/rape suspect was identified. I’d force the police to blow off any chase after some guy who failed to pull over because he didn’t have a license plate light and knew he owed back child support.
By Helder on Jul 28, 2009
A typical case where everyone over reacts, and things get a bit out of control.
I’ve sent you emails, hope all is well
Cheers
By L2 Lumpy on Aug 4, 2009
What happens when somebody takes a lil’ hammer and cracks you in that soft spot on your knee?
Reflex. Can’t stop it, can’t supress it.
When the cops showed up at HIS (Professor Gates’) door asking questions, they hit his knee – the rest was reflex.
Why don’t cops understand that? It’s not rocket science.
L2 Lumpy
++++++
Yo Lump,
The problem is that they do understand that reflex. My dad was a firefighter when I was growing up. He had a few cops as friends, most I met were good men.
Lucky for me, a kindly and wise judge lived a few houses up, and a few more houses away lived a damn good city police detective. I learned one thing about cops in an overall sense… these are guys/gals with a tough job and they want RESPECT. That’s the rub. Sometimes that “respect” doesn’t have anything to do with their uniform, it has to do with who they are as people.
So, that little “kneecap tap for the reflex” is what a some cops are hoping for in order to use the excuse to release that pent-up frustration of not being “respected” in one way or another in their lives.
Other than that, I believe most law enforcement officials are dedicated and honest good people. I just wish they didn’t do that “let’s all stick together, us against them” mentality when it’s found that they have some rogue dickheads among them. It would go better if they just hoisted up the rogues in their mist and said “We don’t allow renegades in our department, and we’re not letting this go unaddressed,” then dumped on the bad cops with all the heat and iron they had, getting rid of that “silent blue brotherhood” imagery. Wouldn’t all citizens respect them for this posture? Of course. Cops are here for US. You and me. They defend the U.S. Constitution and the guts of America. There’s no room for any law enforcement person giving into their weakness for wanting someone to look at them as a god.
By jeff schneider on Aug 7, 2009
Tyranny comes in many forms. It comes into our living rooms through the trojan horse called TV. It is often pervasive and somewhat sexy sometimes, but it all boils down to Ego on fire. War, Insurance companies whose major function is to deny medical attention so as to make larger profit margins. To major corporations and Banks whose soul purpose is to milk the consumer to fatten their profits, so their executive branch members can retire in Maui, while feeding the consumer to the sharks.
These common everyday injustices have become so accepted that we the people are slowly becoming desensitized to injustices of all sorts. Is it any wonder that Tyranny exists ?