July 23rd, 2009
What’s Your Take On The Controversial Arrest Of Henry Gates
I don’t think it should be a racial issue, if you don’t listen to the cops and go off on them you will get arrested. The cop was practicing regular protocol from what I understand at this point.
Bill Cosby speaks on the incident and Barack Obama’s reaction below.
Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Cosby
Suggestion Box
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:02 pm
WOW, i own 2 books by Dr. Henry Luis Gates, and i watched his documentary on the Kingdoms of Nubia and the one on African lineage. I was like WORD when I first heard the news man. Damn, i thought this was pose to be post-racial America people lol.
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Realtalkny ..everytime u comment u piss me off..shut up and don’t write ur retarded comments… The fact of the matter is this, the man was in his own home…a house he owns ..paid for with his own money…..a retarded neighbour called police and the man was kind enaugh to even show his id to police and the fucker still locked him up… how is that regular protocol… can you imagine being arrested for breaking in ur own home???? man i ‘ve heard that before in a dave chappel stand up and that shit was a joke that u dont actually think will ever take place but i guess i was wrong… it actually is possible for a black man to get arested for breaking in his own home.. thats fucked up.. that’s the most absurd and ridiculous thing i’ve heard police do… i mean cops have done some straight up evil shyt but this is not even evil or nothing it’s just ridiculous and stupid..and that bitch won’t appolize ..man i swear i’d kill cops like that.
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:09 pm
I’m ashamed at Bill Cosby cooning infront of these crackas smh
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
1.Officers are required to positively identify everyone they contact on a criminal complaint
2. because you are in a home does not mean you belong there…. many people with restraining orders enter their own homes illegally…if person with a restraining is contacted and not arrested the officer is in violation of disobeying a judges order
3. officers are not required to give you their name and badge until they are completely finsihed with their contact.. for instance if an officer needs to run computer checks in his patrol car etc..
4. common sense always wins over “thinking” you are right….
…. NO ONE IN HISTORY EVER COMES OUT ON TOP BY ARGUIN WITH OFFICERS AT THE SCENE…COOPERATE GET IT OVER WITH..A ND THEN FILE A COMPLAINT AFTER.. OR END UP IN JAIL AND HAVE THE WHOLE WORLD DISCUSSING SOMETHING THAT WAS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY… ADN SHAME ON OBAMA(WHOM I VOTED FORA DN TRAVELED ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR THE INAUGURATION) TO OPEN HIS MOUTH IN PUBLIC WITHOUT KNOWING THE FACTS..
go ahead and make your stupid comments.. keep being ignorant and we wills stay losing..
this great gentleman put all that he has accomplished in jeopardy over being stubborn… that aint smart!!!!
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:40 pm
realtalkny u sound dumb as fuck… a man arrested in his own home for no reason after showin proof he owns his house.. who da fuck cares about u shouting at the cops, once u r in ur house u can shoot at anyone; datz freedom of speech bitch.. u need some education on ur rights REALTALKNY… u r a disgrace to human race period if u dnt know ur rights!!!!!!!!!
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:50 pm
obama said the police acted stupid for arresting him after he showed them his ID and bill just letting these white people twist up obama words
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I think he went a little bizzerk
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
#4 is totally correct. People should never try to act tough with the police officers. He should’ve just cooperated and explained the situation calmly.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:04 am
Fuck Bill Cosby.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:06 am
Someone needs to arrest Cosby in his own house.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:15 am
#9 WTF is wrong with you? Every now and then somebody says something that turns everybody’s head… between you and #3 i’m not sure which of you are obviously more ignorant to Cosby’s contributions to African American culture. He is one of the forerunners for the majority of Blacks that you see on T.V. today, which play a large part in other forms of African American and urban media expression, such as this web-site, which you two BAFFOONS have chosen to use to express your feelings of resentment towards him. Smarten up- GO READ A BOOK!!!
July 24th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Nigel,
you’re an idiot. Only people who’ve never experienced racism should have your point of view. If this sort of thing happened to a white person (being arrested for not committing a crime) then you might have a valid point. But we all know if Gates was white he never would have been arrested. If you don’t know that Nigel either your stupid or your a republican.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:08 am
These fuck bois that have commented on this page are supercharged racially, and it doesnt surprise me because that is the M.O. of most African American people today.
#4 stated the truth, hate it or not.
Lemme remind yall niggas that you are not victims, stop playing the victim, shit is corny, wack, buffoonery.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:28 am
He needed to calm down, the officers arrested him because he went berserk on them. This is gonna look bad for Obama cause he’s clearly chosen a side. He fell into the trap.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:01 am
One gates showed his harvard I’d.that doesn’t prove he owns the home,plus he was arguing so that also hurts his case..not to mention there were black officers on the scene….don’t get Me wrong cops definitely can sometimes be racist,but if gates kept it cool and dignified he wouldn’t be in this mess
July 24th, 2009 at 2:16 am
I think people are forgetting a number of things when they try and give an opinion/view about this:
1) Gates is old, 5′6”, uses a cane to get around. Which essentially makes him very ‘unburglaristic’
2) He was in his own home. If this were to have happen somewhere on the street/outside his home we wouldnt even be having this situation being talked about at all..
3) That police department could have established that this man was in his own home without him giving his ID.. They could have took the address and his name, verified/confirmed that he was in his own house.
4) Even after they learned that the man was in his own house they took him to jail for being “Disorderly” when they could have shown a much better jesture by letting that man be at peace in his own home.
5) The police officer who made the arrest stands in front of the camera saying ” Apologize, for what? ”
6) If anyone could possibly have an opinion on this it would be Obama because: He’s the president, He went to Harvard Law & was the president of his class, knows gates (and are good friends, he is black, and He’s the FRICKIN president gimme a break..
July 24th, 2009 at 2:54 am
i dont care what anybody says. if im at my home MINDIN MY OWN DAMN BUSINESS, i dont want the police me with no burglary bs. if i proved that im in my house, u should leave me the hell alone. & it was b/c he was black. period point blank. its not about no “black people playin the victim shit.” were those black kids at that country club pool in philly “playin the victim?” no. they were just livin their lives before some racist authority figure came in to mess shit up, just like mr. gates was tryna do. this would never happen to a white person. farreal. it just wouldnt. they shoulda left him the hell alone after he showed his id. fuck that disorderly shit. & even if he shoulda listened to the cops, if he was white, the cops wouldnt have even asked him to leave his house.
but haha at the “yo mama” remark
July 24th, 2009 at 3:26 am
Killa B ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ racially supercharged dumb nigga who proves my point.
July 24th, 2009 at 4:21 am
I think you got to keep in mind is that Gates never would have thought he’ll be put in a situation like this. So I think this is the eye opener someone like him needs to remind himself that he is still a N****.
I think it foolish for us to be debating about whether or not this is a racism incident. No a white man wouldn’t have been taken to jail if he were to do the same thing. BUT that’s the thing he’s a BLACK in a white community. So incidents like this happen everyday around the US. Now I’m suppose to say justify what Gates did was right by talking bad to police? No take his ass to jail because I know if I were in the same situation. I probably would have still been in jail. I think Obama has more important issues than this situation right here. Just saying.
July 24th, 2009 at 4:32 am
jesus here we go.
officers are to enter a building expecting anything but the ordinary.
im sure if OJ wasnt accused of doin his wife dirty. every ignorant tard in here would say “wtf? how do we know he was trying to steal his own memorabilia? thats racist automatically he’s stealing”
people..not black people..peopl in general are fuckin nuts and you never know whats going on.
yall are playing the part so STFU. you fall into that trap of “omg its racism the white man did it again!”
July 24th, 2009 at 8:12 am
i watched the whole interview with the cop and he didnt c gates as a burglar but the harvard id wasnt enough b/c it didnt have his address on it so it didnt prove anything. i think if gates would of relaxed and just cooperated this isnt a problem.
July 24th, 2009 at 8:25 am
The cop wanted him out cuz he didn’t know if the “Guy” breaking in was in the house. He had no idea who the person was breaking in but wanted to get Gates out of the house in case “the Intruder” was in there. This is the reason why racism is still around. If we look at it as “man that cop was trying to get him out of the house to protect him” and not “the white cop is arresting that black professor for no reason” this wouldn’t be in discussion….
July 24th, 2009 at 8:28 am
I see a lot of people taking the cops side, traitorous faggot ass bitches I hope you get racially profiled and get your ass beaten by the same cops.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:27 am
It bad judgement on both parts getting out of hand. I believe a little had to do with racism do to that the world we live in, but even if it was a white dude acting a fool he would most likely get arrested to because cops believe they should be treated in the upmost respect at all time, and that just some egotestical bull shit. True the incident could have been handled better by Gates because he is suppose to be an example of our best but the police force need to train cops to be the public servents they are and learn to deal wit people’s emotions in fuck up situations. I mean Gates was upset already he had to break in his own shit and these nosy neighbors called the police. They noticed him breaking in but they did now he was living there for how ever long. People need to learn tolerance.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:51 am
@ #18, Bews, you should really stop using that word “nigga” because you obviously ain’t black my dude. THere is nothing you can POSSIBLY say to justify a cop from running in a someones housing, and grabbing him out there because he doesn’t believe the home belongs to them. NOTHING. This just wouldn’t happen to a white person flat out simple. That ain’t racially charged, thats being real. What is racially charged is you calling him a dumb nigga when you aren’t black.
If I just got off a plane from some trip, I landed home, I misplaced my key, I found a way into my house, I’m a little pissed off, and and a cop tells me I need to show him proof this house is mind….word!!!!!!!!!!!!????
Gates is a better man than most for even showing his ID, I woulda found a picture of my family put it in the cops’ face and told them dudes to bounce. Point blank period. Shit is ridiculous.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:00 am
It goes both ways with me.
Yeah had it been a white guy, it probably wouldnt have ended like this.
But the dude still lost his cool with the police, which is a big no-no, and what made the situation worse was the fact that he was a black man. He should have kept calm and relaxed, let the cops do their thing, and hopefully they would have let him be, if not then its racial.
So it hard to say that it was racial since dude was acting bad with the police.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:12 am
YOUR ALL JABOONS. STFU AND GET HIGH
July 24th, 2009 at 10:28 am
DIDN’T DAVE CHAPPELLE MAKE A JOKE ABOUT THIS EXACT SCENARIO OVER A DECADE AGO?AND PEOPLE CALL HIM CRAZY.
ANYWAYS,THERE’S NOTHING TO SEE HERE;THIS IS JUST ANOTHER BLACK MAN WHO WAS ARRESTED FOR VOICING HIS OPINION ON THE RACIALLY MOTIVATED ACTIONS OF THE WHITE POLICE.THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES BEFORE.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:31 am
rbgdup your telling me right now if someone saw a person climbing threw your window you wouldn’t want them to call the police your lying to yourself right now. what if it wasn’t him n some one was robbing him
July 24th, 2009 at 10:41 am
The simple fact that everyone who is siding with Gates is calling it a racial issue toward African Americans, reaffirms the proof that “African Americans” in this day are equally guilty of racism as any other “race”. Why is it that when an African American is arrested, everyone and their mother is jumping out of the woodwork to start a riot claiming racism. Every time a case, like said one above, gets publicity on mainstream media the flame of racism is again rekindled. Quite frankly if Henry Gates had not been so quick to assume wrong was being done to him and just cooperated with the officer, all of this could have been avoided. I feel the only person here guilty of any racial discrimination is Dr. Henry Gates himself due to the fact that he, as an African American studies scholar, had a preempted bias to make a racial issue out of the situation. He essentially capitalized off the fact the officer was in a compromising position, and took advantage. Henry Gates was being insolent, disruptive, uncooperative, and racist. I rest my case.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
the more you try and not be racial, the more you are. president Obama speaking on the situation was necessary for the simple fact that as the first minority president these things will be brought on quite heavily especially when pertaining to a well known person, albeit him saying things that were quite opinionated i.e “acted stupidly” he is a person and therefore has the right to say whatever he pleases.
the situation is one that we can only speculate on aside from being there.
but these are two things i feel people should remember.
(1)a reader earlier stated that police have procedures, which is true, but it does not excuse them from also being intelligent enough to differentiate the severity of situations.
(2) the fact of the matter is regardless of protocol the relationship the police have with the people is something that should be established and good, if not how else will blunders like these get avoided. I feel that at times the police should stop putting themselves above the law and take an L.
but thats just my opinion.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
#4 and #13, i agree with the point of arguing with the police will not get you anywhere, but your outlook/perceptions are very skewed. an officer can patrol/act on public property as they wish without prejudice to uphold the law. when it comes to private property you have to be invited or have a reason to enter the property unannounced. in this case they had a reason, but once the supportive evidence showed this individual owns the property, they are no longer welcomed if he doesnt want them to stay. they are now trespassing. they could have ran his information to verify the validity of his id. anything past that step is harassment. it is a fact, and in accordance with obamas’ statement regarding disproportionate stops on african americans and latinos by law enforcement. I am not condoning arguing and abrasive behavior, but your home is the only sanctity you have, without a doubt the actions of the police were racially driven. if we are ignorant to that fact we have lost.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
first of all, most of y’all are commenting as if you know the facts. the police report was written by the police. maybe the 911 calls and police radio transmissions should be “leaked” because right now we have Gates POV and the officers.
I’m not calling either of them liars but what you need to realize regardless of your color is that racial profiling does exist and this incident is the perfect jump off for a discussion of civil minds. I don’t think Obama called them stupid, he just said that arresting him after he provided credentials was acting “stupidly”.
IMO the officer only arrested him b/c he felt shown up. It’s as simple as that. Just like in baseball when the umpire makes a bad call and the player is pissed. Some of them let the player jaw off a bit and others are quick to throw you out.
July 24th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Three words, Fuck The Police.
This situation is exactly why most minoritys in America hate the police.
Because if one of the best and brightest minds(Gates) can get arrested at his own home in an upscale Cambridge suburb.
What kind of chance do we have?
July 24th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
how is the professor a racist when he married a white chick
He showed proof that he own the house and his I.D and was still arrested
July 24th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Just because you can do something and have the authority doesn’t mean that you SHOULD do it. I would like to know, what does society gain from locking up a man of his stature on a “disorderly conduct” charge while in his own home??? And what about the administrative resources (which translates to monetary resources) that it takes to drive him to the station, book him, fingerprint him, etc, etc… just to drop the charges??? What is the point??? That’s where the problem lies. Sorry, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that there’s no point to this sh*t outside of you said the wrong thing now “let me teach you a personal lesson.” If not a race issue, at the very minimum this was an issue of I’m the “authority” here and let me show you what I CAN do to you EVEN IN YOUR OWN HOME. You don’t have agree that any racism was involved to say that this sh*t gets everyone nowhere fast. Why couldn’t this cop look at him as a grumpy a$$ old man and keep it moving? To me the whole locking him up was a waste of the criminal justice system resources that could be spent doing something fu*king productive. There are rapist, killers, children being abused…. Being locked up over a charge of fussing in your own home, and there were no ulterior motives on the policeman’s part?? B.S. Also, I find it funny that the media uses the fact that the cop trained others on ” culture sensitivity” sort to speak, as if there’s no way he could have a race or authority issue. Lmao at the way they are framing the story! Obviously the media has never heard of “practice what you preach.” There’s a huge difference between THEORY and PRACTICE. The cops background as a officer actually makes it WORST to me, because he should have been able to let the comments from the professor roll off of his back. –peace
July 24th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
lets think about what we do know.
Neighbor calls police to report a burglary because he/she sees a man trying to force his way into a home. Police officer arrives at the home. Police officer and professor Gates interact inside the home.
Police officer asks to see proof that Gates lives at home. Professor Gates shows proof of residence.
Officer asks Gates to step outside. Gates refuses, and asks for Officers information. Officers refuses to give his info. Gates follows officer out of home shouting something. Officer tells him to stop shouting, and arrests Gates. There may be some info missing because the whole story has yet to be told.
In my opinion this arrest would not have happened if Gates was white not because the officer wouldn’t have arrested him, but because if it were a white man the police would not have been called in the first place. This is where the racial profiling begins. A clean cut white man dressed in a polo style shirt and slacks trying to enter a home in a predominantly white neighborhood goes overlooked. A clean cut black man dressed the same way in the same neighborhood rings alarms.
Officer arriving at home to find Gates not outside still trying to push the door open, or attempting to climb through the window, but inside the home, probably after answering the door to let the officer in still feels the need to asks for ID? What burglar would go to answer the door of a house he’s robbing? Gates shows his id anyway.
Why didn’t Officer give his info if he in fact wasn’t in the wrong?
Officer taught racial profiling class how come he couldn’t have done more to diffuse this situation which clearly started as a result of racial prejudice?
People who feel the police officer did nothing wrong and that Gates overreacted need to acknowledge the experience of black people and specifically black men in this country. Knowing that everyday your movements are viewed with some sort of criminal twist, whether it be being black in an elevator, driving while black, or attempting to enter your own home while black makes you extremely sensitive. Can you imagine having a police officer tell you someone called to say you were breaking into your own home? Or when that officer gets there he overlooks the fact that you answered the door to let him in. Your first feeling is probably anger, and a cop who has been teaching classes on racial profiling should have done a better job of dealing with the situation. His extra credentials of teaching that class means he should better understand when different protocols are necessary.
July 25th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
AFTER 500 YRS OF THESE WHITE DEVILZ SLAUGHTERING OUR PPL, THESE HOUSE NEGROS ARE WALKING AROUND AMERICA TRYING TO ACT LIKE THIS MOFCKR ISNT STILL CONTROLLED BY SATAN & RACE IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE. LMAO
LOL AT REALTALK COONING OUT SOUNDING LIKE A SCARED HOUSE NEGRO.
REALTALK YOU SOUND SO SCARED & LIKE A PATHETIC GOOD BOY FOR MASTER. BUT IDK IF REALTALK IS BLACK OR WHITE. IF U ARE BLACK REALTALK, WAKE THE F UP, YOU COULD BE NEXT SCARED NEGRO. LOL
July 26th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
DAMN! Yoo all are fuckin stupid idiots. You all know old guy fucked up but you use the race card. If 1 dumb nigga jumps off the cliff you all follow behind. STUPID NIGGAS!!! U call whites the devil but read a book on how many whites died in the civil war and for what purpose? To free you DUMB ASS NIGGAS it took close to a million whites in the CIVIL FUCKEN WAR!!! UNGRATEFUL FUCKS!!!
July 26th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
GO THE FUCK BACK TO AFRICA IF YOU ALL ARE UNHAPPY HERE! Y’ALL BE CRYING TO COME BACK!
August 4th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Be thankful I’m not a cop cuz I would have shot first and then ask questions later!