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Date Posted: 13:46:41 07/24/09 Fri
Author: Jenn
Subject: the Gates arrest

Any thoughts on the Gates arrest? Other than being tired of hearing about it?

Given that the president wasn't there and couldn't possibly have all the facts, I think it was unnecessary for him to comment that the police "acted stupidly".

I read the police report this morning. If that information is all correct, I would say that Gates flipped out for no reason and pulled the race card automatically and without merit. If you believe Gates, the cops were out of line. Hard to know what to believe, really.

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Replies:

[> Re: the Gates arrest -- JennyJenkins, 19:32:14 07/24/09 Fri [1]

Of course he pulled the "race card" because it was a racist arrest. Why didn't the police ask him for his ID right away? His driver's licence would have his address on it...

What surprises me is that his neighbour, the one who called the police, didn't recognize him. That's the big question here. It leads me to believe that the neighbour's defense of looking out for his friend's house sounds flimsy.

The Presiden't joke about loosing the keys to the White House and getting shot are bitingly honest. It's time some white Americans faded the harsh truth about their racism.


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[> [> racist arrest? -- Jenn, 20:10:38 07/24/09 Fri [1]

How do you know it was a racist arrest? I don't think we know one way or the other. Maybe it was. I have no idea. I just hate all of these wild assumptions and people acting like they know, President included, when they were not present at the time of the event.

Have you read the police report?


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[> [> [> The real racist is Gates -- Jeannine, 09:33:43 07/25/09 Sat [1]

and Obama has managed to set back "race relations" in this country by 20 years by talking about things he is uninformed about (Not unlike JennyJenkins, btw, our resident America hater).

I love these people who are blaming the lady next door. Her offense? Calling the police when she saw two men breaking into the house next door - a house that was recently broken into, a house where the occupant was overseas. Shame on her!

As a republican, I am glad that Obama let his true feelings show. It is a true "teachable moment" as he said, but the lesson is not what he hopes it is. But then, I am just a "typical white woman", not to mention a racist with my head up my ass.


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[> [> [> [> The real racist is the policeman. -- JennyJenkins, 18:07:25 07/25/09 Sat [1]

FYI missy, I'm an American living in Canada, and I have a certain patriotism for Usonia, it's probably not as deep as yours, but I bet I'm more objective than you are.

I still stand by my opinion. If you took time to read my post carefully, wouldn't you wonder why a neighbour didn't recognize Gates? Don't you wonder why the police didn't ask for his ID before arresting him. If it was a white man, the neighbour wouldn't have noticed the "break in" and the police wouldn't have been called.

Never mind the President's biting comment. This incident has nothing to do with him, and he's entitled to his opinions too.


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[> [> [> [> [> Again, I ask, did you read the police report? -- Jenn, 23:05:28 07/25/09 Sat [1]

I also wonder why the neighbor did not recognize him. I wonder because I do not know her, do not know what she saw, or why she did not know him when she saw him. Me not having information does not automatically make her a racist.

I also don't know how long either of them lived in their particular homes. We have a neighbor on one side who I have literally not seen a single time. I know someone lives there because there is a car parked that moves from the front to the back sometimes. I have no idea if someone old or young or male or female lives there as we obviously have different schedules. If I saw someone forcing entry next door and called the police, would that make me a racist if they happened to also be black?

What I don't understand is the jump to assumptions that have been made here. You weren't there. The police report clearly states justifiable reasoning for the actions of the police. Whether or not they are fully accurate, I don't know. But I know there are multiple sides to the story. Why are you so quick to make a blanket judgment when you can't possibly know?

I will never understand that.


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[> [> [> [> [> [> Oh, and "never mind the President's biting comment"?? -- Jenn, 23:21:03 07/25/09 Sat [1]

Well, that's convenient.

He is entitled to his opinion, yes. But that guy with the opinion - he's running the country. His words have large implications.

For a guy that this has nothing to do with, he took it upon himself to make a public statement during a prime time news conference about it and it came back to bite him in the ass.


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[> [> [> [> Being a US citizen does not exempt you from hating America -- Jeannine, 19:11:51 07/25/09 Sat [1]

many citizens do, especially ex-pats. I think you are probably making that up though. Take a minute and read your previous posts. You are either lying now or were before. Doesn't really matter to me either way, only makes you look more foolish.

Did you ever even read the arrest report? They DID ask for his ID. He gave them a Harvard ID with no address and started screaming racism.

I must wonder, however, if he was so right, why is he now saying that it is "time to move on"' it is "not about him" and we should focus on health care. Maybe it is because there is an audio tape of the whole thing. That will tell the tale.


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[> [> [> [> [> Well, this post just shows that you pick and choose what might ofend you and reply to that... -- JennyJenkins, 20:32:51 07/25/09 Sat [1]

I remember posting about voting. You must have missed that one.


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[> [> [> [> [> [> I am not 'ofended' at all. -- Jeannine, 23:33:17 07/25/09 Sat [1]

Simply calling a spade a spade, missy. I do remember you posting about voting. In Canada. Something about "abc" voting. There is a little thing called 'archives'. Try it sometime, it might help when you need to keep your stories straight. Use of the word "Usonia" is interesting too. I have heard it used before, by a Canadian who resented the use of the word "American" to describe US citizens. hmmm.

Jenn - she won't comment on the police reports, because might have to admit she is WRONG. This all boils down to BO sticking his nose into something that he should not have. I predict he will regret it. What an arrogant man.


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[> I find they way Obama refers to the word "Us" more interesting than anything else -- Dolly, 11:28:18 07/26/09 Sun [1]

Interesting indeed.

I heard on TV last night that the Prof. was a cop for many years. If this is true, he should know how to behave during an encounter with the police better than your average citizen, no matter the color. The first thing he should have handed over was ID with his address on it. I'm thinking the neighbor that called did so because the house had just been burglarized recently and was scared. Having had things like that happen to you or a close neighbor puts you on guard.

Oh and BTW JennyJenkins... it's "losing" not "loosing" ;-)

BTW... Racism works both ways.


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[> [> Sad but true, Dolly -- Jeannine, 14:00:20 07/26/09 Sun [1]

Us and them. We are headed back to that.


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[> Can't there be a middle ground -- Minnie, 11:16:12 07/28/09 Tue [1]

Maybe Gate was suspected more because he was a black man in a rich neighborhood. And maybe he did over react to a cop that had to follow up on a call. What if the cop got here and a white man answered the door and showed ID, would he still get arrested for charges that seem more like he insulted the cop (not a crime as far as I know). Would Gate have jumped the gun if the cop was black (maybe not so much...just another guy doing his job). I can say that Gate lives in a world that may be hard for any of us to understand. He is highly educated and working in a prestigous place. There are probably only a handful of other black prof there. Many have probably wondered how he got to where he is now (was it because he is black...that is a hard thing to live with especially if you worked hard to get there). And even after his education and status, he probably has been followed in stores and the normal stuff black people get. That is not a defense to losing your cool with a cop, but maybe this was one humiliation too much.


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[> [> The problem I had was not really with Gates or the cop -- Jeannine, 16:53:40 07/29/09 Wed [1]

I felt that Obama made a huge mistake getting into something that he should have left alone. He didn't have all the facts and caused more division than anything else.

I feel very bad for the woman who called in the report. She was trying to help and has been called a racist. That is not a charge that should be thrown around casually, it does real harm.


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[> [> [> I absolutely agree with you about the woman who called in the report. She didn't do anything -- LAwoman, 20:56:17 07/30/09 Thu [1]

wrong. Everyone else got beers. I would hope that my neighbors would call the police if they thought someone was breaking into my house. I would do the same for them.


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