American Media, Arrogance, Hypocrisy, Politicians & Racism – Disappointing!
It has been more than a week since Harvard professor Henry (Skip) Gates was arrested in his own home by Cambridge police officer Crowley. President Obama, after getting beaten up all week by the Republicans and by the Blue Dog Dems, and after having to deal with his spineless leader (Harry Reed) and an undecided speaker, Nancy Pelosi, would have been better off not answering the reporter’s question about the arrest of prof. Gates (a friend). However, being human and being a very honest person, he responded and used the word “stupidly” in describing the behavior of the police. Yes, I would have preferred if the President had said – the police clearly was over-reacting. The really honest thing to have said was the police was pulling a power play. But again, he has to elevate the conversation and lead by example. Given what he has to deal with, it is a most daunting task. This president needs our prayers and positive meditations daily.
Of course, some hypocritical members of the media have been having a field day with the word stupidly. The pretend naivete and the arrogance of some in the media over the whole disturbing event is most distressing, but even more disappointing. One would like to think that the has been growing and developing a higher level of sophistication. Sadly, this situation demonstrated the opposite; we are back in the gutters of personality journalism. One has to wonder if some in the media are closet lobbyists. Not to mention that many wanted to distract the President from Health Care Reform. The Republicans must have been happy; many have stated they want to destroy him. Create his “waterloo” What about serving the best interest of the country? Later for that. Most of the 24×7 media does not have time to do real journalism; they go in for the salacious stuff that they can manipulate and spin. We all know about Fox, but we need to look closely at others. CNN has been offering up some pathetic gems.
In terms of the President’s comment, the behavior of officer Crowley was far more sinister than stupid. It was a power-play. He wanted Dr. Gates to know that he, officer Crowley, has the power to humiliate and demean anyone he so choses and that the professor’s prestige and position meant nothing to him. Why else would he slap handcuffs on the 58 year old distinguished scholar and a very physically challenged gentleman, take him to the police station and made mug shots! Simply because he could and get away with it. Since when is it a crime to voice your displeasure at being treated poorly and disrespectfully in one’s own house? Yes, we should all obey the law, but in this case, which law did Dr. Gates violate? Officer Crowley’s ego? After all, he was in the man’s house. He saw the ID, when didn’t he leave at that point? Why the arrest?
The question being asked all week is – what if a black cop had arrested Henry Kissinger? The truth is – there isn’t a black cop anywhere in America who would have put cuffs on Kissinger under similar circumstances. If he had, we would NOT have seen the police union and there crew of white officers standing in a press conference demanding that the President of the USA apologize to every police officer in America. GIVE ME A BREAK!! If the President was not named Barack Obama, would they be asking for an apology? I don’t think so. The very manner in which the police union behaved should be closely examined. As usual, president Obama proved the bigger man, as he should be, and moved the conversation forward. However, the teachable moment he wished for was lost on people like George Will -who told George Stephanopoulos Sunday that with a black mayor in Boston, a black governor in MA and a black president, we do not need to talk about race! Is George Will being serious?!
That was so disappointing to hear. George Will is often smarter than most; he is not on this topic. One thing is certain, regardless of how open-minded, caring, empathetic, knowledgeable, informed and experienced a white American is under normal circumstances, when it comes to the effect of racism on black people white people cannot really understand it. They have to be able to really experience it and they can’t. George Will and officer Crowley both proved themselves to be arrogant and uninformed about race in America. Regardless of how many classes Crowley has taught about racial profiling; he does not understand racism as he practices it.
George Will should understand that as long as there is such a large audience for Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly, Dobbs and all of the other hate mongers that populate conservative talk radio, Fox News and some of the other outlets, there is a vital need for conversations about race and constructive actions against racism in America. We have a very long way to go in America to attain anything that is remotely close to equity in policing, in the justice system, in education, and in every day life.