Tag Archives: Gates

Does Heather MacDonald at NRO really want to defend racism?

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Now the right wing is defending racism. Reported to the police for entering his own house, Gates was not initially cooperative. Surely not wise. But, once the police saw that Gates was, in fact, at his *own* home, they should have left. Period. The police are not entitled to enter someone’s home, harangue them to show identification, and then to arrest them for disorderly conduct (i.e. yelling about the injustice of having their home invaded by the police) in their home.  Not appropriate. EVER.  Really, the police were right to go to the residence; they were correct to ask for and examine Gates’ identification. BUT, FOR GOD’S SAKE, HE LIVES THERE!!!!

The police have dangerous jobs, but that does not justify making poor judgments, nor is it defensible. And, truth by told, if something like that happened to me, I would have received an apology, on the spot.

If I reported Heather Mac Donald was breaking into her own home and the police entered her home, she would be right to be pissed. And, they would be wrong to arrest her, because she was in her home.

I am not so sure that Mac Donald is a racist or is defending racist behavior. But, I am sure that she’s just plain stupid.

Read for yourself: Promoting Racial Paranoia by Heather Mac Donald on National Review Online.

The Gates Case and Racial Profiling

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The New York Times in, The Gates Case and Racial Profiling – Room for Debate Blog – NYTimes.com, has a great discussion of the issue.

For the record, I believe that race mattered and that Gates was improperly treated. I also expect that he was (rightly) unhappy and a bit bellicose with the officer (who would not be!) However, I do not think that he was “profiled” by the police because they responded to a phone call about breaking and entering. However, I expect that race mattered in the interaction between Gates and the police.

This is a great discussion.