My take on the Gates arrest

President Obama is a very smart man who knows that in his position that he has to be very careful with his words. I understand why he would have to pull back from the use of the word “ Stupidly” in reference to the Cambridge Mass. Officer’s action of arresting a man for mouthing off in his own home. I believe that President Obama initially had the same punched in the gut reaction that many Black men in America feel when we hear about the police profiling, intimidating, or arresting a brother based on his “attitude” Take a poll of 100 black men concerning this issue, I estimate that 75 of them could tell that it happened to them. Many of them could tell you stories (particularly when they were in their teens and twenties) about a specific humiliating incident that could have easily turned into jail (or even deadly) if the cop didn’t like their attitude. I strongly disagree with those who think that Dr, Gates actions were those of a elitist during the incident. “Do you know who I am” or “Do you know who you’re messing with” are words that many of us brothers never got a chance to say when we found ourselves in situations that left us confused as to how we got in this situation in the first place. Words can’t describe the depth of shock that happens when law abiding you becomes an instant suspect . Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant , and countless others were killed by cops in the blink of an eye. Here is an example from own life that illustrates how fast a good day becomes a nightmare :

It was a rainy day about 15 years ago. I got a call from my agent about a last minute audition. Back then I had a baby face, but he told me to dress young because the role was a teen. Now I wasn’t a teen then, but I knew that what he meant was to go baggier with the jeans, looser with the shirt, and a backwards baseball cap. The appointment was downtown below 14th street somewhere- I lived in the Times Square area of NYC. On my way to the Port Authority train station, I saw the #10 downtown bus. I made a mad dash for it. Suddenly I was tackled from behind and face down on the sidewalk with a black boot on my back. “ Don’t move!” were the words that went with the sound of the walkie talkie above me. “ I didn’t do anything” I said . “I’m not gonna tell you not to move again “ said the voice. From my sidewalk view I could see that it was two cops. Just as quickly the foot was off my back. “ Its not him” the other cop said. A call must of come through, because they took off leaving me on the ground (without any explanation or apology). In this heavily traveled tourist area , I was the current freak show. People stared at me as if they had seen some NYC bad man brought down by the tough boys and blue.(Muddy clothes now and wet) My heart was pounding fast and my hands were shaking when I picked myself off the dirty sidewalk. I also realized how lucky I was to be alive. You see it happened so fast that I didn’t have time to react. They didn’t know that they were “messing” with a good man. I was a black man running for a bus in the wrong place at the wrong time.

How does this connect to Dr Gates on other levels? It seems to me that young black men are targeted much more often. The older that I get, the less I feel profiled. I believe that one could feel that they graduated from that after a certain age . It feels like it comes with the territory when you are a younger brother. I teach my son and other youth to never argue with the police. They can’t gauge what the cop believes the threat level to be. Sure adults should do the same thing-however in Dr Gates case: 1 He had already proven that it was his house 2- He was jet lagged 3- he was way out of practice in terms of reacting to policeman’s attitude / on the same note- don’t old men get some kind of cantankerous pass 4- When does a person have the right to protest in his or her own home? 5- shouldn’t the cop have adjusted his own response? 6 Was his neighbor standing outside with a cell phone (it must have added insult to injury seeing her not come to his defense)? 7 – There are other examples of Black men(particularly students) at Harvard and In Cambridge being hassled or falsely accused –sometimes our rage explodes when enough is enough.
My intention here is not to demonize cops. Cops are people who bring many of their own biases into situations. They also are given the task of responding to whatever call comes through. I understand that. My problem is that it seems much easier for law enforcement to arrest or shoot black men, then it is for them to see us as human beings who have the right to outrage when being targeted unfairly.