We should choose our words carefully. Yes, we should say what we mean, but we should be clear, so as to avoid any misunderstanding.
Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. got arrested, outside of his house, last week.
Here's what happened. Cambridge Police received a call on a break-in at Gates' house. They responded. Found Gates in the house. Asked Gates for identification. He refuses, at first, and calls the cops racist. Do I need to continue?
Last night at a nationally televised news conference, President Obama admitted that he did not know all of the facts, but that the Cambridge police "...acted stupidly...."
If you are on national TV and you don't know all the facts you should......that's right....you should keep your mouth shut. In polite language, you should reserve your comments, until the investigation is complete.
The arresting officer, Sergeant Crowley has some experience with African Americans: he was a campus police officer at Brandeis University in July 1993 when he administered CPR trying to save the life of former Boston Celtics player Reggie Lewis. Lewis, who was black, collapsed and died during an off-season workout.
If you think that this is a racial thing, look at the picture. Click it to make it larger. There's a Black police officer in the same picture with Professor Gates in cuffs.
There's a lesson here. Being a Harvard Professor does not guarantee that you automatically know how to talk to a cop while you are suspected of committing a felony. No, you need to remember your manners.......and a little bit of common sense would go a long way, here.
