Errington C. Thompson: A few more thoughts on Professor Henry Louis Gates
This is a continuation of my discussion that I started earlier this week. Most of this grew out of the accusations that Pres. Barack Obama is a racist because of a video which shows him both introducing and hugging Harvard professor Derek Bell. The discussion got off into the arrest of Prof. Henry Louis Gates. I would like to continue that discussion here.
For some reason, in this country, we have this ethnocentric idea that everybody needs to act the same. Actions that deviate from the norm are abnormal and need to be suppressed. My friend, who has stringently argued his point, reveals a critical flaw in his thinking. (Let me add that my friend is highly educated. I’m shocked that he didn’t know who Henry Louis Gates was. I hope that he has taken the time to read his many books while we are carrying on this discussion.) In his comment, he reverts to saying what he would do if confronted by the police. The discussion isn’t about what he would do or what any White man would do but instead discussion has to do with the criminality and the legitimacy of an arrest of a Black man in his own home. Phrases like – he was looking for it – completely ring hollow with me.
Let’s go over the facts that are not disputed. Henry Louis Gates broke into his own home. A neighbor, concerned, called the police. The police arrives after Prof. Gates is in his home. The police asked for identification. The professor provides two forms of ID. Now, from this point on, all other actions, in my mind, are moot. The police are there to verify that he has not broken into somebody else’s home. The police have now verified that he in fact is Henry Louis Gates, both IDs had pictures on them, and he lives in that house. Discussion over. End of story. “Thank you for your time Prof. Gates. I’m sorry to bother you.” That’s it. Anything else was superfluous and unnecessary.
full: http://www.whereistheoutrage.net/wordpress/2012/03/13/a-few-more-thoughts-on-professor-henry-louis-gates/
