From the "Black People Arrest Themselves" files

[swallow]

He  could then 'phone to check the ID.  But the policeman followed him into his house when he knew the guy was annoyed.  it's very odd.  Would you allow someone into your house you didn't know?

He did keep asking for the policeman's ID

No, he never asked for the cops ID, he asked for his name and badge number so he could report him as a racist out to get black men in America.

At no point has Gates ever said or indicated he had any doubts about Crowleys identity as a police officer.

Christ, you are just making shit up at this point in some desperate attempt to excuse the guy.

[Jaron]

What do you expect derspiess? He'll go over to Africa , exclaim what a shithole the place is, and praise white people for enslaving them and bringing them to more civilized lands?

[Berkut]

He  could then 'phone to check the ID.  But the policeman followed him into his house when he knew the guy was annoyed.  it's very odd.  Would you allow someone into your house you didn't know?

But he has never claimed he went inside to phone to check the officers ID. You are just making this up out of whole cloth.

The cop followed him because that is what he was supposed to do, I imagine. As has been pointed out, at that point the cop has no idea who this person is, if he is a criminal, if there are others in the house who could be victims, or any idea what is actually going on. Following him into the house was likely exactly the right thing to do.

If you are going to claim it is "odd" or not the right thing to do, please cite some kind of evidence that police officers should not do that under those circumstances.

And ditch the "Gates didn't know if he was a cop!" angle. Not even Gates is stupid enough to try to sell that.

[Valmy]

What do you expect derspiess? He'll go over to Africa , exclaim what a shithole the place is, and praise white people for enslaving them and bringing them to more civilized lands?

Not being a revisionist Pan-African nationalist does not require you to embrace that idea.  It is possible to have sane ideas you know.

[derspiess]

Levar Burton (aka Geordi Laforge) did something similar on PBS back in the 90s, where he went to see Timbuktu, which turned out to be a major shithole but he nonetheless rationalized it into something great.  IIRC, that was the episode (can't remember the series name) where he admired some structure as a "feat of African engineering".  Heh.

I assume you're talking about Reading Rainbow?

No, this was a different show.  The more I think of it, it may actually have been Gates's show 

[Malthus]

He is an eminent professor of blackosity at Harvard. It is simply not conceivable that he could lie about his racial oppression.

This isn't about him, it is about all the lesser blacks, you know.

Heh. 

Actually, I have a bit of sympathy for the Prof, at least initially. He's a hot-head no doubt, and who hasn't said stuff they later regret in the heat of annoyance?

Thing is, the cop's career is now on the line, in part because of his lies. That I find harder to excuse.

[Jaron]

What do you expect derspiess? He'll go over to Africa , exclaim what a shithole the place is, and praise white people for enslaving them and bringing them to more civilized lands?

Not being a revisionist Pan-African nationalist does not require you to embrace that idea.  It is possible to have sane ideas you know.

My problem is when Africans look to find pride in Africa - the homeland a great many of them were separated from, a lot of people in the western world slap crazy labels on them as if its sinful they should forsake their birthland for the cultural achievements of their people.

[swallow]

@ Berkut The officer said he heard him use words like 'chief' and such on the 'phone.  I suspect we'll find the policeman and witness were lurvers (or perhaps a menage a trois since she is a neighbour) and they set this all up so they can sell the film rights

[Berkut]

He is an eminent professor of blackosity at Harvard. It is simply not conceivable that he could lie about his racial oppression.

This isn't about him, it is about all the lesser blacks, you know.

Heh. 

Actually, I have a bit of sympathy for the Prof, at least initially. He's a hot-head no doubt, and who hasn't said stuff they later regret in the heat of annoyance?

Thing is, the cop's career is now on the line, in part because of his lies. That I find harder to excuse.

Yeah, if he had come out the next day and said "You know, in refelction, my actions and words yesterday towards Officer Crowley were ill-considered and unfair. I would like to apologize for being a giant asshole." I would have quite a bit of respect for him. People lose their cool all the time, I know I have.

But to follow up acting like a complete asshole by doubling down on your assholishness by demanding the OTHER guy crawl to you for an apology? Fuck him, he is scum.

[Jaron]

It sounds like a grumbler vs Berkut fight to me.

[Caliga]

It sounds like a grumbler vs Berkut fight to me.

A scrap-up between a black man and an Irishman is always going to end with blood all over the floor.

[Caliga]

Gates' legal team argues that authorities are misrepresenting the professor and the officer, and Gates has said he is determined to keep the issue alive despite the charges being dropped.

"This is not about me; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America," he said this week.

Ogletree said Gates may bring forward people who say they've had similar experiences with Crowley.

When asked for examples, Ogletree said only that they may come out in time depending on how the police department handles the situation moving forward.

"I think you will be hearing much more complex and different perspective on him [Crowley] in the coming days and weeks," Ogletree said, alleging that Crowley "is well-known among people, particularly young people, for some of his police practices."

Gates has no immediate plans to file a lawsuit against the department, the attorney said. Ogletree had said earlier Gates might sue the police

Classy.

[Berkut]

It sounds like a grumbler vs Berkut fight to me.

A scrap-up between a black man and an Irishman is always going to end with blood all over the floor.

Am I the black man or the irishman?

[Berkut]

Gates' legal team argues that authorities are misrepresenting the professor and the officer, and Gates has said he is determined to keep the issue alive despite the charges being dropped.

"This is not about me; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America," he said this week.

Ogletree said Gates may bring forward people who say they've had similar experiences with Crowley.

When asked for examples, Ogletree said only that they may come out in time depending on how the police department handles the situation moving forward.

"I think you will be hearing much more complex and different perspective on him [Crowley] in the coming days and weeks," Ogletree said, alleging that Crowley "is well-known among people, particularly young people, for some of his police practices."

Gates has no immediate plans to file a lawsuit against the department, the attorney said. Ogletree had said earlier Gates might sue the police

Classy.

Hey Gates told him that he should not be messing with him - gotta follow through on a threat like that, and what better way to follow through on the race card threat than to threaten to dredge up some more people who will call him a racist...if necessaty, of course.

Because this is about Gates protecting the lesser black men of America. Like garbon.

[Valmy]

My problem is when Africans look to find pride in Africa - the homeland a great many of them were separated from, a lot of people in the western world slap crazy labels on them as if its sinful they should forsake their birthland for the cultural achievements of their people.

I think there are ways of celebrating Africa without going all Nazi about it and claiming the glorious achievements of the Black Race surpass all others.

Besides the main reason people slap crazy labels on them is because they tend to go about it as ignorantly as the white people who dress up like Kilts and think their ancestral Scotland is stil like Braveheart or who give money to the IRA.  Somebody who knows alot about Africa and is interested in it for its own sake...well that is just called being interested in your heritage and that is different.