Sgt. Crowley AND Professor Gates…. Pocket

Racism is definitely still alive in America.  Just last week, Atwater City Councilman, Gary Frago, sent racist e-mails about President Obama.  Here is my favorite excerpt:

“Breaking News: Playboy just offered Sarah Palin $1 million to pose nude in the January issue. Michelle Obama got the same offer from National Geographic.”

Oh, but his response is even more classic:

“They weren’t threatening. I’m not a racist person, I don’t know what to tell you,” said Frago.

Yea-huh.  Anyway, that’s racism.  What happened between Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley wasn’t racism.  I mean, maybe possibly it COULD have been racism, but I really doubt it.  On what do I base this?  Simple.  The two stories are just too friggin different.

According to Crowley, Gates was a damn near lunatic and shouted insulting epitaphs about Crowley’s mother.  In Gates version, he was the model citizen and complied with every police order.  Come on…..

I don’t believe either side is accurate.  Now, did Gates feel annoyed when this white police officer came to his door?  Most likely.  Gates, like most Black people in America, has  dealt with the ever-present pressure of simply being Black in America.  And it’s the little things that make up that pressure.  Being followed in a shopping store.  Having your ID more closely scrutinized than your colleagues.  Being the only one who gets carded.  People constantly wanting to touch your hair.  (Like I said, it’s the little things).  So the last straw on the camel’s back was most likely having to break into your own house and then having a white officer asking you to step outside.

Now let’s see it from Crowley’s perspective.  Cops get a bad rap day in and day out.  Some of it is deserved.  By and large though, most cops do the right thing.  More often than not, though, they get put in difficult situations.  And I’m somewhat gritting my teeth as I type this because I’ve ALWAYS had a bad experience with the police.

Anyway, the point is, both sides are dealing with sticky situations and were probably at wits end.   As a result, they both came out with outlandish stories to make themselves sound like the victim.

The other problem with this ordeal is that it detracts from real cases of racism.  Sean Bell.  Mostafa Tabatabainejad (the Iranian student tasered at UCLA).  Megan Williams.  These are all issues that have been swept under the rug because of cases like the Crowley/Gates incident and the Jena 6.  At the end of the day, perhaps you could say it was racism.  Rather, it was the fear of racism that led to this whole situation.  And until we sit down and talk about racism in a reasonable fashion, you will continue to have more ridiculous situations like the Crowley/Gates fiasco.

Until then, it’s all in the pocket.  Racism.  Crowley.  And Gates.