Well, I have been waiting for some time to pass before commenting on the Obama/Gates and Crowley affair. In fact today, the news showed the trio and vice-president Biden sitting in the White House garden having an “awkward” beer together.
The problem is that both Gates and Crowley were in a suite and tie and Obama and Biden in white shirt and tie; they all should have been in shorts and t-shirts.
The short clip in the garden had Gates doing all the talking. The reporters were saying Gates still demands an apology and Crowley stated he will not offer one.
This is definitely a “learning moment” as Obama mentioned, a learning moment for everyone and that is for sure.
I will not go into details since everyone should know them by now but one thing is very clear; race is still a hot button issue – big time!
Obama, who presents himself as very presidential should have just stopped at “I don’t know all the facts so I cannot comment on the case”. Presidents in the past who have yapped too much about a popular issue have paid the price and Obama is now learning the wisdom of not commenting on issues he really has no knowledge about.
I have been enjoying all the letters to the editor as well as comments by my favorite black columnists about the whole affair. Many regular blacks and whites just reiterated what their Mammas have taught them; don’t talk back to the police, just say yes sir and no sir and you won’t get into any trouble!
Some black columnists have talked about the special relationship between black males and white police officers throughout our history and there is no doubt the relationship has some very bad history and maybe a lot of resentment has been building up through the years for very good reasons.
Other columnists have described how raw emotions have taken over the case with facts discarded by the wayside. I felt especially bad for the lady that called in the 911 call being accused of racism when audio tapes prove she never mentioned race and was doing what any responsible neighbor would and should do.
What it all boils down to is one , big mouthed black professor that did not know when to just shut up and a white police officer that just could not control his ego and remove himself from a non-criminal situation. Actually, it was two (2) alpha males being two (2) alpha males even though both were educated enough, with enough experience to know better – boys will be boys.
Professor Henry Louis (Skip) Gates, Jr. did not do his reputation any good by his behavior. He already is on record for screaming racism in the Duke Lacrosse case (white team rapes black dancer) only to find out it was nothing of the sort. I am not sure he apologized to the players he accused of racism. He, like other prominent blacks (Jackson, et.al.) have a tendency to cry racism before all the facts are in but never seem to offer regrets when they are shown to have maligned innocent people.
It is obvious that the country has a hair-trigger when it comes to race relations and Obama knows that. Obama has come a long way to smooth the racial divide and I think society has also come a long way in minimizing racial issues if not plainly eliminating them in many cases.
Yes, there will always be racists on both sides but I think they are in a vanishing minority but I feel old wounds are slow to heal on the black side and for very good reasons; they are the ones that bore the brunt of racist actions for many, many years. So I think they are to be given a little leeway when they over react, at least for a little while longer or until the generation with vivid memories of racism passes.
The problem is that both Gates and Crowley were in a suite and tie and Obama and Biden in white shirt and tie; they all should have been in shorts and t-shirts.
The short clip in the garden had Gates doing all the talking. The reporters were saying Gates still demands an apology and Crowley stated he will not offer one.
This is definitely a “learning moment” as Obama mentioned, a learning moment for everyone and that is for sure.
I will not go into details since everyone should know them by now but one thing is very clear; race is still a hot button issue – big time!
Obama, who presents himself as very presidential should have just stopped at “I don’t know all the facts so I cannot comment on the case”. Presidents in the past who have yapped too much about a popular issue have paid the price and Obama is now learning the wisdom of not commenting on issues he really has no knowledge about.
I have been enjoying all the letters to the editor as well as comments by my favorite black columnists about the whole affair. Many regular blacks and whites just reiterated what their Mammas have taught them; don’t talk back to the police, just say yes sir and no sir and you won’t get into any trouble!
Some black columnists have talked about the special relationship between black males and white police officers throughout our history and there is no doubt the relationship has some very bad history and maybe a lot of resentment has been building up through the years for very good reasons.
Other columnists have described how raw emotions have taken over the case with facts discarded by the wayside. I felt especially bad for the lady that called in the 911 call being accused of racism when audio tapes prove she never mentioned race and was doing what any responsible neighbor would and should do.
What it all boils down to is one , big mouthed black professor that did not know when to just shut up and a white police officer that just could not control his ego and remove himself from a non-criminal situation. Actually, it was two (2) alpha males being two (2) alpha males even though both were educated enough, with enough experience to know better – boys will be boys.
Professor Henry Louis (Skip) Gates, Jr. did not do his reputation any good by his behavior. He already is on record for screaming racism in the Duke Lacrosse case (white team rapes black dancer) only to find out it was nothing of the sort. I am not sure he apologized to the players he accused of racism. He, like other prominent blacks (Jackson, et.al.) have a tendency to cry racism before all the facts are in but never seem to offer regrets when they are shown to have maligned innocent people.
It is obvious that the country has a hair-trigger when it comes to race relations and Obama knows that. Obama has come a long way to smooth the racial divide and I think society has also come a long way in minimizing racial issues if not plainly eliminating them in many cases.
Yes, there will always be racists on both sides but I think they are in a vanishing minority but I feel old wounds are slow to heal on the black side and for very good reasons; they are the ones that bore the brunt of racist actions for many, many years. So I think they are to be given a little leeway when they over react, at least for a little while longer or until the generation with vivid memories of racism passes.
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