Our President & Race
July 28, 2009
|
Posted by Michael S. Langston
This has been written about all over the place and discussed ad infinitum, most of it conjecture based on prior opinions or potential political gain/loss.
& of course, since most humans seem to have this weird thing where our focus can move from the important to the seemingly mundane, we’re not discussing the SCOTUS nominee committee vote, the pending health care bill, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russian’s & Germany’s resurgence in Europe, or any of the other things that should weigh on our thoughts.
Nope – the number one story seems to be about President Obama and the Gates situation.
Nothing can tell us more about race relations in the US than our own President injecting race along side a Harvard professor, Jesse Jackson, and others.
As most have figured out, it was a mistake for Mr. Obama to disucss a situation with which he was obviously unfamiliar. The only exceptions of course, from those who believe Mr. Obama can do no wrong (here, here, etc, etc) & those who use race to judge most other things (see confirmation bias).
What do we know?
Gates has said he returned from an overseas trip, found the door jammed, and that he and his driver attempted to force it open. Gates went through the back door and was inside the house on the phone with the property’s management company when police arrived.
Police said he flew into a verbal rage after Sgt. James Crowley, who is white, asked him to show identification to prove he should be in the home. Police say Gates accused Crowley of racial bias, refused to calm down and was arrested. The charge was dropped Tuesday, but Gates has demanded an apology, calling his arrest a case of racial profiling.
Gates, 58, maintains he turned over identification when asked to do so by the police. He said Crowley arrested him after the professor followed him to the porch, repeatedly demanding the sergeant’s name and badge number because he was unhappy over his treatment.
Crowley has refused to apologize, saying he followed protocol.
As is clear through the discrepancy of stories, either the police are colluding to lie, or Mr. Gates is lying.
Depending upon several factors in your personal life, most people will likely lean towards a “belief” decision on who’s lying (not a rational one). This decision will be based on our experiences with both race and police, as well as our current world view.
If one expects cops to act in racist ways because they believe in institutional racism, they will see this as further proof they are correct.
If one has had direct negative type contact with police, they will likely be more than willing to believe the cops are lying.
The question we must ask ourselves if what is the most likely answer (Occam’s Razor)?
Is it more likely that officer Crowley, a decorated officer who trains others in racial profiling:
Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley, the cop at the center of a firestorm over the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., has taught a racial profiling class at the Lowell Police Academy for five years….
Who enjoys the benefit of having an eye witness, a fellow cop to be sure, but since race apparently matters:
A black police officer who was at Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s home when the black Harvard scholar was arrested says he fully supports how his white fellow officer handled the situation.
Sgt. Leon Lashley says Gates was probably tired and surprised when Sgt. James Crowley demanded identification from him as officers investigated a report of a burglary. Lashley says Gates’ reaction to Crowley was “a little bit stranger than it should have been.”
Asked if Gates should have been arrested, Lashley said supported Crowley “100 percent.”…
Or, one other person, the Harvard professor Mr. Gates.
It seems logical to give two people’s story more weight than that of one person without additional evidence to prove otherwise, but most people will decide based upon miscellaneous factors described above.
Another non-event blow-up due to our irrational racial biases.
Categories: Critical Thinking, Politics
| 
Tags: Antecdotal Evidence, Confirmation Bias, Joe Biden, Logical Fallacy, Obama Administration, Occam's Razor, Politics, Racial Politics
|
1 Comment
