I've been discussing this online, just as many of you have. I am completely disgusted with this and am gonna rant.
UPDATE: I've been called out as confrontational. Guilty as charged. It is difficult for me to see this spiral out of control like it is and that came out. I'll understand you, if you understand me, and we move on.
There are some great comments here, both pro-and-con. Please read them. I enjoyed this conversation this evening!
Before I do, a few quick things need to be said for those that don't bother to read all of something, or listen to all of something.
- This is NOT about race.
- NOTHING WAS SAID ABOUT THE FINE OFFICERS INVOLVED IN THIS.
- The President was correct in his characterization OF THEIR ACTIONS.
- IT IS NOT A CRIME TO BE ANGRY.
- NO arrest was warranted.
- NO apology is needed.
- We have a communication problem, and that lies right at the feet of those in charge of how our fine officers get to do things, and the tools they have.
And now, my support for those things:
NOT ONE WORD WAS SAID ABOUT THE OFFICERS.
Obama characterized their actions as stupid. He was right. An arrest was not warranted.
Gates was pissed. Gates thought it was about race. Gates was in his home and has the right to be pissed.
That right however is not a shield. Gates got a civics lesson.
The officer is a professional, who has a higher standard of conduct, that he is paid to demonstrate. The officer didn't do his job, got pissed and decided to teach Gates a civics lesson.
Obama says the officers acted stupidly. He's the President, so that hurts and probably exaberated the situation, correct assessment aside.
That's called escalation.
What was "stupid" was the officer having to follow protocol. That protocol is an escalation of force until compliance is seen, whether or not compliance is warranted. This goes on all over the country.
Some police forces teach deescalation techniques and where they do, you don't see as much of this.
Dealing with people and situation is WORK that requires some level of professionalism and that wasn't shown here.
We need to work on this, and the President correctly affirmed that with his second round of comments. And he demonstrated it by admitting that his characterization, though materially correct, probably wasn't the best way to comment on that matter.
So it's a mistake. No big deal. The man is an adult, and clearly can act like one.
Now, again AT NO TIME WAS ANYTHING SAID ABOUT THE OFFICERS. So, what exactly are the police asking for an apology for?
They are pissed because nobody is supporting them in their assessment that Gates should have shown more respect. They think that is something they are entitled to because of their position. They think they get some deference because of their position.
They have forgotten the motto: To Protect and to Serve.
Says so, right on the car, if they've not painted it over :)
It is not a crime to be pissed off. It is not a crime to express that in your home. And it's probably something that might get you into some heat with another person too. Gates knows that now.
The police need to follow the example set by their President and DE-ESCALATE THIS.
Problem is, if they do, then they admit they have some work to do on their people skills in the field. The simple escalation of force doctrine for compliance doesn't cut it, and does a lot of harm to a lot of people, officers included.
This is, in fact, a teachable moment, but I fear pride will bury the lesson.
I personally have had to go down this road. It sucked. I got beat up and tossed in the can. Unlike the famous Professor, who knows the President, I the ordinary white guy, had to go the full distance, trial and all.
Throughout, I made it clear that deescalation would have rendered the matter moot and that I would gladly see that happen and forgo my fees being paid back. Rather than do that --rather than admit some work could be done, the wall of blue stayed intact and they gladly paid the tort claim, and continue making the same damn mistake every day.
That is what Obama is getting at.
If we give these fine officers more tools to work with, they will use them and situations like this will be avoided and things will be that much better.
Race is not at issue here at all. It is the powers that be that train and give the orders to officers that constrain them into behaviors and limit their means and methods to resolve conflict.
That is where the problem is, that is where the education needs to happen. The officer, Gates and President will all likely have that beer, realize this and grow stronger for it.
I find it sad that we can't actually have a constructive dialog about this, without people sticking the knife in, giving it a good turn or two, hoping to score some power for themselves.
The behavior of those calling for an apology is pathetic. They don't even understand what they are asking for, because they didn't take the time to think through what was actually said.
This whole affair is just morbid in how much we fail to focus on the substance of the matter. We should be ashamed we can't have this dialog and just do the work to improve things and make shit like this go away for the most part.
This is really basic stuff people. We should get this right way more than we are seeing.
If you are going to say it's about race, step up and say why. The drive by voting is just lame. We are on a Progressive site and can't get this right? Come on!!
That's it for the night. Thanks for the commentary. Race is a factor, but the systemic problem is communication and conflict resolution skills. These empower police to de-escalate bad scenes. If we don't do these, we never get to solving race. That's the priority, and that's the point of the diary.