The line that I deal with that you do not...
I'm still processing my feelings about the arrest of Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Needless to say, they start at anger, and grow from there.
Still, it is a momentary anger, a fleeting feeling. Why? Because, as a black man in America, I'm used to the kind of treatment African-American men get at the hands of Police. I'm used to hearing about it. I'm used to seeing it. I'm used to recieving it.
What I'm not used to, at least what's at this point, is the nature of the coverage surrounding the incident, and the views of some white Americans...and white people, some of whom I have some or even great respect for, is shocking me.
I have been treated to a barrage of advice from these very same white people about how black people should behave when confronted by Police.
Wow.
Okay, lemme take a deep breath here...
Ummm, how should I put this politely?
Okay, I can't.
White Americans, you may be shocked to learn that a large majority of African-Americans, really don't give a shit what you think about the Gates' case.
Yeah, I know its harsh. And clearly, some white folks don't like being told they don't know what the hell they're talking about...or God forbid that they're flat out wrong.
Just about every time a white person is told this by an African-American, the white person in question almost always bristles.
The simple truth is, you don't know what you're talking about because you don't have to live with this. We do.
To this day, ten-twelve years after the fact, the names of Amadou Diallo and Abner Louima have not left our consciousness. Now, who are Amadou Diallo and Abner Liouma?? You may not remember the names, but I bet you remember their cases.
In 1999, Amadou Diallo was shot reaching for his wallet by New York City Police.
He was shot 41 times.
The first time I heard the term contagious shooting came from this incident.
Bruce Springsteen even wrote a song memorializing the incident, called "American Skin."
For the record, the officers involed in Diallou shooting were acquited in (let's be honest, mostly white) upstate New York.
Abner Liouma was a Haitian Immigrant who was sodomized by a broom stick (also by New York City Police Officers) in 1997.
Is there anyone out there, who cares to justify this rather disgusting bit of Police work? Apparently, someone did, because three of the Officers involved were initally convicted of the crime, but that conviction was subsequently reversed.
And, I cannot believe I almost forgot about Sean Bell, who was killed (November 2006) the day before his wedding, shot 50 times...oh, once again New York City Police. And once again, the Cops were cleared of all charges. Mind you, I've just highlighted three pretty famous cases all originating with the New York City Police. Bear in mind I was raised in Prince George's County Maryland. Coincidentally, the richest Black County in America, and reporting the second highest incidents of Police Brutality outside of Los Angeles County where I live now. What fun.
Now, as I have stated before, I'm a black man. I come from the P.G. suburbs. Raised in a two parent home. I have two (count 'em) two college degrees. I have never seen the inside of a jail outside of an MSNBC Special...
...and I don't trust the Cops.
How can I? Every contact with the Police could be the last thing I do on this earth.
Now, I don't give the Cops any grief. I cooperate at all times, hands always visible. I sure as hell want 'em at my house if there's a problem, and you'll never catch me mouthing off at them (except maybe in the blogosphere).
But let's be clear, I meet the wrong Cop on the wrong day, and I'm dead. Period.
Were I to be murdered by a Cop (and yes, I'm choosing that word specifically), the Cop is more than likely going to get away with it. He or she won't even be fired.
Either you get that, or you don't. Either than insults your basic sense of fairness or it doesn't. But like I said, I don't much care what you think. I live with this reality. Dr. Gates lives with this reality. My Father lives with this reality.
Speaking of the old man, my Father is also a distinguished Professor. Certainly, he's not famous like Dr. Gates. (Probably should have chosen a sexier field than Mathematics. I mean, let's be honest, what was the last Mathematics book you picked up at Borders?) He used to be at Maryland. Last month, he moved to Houston to start his new life.
Right now, he has his Maryland I.D., with the address of my childhood home on it, not his new one. Right now, he lives a house that doesn't have his name on the deed.
Let's say he gets locked out of the house, like Dr. Gates. Let's say his overwhelmingly white neighbors see him trying to get in, and call the cops. Let's say he's caught in the same situation as Dr. Gates? What, exactly, do you think is going to happen to him?
Remember, this is crazy-ass Houston, not Cambridge. Not that Boston's reputation as a Liberal Town isn't one of the most overhyped ideas in imagination.
Friday morning (July 24, 2009) on the Stephanie Miller Show, Executive Producer Chris "Boy Toy" LaVoie said, flat out, that if confronted by the Cops in a similar fashion, one should just obey them.
Wonderful advice, Chris. Too bad there is every chance it won't work.
I can do what the Cops say and still wind up dead.
Again, its a fact of life. I know it. My Father knows it. Dr. Gates knows it.
The only people who seem surprised by this fact are, frankly...people like Chris LaVoie.
Oh sure, there's outrage when it happens. But expect the shock last about a week or and, but before you can say "Freeze, negro" things have gone back to the way they've always been.
The sight of Armed Police at his door (looking for him, mind you), I'm sure sent Dr. Gates into a frenzy. Yes, I'm sure part of it was pride, having his dignity assaulted like this. But in the end, we all know where his mind went. My mind would have gone to the same place. And, to be frank, I'm not sure Dr. Gates owes anyone an apology.
(Actually, that's not true. I'm sure Dr. Gates doesn't owe an apology to anyone, and I hope he launches a lawsuit that bankrupts the Cambridge Police Department. How else are Police Departments going to learn?)
Now, the President, Officer Crowley (and I say that with apologies, since I'm not sure of his actual rank), and Dr. Gates are all going to have a beer at the White House at some point, and eventually hug it out.
Let's not kid ourselves though, while a couple of beers will go a long way to solving the problem of Gates and Crowley. It's not going to fix the larger issue.
I'm actually pretty much convinced Officer Crowley is decent man. The way he was able to banter with the President at the end of their conversation makes it sound like he's a guy you could (to coin a phrase) have a beer with. I'm even sure he earned his job teaching other Cops how not to racially profile.
But that's just it, isn't it? Crowley isn't the exception. He's the rule.
Even the best of you, the most high-minded, the most liberal of you can have moments where you reveal...I hate to say...how you really feel about things. (If you want a benign example of this principal, ask Whoopi Goldberg about former-boyfriend Ted Danson donning blackface for a roast during their relationship -- which ended soon afterward.)
Now, is Ted Danson a racist? No. Is Chris LaVoie? I doubt it. But both men have shown moments of stuptifying ignorance about race in their own country.
But let's be honest, it's not something they have to think about, do they? I do. Hell, I have to.
The problem with Officer Crowley, and other Officers like him, is that a similar bad moment from him can get someone killed. Someone like me. Someone like Dr. Gates. Someone like my Dad.
Yes, Police work is a highly dangerous job.
The only thing more dangerous, is being a black man anywhere nearby.
Professor Gates crossed that line and he got what he expected. The police report filed by Sgt. Crowley has been shown to be false according to statements made by the witness and 911 tapes.
July 27, 2009 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
And at the end of the day, was any of this necessary?
Why didn't Crowley look at the I.D., apologize for the mistake, tip his hat, and leave?
Even if Dr. Gates is cursing a blue streak at him, why not give his name? It's not like the Desk Sergeant isn't going to have his back.
July 27, 2009 5:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for writing this.
I am not as liberal as some of the folks who post here.
As a white woman who comes from recent immigrant stock, I realize that you don't care what I think about the arrest of Henry Louis Gates.
Not having grown up African American in the United States, I didn't know that you didn't care about my thoughts but I understand.
I have lived and worked as a foreigner in other countries. In one country, I was a non-believer among Muslims. In another country, I was a minority white among African-Carib majority. In both places, I cared about my coworkers' concerns and they cared about mine.
Where do we go from here? I want to understand. Let me.
July 27, 2009 8:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Molly, here's the problem...and let me emphasize (as someone, who like you has lived abroad) that it is a very American problem.
We are a country that maintains a very strict, very harsh racial dividing line, one that's ingrained into our history, one that keeps reminding African-Americans, no matter what their education, their background, or their wealth of their second-class status. Why it is maintained, I cannot tell you. I can only tell you that its there. It's real, and more often than not, it is very painful.
Now, the dividing line is something I have to deal with on a daily basis, and let me emphasize have to. I work in a white Office, surrounded by White Americans. So one my way to work, in my dealings in my neighborhood, shopping, living, breathing, I live in a white world. In order for me to do what I have to, what I want to do in life, I have to interact with the white world.
There's nothing wrong with this. There's nothing inherently racial about this. It's just the way thing are.
But flip that around. Where I have to interact with a white world, White Americans don't have to interact in mine. It is entirely possible for a White person in this country not to interact with an African-American in this country if they choose not to. Same can't be said for me. And it's making us strangers in our own country.
In the 90 or so years of our history leading up to the Civil War, and the 150+ years since, it seems that a lot of our White Neighbors still don't understand African-American feelings, African-American concerns and African-American complaints. Worst of all, they have shown little interest in learning. And this point in our history, African-Americans have grown tired of waiting for so many of our fellow citizens to catch up.
We can only explain how things are so many times, before that annoyance shows. The statement that "we don't care what you think" is meant more than anything to highlight that extreme level of annoyance, to draw a line in the sand and say there's only so much of this crap we're willing to take.
We're angry, and for the first time in a long time, African-Americans, no matter what their education or background, are more willing than ever to show it.
Where we go from here is a much, much, much, harder question to answer. While we have elected an African-American President, we have not stamped out the racism that seems so much the life blood of this country. Barack Obama would be the first to tell you that. The beer that will be shared tomorrow night will go a long way to hear this particular incident's hurts, but the larger issue remains unchanged.
You put your question simply and straightforwardly, which is why I felt you were worth answering in kind. You're going to find, hopefully, a great number of African Americans willing to engage with you should you have questions like this in the future. We always should be willing to engage...
...but our mood to concede is rapidly fading away.
July 28, 2009 6:27 PM | Reply | Permalink