I know Gates only to say hello to but I'll concede that race was in there somewhere and the police (black and white) have racist impulses and sometimes act on them but I'd rather this story ends up fostering something more thought provoking than a piling on about race and racial profiling. Perhaps when everyone calms down a bit we'll see some of the layers of complexity. I have some questions about the missing pieces in the narrative.
Why, if you were able to enter the house from the back, would you go to the front and try to force the door open from the outside? Gates is about 5'7", slightly built--he is not young and he does sometimes use a cane. Was it Gates or the driver who tried to force the door with his shoulder? Was he already ticked off because someone had locked him out--I might be if I just got off plane from China. Did the cops go inside and startle or threaten Gates as though he were a suspect? If so might that be SOP? They did not know he belonged there, and might they not be concerned about what/who they would confront inside. Cops do run into bad situations. Maybe this thing was an instance of the mutual escalation of tempers but both sides would have to reflect on that. I'm not convinced this was simply a good guy/bad guy standoff.
What kind of fool burglar tries to barge open the front door in broad daylight? What did the cops think about the relative urgency of the call and how credible did they think the report was? This part really makes me wonder if we might be talking about some town-gown dynamic as much as race. Low paid cops and a high maintenance Harvard neighborhood suggests something more was going on. How long did it take them to arrive--were they on a neighborhood watch duty because of all the complaints that are made in the area? Do the cops have orders to show up hard and fast when that neighborhood calls? Do they resent that? Only some sensitive talking with cops who patrol that neighborhood can allow that to come out.
I wonder about the nosy/helpful/vigilant neighbor report--I cannot picture Gates with a backpack or in any clothes that suggest thug--he dresses elegantly and even if he were in sweats with the hood up they would be the finest. How long were he and the car service driver going at the door? The longer they were at it the less it would look furtive.
Maybe this story is just as stone simple as Gates tells it but for someone of his considerable intellect and story telling gifts I hope he gives it a lot of thought and gives us all a better insight into all of the layers of feelings and actions, and not reduce it to a blame game.
Oh, and BTW judging a highly ambitious academic by his behavior and attitudes 20 years ago is kind of iffy but I do know that intimidating professorial behavior can leave lasting scars.
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