By now nearly every American with a television or an Internet connection has probably heard of the infamous confrontation between police Sgt. James Crowley and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. A short recap: there was a report of a break-in at Prof. Gates’s home, and Sgt. Crowley showed up to investigate. When Prof. Gates answered the door, he showed his university ID to prove his identity, but didn’t respond to Sgt. Crowley’s requests to step outside. He was arrested for disorderly conduct, and all political hell broke loose.
It didn’t help when the President of the United States was quoted as saying that the police “acted stupidly” in the scenario. And when President Obama called Sgt. Crowley to make amends for that off-the-cuff remark, Sgt. Crowley commented, “Maybe I’ll have a beer in the White House someday.”
And so they did — Prof. Gates, Sgt. Crowley, and both President Obama and Vice President Biden sat down Thursday night in the Rose Garden at the White House, drinking beer and chatting amicably. Here’s a photo taken for posterity:
I want to rant about the ludicrous attention the dispute has earned in the media, but here I am writing about it two weeks after the event. Clearly it’s a compelling story. Still, I get frustrated at myself when the media manages to suck me into its hype and turn me into one of them.
I have a couple of quick points of commentary:
- There was no need to arrest a frail old man for being cranky with police, in his own home. He clearly wasn’t a threat to the officer, and old men are supposed to be cranky up to a point.
- There was no need for the cranky old man to be that cranky, and to refuse to step outside when asked to do so by an officer of the law. When a police officer makes a reasonable request of you while acting in his official capacity, you should oblige.
- I personally think, from both individuals’ accounts of the situation, that poor judgment and overreaction was the likely culprit here — not necessary racially-motivated bias.
- The President had no business publicly commenting on this scenario, and was right to call Sgt. Crowley to apologize.
- We officially need to move on.
I think it’s great that the public is having meaningful dialogue about the issue — the questions about race relations, police authority, respect due to citizens in their own homes, etc. But really, was it newsworthy that Obama had a Bud Light, Gates had a Sam Adams Light, Crowley had a Blue Moon, and Biden had a non-alcoholic Buckler?
Shit, I did it again.
[...] wine summit mirrored the historic “beer summit” that former President Barack Obama hosted in 2009 to strike a peace accord between Massachusetts Gov. James Crowley, then a Cambridge police officer, [...]