Henry Louis Gates Jr: I'm a black man, and don't you forget it!

...even when I show my ass...

Before he was arrested for breaking into his own house, I had heard very little about Henry Louis Gates Jr, a Harvard professor of African-American Studies (which can be misread as the "Why the White Man is the blame for the systematic failure of the minority to reach comparable status" department). I must apologize for the inner cynic in me for not believing Gates' charge of racism against the Cambridge police department. After being faced with an incessant amount of stories about race-pimping and believing that all criticism of a black man is racist, I decided to pay no mind to anything Gates had to say about the issue. I felt more vindicated when it was reported that Gates was arrested, not because he is black, but because he's a damned fool (and that proves no matter how educated you are, you can still do foolish things...).

Pam Spaulding, in typical fashion, charged the Cambridge Police Department with racism, citing Dr. S. Allen Counter, a contemporary of Gates, claiming that the same thing happened to him in 2004, when he was mistaken for a robbery suspect. Unlike Gates, Dr. Counter produced identification and was never arrested. The police were at Gates' home investigating a robbery, and Pam ponders whether a white contemporary would have been able to reach a worse conclusion than Gates, since white men have never been subject to arrest for disorderly conduct.

Attempting to diffuse the situation and make himself appear above reproach, Professor Gates released a statement, which is at odds with the police report. Gates' statement does not address the confrontation which occurred inside the home, as he's still under the impression that because he's a black man in the Obama Era, he's above the law. We can argue whether Gates' bitching about the Cambridge police man's inability to match wits with him on an SAT exam warranted a charge of disorderly conduct, but to claim his arrest was racially motivated would even make Al Sharpton blush...

I wonder if Gates' tirade gives us insight in how he conducts his lectures...

Have a great day...