The Gates – Crowley – Obama Debacle

I initially didn't think the controversy over the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Gates was really worth mentioning. However, as people seem to be harping on it quite a bit, I'll throw in a couple thoughts as well.

In case you've managed to escape all the news coverage on this, here's a YouTube video of the press conference that turned this whole thing into the controversy it is.

Although the question was framed in terms of what it says about "race relations in America," I don't think Obama was really talking about race when he said the police "acted stupidly." He was saying that – although he didn't know all the facts – a citizen in his own home shouldn't be subject to arrest without warrant.

Personally, I don't think the President was being racist, and I don't think Sgt. Crowley was being racist. They were both doing their jobs. What bothers me about this situation is that it must be about race. It involves a white man and a black man, so therefore it is a racial matter.

Why does everything have to be about race? It's getting to the point that so-called "race relations" must necessarily mean walking on eggshells. What sort of fraternity and unity can we expect from a nation that divides people into groups like that, and pits them against one another?

I'm not saying racism doesn't exist. I can't speak for everyone. But my opinion is this: what matters is what people do and say, not why.

Someone can always misrepresent his motivations, so it's useless to speculate about what cannot be proven. In the video, Obama talks about how African-Americans and Latinos are "stopped" disproportionately. He doesn't really say if the people in question are doing something wrong or not.

If they're doing something wrong, then it's good they were stopped. If not, it doesn't matter if the cop stopped them because they're black or for any other reason. The fact is that they were wrongfully stopped – and wrong is wrong whether we believe it's racially motivated or not.

My point is, you can divide people any way you want. Just because some people choose to separate one race from another in their minds doesn't mean everyone does, and it doesn't mean those people are any more ridiculous than those who dislike fat people, or short people, or women with high-pitched voices.

If one man kills another of a different race, is the death really more wrong because they look different? There's always the possibility of racism, and unless we're talking about the KKK here, it can't really be proven. Even if it is the KKK – a group that kills people is wrong regardless of what those people look like.

Furthermore, people tend to live up to the expectations you put on them. If you're constantly expecting racism, you might find some people distancing themselves from you. And you'll see it everywhere because you're looking for it. But how can you know for sure?

We can't see into other people's heads. For that reason, we also cannot make judgments about what may or may not be in there. If we want to stick to reality, we can only consider what actually happens – not our ideas of why.

I guess that means we'll just have to give Sgt. Crowley and President Obama the benefit of the doubt.