i thought long and hard about writing this, but

i'm going to write it anyway

i'm going to preface it by saying a couple of things
#1) obviously i wasn't there. i don't know what was said, who said it and how they said it.

#2) there is NO doubt in my mind people of color (especially black men) are racially profiled and/or discriminated against. NONE. it happens ALL of the time. i've witnessed it myself countless times (and not remained silent i might add). take the example of the 8 people of color who were SHOT on or near a texas college campus (some stories say 6, some say 8). if it were 6 or 8 WHITE people it would be all over the news. there would be OUTRAGE and vigils and facebook pages and the like. it would be all over the papers, tv, the net EVERYWHERE. it was barely mentioned in passing. my proof right there. (they were NOT killed i should mention. but 6 or 8 white people shot on a college campus is BIG BIG BIG news. i guess 6 or 8 people of color DO NOT COUNT AS MUCH).

so here are my thoughts. the person who called the police on professor gates had every right to do so. she saw SOMEONE attempting to force their way into a home. i'd call the police as well. i don't care if it was mother theresa herself. it's our civic duty to watch out for each other in our neighborhoods. the police had every right to respond to that call. the police had every right to ask professor gates for identification. i don't care if he was 96, had a cane and was black, white or blue.

after all of that things get fuzzy. if according to sgt crowley, he indeed warned professor gates TWICE about being arrested then i have less of an issue with him being arrested.

i was going to put myself in professor gates' position and say i'd be mad if the same happened to me and why i'd be mad. then i was going to do the same, but change my position to me being offput for a moment by having to prove to the police i indeed DID live there - then me quickly getting over it because i knew they were DOING THEIR JOBS. i can't say that though because i'm a white woman. i KNOW it is different for me and for professor gates. i really do know that.

what happens if sgt crowley DID do his job. what happens if professor gates DID overreact? that's just a what if mind you. some cases are CLEARLY wrong. some cases are CLEARLY based on color alone. all i'm saying is this case really does seem to have TWO sides. let's listen to BOTH of them.

oh and by the way, i've seen plenty of people OF ALL COLORS being arrested for not just SHUTTING THE EFF UP when they were warned to do so.

well here are the two sides:

Officer Tells His Side of The Story in Gates Arrest

By Krissah Thompson and Cheryl W. Thompson

Washington Post Staff Writers
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 23 -- What began as a prominent African American professor's dispute with a white police sergeant grew more complex Thursday as the officer spoke publicly for the first time and a fuller portrait of his life emerged.

Sgt. James Crowley said Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. was combative from the moment the officer arrived at his house last week to respond to a call about a possible burglary. As the confrontation escalated, Crowley said he warned Gates that he risked arrest.

"The second warning was with me holding a set of handcuffs in my hands -- something I really didn't want to do," Crowley said in a radio interview. "The professor at any time could have resolved the issue by quieting down and/or going back inside his house."......

Renowned Af-Am Professor Gates Arrested for Disorderly Conduct
Gates, who was trying to enter his own home, reportedly accused police of being racist

By PETER F. ZHU
Crimson Staff Writer
Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr., professor and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Studies, was arrested on Thursday at his Cambridge home for disorderly conduct, according to a Cambridge Police Department report.

The report, obtained from the Cambridge District Court, said that the 58-year-old professor was arrested by Cambridge police shortly past noon for "exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior," during which he allegedly accused police officers at the scene of being racist. The report said that a woman had called police to the scene after seeing a man "wedging his shoulder in the front door [of Gates' house] as to pry the door open."

When a police officer arrived on the scene to investigate the tip, Gates was reportedly already having an altercation with another sergeant inside the home. The professor allegedly shouted "[t]his is what happens to black men in America" when asked for identification and repeatedly told the police officer that "[y]ou don't know who your [sic] messing with," according to the report.
...............

i carry my camera with me 24/7

i feel naked without it (sort of like how i feel without my jewelry). i take pictures. i LIKE to take pictures. my skin isn't very dark though, so i guess it's ok

New York City sued for harassing photographers
By Edith Honan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City police officers need better training to distinguish between law-abiding citizens who snap pictures of city landmarks and those suspected of plotting terrorism, a lawsuit filed on Thursday by the New York Civil Liberties Union said.
The lawsuit was filed against the city and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on behalf of Arun Wiita, 26, a Columbia University graduate student of Indian descent who said he was handcuffed and detained after a police officer spotted him snapping pictures near a Manhattan subway station in July.
The civil liberties union said the department has harassed photographers, "particularly those who fit Middle Eastern or South Asian racial and ethnic profiles," according to papers filed in federal court.
"There has been a constant refrain that we've heard from the photography community for several years now," said Christopher Dunn, NYCLU associate legal director and the lead attorney on the case...........