Comments on: When Two Jerks Collide

By: thebastidge

thebastidge — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 09:41:24 +0000

Gotta weigh in on the side of "two jerks, but only one abused his authority" faction here. I don't get to punch you for being a mouthy jerk. Why does a cop et to arrest you for it? Both are violence and force against an indivudual, and in neither case was there any danger. The problem here is not racism, but fascism. I wonder why more poeple don't see this clearly.

By: lex

lex — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:20:22 +0000

Casey, I get that. I really think I do. But I’m one of those old fashioned types who continues to believe in an objective reality apart from our immediate perceptions of it. Mr. Gates may have perceived a racist element in Officer Crowley’s quite reasonable initial request to show some ID. Gates’ reaction was – to my mind anyway – objectively objectionable.

Lunatics can be absolutely certain of quite impossible things. I can understand the way that lunacy influences their world view without being forced to participate in it.

By: b2

b2 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:36:28 +0000

Actually there 2 A-holes (one with a hubris chip the other with a standard power chip) who unfortunetly collided here and one orbital jerk who injected himself. B.H.O. being the latter!

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:09:20 +0000

I took issue with it – see comment #24

By: Casey

Casey — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:01:30 +0000

Lex, I've butted heads with more than a few folks about this, mainly to underline that, for many American black men, there is no question. The cops are out to get you. Period. This is not a question of scientific accuracy, but of perceptions, and many American black men agree 100% with Professor Gates. Not because they are liberal, or because they are highly-paid college professors, but because they are black. Heck, I know a (black) guy who was 200% certain that Obama would never be elected. Why? Because he was black. "Something" would happen. End of story. Try walking a mile in the other guy's shoes. That's what I've been trying to get across the past couple of weeks. Alas, too many folks are obsessed with ideology as well as race, so Professor Gates is not only a "race baiter," he's a lousy stinkin' "liberal race baiter." This, of course, ignores Professor Gates own personal experience. He saw racism because that's what he has been attuned to. Many conservative opponents see a "race card player" because that's what they're attuned to. One hopes reality eventually makes her appearance, and adds a leaven of simple sense to the recipe... From what I've seen lately the greatest irony is that Barry will have turned out to be right. That there is (in a perverse way) still a sort of racism in society, but a 90-degrees-sideways sort of racism wherein conservatives mindlessly and reflexively reject any and all claims of racist behavior, not to mention the grey areas where there is putative racist behavior, but one must rely upon various independent sources to determine to what degree racist behavior existed. The latter is where conservatives, in my analysis, fall down. By reflexively rejecting ALL claims as "race baiting," they beg the question when honest difference of opinion results.

By: PeterGunn

PeterGunn — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:48:23 +0000

VOTE TALLY:

Few think the good Sgt. Crowley is a racist.

Most think Prof. Gates injected race.

All think Obama committed a rookie error.

Obama buys the beer. Priceless