Gates

The Gates thing has now blown up

Meanwhile, read the police report.

Before the arrest, was there anything that could even remotely be construed as racist? No, although Gates started screaming it the moment he was asked for ID to prove he lived in the house (he refused to provide ID the first 3 times he was asked).

That arrest would have happened to anyone - you can't refuse to provide ID, make a huge scene insulting the cop and his mother, and expect not to get arrested.

The people calling this racism is absurd. At worst, it's an instance of a cop who was getting aggravated at a highly uncooperative suspect. A disturbing the peace citation was completely justified at that point, and a disorderly arrest wasn't ridiculous either - think of the drunk people you've seen arrested by the cops for making a scene and insulting the cops. It's a perfectly legitimate arrest. Was the arrest necessary? No, but it wasn't unjustifiable.

It's somewhat of a disgrace that Sharpton, Jackson, Obama, half of Harvard's black faculty and most of the country's media are trying to use this as the epitome of racism in America, because it seriously belittles the actual racism which happens. It's like OJ all over again. Has it been that long since a real racist incident they could latch on to?

Meanwhile, it's unbelievable that Gates was released with no court appearance - it's highly unusual. Everyone ELSE arrested for a disorderly, even when the charges get dropped, has to appear in court. Gates, however, because he has the ability to stir up such a media storm, was able to magically make it disappear. In other words, he is either using his race as a weapon to get out of the consequences of being a brat, or he actually believes this was racism, in which case it's absurd he's allowed to teach African American studies.