I asked a question, I didn't think I was criticizing.

The Charges against Gates were dropped and Gates has said and is still saying that the police report was false and apart from asking the officer for his name and badge number he did not yell at him. Most all of you seem to just give the officer the benefit of the doubt but it is naive to think that just becuase a police report says something its the truth, in most states police reports are considered hearsay and can not be used as evidence.

It seems that lately whenever a black person says they're a victem of racial profiling most people dismiss it but racism is alive and well especially here in the south after Obamas election it seems like a lot of bigots have come out of the woodwork hopefully they are just making a last stand of source before racism crumbles and retreats to only the most backwardly retarded places.

Racism will always exist.

To say all racism will just stop existing one day is an absolute pipe dream.

I didn't say it wont stop I said I HOPE it will be far less prevelant.

also

Even moreso with the rise of reverse racism. That's more prevelant in the south too.

I really haven't been exposed to reverse racism.

I live in Oregon, which is about 98% white.

"I hate that term reverse racism would be hating your own race (White Guilt), and people dont seem to understand that what they percieve as "reverse racism" oftentimes is not about race at all but economic status, a mentality where if you weren't raised here you wouldnt understand to quote treach from naughty by nature "if you weren't raised in the ghetto you don't belong in the ghetto", and a very long history of discrimination that continues today. While thats not an excuse for people to act that way, and there are pretty racist black orginizations such as the Nation of Islam you have to understand that the "reverse racism "phenomenon is nothing more than a media created issue that allows for people like Rush Limbaugh and people like him, to call prominant minorities reverse racist without sounding racist themselves

We still live in a world where minorities are disproportianitly pulled over and having a black name http://www.guerrillafunk.com/thoughts/doc5118a.html

will reduce your chances of getting hired.    

I don't know enough to really make any conclusions about this, but I thought the analysis from a guest on CNN yesterday morning was probably correct. This incident doesn't sound like it was about race at all, as much as it sounds like it was a clash of egos; and both parties had it within their power to have a different outcome, but they were too proud to take those steps.

The mistake Gates (probably) made is that he reacted far differently than the vast majority of people would when the police show up to their door. This in no way could be considered racial profiling by Crowley being that he was responding to a phone call about a break-in that was in progress; one could argue that it was racial profiling by the person who made the phone call, but odds are pretty good that if they saw a white man they didn't know or recognise breaking into a neighbours house they would have called the police. Most people would have reacted by being respectful and polite and quietly answering Crowley's questions and he would have left a few minutes later; and most people would have felt pretty good after the fact that if their had been a break in their neighbor would call it in, and the police would respond in a timely fashion. By becoming so adversarial Gates changed this from being a short (routine) response to a break-in ...

The mistake Crowley (probably) made is by not reassuring Gates to diffuse the situation. By simply saying something along the lines of "We deal with calls all the time when people get locked out of their home. I have some routine questions that have to be asked, and a few things that need to be confirm, to verify that this incident was just that."

I am on my phone, so short answer.

There is a lot to like about Obama, just none of it is political. If he was not president, or better yet, not in a position to force his views of what the world should look like onto me, I would have no problems with him.

As for the comment about gates saying he didn't do anything wrong, There are quotes from Jim saying the contary, and by the time the arrest took place (after gates followed the cop outside and still yellin at him), a black officer has shown up at the sceen, and he agrees the the arrest was appropriate.

Even if it wasn't, that does not mean it was about race. What was being yelled at the cop, was all about race.

In regards to the specific issue I found this commentary to be fairly spot on:

Form an image of a racist in your mind: someone who watches a TV report about a crime committed by a black person, and says: “I’m not surprised. That’s how black people are: they’re all criminals.” Is this racist attitude justified if the racist says:

I’m sorry I have this bad attitude about black people, but I have seen and heard bad things about black people all my life. I know they commit a lot of crimes, and in fact, I have been robbed by three separate black people in my life.

Now, form an image in your mind of a black person who watches a TV report about police brutality, and says: “I’m not surprised. That’s how those white cops are: they’re all racists.” Is this attitude justified if the black person says:

I’m sorry I have this bad attitude about white cops, but I have seen and heard bad things about white cops all my life. I know they hassle black people, and in fact, I have been mistreated by three separate white cops in my life.

For some reason, people who would never accept the racist’s justification of his racist attitudes, will nod their heads in approval as black people expound on why they believe all white cops are racists based upon their own personal experiences.

In regards to the Obama comment....who really cares?  We have far more important things to deal with right now. In reallity I'm far more annoyed that it was one of the ten questions asked of Obama and that he even felt the need to comment than I am about what he actually said.  Even so, dwelling on it is pointless, I'd much rather the focus be on issues of real national importance.