jps wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:41:30 -0400, wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:00:17 -0700, jps wrote:
Turns out the law says you can't arrest someone for making a public
disturbance in his own home... That means Gates shouldn't have been
arrested no matter how ****y or derogatory the statements he made to
the police officer. Nor, should the police have entered the house at
all without probable cause, which was not established.
If you screw with the cops and won't stop, you get arrested no matter
who you are. That is simply true, fair or not.
I do not see any racial component here at all beyond Gates' racist
comments. White guys get arrested for this every day.
The only thing I would have suggested to Crowley is he should have
continued to walk away from this rant and waited until Gates got to
the street to arrest him. I am sure it would have happened anyway,
BTW, it wasn't Gates' obligation to act professionally. It certainly
was Crowley's. That Gates wasn't civil is dissappointing. The
incident clearly pushed a button and Crowley allowed it to get out of
hand.
Out here in the sticks, the cops seem perfectly well-behaved when
dealing with unarmed, non-threatening citizens, even when you fool
around with them. They all seem to have a sense of humor, and,
hopefully, are unflappable. I suspect if they were dispatched to a house
to check out a burglary, and encountered the resident, they'd go on
their way without instigating an incident.
--
Whatever moral rules you have proposed, abide by them as they were laws,
and as if you would be guilty of impiety by violating any of them,
*unless* you are a conservative Republican office holder or minister. If
that is your position in life, then anything goes.