white on black or black on white?

How did this Henry Louis Gates business get so out of hand? Was it Gates' fame? Was it the Cambridge policeman's insistence? Was it the President's unfortunate word choice? Or was it the extreme media hype from both sides that fanned the flames? I have been listening and reading about this incident for three days now and it's about time to lay it to rest. I overheard someone on Fox (I think it was Juan Williams) say that this is going to be the BIG news item of the weekend. And if you have Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson in your corner the controversy will take on a life of its own and mushroom out of sight. I can't believe the MSM is spending this much time on this thing, given what else is facing this country. Perhaps they think this is sexier than, say, health care, the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., etc., etc. OK, if it's going to be that big I guess I'll weigh in with my measly 2¢ worth.

First I will grant that everyone involved behaved badly. Gates lost his cool; the cop lost his, and the President's "stupid" remark didn't help. From what I read about how this all started, someone saw Gates trying to get into his home in an affluent section of Cambridge, got suspicious and called the cops. It was initially reported that the call was made by "a white woman." I have not heard or read that allegation again. Nonetheless, let's start there. Is this a case of "What's a black man doing in this neighborhood?" or is it something else? Then there's Gates himself, no shrinking violet. He comes home to be confronted by a cop who doesn't believe that Gates is who he says he is, much less the owner of this nice house. The fuse has been lit and shortly thereafter it all blows up. The president is asked a landmine question in his press conference and steps right on it. Another explosion. And we're off and running.

Just for fun, let's redraw the whole scenario. A respected member of the Harvard University comes home to his nice house in an upscale section of Cambridge. He has trouble opening his front door, asks the taxi driver to help him get in and is so accommodated. A few minutes later a policeman appears at his front door and challenges him about his presence in that nice house and demands he provide identification. The professor balks at this; it's his own house, for God's sake. Why should he have to prove anything? The cop insists; the professor refuses. Tempers flare. Finally the professor takes out his driver's license and his Harvard ID. But the cop is not satisfied and makes an arrest based on a claim of "disturbing the peace" or something akin to that. The professor is handcuffed and taken to the police station. He is subsequently released, no charges are filed, and the police chief "regrets" the incident.

The only difference in this story and the one above it is that this time the nice professor is white and the policeman is black. I can only imagine what the media would be saying in this case.

The saddest thing I read in this whole flap was the advice black parents have to give to their kids, and the advice most of them got from their own parents. Don't argue. Don't raise your voice. If you're going to get your license out of your pocket, tell the cop what you're doing so he doesn't shoot you. Say "sir" a lot. Even if you know you did nothing wrong and that this is simply harassment, don't react. In other words, don't get "uppity." That was Gates' mistake.

I've read many stories by black men and women who have been stopped, harassed, ignored, blamed and punished for no reason other than their race. If you think we live in a post-racial society, think again. Having a black president hasn't made it so.

On the other hand, maybe this wasn't about race after all. Maybe it was all about police power and your rights a individual citizens. That makes it even scarier.

There. You are now 2¢ richer. Or poorer.