Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and the Racial Cesspool at Harvard

Here's the ABC News report from yesterday, "Prominent Black Scholar Arrested After Racism Charge: Cops Say Gates Was 'Disorderly'; He Says 'This Is What Happens to Black Men in America'."

The New York Times is also on it, "Harvard Professor Jailed; Officer Is Accused of Bias."

It's a pretty big story when an eminent Harvard scholar is arrested for disorderly conduct during a case on breaking and entering in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But it must be a really big story if TMZ covers it, "Busted Harvard Prof Drops 'Yo Mama' Joke on Cop."

The leftists are all over this one as a big instance of "racism." But frankly, it looks like Gates thinks being black gives you a pass when a neighbor phones the police. Geez, they were doing the guy a favor!

Anyway, William Jacobson nails it, "No, It Wasn't Racial Profiling":

Harvard Scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested for disorderly conduct. According to news reports, police responded to a call from a neighbor that someone was trying to break into Gates' house by forcing open the door. It turns out the person trying to break into Gates' house was Gates. So far, there is no story.

But when police asked Gates to identify himself, Gates refused and started screaming that police were engaging in racial profiling ... Gates' behavior resulted in the disorderly conduct charge, and he was released on his own recognisance ...

Racial profiling is a serious issue. Gates' accusations of racism and racial profiling not only are not serious, they are damaging to real victims.

Check William's post for the original police report.

Plus, from the Washington Post, "Gates Says He Is Outraged by Arrest at Cambridge Home."

Yeah, yeah. Aren't leftists always outraged in any constroversy involving a black man. Gotta be "racism."

My sense is that Professor Gates is too steeped in the radical race victimology he and his hard-left allies preach. From the TMZ story highlighted above:

According to the police report, 58-year old Gates got into it pretty good with Sgt. Crowley, and that's when ...

"As I began walking through the foyer toward the front door, I could hear Gates again demanding my name. I again told Gates that I would speak with him outside. His reply was "ya, I'll speak with your mama outside."

As you can imagine, the argument got more heated after that and Gates was taken into custody.

It's too bad, that. The cop sounds totally professional.

But Gates is being represented by black radical law professor Charles Ogletree; so my sense is that the whole incident - which could have been avoided with common sense on Gates' part - goes back to this bitter racial ideology.

For more on that, see FrontPage Magazine, "Harvard's Racial Cesspool." And ABC News, "Prominent Black Scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Sees Charges Dropped: Cops: Incident Was Not 'Gates' Best Moment'."

Also, check Memeorandum.