An Open Letter to Henry Luis Gates, Jr.
Update:
Several things have happened since my original post, including the release of the transcript of the 911 call, and the so-called "beer summit" at the White house. I won't go into great detail about those developments other than to say that I'm happy to see the whole situation diffuse and become a point of reflection and conversation rather than merely a point of anger and accusations.
Apparently the neighbor who made the initial call did not specify the race of the men she observed trying to break into the house. She saw their backs, and was simply concerned that a burglary might be taking place. See the related story on msnbc.com. To me, this suggests that no racial profiling occurred, at least in the initial stages. The police showed up on the scene to prevent a burglary. Mr. Gates seems to have been the one to initially bring up the issue of race, but of course there is a long history of good reasons for blacks to mistrust the police force, and Mr. Gates's awareness of this history, and his sensitivity to it, informed his actions. Whether the officer considered Mr. Gates's race while making the decision to arrest him is probably an unanswerable question because it would require us to examine his inner thoughts and not merely the observable outcome.
To complicate matters, the police officer said in his report that he had talked with the person who made the initial phone call, and that she had said there were two black men. It turns out he didn't talk with her, and since she never mentioned black men. That part of the report is inaccurate. The altercation between Mr. Gates and the policeman, Mr. Crowley, either caused Mr. Crowley to purposefully distort the facts (lie) or to accidentally distort the facts once the whole argument about race happened (i.e. since the argument was about race, he may have unintentionally picked up on that cue and written that into the report).
Maybe the policeman exercised a little too much authority by virtue of his title as police officer, even if no racial motives were present. I can certainly think of a few times that I've witnessed when police officers were a little too eager to wield their authority. And yet... police officers also put their lives on the line every time they respond to a call. Playing Mr. Nice Guy might cost them their lives.
... In other words: what a complicated set of circumstances this is! All the more reason to calm down and realize that there are multiple back stories leading up to this one incident, and there is both plenty of blame to go around and -- more importantly -- plenty of compassion that ought to go around.
A neighbor saw Henry Louis Gates, Jr. trying to pick the lock on his own home and reported him to police, thinking that he was a burglar trying to enter illegally. When the police arrived, Mr. Gates protested their presence and their actions, charging that the officers were racist, which lead to a disturbance that eventually caused the officers to arrest him. The charges were dropped, but Mr. Gates is determined to make himself an example, and the police officer is refusing to apologize. Even the president chimed in, saying that although he wasn't there, he thought the police acted "stupidly."
The whole scenario is disturbing on multiple levels, and it has not brought out the best in the individuals involved. This morning I wrote an email to Mr. Gates:
Mr. Gates,
I have long understood that the perception of black men as criminals is one of the most damaging stereotypes to the black community. It undermines dignity, lowers expectations, and fosters an environment wherein black male underachievement becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is bad for all people: men, women, black, white, Asian, Latino, and everyone else. After all, we are all part of the same human family, and the abasement of any person or group of people reduces our own collective potential.
At the same time, this particular incident strikes many of us as unnerving because of the way it seems to exacerbate rather than ameliorate the problem. I believe that racial profiling was an issue. Your neighbor seems to have profiled you. I believe that you caused a disturbance and showed disrespect for the officer who was dispatched to the scene. And I believe that the police officer made a questionable judgment call in the arrest. In other words, there are no innocent parties in this scenario, and to suggest otherwise seems insincere.
I encourage you to take a look at this video produced by an "iReporter" on CNN. The woman who prepared this report has some strong opinions that I encourage you to at least consider.
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-303137
I ask you to please take an approach to this situation that seeks to improve race relations, rather than drive a wedge further between races.
We all know that the flames of racial unrest can be stoked because there are still unresolved issues needing to be resolved. It doesn't take much to fan those flames, and it certainly doesn't take a Harvard professor to accomplish that. But you, with your experience and reputation can take a higher road. I'm not suggesting that you give in, become weak, or become an Uncle Tom. Nothing of the sort. I am, however, imploring that you approach this issue differently than many have in the past.
You don't need to prove that racism exists.
It exists. We know that.
You don't need to shame whites into siding with you. Whites have felt the brunt of the shame game all their lives. Especially white males. There is a certain degree of numbness that whites feel because they have heard so much of it, and it's generally spoken quite uncharitably. To pile on more shame and expect whites to change for this reason alone is wishful thinking. It is also spiteful on your part. It reduces your motives to a more selfish level, even if you think you are doing it on behalf of black men other than yourself.
If you cannot approach this issue with love, you will simply engender more resentment, and that will defeat your own cause.
Please consider your approach carefully.
I wish you the best,
Paul Bohman
Epilogue
I posted my thoughts above on my Facebook account and got a comment, which I will post here, along with my response:
Commenter: "I relate to Gates because this has happened to me as well. perhaps the letter should be written to the neighbor who profiled him and the police officer who arrested him after he proved he lived in his home. I don't know if I agree with you Paul, he is not the one who can change behavior since he was the victim here, and in my opinion he has been ... Read Morebehaving very carefully, making a joint statement with the Cambridge Police etc. I don't know many people who would have done that. The real reason that this continues to happen and the real reason that there is "numbness" from white males is because there is a refusal to revisit the past and see that there are problems that have never been resolved and continue to happen between the races. Black people are constantly hearing that they should "just get over it" and that they should "turn the other cheek". IMO there needs to be a continued dialogue about race rather than a "let's just forget it and be polite to each other" attitude."
My response: I know there are strong opinions on this issue of all kinds, and I don't deny them, nor do I deny their legitimacy. My main point is that no matter what a person feels, the issue has to be approached with love. I realize that the word "love" is so overrused and abused that it almost loses its meaning, but that, of course, is part of the problem too.
In a sense, I'm not on anyone's side here. I don't like the fact that there *are* sides. If we weren't so busy trying to determine who's on whose side, we might actually find some common ground to build upon.
I certainly don't want to sweep anything under the rug, or tell anyone to "just get over it." Far from it. These issues need to be addressed. They need to be negotiated, and the dialog needs to be open and honest.
What I want is for all of us to "get over" our usual way of dealing with these issues. There are accusations. There are responses. There are offenses taken and offenses given. Both sides claim to be victims, and both sides, in many ways, are right. But to focus on victimization and sacrifice cooperation is to lose the war, even while perhaps winning the battle.
I can make a comparison to the way that Bush approached terrorism. His reaction was defensive. They are against us, so we must act forcefully against them. They are our enemies, so we must be stronger than they are in being their enemies. Fight force with force. Win peace by waging war. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Violence, revenge. Violence revenge. It's a never-ending cycle.
If I could have one wish, it would be to end the cycle of violence and revenge, not only in wars against terrorism, but in everyday human interactions.
In the situation before us, Mr. Gates feels wronged. The police feel wronged. Neither is willing to apologize, and the bad feelings get worse.
The issues must be confronted from multiple angles, and we have to start with our own motives.