Gates acted stupidly towards the police, he may have had a bad day but in the end every man is responsible for his actions and he acted poorly.
Oh I know who you are, that's why we are putting you in the internment camp after we take away your guns, hoss.
It is not illegal to call a Cop a racist. It is not illegal to say "Yo' Mama" to a cop, or to refuse to step outside when you are in your own home. I can start a newspaper and call HPD racist on the front page. That's what the first amendment does. If we lose the ability to criticize the people with guns, we have lost free speech.
You're absolutely right. We all have the right to be critical of law enforcement when they've crossed the line. However, is calling a cop racist and screaming "Yo' Mama" really the example we expect a prominent scholar like Gates to set? I understand he was tired from a long trip, frustrated from the jammed door, etc., but really? I was disappointed that Obama took sides on this issue. If anything, I thought he would hold his esteemed friend to a much higher standard, expecting him to rise above a situation like this. After all, Gates went through much worse back in the day, I imagine, and I'm sure he'd be the first to say that you don't defeat one form of ignorance with another.
My father is the most conservative guy I know. Every time Glenn Beck's name comes up, he always says..."That guy is completely insane." Most conservatives know that Glenn Beck is a windbag. Those that do not realize that are complete wingnuts that likely cannot be saved. Each side has their wingnuts and when their side is no longer in power, the wingnuts go out in full force. As for the continuing commentary on the Gates situation...Obama has known Gates for a long time. This was not about race per se. It seems to me that it was about Obama publicly defending a friend and later realizing he overreacted.
