GRITtv: Henry Louis Gates' Arrest: A Teachable Moment?
There's been an endless cycle of commentary on the Henry Louis Gates affair since the Harvard Professor was arrested in his home and President Obama made the off script remark that the Cambridge police had "acted stupidly." Both men are now saying it is time to move on and that what happened was a teachable moment. But what, if anything, have we learned? Bill Fletcher, Jr., Executive Editor of Black Commentator, Ron Kuby a Civil Rights Attorney and the host of Doing Time with Ron Kuby on Air America, Dennis Parker, Director of the Racial Justice Program at the American Civil Liberties Union, and Rev. Irene Monroe, a Ford Fellow and Doctoral Candidate at Harvard Divinity School on race, class, and law enforcement in America. The ACLU has recently published a report on racial profiling that you can find here.
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Your rights.... 'Gates-gate'
The issue with Gates is not whether he was a black man in the 'wrong' neighborhood or not... even if it was HIS. The question is whether he has any rights in his OWN HOME... (ignoring that 'Eminent domain' thing for a minute). I (a poor white guy) had a similar thing happen to me... after a FALSE call to the cops (after I got my money stolen from my bedroom and confronted my 'friends') ,the police showed up and showed their 'true colors'.
Arrested ME without charges, searched my home (NO WARRANT) including taking my rifles and ammo PACKED AWAY IN THE ATTIC without any WARRANTS and then DENIED they even had them (THEFT)... Nor would they release any reports to me or my lawyer. Like it never happened. Don't have the money to fight it? Too bad, you don't have rights unless you BUY them. They will violate any law they please... with impunity, even praise... and even get a chance to drink a beer with the President.
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