Perhaps I'm not understanding the psychology behind racial profiling, but I feel like a 50-something year-old wearing glasses, a polo shirt tucked too far into his pants, slacks & a clean shaven gray beard who apparently walks with a cane doesn't fit any kind of criminal profile, regardless of his race. As such, I don't feel comfortable saying that he was suspected of robbery because of his appearance (which is not necessarily the debate at hand, but a distinction I think I ought to make), even if he is black.
What I do not doubt is that the police officer in question, Police Sgt. James Crowley, didn't believe that Prof. Gates was the owner of the house because he is black. (& don't take my word for it. Husband #1 & I are on the same page.)
Racial profiling (the sort of which all of us are guilty) is about (unconscious) mental schemas. Black male, black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, Timberland boots trying to pry open door... Thief. White male, black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, Timberland boots trying to pry open door... Thief? (Definitely a rabble rouser.) Old guy, polo shirt, neat beard, glasses trying to pry open door... Senile? I'm willing to bet, though, that "Black" & "Owner" didn't quite fall into the same scheme for the Sgt. Crowley. This may explain why the officer was so dubious as to whether or not Prof. Gates was actually the homeowner, thief or not.
This sort of standard psychological state (pathetic though it be) is one thing. What happened after Prof. Gates proved, unequivocally, that he was in fact of the proprietor I think is a phenomenon specific to police officers. Charles M. Blow wrote a fantastic article about his & others' personal, disturbing experiences with police. At lunch today, one of my old (white) teachers recalled sitting in the back of a Cambridge squad car after witnessing a robbery & listening to the two police officers shoot off derogatory epithet after epithet about black people. It seems that American police culture is one in which overt racial discrimination is affirmed & protected (with tangible effects for black & latino men).
& last, what the hell's up with Sgt. Crowley not giving up his name & badge number? (This part of the story has not been denied by Sgt. Crowley &, of all things, would have been if it weren't true.) This is the part where Sgt. Crowley loses what little credibility he had left. Up until then he's been working with the same gut feelings & suspicions that police officers are supposed to use (as poorly fashioned as those feelings were). It is at this point that Sgt. Crowley most clearly, in the words of my boyfriend, "acted stupidly."
So many layers... First, we have this mental schema that, for many, has trouble fitting in a black male who owns a nice house in Cambridge, Mass. Second, a police culture where sub- & overt racism is either supported or, too often, left unchallenged. Third, an officer who just should have coughed up his name & badge number like the law requires. I won't comment on what happened afterwards as the two accounts conflict. I wouldn't doubt that Prof. Gates went on a yelling tirade & prompted his own arrest. I wouldn't doubt that Prof. Gates repeatedly yet politely asked for the Crowley's name & badge number & "prompted" his own arrest. The Truth of what happened then is lost in passionate memories & group agendas, never to resurface. But I don't believe we need much more information than we have to assess the root problems of this event.
This much is certain; we must work to make our schemas fit reality. Take this test (click "Race IAT") & you'll be surprised at just how biased you really are, regardless of your deep philosophical beliefs about human equality. The media, our parents, our books must all work to promote a psychology of equality. & it looks like our police culture has a long, long way to go. I would love giant strides, but I'll take baby steps over static any day, just as long as we keep it moving.
According to the police report, Gates was hysterically shouting, "This is what happens to a black man in America." Hysterical or not, he's quite right. Fi sabil Momo. [MdG]
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