Acting White: Life In The Crosswalk - Part III

Today I met with the Oakland HS teacher of the class in which I volunteered, this past spring. I wanted to re-enlist for the fall, if she is game (and she is). Discussing current events, blog topics, and teenager stuff with these kids was very enlightening to me. She said she thought they looked forward to the discussions and got a lot out of them.

We talked about the black young man who was the subject of Part II (here) of this serial posting saga. As she feared, he failed the year and will now attend (hopefully) a continuation school with a GED curriculum. When I mentioned that I recently saw him walking downtown she interrupted me (politely) by saying “I bet he was walking slow”. I shot back, ‘how did you know?’ wherein she replied that the behavior goes hand-in-hand with under performance and the fifty-five percent black male HS dropout rate.

We are both concerned that this kid is headed for a life of depression, self-medication, un/under-employment, continuing lost of self-esteem, and a bad ending. He has admitted to his teacher that he lacks motivation for doing the things he needs to get ahead. There is really very little to be done, within the current education framework. In earlier days, I would have suggested that a stint in the military might buck him up, but that option is not available, as the intellectual and social requirements of the military have risen greatly with the use of technology and the demands of the urban battle theaters, in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The teacher went on to describe another HS-age black young man she is trying to mentor, who recently revealed that his girlfriend is now pregnant with their second child, even as he just barely graduated, through extraordinary intervention. As she described the problems facing this young unmarried couple, all I could do is shake my head with her in wonderment, while thinking that this is what dedicated teachers across the country deal with every teaching day. One thing is sure; we can’t just keep building more prisons.

We need to place a bounty on reaching these youngsters before they enter the revolving door of the vocational prison complex. And whatever this desperately needed approach to the young black male may be, the 'forgotten-fifty-five%', it is guaranteed to look very different than our current affirming programs for boosting the ranks of WEB Dubois’ talented-tenth.

James C. Collier

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Acting White: The Invisible Hand Of Race

It dawns on me that while there is plenty of overlap in viewpoints of the treatment of blacks and whites in our society, there is also a very predictable, nearly invisible hand, guiding respective views of situations like that of Professor Gates and Officer Crowley. It is this invisible hand that directs blacks to see gross unfairness, while whites see the opposite misbehavior. So what is going on here?

What blacks seem to feel is that Gates’ color dictated Crowley’s approach, while whites feel that Gates’ behavior was the driving factor. The Gates, or black perspective, is rooted in assigning the non-randomness of Crowley’s approach, accompanied by arbitrary action, the arrest. Crowley, alternatively, uses Gates’ obstructionist behavior as precipitating evidence of the his justified and objective response. They both are right and wrong at the same time. Crowley is not as colorblind as he believes, and Gates discounts how his own behavior might incite the officer into a more aggressive posture, regardless of ethnicity.

In general, whites feel they too get mistreated everyday by authorities, so they ask ‘why should Gates get special treatment just because he’s black or a big shot?’. On the other hand, blacks, (me included) know that blacks are, at times, singled out unfairly, and are thus denied the rightful opportunity to move about as freely as whites. So how will blacks and whites ever reconcile on their respective plights with authority? Should we all go to a giant beer-bust on the Mall? Perhaps, but maybe not.

More practically, whites might consider how they would feel if police were, for illustrative purposes, more wary of over-weight, or red-haired whites, compared to brown/black-haired, or lean-body mass whites. Knowing that police are more suspicious of you for sub-attributes like weight or hair-color is akin to how blacks feel about being singled out for their ethnicity. Following on, blacks might consider the posture they would normally assume if being detained by a same-ethnicity officer, compared to the posture that they assume with a non-black officer, 'just doing his job'. What response would the professor expect if Crowley had been black?

When we deny others their sensitivities, agreed with or not, we draw a battle line in the sand. Crowley ignored how Gates, the black man, or the professor, might perceive his tone and demeanor, even after identification. Gates, for his part, ignored how Crowley would perceive his verbal rejection of authority, in a bona fide police action. So while it is clear that both men exhibited healthy egos, what they both might work on, as could all of America, is empathy – the propellant of understanding.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Acting White: The Invisible Hand Of Race, Harvard, Justin Barrett, Henry Louis Gates, James Crowley, Acting White

Acting White: White Cop Speaks Out On Gates

Note to Readers: I received the following comment yesterday and thought it was worthy of its own post. Many thanks to “White Cop”.

Honestly, can't believe I am going to post a comment here, but for the first time I feel I might have something to contribute. Before I comment, here's some background on me. I am a police officer in a major urban city in the South, and I am white. I was born in an all white family, raised in a pre-dominantly white neighborhood, and grew up with almost all white friends through high school and college. I am fairly well-educated, and considered pursuing post-graduate studies, but found myself drawn to police work, in particular, criminal investigation. Throughout my life, I never once considered I might have any underlying racial biases. However, it wasn't until I became a cop that I found my own cultural biases tested. It was then that I realized, like every other flawed human being on this earth, I, because of my cultural upbringing, have prejudices. I was always taught that racism is bad, but I also never had any real, meaningful exposure to cultures outside my own. Working alongside white, black, Hispanic, and Vietnamese cops, in a profoundly multi-cultural city, I quickly realized I knew next to nothing about the daily lives and struggles of other ethnic communities. Disturbed by this, I started seeking out forums where these topics are discussed. One day I heard a round-table discussion on National Public Radio featuring several African American bloggers, one of whom was Mr. Collier. I was intrigued by his perspective, since the mainstream media prefers to feature the rhetoric of screaming protesters instead of thoughtful, honest discussion. I began following this blog, "Acting White," to hear Mr. Collier's opinion on racial news topics. I have found Mr. Collier to be exceptionally even-handed and honest on topics of racial discrimination in America. I don't want to sound like a kiss-up here... it's simply true, that when the mainstream media is your only source for commentary on racial issues in America, one typically hears only extremist opinions.

That's enough about me though. I'm not perfect by any stretch, but I try to be honest and just in my life and law enforcement career.

I have read the on-line version of Crowley's arrest narrative of Gates; however, I wasn't there, so I know about as much as anyone else. Speaking as a cop, I can say that Crowley is completely justified in his actions, up until the moment he chose to make the arrest. When dispatched to a possible burglary at a habitation, the first thing you do is read the notes given to you by dispatch. You don't know who has called 9-1-1 and you don't have time to question the caller about the details. You have to move fast to try and catch a burglar, if in fact there is an actual burglary taking place. As soon as you arrive, you start looking for suspects as described by the caller who might be leaving the area already. If no one is located outside, you then go to the residence to look for signs of a burglary. It is my understanding that Crowley arrived and saw an open front door. If that is the case, you then approach and look to see if there is anyone inside. Upon seeing someone inside, you contact them, and, depending on the situation, detain them either verbally or physically. You then request identification to determine who the person is. You have no way of knowing if that person is the homeowner until you have somehow verified their identification. Once you verify that the person is the homeowner, and that there appears to be no offense, you explain the 9-1-1 call, leave, and clear out the call. It's a pretty simple formula, and I have conducted such cursory investigations numerous times. 99 times out of 100, the home owner is completely cooperative of the investigation, regardless of their race. Usually, on the way out the door, they thank you for doing your job and for trying to catch a possible burglar at their residence.

However, there is the odd case where the person you encounter, the homeowner, for whatever reason, is completely unreasonable. From the moment of first contact, the person simply flies off the handle. In cases of inter-racial contacts, it is not uncommon for the word "racist" to be thrown around. I can personally attest that for a white cop who is simply trying to do a good job, there is nothing more insulting and aggravating, than to be suddenly and publicly accused of racism where clearly none is present. In the past, I have been able to diffuse these situations by stopping and explaining the details of the 9-1-1 call (in cases where I believed this was an appropriate step). However, believe it or not, there are people out there who don't care what your reasons may be. Possibly because of some past mistreatment by someone else, or because of unexplained paranoia, they don't let you explain, they simply yell in anger.

Now, I don't know Mr. Gates personally, so I cannot speak for his character. But I can sympathize with Crowley's indignation at Mr. Gates' public humiliation of him. It is absolutely humiliating as a police officer to be openly disrespected in front of other citizens, especially when the accusations are of racism.
However, you can't make an arrest if you don't have a valid charge. And this is the crux of the whole incident. If Crowley had sucked it up and walked away, not only would the President not have commented on this, but it would be hard for Gates to make any sort of valid claim of mistreatment. In my state, the charge of disorderly conduct simply isn't applicable here. I have spoken with some of my lawyer friends about the Mass. version of the Disorderly Conduct law, and this arrest is very much on the fringe. Disorderly Conduct laws are open to wide interpretation, but in Mr. Gates' case, interpreting his conduct as "tumultuous" on his front porch is a pretty wide stretch of the law. I assume that this is why the charge was summarily dropped. Gates' behavior, no matter how inappropriate it may have appeared, does not qualify as Disorderly Conduct.

I don't mean to throw a fellow police officer under the bus, especially when I wasn't actually there to witness the incident, but I just can't see myself arresting an old man with a cane. As I have done before in the past, I would have just told him he was "out of his mind," driven away, and laughed about his outrageous behavior in the locker room later.

I have to agree with Mr. Collier's first post on this subject. This really seems to me to be about ego's, not racial profiling. This isn't about race at all, this is about "P.O.P." (Pissing Off Police). A person's demeanor goes a long way in swaying the outcome of an encounter with police. I myself have never made an unlawful arrest. But, in those cases where I do have a valid arrestable [sic] charge, I am more than happy to slap cuffs on anyone who shows blatant contempt for the law. But this just doesn't look like the case with Gates... and sometimes you just have to shrug off some undeserved disrespect.

James C. Collier

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Acting White: Gomer Pyle Award - Justin Barrett BostonPD

We should all be happy that this guy did not get the Gates call. (story here) Do not pass go. Do not have a beer. Go directly to unemployment office.

James C. Collier

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Acting White: Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't

Many commenter’s on the Gates affair, here and elsewhere, have said that the professor was too quick to take offense at the tone and manner of Officer Crowley’s approach, and perhaps they are correct. They ask why didn’t he just ignore police gruffness and ‘turn the other cheek’, or just say no big deal? For the record, this benefit of the doubt approach definitely has its merits, but it is not without its own costs, as my memory recalls.

Many years ago, I had the six-month occasion of a weekly Boston to SFO commute. One Monday morning at the ticket counter, I entered the first class and ‘Premier’ flyer line, behind at least five others, and ahead of more. At some point an agent surveyed the line, came around the counter, and approached me. Speaking only to me, she asked if I was either first class or premier status, and I answered yes. She then asked to see my premier card, which I showed her, whereupon she returned to the counter. She questioned no one ahead or behind me in line.

Now I did not have to wonder why she had singled me out of the group, as this ‘special treatment’ was nearly-typical for me over the 100,000 miles I logged that particular year, but that morning I decided that I should turn the other cheek. Besides, I had been through this drill so many times; frankly I was just too tired to mount a ‘campaign’ to set things straight, that day.

After about a minute had passed, the older gentleman directly in front of me, turned and gave me a stern lecture that was much more painful than the profiling of the ticket agent. He began by saying the agent had not asked anyone ahead of me for proof they were in the correct line. He asked me if I had realized that the agent had singled me out because I’m black, wherein I answered yes I had, but he wasn't done. Why do you let someone treat you this way young man? Do you not have self-respect for you or your people? You must stand-up for yourself or others will never have respect for you, he declared. Wow, body-slammed by an old white guy at 7 am!

I calmly beckoned the ticket agent to return and told her to retrieve her supervisor, as we needed to have a ‘chat’. When the supervisor arrived I tongue-lashed him good for the treatment by the agent. He took it well and apologized profusely, repeating that it was not company policy to single anyone out in this manner. I hoped that the supervisor would not object, as I sensed my instigator was ready to pounce in that instant. I accepted the apology and sent the two on their way. I then looked at the old white man, whose arms were still folded, but now under a smug-grin, and I said, “satisfied?” He nodded agreement and we went our separate ways. But I went away thinking I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t – and just perhaps this is a little of the maddening feeling that came over the good professor that day in Cambridge.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Acting White:Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't, Harvard, Ego, Henry Louis Gates, James Crowley, Acting White

Acting White: Little White Lie?

I thought I was done with this, but...

I just read A CNN article (here), where the attorney, Wendy Murphy, of the woman, Lucia Whalen, who made the 911 call on Professor Gates is emphatic that her client never spoke to Officer Crowley prior to Crowley's approach to the Gates house, as clearly stated in Crowley's police report of the incident. Crowley states in his report that she described two black men with backpacks forcing the door. Huh? The 911 taped showed that neither did the witness (Whalen) identify the men at the Gates door, other than to say they were large and one looked Hispanic. Hmmm... let's see, not black, no backpacks, no sidewalk conversation, and a 'concerned' 911. So the question is why fib the report? And what was he teaching in that academy racial-profiling class, exactly? (Your honor I object to that question - withdrawn). Now I'm not saying anybody is stupid or lying (that would be stupid), I'm just looking for a story that can stand up straight, OK?

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Acting White: Little White Lie?, Harvard, Ego, Henry Louis Gates, James Crowley, Acting White

Acting White: Police Ego's Gone Wild - Jaywalking Bust

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James C. Collier

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