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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:

> Instead of thanking the passer-by who reported a possible break-in in
>  progress, Professor Gates said: 
> http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks?page=0,0
>
> "And I love that the 911 report said that two big black men were
> trying to break in with backpacks on. Now that is the worst racial
> profiling I've ever heard of in my life. (Laughs.) I'm not exactly a
> big black man. I thought that was hilarious when I found that out,
> which was yesterday."

It was my understanding that the complainant was a neighbor, not a
passerby.  It is also my understanding that the complainant was white.



 If I were his neighbors, I'd let anyone who wanted
> break in. No way I'd call 911 and be accused of 'racial profiling' by
> the guy whose property I was trying to protect.


My first reaction after learning of this story was that I felt sorry for
the woman who called the police, because she was trying to do the right
thing by a neighbor-not a white neighbor, not a black neighbor, but an
'innocent homeowner' neighbor.  She saw what she interpreted as forced
entry break-in, rightly so by all accounts, no profiling there, and
called the authorities who came to investigate the complaint.
I may be wrong because I've never been there-basing my remarks solely on
what I SAW on television-which we all know can be misleading, but this
Cambridge neighborhood seemed to be a typical Americana neighborhood, a
salad bowl kind of neighborhood, which is what we hope for in this
country.... we actively work and strive for peaceful co-existence of
peoples who are different from each other.   We want a neighborhood
where there is trust, a real sense of community/family, a home without
fear or uneasiness.  The bad thing is that now that 'should I?' thought
is planted in the minds of the neighborhood residents, and like you,
there's no way I'd get involved after this if I lived there.
Of  course, in this game there is no way to win, because then you would
then be accused of being a racist for NOT getting involved, accused of 
being a white observer who did not nothing while a black family was 
victimized.  In my opinion, it is really rather sad that Gates seemed to 
have chosen personal recognition (either from the story or the boost 
that the story will give his documentary) rather than a peaceful 
neighborhood where people act without suspicion of motive.  Now, it is 
hard to go back.  They say that the answer to prejudice,racism and 
bigotry, etc. is education.  Professor Gates makes me question that.
Of course, I am biased because I was once employed by a law enforcement 
agency, but that's my two cents on the matter.

Bev


--
"Never expect magic from no where"  Baringo (Kenyan) working motto
http://erthnsky.blogspot.com/
EarthNSky Farm, NW Georgia, USA