It needs to be said that, though I casually threw it out there, I really have no clue whether race played a role in Gates’ arrest. It’s important to say that. I don’t know what I would have done if I were in [his] shoes, but I don’t know that I’d [have] assumed [it was based on] race. I think the decision to arrest a guy for, at worst, being rude in his own house is shockingly stupid. The thought of someone like that carrying the power of life and death is mind-boggling.
That said, the wind is leaving my sails over this one and I’m not sure why. I keep getting this “doth protest too much” vibe every time I read Gates’s interviews. It’s interesting that it took his own arrest for Gates to decide to make a doc about this. Maybe he’s had a Come To Jesus moment. Who can know? Who can really know?
Ta-Nehisi Coates, “On Gates”, The Atlantic, 2009-07-22
July 23, 2009
QotD: The Gates Arrest
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What I find amazing about Gatesgate is the whole Jedi-Mind-Trick aspect of the thing. At the very end of a presser where Mr Obama outlined his plans for nationalizing poverty and killing everyone over 65, there’s this little magical wave of the hand and suddenly everyone is talking about RACE! RACE! GATES! RACE GATES! OUT OF CONTROL COPS! WHOO! How the hell else did this become what seems to be the issue of the blogosphere for today?
Obama: “I am going to kill you all. This is not the issue you are looking for. Hey! How ’bout them crazy fool cracker cops beatin’ on a brother? What’s up with that? Them cops is stupid.”
Comment by Lickmuffin — July 23, 2009 @ 15:21
Friggin’ WordPress and it’s “I can filter out braces! Look how smart I am!” nonsense.
Let’s recast Mr. Obama’s line from above with the missing braces:
Obama: “I am going to kill you all. <This is not the issue you are looking for.> Hey! How ’bout them crazy fool cracker cops beatin’ on a brother? What’s up with that? Them cops is stupid.”
Comment by Lickmuffin — July 23, 2009 @ 15:23
Goddamnit! WordPress thinks it is SO. EFFING. CLEVER. Let’s try it again:
Obama: “I am going to kill you all. <JediHandWave>This is not the issue you are looking for.</JediHandWave> Hey! How ’bout them crazy fool cracker cops beatin’ on a brother? What’s up with that? Them cops is stupid.”
Comment by Lickmuffin — July 23, 2009 @ 15:24