The incident surrounding Professor Gates was outrageous. The police received a report that someone was breaking into a house, went to the address, and found a man appearing to be doing just that. What were they supposed to think? The incident could have been resolved in five minutes; all Gates needed to do was show the police some identification and explain what was going on, and the cops would have been on their way. Instead, he chose to mouth off to the cops (never a good idea; it can get you arrested or even shot), and to drag race into a situation that had absolutely nothing to do with skin color. If Gates thinks that this is how the police "treat black men in America" then I sincerely wonder if he has ever stopped to ponder how black cops fit into this supposedly racist law-enforcement scheme.

Okay, let's begin with the statistics: I am a 64 year old white woman. I am old enough to know what type of frustration and irrational behavior may come to anyone over 50 after a long trip from abroad -- much less to fnd that the door to my house that will not open: I am tired and frustrated. That's neither gender or race related. I am also old enough to understand the overtones a black person, especially a black male might feel in such a situation when so many of your ordinary means of managing the situation are compromised by exhaustion. So here I am with a cane, ID, and gray hair. Why should I not be indignant? Of course black males, in particular, have been taught how to survive seeming insults to their honorable nature, but I can also sympathize the with the particulars of this situation: both policeman and subject agree that the suspect had provided considerable information regarding his rights to be in the house. Both acknowledge the physical limitations of the suspect. No amount of "profiling training" would likely prepare a civil servant (male/female/black/white) under 40 for the visceral response of a very tired person--male or female--especially an African American. Ask the question: would I -- white female over 60 or white male over let's say just 50 ...with the same credentials..have been treated in the same manner? I don't think so. Perhaps in Cambridge, but not in Austin, TX or in Atlanta, GA (both of which I did live)...both would have had some sympathy for elders, if not the race, class, or gender in the case. Racial profiling courses are procedural oriented, not historically informative. But they should not be limited to the legal procedures, but also to the age "effect"--which is to say that older black males understandably have a history and understanding that can affect visceral responses to such situations. Less someone lack understanding of such "visceral" responses, I offer my students who refused to travel in white neighborhoods for fear of being stopped or the male college students who refused to travel with their white male professor for fear of what cops might "interpret" by such a caravan. Let's give some slack to those of those past generations. Finally, it is an indictment to modern life (not the individual) that anyone within three houses of Mr/Prof Gates did not know who he was..ie. just simply a neighbor...what is going on here. Yes, I've lived in urban areas, yes I know the problems...but that IS the problem.