BIG IDEAS

This today from the Boston Herald:

BOSTON — One of the nation’s pre-eminent black scholars has accused the Cambridge police of racism after being arrested trying to get into his own locked home near Harvard University.

Police say they were called to the home of Henry Louis Gates Jr. last Thursday after a woman reported seeing a man try to pry open the front door.

They say they ordered the man to identify himself, and Gates refused. According to a police report, Gates then called the officer a racist and said, “This is what happens to black men in America.”Police declined to comment Monday.

Gates referred comment to his lawyer, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree, who did not immediately return a call. Gates is the director of Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

So obviously the knee-jerk (and maybe appropriate) reaction in horror in the face of racism. Particularly in the in the context of one of the most famous Black scholars in America.

But on the other hand, “famous scholar” is sorta like saying “famous dog catcher” when it comes to being known to cops. Unless you’re a PBS watcher or follower of scholarly journals, chances are you don’t know Skip Gates from a hole in the wall.

The facts are spotty so far in this case. But here’s some food for thought - if only for argument:

1. What kind of relationship does Skip Gates have with his neighbors? Is he a good neighbor, or is he the jerk of block? And if he’s the jerk, how much did that contribute to the police being called.

2. What’s the ethnic make-up of the neighborhood? Is Gates’ presence as a Black man common or an anomaly?

3.If a neighbor sees unusual behavior at your door and does not recognize you, wouldn’t you want them to call the police? What if it were a robber? Would you want them to ignore it?

4. It’s Boston, homey, what did you expect?

5. Dumb cops on a power trip?

UPDATE: And after reading the official police report, the answer is (5) Dumb Cops on a Power Trip.