On Thursday night’s edition of The Ed Show on MSNBC, host Ed Schultz covered the Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy not by just insulting cops in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but police all across America: "I think we live in an age where we have a lot of overzealous law enforcement, I really do. Now if the law enforcement officials know the community, they should have known that this guy lived there."
Leftist professor Michael Eric Dyson was a Schultz guest. (He also appeared Thursday morning on Today "balanced" with radio host Michael Smerconish, who insisted on reminding the audience that he voted for Obama.) On MSNBC, Dyson called Gates "the Rosa Parks of racial profiling." Even if you believe racial profiling is a huge problem, isn’t Gates a little late in our history to be the Rosa Parks? Wouldn’t he nominate Rodney King or someone from a few decades back? Here’s what Dyson said:
I think it was great of him, Ed, to use his bully pulpit to shine a spotlight on this essential and critical social matter that many people are not familiar with and not aware of, because it doesn’t affect them. The fact that it affected the most prominent and powerful scholar in the history of America for African-American studies shows that he`s, if you will, the Rosa Parks of racial profiling.
Here’s a guy who doesn’t stir up trouble. He doesn’t go around fomenting controversy. He’s very balanced. He’s as at ease, you know, in white America as he is in black America. Yet he was subjected to arbitrary forms of police, in his estimation and what we may think -- police profiling. It was unfortunate, but it also has helped us understand and grapple with an issue that affects millions of other African-American and Latino men.
The saddest thing of both of Dyson's appearances is no one brought up the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of shooting police officer Daniel Faulkner. How is Henry Louis Gates victimized in any way like Faulkner was? But Dyson is a great advocate for getting Abu-Jamal out of prison. Ten years ago, a correspondent for the Revolutionary Communist Party quoted Dyson on his sympathy for the cop-killer at a forum organized by Academics for Mumia Abu-Jamal:
So for me, then, the Mumia Abu-Jamal case is about the person who is able to articulate the interests of minority people not only in terms of color, but in terms of ideology. Because we know what the real deal here is also about. It is about the repression of left-wing, progressive, insightful cultural criticism and political and moral critique aimed at the dominant hegemonic processes of American capitalism and the American state as evidenced in its racist, imperialist and now we might add homophobic and certainly its patriarchal practices.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
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Trying to make a tempest in a teapot
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:18 ET by Indiana Joe"...the most prominent and powerful scholar in the history of America for African-American studies...?" He's only got a Bachelor's degree, I hear. THIS make him another Rosa Parks? Is this guy insane?
These race-baiting folks are going to be slinking back under rocks fairly soon. I just got a feeling.... Tapes will be released, and it will all just go away.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
Yup, this race hustlers are
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:30 ET by d1carterYup, these race hustlers are going to get their shots in before the facts all come out. When they do, it will be "crickets chirping"...
Ha Ha...
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:32 ET by MightyMouthRush is calling our fearless leader "Barack Nyphong"! I love it!
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
Oh, forget this
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:39 ET by StarAZThose cops did not find Prof Gates all "G-ed" out in a speeding Lexus on the interstate--he was breaking into a house. He mouthed off. Not a good idea. You need to go slow with the police, one step at a time. He was tired, whatever, and started trash talking. Cops hate that. They reacted. This happens all the time. I am pretty sure Cambridge cops are pretty darn polite to people in wealthy neighborhoods, whatever their color. This is not to say that blacks are not profiled--they are. But it is to say this is a bad example, much less an iconic one.
Racial Profiling
Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:00 ET by dmntd1Profiling is a huge part of law enforcement. Most officers I know will use race as a small portion of the entire profile. If you get pulled over in certain areas of town, driving an old car, with a DARE sticker on the bumper, you can guarantee your car will be searched for drugs. Pretty ironic, but the profile of "DARE stickers = drugs in car" seems to fit pretty well in this area.
Race has less to do with that profile than attitude, and since the ghetto-fied people in this area seem to be taught to give lip to the officers, they're searched more thoroughly, detained longer while the vehicle is getting searched, and questioned in a more detailed, lengthy manner. Since the ghetto-fied people in this area tend to be those with higher amounts of pigment, it appears that race is the factor......
WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,
This is what years of
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:43 ET by mattmThis is what years of brainwashing will do. These people are no different than the lunatic jihadists who strap bombs to their kids to blow up school buses full of Israelis.
They have been spoon fed lies and hate since they were in diapers, and now even Harvard professors can't see through the cloud of bigotry he has been blinded by his whole life.
BTW - If they're so against racial profiling, why are they in favor of Affirmative Action?
Racial Profiling vs Affirmative Action
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:51 ET by jdlybrandYou get an A+++ for making an excellent observation.
"What a revoltin' development this is!"
Chester Riley
Dyson is not a racist, if
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:47 ET by Gone_FishinDyson is not a racist, if you think otherwise, just ask him he will tell you. He is a real legend in his own mind.
He needs to get a real job one day, but who would hire him besides some left wing university.
The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'
- Ronald Reagan
crisis
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:51 ET by acadia1755Is it not strange how every time the Obama administration want to get a bill pass..a CRISIS happens to steer the attention away from the big picture.
Gates was being a racist
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:53 ET by RR GOPGates was being a racist jerk, but these experienced police officers shouldn't be so thin-skinned, either.
Hopefully the Cambridge PD and others nationwide will learn from this. No local police chiefs nor politicians want to go through stuff like this.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).
Nah -- can't really agree
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:02 ET by Jack BauerNah -- can't really agree on this one... and when the tapes come out, I think Gates is going to look very foolish, and frankly, a liar.
Which is probably why Obama is BACKING DOWN right now...
Anyone who has ever watched an episode of Cops knows exactly what went down, except in that show the perp is often some tattooed white guy without his shirt...
Cop goes to an incident.
Cop spots suspicious character.
Cop approaches character and politely asks questions, such as "Who are you sir, and what are you doing?"
Suspicious character get's more and more verbally belligerent.
Cop finally has enough, arrests and cuffs the guy.
Keeps growing
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:10 ET by RoloTThe "Grand Canyon" just keeps growing. I, for one, am too tired and have lost interest in trying to continue to make the effort of diversity. Leave me alone and let me live my life interacting with the people I want to. Electing a black President has changed nothing.
I bit my tongue...
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:16 ET by jdlybrand... and watched to see how MSNBC was going to spin the POTUS non- apolegetic apology. Sure enough Tamron Hall did not disappoint. She brought out stats showing how many blacks as opposed to whites were pulled over, arrested, etc. ad nauseum. Not one mention of stats showing how many blacks vs. whites commit crimes. Those stats just don't fit the template, ya' know.
"What a revoltin' development this is!"
Chester Riley
I hope Gates house get's
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:16 ET by obxrayI hope Gates house get's broken in to and no one calls police and if they did, the cops say screw that.
Using this to make a larger point
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:25 ET by KC MulvilleIF ...
Obama had said, "I don't know about this case, but if Professor Gates was harassed, then it's an opportunity to review and address a national problem ..."
Unfortunately, that isn't what Obama said. Instead, he went from a general principle to a specific case (that's a logical fallacy). Here, Obama took for granted that police harass minorities, and then used that as "proof" that the Cambridge officer harassed Gates.
Both Obama and Dyson start with the general principle that police harass minorities ... and conclude that Gates must have been harassed here. That's a logical fallacy.
KC Mulville, Although
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:43 ET by hydrodynDMKC Mulville,
Although this is a bit off topic, I'd like to add that the fallacy you are talking about also applies to things like scientific laws.
It's logically invalid to say that something must be a certain way in nature become some scientific theory says that's how it has to be. Empirical evidence is used to support a theory. And although that theory will predict how things in nature are - the proof of how things are has to come, ultimately, from observation.
OK, back to the topic at hand...
Agreed
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:53 ET by KC MulvilleExcellent point.
Every time I hear about a new "scientific study," I can't help but wonder whether they started with the conclusion first and gathered only the examples that confirmed their theory. Happens all the time.
Global warming;
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 15:16 ET by jdlybrander, I mean Climate change would be a good example.
"What a revoltin' development this is!"
Chester Riley
Race hustlers
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:30 ET by iveseenitallI think the race hustlers picked the wrong case this time. Clearly the tapes will show what Mr. "intellectual" did. And many more Americans are on to them now. Sharpton got away with the Twana Brawley scam for a long time before he finally got caught. But that was many moons ago; things have changed. The "whiteys" and "honkeys" have had it with the charlatans. Barry better shut his trap and the "lierals" in the MSM better back off. Decent folks of all races are fed up.
BTW, Indeed Henry Gates has a BS. Yet he teaches at Harvard. Hmmmm....
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
Gates: Racial profiler?
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 15:25 ET by ArminiusIt seems to me that the only person guilty of racial profiling in this case is Gates. Would he have reacted the same way if a black officer had shown up on the scene instead? It seems to me that Gates saw a white officer and immediately became belligerent after seeing the officer's skin color.
When the black cop got there
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 15:45 ET by obxrayWhen the black cop got there race bait gates said "he was polite and instructed the white cop to put the cuffs on front"The fact is is that the white cop said to put the cuffs on in front because race bait gates said he was crippled.Oh how I wish this cop would sue gates.
barf
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 16:19 ET by konoLeftist Press 101 -- roll out a long series of professors and 'experts' to give the same canned opinion on an issue, giving the reader/listener/viewer the impression that it's the only sane way to see the issue. They're trying to program public opinion.
And the snotty, arrogant air about these pompous windbags makes me nauseous.
Just kill your TV...
Fargo
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 16:21 ET by nkviking75When you want informed commentary on race relations, you want a talk show host from Fargo, ND. (Sorry, North Dakotans.)
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
SPECIAL ED...
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 19:28 ET by danybhoyIt's not that Special Ed is from North Dakota, or NoDak as some of us in states next to North Dakota call it, I get the idea that Schultz can relate to Gates because he too is a hothead & has gotten into trouble when his temper got the best of him. So from that standpoint, they have that in common.
"It's still "We the people", right?" megadeth
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 17:24 ET by jessieHWell, Gates did act like a little girl.
Distraction!
Fri, 07/24/2009 - 19:29 ET by RukusAs usual, anytime a bill that is opposed by THE PEOPLE comes up, there is a distraction! Every time! Agenda, agenda, agenda! Happens every time! Health care! Crap and tax! Next will be illegals! Don't you all see the pattern? Chicago thug politics as usual! Barry is an idiot! 2010 can't get here fast enough! Sigh! : (
Gary
Hey, Jimmah Che Obama! I want my country back!
Racial Profiling, How?
Sat, 07/25/2009 - 05:53 ET by Red JeepThe police were called to investigate a robbery. The police did not pick out Gates for special treatment as they were driving down his street.
Dyson is another race hustler.
Rosa Parks?
Sat, 07/25/2009 - 06:40 ET by cwnelson79Seeing as Rosa parks was not even Rosa parks, it is an odd claim to make. Rosa parks actions were carefully planned by the NAACP. Several black women had already done what Rosa parks had done. So does this mean that Gates's obvious racism towards the police is a plan setup by the NAACP? Did they meet and decide to set the police up? People say some very ignorant things, and don't bother to check the facts. It was not the boycott that eventually brought integration, but a court case — and one in which Rosa Parks was not even a plaintiff. In Browder v. Gayle.
So since Rosa Parks is a myth, then is he saying that Gates is a myth also? Spontaneous action against the racist police? Not hardly. It was spontaneous racism against the police. And instead of callimg him a racist, in this PC world he is a hero.
Re Rosa
Sat, 07/25/2009 - 10:34 ET by slickwillie2001Thanks for pointing this out. The standard line on Rosa has become innocent little old lady victimized by racism, but it's true, she was a long-time activist and the event was planned. Not to imply that the overall outcome of her efforts was not worthwhile, but facts are facts.