What Digby Said

Digby has written yet another letter perfect post, this one on the subject of the Gates incident. It's long but absolutely worth reading every word, please do. In it, she makes a point that I was arguing myself with a friend the other night (great minds and all, doncha know) albeit with far less eloquence and skill, namely that it is the police that are supposed to be the professionals in these situations and as such should be trained and expected to diffuse volatile encounters, not exacerbate them to the point of arrest or worse:

The principles here are the same. Sure, we should treat the cops with respect and society shouldn't encourage people to be reflexively hostile to police. They have a tough job, and we should all be properly respectful of people who are doing a dangerous and necessary job for the community. But when a citizen doesn't behave well, if not illegally, as will happen in a free society, it is incumbent upon the police, the ones with the tasers and the handcuffs and the guns, to exercise discretion wisely and professionally. And when they don't, we shouldn't make excuses for them. It's far more corrosive to society to allow authority figures to abuse their power than the other way around.

Henry Louis Gates may have acted like a jackass in his house that day. But Sergeant Crowley arresting him for being "tumultuous" was an abuse of his discretion, a fact which is backed up by the fact that the District Attorney used his discretion to decline to prosecute. Racially motivated or not he behaved "stupidly" and the president was right to say so.

UPDATE: See also:

In another comment, Pithlord makes clear a point that I consider essential, namely "We all act like dicks sometimes, and I can sort of understand both Gates and Crowley's point-of-view in a subjective sense. I imagine I'd feel pissed off if I was either of them. The difference is Crowley acted illegally and unprofessionally." (Emphasis mine.)

That's a huge difference. As I've written in comments, I don't know and don't really care if Professor Gates lost his cool and acted like a jerk. I do know, however, that Gates didn't have a gun and the power to throw Crowley in jail.

So I have one other wish to draw from my pillowcase on halloween: It would be nice -- real nice -- if our discussion of this incident embraced more than just race and included police tactics generally. Crowley had the power to toss Gates in jail because he didn't like what Gates said. That just isn't right.