The Gates debacle does not lend itself to the usual resolutions. Sgt. Crowley's conduct was not criminal, so we don't have the calls for federal investigation and indictment that often accompany this type of incident. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has retained an attorney, as has the woman who made the 911 call that started the whole incident. There might yet be lawsuits, but for now at least the lawyers are holding off. Politicians love to form commissions and blue-ribbon panels to show that they're doing something, and I'm sure we'll see one in this case soon enough.
Like I said before, everyone takes a side. You get the impression that we're not really talking with each other, trying to figure this out, as much as we are yelling at people who disagree with us, or seeking solidarity with people whose opinions we share. Cops are still angry at the President's comments, and Gates' supporters remain outraged at his arrest. It's either another angry black man playing the race card, or another racist cop trampling someone's rights. So, what do we do?
Maybe, just maybe, we can have a beer and talk about this.
Normally I don't think of boozing it up as being a good idea for conflict resolution (images of Christmas trees thrown through front windows, and pot roasts dumped on kitchen floors come to mind). In this case, though, maybe it will do some good.
Crowley can have an opportunity to explain exactly what was going through his mind, and why he made the decisions he made at each step of the incident. Gates can explain why he reacted the way he did to Crowley's presence on his doorstep. Each of these men needs to extend to the other the assumption of good will to start with, and work from there. The President will be there to hold up his hands and say "now, now fellas, hold on" if the exchange gets too heated. Hopefully the White House lounge will be more conducive to calm discourse than was the foyer of the Gates house.
4 Comments
Lulu said:
"Each of these men needs to extend to the other the assumption of good will to start with, and work from there."
This is probably the smartest thing that anyone has said about this whole mess. If people actually thought this about most situations they encounter, we would live in a very different world. Most of the time, people act from good intentions. They may do really stupid things, but they are doing them with the best of intentions, and if we keep that in mind, maybe we won't all get so over excited when stuff like this happens.
Bawb the Revelator said:
Lulu, you summed it up - terse and brillantly. As for the dozen or so Skip Gates wannabes known to me and so, avoided like Egypt's Seven Plagues ....well, here's another take:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/07/24/gates/
Erik France said:
Believe it or not, I'm on neutral ground here. Part Swedish. Part Walloon. The German and French parts made an armistice.
I agree with you 100% here. I don't entirely agree with Lulu here. People do no act with good intentions most of the time, I suspect. People often do not act with any intention at all, beyond their next meal or drink. People muddle through. In this case, I'm just glad I wasn't part of it.
Wendy C said:
I hope each man, including Obama, will freely talk about any pre-conceived assumptions brought to this incident, causing the ensuing altercation, and the comments made about it.
Then I hope all will agree to put aside these assumptions in the future, before tempers ignite and lead to unnecessary conflicts.
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