Cops vs. Blacks

I was going to write up something about the Harvard professor who was arrested for breaking into his own home (other side of the story here), but Jerry Pournelle beat me to it. Dr. Pournelle pretty much covers it far better than I would have, but here are some brief points that stood out to me:

The President of the United States publicly admits he doesn't know what he is talking about, yet still feels compelled to insert himself on the side of his race. Somehow, this isn't racist, even though everyone knows that is exactly what this is.

For whatever reason, the professor's neighbor did not know him and was not aware that he would be returning from his trip at that time. I'm not sure if that is a commentary on race relations or a commentary on America in general. I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone looked out for each other and knew each others comings and goings, but that seems to have been in a different country than the one we live in now.

After 20 hours of travel, part of which involves dealing with people with badges whose only function is to make travelers' lives miserable, anyone would be grumpy and "uncooperative" (meaning he didn't scrape and bow before the authority of The Badge) when a cop demands to see his ID while standing in his own home.

Blacks, especially in academia, see racism everywhere (except among other blacks, of course) even when everyone is being perfectly reasonable. If a cop drives by my home and sees someone attacking the door with a tire iron, I hope to God he demands to see some evidence that the attackee has a legitimate reason for being there regardless of his race.

Since when did cops become so pathetically thin-skinned that verbal insults result in handcuffs and mug shots? If the guy took a swing at the cop, that's one thing, but arresting someone because they insult you? For God's sake, grow some skin.

The cop's involvement in attempts to resuscitate a black basketball player over a decade ago is irrelevant to the present discussion. As are the opinions of his mother or people he grew up with or the racial composition of the neighborhood he grew up in. I grew up in Flint, Michigan which is hardly some lily-white suburb and I can tell you that I grew up with true racists, both black and white, some of whom spent time behind bars for their racist acts.

And enough on that topic.