The Metaphorical Significance of the Gates' Arrest
During a Wednesday, July 22, 2009 news conference, United States President Barack Obama told reporters and a national television audience that he knows Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, adding that he is a friend. He then said the actions of the arresting Cambridge Police Department officer were stupid, considering Dr. Gates was told that he was under arrest from the confines of his own home and then handcuffed and escorted to a squad car.
Prior to answering this final news conference question, President Obama had offered an extensive explanation of his plan to reform the American healthcare system. He let it be known that 47 million Americans are without healthcare insurance, and another 14 thousand will be added to this number daily if he and members of Congress do nothing. But after he walked away from the podium for the short stroll to the White House’s family quarters, I had the sense that his comments about the Gates’ arrest would overshadow those made about healthcare reform.
The fact that black American men are arrested far more frequently than their white American counterparts is no surprise. But what is so perplexing about Dr. Gates’ arrest is it was made even though the arresting officer had been told that Dr. Gates was the homeowner, not a thief. There are reports that Dr. Gates acted belligerent toward the arresting officer. But even if Dr. Gates had acted belligerent, did his alleged reaction to being falsely accused of a crime warrant an arrest? I think not.
Dr. Gates has repeatedly said that things went from bad to worse when he asked the arresting officer for his name and badge number. I believe it panged the arresting officer to hear these words because he knew Dr. Gates’ intention was to use the information to file a complaint against him. Consequently, the arresting officer allowed his sense of self-righteousness to blind him to the reality of the situation: he was wrong, Dr. Gates was right.
If we used this incident as a metaphor for America, we would be able to see why some white American’s self-righteous attitudes continue to impair the American citizenry’s ability to reach consensus on the race issue. Yes, we all agree that all men are created equal, that they have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but this self-righteousness causes white Americans to ignore black American challenges and concerns. Many of them seem to think the government has done more than enough to make amends for legalized slavery and oppression. And now that we have a black president, many of them feel there should be no more excuses for not being able to achieve in school, prosper on the job.
I agree that some black Americans have not been taking full advantage of the opportunities afforded to them, but the remedy to this problem does not lie with the election of the first, black president. Visit any urban school in this country, and you will come in contact with young, black students who seem to be more concerned about fitting in than developing platforms for future success. They have seemingly become disinterested in the educational process, even though their parents, grandparents and great grandparents lay their lives on the line, confident that their offspring would one day lead more prosperous lives.
But these young, black students are products of their environment. The same holds true for young, white students and those from other racial/ethnic groups. Because the environment, or mainstream American culture, is one that highlights the achievements and contributions of white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant males and females, these students continue to engage in the same group identity politics that were so prominent in their ancestors’ lives. We see where this engagement has taken us – to the edge of a hypothetical cliff – but even this truth is not inspiring more white Americans to exchange their self-righteousness for genuine concern for black Americans and other persons of color. It doesn’t even inspire them to admit their wrongs, both past and present.
But it also doesn’t awaken young, black students to the fact that there is not a white standard for success. As a social worker, I have come in contact with many young, black students who behave badly at and perform poorly in school because they don’t want to appear white. To them, appearing white equates to excellent grades and good behavior. It also equates to being self-righteous, thinking you are God’s gift to mankind. What they need to know is success has nothing to do with skin color, everything to do with a desire to be great at whatever you do.
My hope is we Americans will use the events surrounding Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ arrest to have more candid conversations about race, how it has caused centuries of dysfunction within the human family. Ultimately, an exploration of these events will show every American how far an apology goes when it originates from a regretful heart.
What do you think?
I look forward to reading your responses.
Jeffery A. Faulkerson, MSSW
From THE PURPOSEFUL WRITER
http://purposefulwriter.blogspot.com/
Prior to answering this final news conference question, President Obama had offered an extensive explanation of his plan to reform the American healthcare system. He let it be known that 47 million Americans are without healthcare insurance, and another 14 thousand will be added to this number daily if he and members of Congress do nothing. But after he walked away from the podium for the short stroll to the White House’s family quarters, I had the sense that his comments about the Gates’ arrest would overshadow those made about healthcare reform.
The fact that black American men are arrested far more frequently than their white American counterparts is no surprise. But what is so perplexing about Dr. Gates’ arrest is it was made even though the arresting officer had been told that Dr. Gates was the homeowner, not a thief. There are reports that Dr. Gates acted belligerent toward the arresting officer. But even if Dr. Gates had acted belligerent, did his alleged reaction to being falsely accused of a crime warrant an arrest? I think not.
Dr. Gates has repeatedly said that things went from bad to worse when he asked the arresting officer for his name and badge number. I believe it panged the arresting officer to hear these words because he knew Dr. Gates’ intention was to use the information to file a complaint against him. Consequently, the arresting officer allowed his sense of self-righteousness to blind him to the reality of the situation: he was wrong, Dr. Gates was right.
If we used this incident as a metaphor for America, we would be able to see why some white American’s self-righteous attitudes continue to impair the American citizenry’s ability to reach consensus on the race issue. Yes, we all agree that all men are created equal, that they have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but this self-righteousness causes white Americans to ignore black American challenges and concerns. Many of them seem to think the government has done more than enough to make amends for legalized slavery and oppression. And now that we have a black president, many of them feel there should be no more excuses for not being able to achieve in school, prosper on the job.
I agree that some black Americans have not been taking full advantage of the opportunities afforded to them, but the remedy to this problem does not lie with the election of the first, black president. Visit any urban school in this country, and you will come in contact with young, black students who seem to be more concerned about fitting in than developing platforms for future success. They have seemingly become disinterested in the educational process, even though their parents, grandparents and great grandparents lay their lives on the line, confident that their offspring would one day lead more prosperous lives.
But these young, black students are products of their environment. The same holds true for young, white students and those from other racial/ethnic groups. Because the environment, or mainstream American culture, is one that highlights the achievements and contributions of white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant males and females, these students continue to engage in the same group identity politics that were so prominent in their ancestors’ lives. We see where this engagement has taken us – to the edge of a hypothetical cliff – but even this truth is not inspiring more white Americans to exchange their self-righteousness for genuine concern for black Americans and other persons of color. It doesn’t even inspire them to admit their wrongs, both past and present.
But it also doesn’t awaken young, black students to the fact that there is not a white standard for success. As a social worker, I have come in contact with many young, black students who behave badly at and perform poorly in school because they don’t want to appear white. To them, appearing white equates to excellent grades and good behavior. It also equates to being self-righteous, thinking you are God’s gift to mankind. What they need to know is success has nothing to do with skin color, everything to do with a desire to be great at whatever you do.
My hope is we Americans will use the events surrounding Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ arrest to have more candid conversations about race, how it has caused centuries of dysfunction within the human family. Ultimately, an exploration of these events will show every American how far an apology goes when it originates from a regretful heart.
What do you think?
I look forward to reading your responses.
Jeffery A. Faulkerson, MSSW
From THE PURPOSEFUL WRITER
http://purposefulwriter.blogspot.com/
..."But after he walked away from the podium for the short stroll to the White House’s family quarters, I had the sense that his comments about the Gates’ arrest would overshadow those made about healthcare reform"...
I do know that the media will overshadow what the President said about Health Care Reform with his comments about Gates' Arrest. It's not about dialogue for change, but it's all about the ratings. I doubt Race relations will change until we all become tired of the situations that we find ourselves in as did the countless un-named people of the various movements for change did.
I keep saying it that there is just too much apathy in the Black community for me. It saddens me. Each time there is an injustice, we need to take action. We need to exercise the rights of being citizens of this country as well as get involved in the community on various boards to support the interests of the Black community. In addtion to this, I think we need to join forces with other minorities to help one another because it appears we are faced with similar discrimination.
Change comes with each one of us choosing to do something about our own situations; then collectively as a group we can join our voices together as well as poole our resources to cause a shift in the status quo. I think the election of President Obama is a prime example of we can do when we all come together to change belief systems.