My Advice to Sgt. Crowley

My advice to Sgt. Crowley

My advice is this: Stand Strong.

Over the last 24 to 48 hours dramatic changes have occurred in the coverage of the Gates vs Crowley incident. Suddenly everyone is talking about getting them to sit and talk. The Boston Globe wants to know what it would take to get Gates and Crowley to sit down and talk about how each made a regrettable mistake. 'Why can't we just give peace a chance?'.

This is not a sign that we have suddenly found the ugly smell of racism intolerable and we all now want to talk of harmony. No indeed. It is not about harmony at all.
When this story first broke the headlines were definitive. It was clear to the mainstream media what had happened. An angry white cop arrested a distinguished Harvard scholar in his own home simply for being black. Without knowing the facts Governor Deval Patrick called the situation "Every black man's worst nightmare" and President Barack Obama chimed in with "the Cambridge police acted STUPIDLY". There was immediate talk of lawsuits, civil rights activists coming to town, police resignations and retraining for the ignorant masses behind the badge.

The sides had seemingly polarized and Sgt Crowley's side seemed outnumbered. The mainstream media had him labeled as a 'white cop'. That was all we seemed to know about Crowley. He was white and he was a cop. On the other side we had the renowned Harvard Professor. His academic achievements were listed and news reports touted his close associations with Governors, Harvard University, Radio, television and even the President of the United States. He was described as an intellectual giant, noted historian, author and pioneer in the study of black heritage. All of which is true by the way. We had a David and Goliath scenario painted for us by a media anxious to rekindle the embers of white versus black.

But then things changed. People began to examine the facts. Crowley wasn't an angry white cop looking to knock some sense into a black man's head with a club. Crowley was a good cop. His professional history was praised by Police Unions and his superiors. Support for Crowley began to increase and we realized that not only is Crowley not racist, and never was, but he volunteers time to train new officers in the avoidance of racial profiling. He is a father of three, loving husband, good friend and not at all the racist he was described as by Gates.

Further facts begin to surface as people read the official police reports. Gates was arrested but not 'in' his house as many reported. He was outside. He wasn't arrested for being black, he was arrested for being a disturbance, which is supported by the witnesses. Gates wasn't cooperative as first reported, but outright refused to provide identification. Now the recorded 911 call and Sgt. Crowley's call to headquarters are being reviewed as they may offer physical evidence supporting Crowley - not Gates.

The tide has turned and wildly so into Crowley's favor. Gates is going to lose this public campaign to label Crowley a racist. We will find that Gates was just as belligerent as Crowley described him to be. We will find that the charges should not have been dropped at all.

The liberal response - get out now with as little damage as possible. The media and political talking heads are now speaking of a sit down meeting between the two so each can admit they were wrong. My advice to Crowley - don't. A sh*t sandwich has been served up by professor Gates and the left wants you to eat half of it. Don't bite. You did nothing wrong. When all the facts are revealed we will learn what many of us already suspected - Gates was tired, exhausted and just wanted to get home to his living room after a long trip. But, Gates was also disturbed that a white, working class cop should question him while casting a shadow on his prestigious doorstep. How dare a white cop question him! Gates felt he was beyond reproach - after all, just look at all the college degrees. Gates was acting like an opportunist in order to avoid arrest.

The charge of racism is severe. I am glad the charges against Gates were dropped and my advice is for Gates to walk away and perhaps even apologize to Crowley. Then we will know we have reached equality in this world.