RSS
Cop Suspended for Racist Reference to Harvard Professor
A Boston Police officer who, in an e-mail, referred to Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. as a "jungle monkey" has been suspended.
Good. He deserves it.
Now, will Harvard University investigate the behavior of Professor Gates for conduct unbecoming a member of the Harvard faculty? And if it finds Dr. Gates has made false and defamatory public statements and allegations against Sgt. Jim Crowley will he too be disciplined?
For some reason, I think not.
UPDATE: After all, the house belongs to the university, not Gates.
Good. He deserves it.
Now, will Harvard University investigate the behavior of Professor Gates for conduct unbecoming a member of the Harvard faculty? And if it finds Dr. Gates has made false and defamatory public statements and allegations against Sgt. Jim Crowley will he too be disciplined?
For some reason, I think not.
UPDATE: After all, the house belongs to the university, not Gates.
posted by Spencerblog at
11:06 AM
8 Comments:
I disagree with any punitive actions against this officer unless he's violated some work rule spelled out in his collective bargaining agreement.
The only speech that should be restricted is the imminent danger condition -- shouting fire in a crowded theater -- famously articulated by the Supreme Court.
Otherwise, let the whackos say whatever they want and trust the common sense of the people to ignore or discredit their sick and twisted utterances.
Ever since we started with the politically correct truth police, with their feel good prohibitions against hate speech, we've just legitimized the crackpots and mental midgets spouting this offensive nonsense.
In the Soviet Union where Political correctness had it's birth and then later introduced to America by a professor at Berkeley and readily accepted by the liberal media, It was then that America gave up there right to free speech. For one who depends on first Admendment rights, the media should have been the first to reject political correctness. Free speech should include all speech including that which we do not agree with---that is what the admendment's purpose was for in the first place.
i can't really offer sympathy to someone who refers to an african american as a "banana-eating jungle monkey" - that's embarassing.
He should be suspended due to his stupidity. But lets talk about this and the whole Gates issue some more Gil. In the meantime I will keep paying over 1k a month for health insurance for my family of 4, doesn't include dental or vision. Oh look I see the mailman coming, maybe he has the letter I get each year telling me my hlth insurance has increased yet again.
I agree with Jake and Anon. Free speech protection is needed to protect speech that is insulting. After all, if all speech was nice speech there would be no need for any constitutional protections.
Hate crimes legislation and proscriptions against certain types of speech will mushroom into much greater loss to freedom than any of us can comprehend.
Ultimately, if freedom (all of it) isn't given the respect that it truly deserves, then we will also lose the right to our conscience, and much more.
Officer Crowely wrote in his report that the witness who called into 911 told him "two black men with backpacks". She told the officer no such thing. Not only did her 911 call specifically state that she did not know the race, but she mentioned suitcases and the likelihood that they might have lived there. She has stated that officer Crowely didn't even question her when he arrived, but merely told her to wait while he went inside.
The moment Crowely saw Gate's ID, he should have apologized and left. Instead, he refused to give his name and badge number to Gates, then arrested Gates for insisting on it.
Check out this story about crooked cops caught (on their own tape) conspiring to frame a motorist:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/29/crooked-cops-caught-plott_n_246987.html
99% of the cops are great, but 1% are just crooks with badges and guns (or just plain incompetent).
Anon,
There are good people and bad people in all walks of life. And certainly a bad police officer is capable of grave harm.
But Officer Crowley's record is beyond criticism as a racist. He provided mouth-to mouth resuscitation to Reggie Lewis, for goodness sake.
I believe the supposed intellectual, Gates, demonstrated remarkable stupidity by antagonizing a police officer in a potentially dangerous situation.
The issue here is another lamebrain publicity hound and his right to make idiotic statements. Unfortunately, in this particular case, it was a police officer.
I believe we all are entitled to make stupid statements and that our American society is ill-served when we limit or restrict that freedom of expression.
As Voltaire said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
We, too, need to be as vigorous in our defense of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as we are in viscerally reacting to offensive statements.
the last comment goes off the beaten path with a completely different story used to massage the left's 'cop is wrong' arguement. Sounds like someone once familiar to the blog...
Post a Comment
<< Home