The comments are full of stupid, too. I thought this guy was particularly deserving of being booted down a flight of stairs:

This reminds me of an incident in a department store not long ago. I made a rather large purchase with a credit card and the clerk asked to see a picture ID to be sure I was indeed the owner of the card. I thanked her for her diligence. Not ten feet away another man was hassling another clerk for the same situation. That man was black and insisted the clerk was “profiling” him. His voice was raised and he actually called her “stupid”. I just shook my head and left with my purchase.

Yes, because your one experience in your soft privileged little involving ID is identical to the life of a Black guy, in every detail.

Wankers.

Grr. Insert “life” after little above. Posting while irked means mistakes. Take note, kids, and calm down before commenting.

This public service announcement was sponsored by Xanax.

Hey,

Indeed, white privilege is invisible to the white privileged. For a rich old white guy, having to show your ID is, “ho ho ho, I applaud your diligence, young lady.” Of course he wouldn’t know anything about being asked for ID to do every goddamned thing, every goddamned time.

Too bad the unicorn isn’t farting, so we could see the rainbow.

This Gates imbroglio is really killing the knuckledragger’s souls. They knew the new Kenyan King would take away all their privileges, and look, only six months in, a white cop can’t disregard police procedures to hassle a black guy! The coloreds are taking over!

Shorter Cambridge PD report:

The owner was being rude.

That’s all the knuckleheads have. Gates bawled out a police officer.

However, important not to forget how an incident like this affects their precious authoritarian sensitivities. Remember, Freedom(c) is about the right to shoot a weapon, not your mouth off. You do the latter, you get what you deserve.

What’s really sad about this whole thing is that it has become THE media story, eclipsing everything else. And it has become a chalkboard on which reporters can write any kind of bullshit they want to make up.

This morning, I heard a CNN reporter state “the President’s remarks now have some police officers wondering if the President supports the police.” No citation, no supporting evidence, not even a quote from some anonymous cop. Just straight-out assertion. Shit.

This public service announcement was sponsored by Xanax.

Xanax – the other pink meat.

…it proves that the only racist that day was Gates

Heh. Good shorter.

Wait. Aylward actually said that.

This morning, I heard a CNN reporter state “the President’s remarks now have some police officers wondering if the President supports the police.”

I tell you, that’s going to be the new meme among wingnuts – that President Sotero Blacky-Black doesn’t respect police when they harass HIS people. Look for the example the wingnuts will be bringing forth soon of a white guy (poor, of course) who was harassed by police that proves Obama is a racist for not criticizing the police in that case.

For a rich old white guy, having to show your ID is, “ho ho ho, I applaud your diligence, young lady.”

I was having lunch in a bar with my then-75-year-old father and the waitress asked us both for ID before she’d bring drinks. My white, old, not-rich pop said “You’ve got to be kidding. Is it policy here to proof everyone?” in a neutral tone. The waitress responded “No. I just wanted to be sure.”

We both immediately got out our IDs. She got a 5% tip.

OT, looming wingnut freak-out about using Supermax facilities for Gitmo prisoners.

Not linking to the mouthbreather ranting, but it’s there and soon the controversy will be going postal. You know, that we’d hold allegedly the most dangerous prisoners in the world in our highest security prisons. The outrage, the horror of Hussein X… Prepare for peak-wingnut!!!

This public service announcement was sponsored by Xanax.

Xanax – the other pink meat.

(and FYWP, if it’s a “duplicate comment” why the hell isn’t it appearing?)

[Tintin adds: Because, the spam filter, for obvious reasons, doesn’t like the word Xanax, particularly in short comments. The FYWP was probably enough to change the ranking].

doesn’t respect police when they harass HIS people.

By “HIS people”, are we talking about blacks, Muslims, usurpers, communists, liberal fascists or some as yet unspecified other?

Shorter Cambridge PD report:

The owner was being rude.

Exactly. I live in Mass, so I assume I’m hearing about this more than most people. Everyone’s reflexively siding with the cop on this because Gates was seemingly being an asshole. But no one has mentioned what the arrestable offense was supposed to be.

I heard a (different) Cambridge police sergeant and a union official on the radio stating that the tapes prove Gates was not acting professionally. What the hell obligation does a private citizen in his own home have to act “professionally”?

What the hell obligation does a private citizen in his own home have to act “professionally”?

Maybe they meant “professorially” and were upset at his lack of elbow patches.

You see, racism would be dead if it wasn’t for all these coloreds minorities special-interest groups getting all racist on us.

By “HIS people”, are we talking about blacks, Muslims, usurpers, communists, liberal fascists or some as yet unspecified other?

Maybe “all the above”, but given the wingnut tendencies I was assuming “black”.

The owner was being rude. Uppity.

fizzzzzzzxxed.

I was carded at Best Buy for a Death Cab for Cutie CD back in 2005 or 2006. No warning label. No explanation. I left the CD on the counter and haven’t been back Since. It was creepy as all hell, and I’m not never shopping there for anything. I could have understood, but would have been annoyed, if the CD had a label on it or something, but it’s really crappy to think they’re taking my ID for no fucking reason whatsoever. because there is always a reason. It’s just one I didn’t know about.

What the hell obligation does a private citizen in his own home have to act “professionally”?

holy hell, THERE’S a standard I’ll never be able to live up to.

You see, racism would be dead if it wasn’t for all these special-interest groups getting all racist on us

Exactly! And the Negros would have been perfectly happy with Jim Crow laws and American apartheid if the white Jew liberals hadn’t come down South and riled them up.

This is all central to Mr. Kevin’s point.

The dumbest thing about this whole thing is that what Obama said about it is right on target. He said, paraphrasing: 1) I don’t know that race played any part in this, other than perhaps the fact that some blacks and Hispanics are more sensitive in this type of situation due to their past experiences with police, and 2) when you’re a police who’s been called out on a suspected burglary and discover that the suspected burglar is actually the homeowner, once you’ve established that no burglary has taken place and verified the suspect’s identity, to then arrest the suspect because you didn’t like what he said to you is acting stupidly.

Unless you’re a brain-dead over-sensitive white media person, you shouldn’t find any of that controversial. Saying someone “acted stupidly” is not calling them “stupid”. And for a cop to arrest someone because they got upset and said some things the cop didn’t like because of an initial misunderstanding is most definitely “acting stupidly”. Any intimation that a citizen does not have the right to say pretty much any fucking thing he wants to say to a cop while in his own home, short of “there are bodies buried in the basement,” without fear of arrest just indicates that you have a police-state mentality.

Which, of course, conservatives have, and most of the media is, if not conservative, then conservative-sympathetic.

Good for Obama for not backing down on his word choice. It’s unfortunate that he ever responded to the question at all and gave them the chance to play their stupid little game, but since he did, it’s better that he not back down from the imminently reasonable things he said about it.

And the Negros would have been perfectly happy with Jim Crow laws and American apartheid if the white Jew liberals hadn’t come down South and riled them up.

Don’t forget: the white Jew liberals were perfectly happy staying in their quaint ethnic slums until they got riled up by the Negro jungle-music called “jazz.”

My god… It’s a riling-up circle-jerk.

remember, though, these choadlumps (or their fathers) supported the police in Chicago when they were beating and gassing protesters back in 68.

So, black professionals, white Democrats, it’s an equal opportunity police state.

I was carded at Best Buy for a Death Cab for Cutie CD back in 2005 or 2006.

I once got the stink-eye at our local indy record shop for buying a Jello Biafra spoken word album.

Of course it was December 2001, and the album cover looked like this.

But carded? Not recently. either it’s the beard, or the look of pain and age in my eyes from years of working for Wal-Mart.

I’m hoping it’s the beard.

dammit, Jennifer beat the zombie to the police-state buzzword.

Jennifer –

As you know, to a wingnut there is no such concept as “abuse of authority”.

Unless you’re a liberal, of course.

Gates should have thanked the officer for apparently refusing to give his name and badge number, because an officer who just gave that legally required upon request information out could have easily been giving it to Osama bin Laden.

Well, El Cid, Professor Gates IS a brown person. How is a police ossifer to know?

I agree with Jennifer, though, about what Obama said. Jon Stewart was aghast last night that he answered the question at all, but seriously, the white media personalities act like it’s the first time they’ve noticed that the President IS, in fact, a black man, and he might just have a bit of a different perspective on police abuse of authority.

I saw Obama hesitating a bit before answering the question, though, it seemed he was pulling his thoughts together and I would guess he KNEW how this was going to play out in the media debated soft pedaling it, but then decided “Fuck it, I’m the President and I’m gonna say something that needs saying”

So good on him.

Grammar zombie is grammar impaired today. It’s been a long week. Sorry.

I personally like this take on what happened:

Even before the charge were dropped Tuesday, I knew in my bones that this officer was wrong. I knew in my bones that this situation was about the level of deference from a black male that a white cop expects.

There it is. The level of deference owed by a black male to a white cop.

But you know what? I’m feeling generous – let’s assume that the wingnuts are correct and this has absolutely nothing to do with race. Let’s remove skin colour from the equation.

The level of deference owed by a male to a cop.

Still no fucking good – Sarge Jim Crow(ley) still acted stupidly. Even if Gates was verbally abusive and angry, this was clearly a bullshit arrest – that poor little small-dicked Crowley had to make after being followed outside to where all the other cops could see him.

Well Jim Crowley, I’m sorry that you have such a low opinion of yourself that you have to abuse your position of authority in order to make it seem like you’re not a worthless piece of shit. That’s pretty sad. It’s also an excellent fucking reason to make sure you can’t do that sorta shit again. Fucking insecure dickweeds should not be carrying badges and guns.

Here’s a pretty good article exploring how “Disorderly conduct” charge requires actual concern that the behavior could cause a riot. I hate to link to the cesspool that is Slate but this one was interesting.

Result: He was arrested for asking for police ID, which isn’t a crime, even if you do it really loudly or more than once. On the contrary it’s actually illegal for the policeman to refuse.

http://www.slate.com/id/2223379/

It hadn’t occurred to me yet, but I think the assembled media were shocked most because they expected Obama to pull the normal black liberal politician schtick of having to side against the black guy versus cops when asked.

More importantly, though, Texas Governor Rick Perry is once again going to tease us with leaving the Union without doing so, this time because Obama threatens to bring health care to the poors:

Gov. Rick Perry, raising the specter of a showdown with the Obama administration, suggested Thursday that he would consider invoking states’ rights protections under the 10th Amendment to resist the president’s healthcare plan, which he said would be “disastrous” for Texas.

Interviewed by conservative talk show host Mark Davis of Dallas’ WBAP/820 AM, Perry said his first hope is that Congress will defeat the plan, which both Perry and Davis described as “Obama Care.” But should it pass, Perry predicted that Texas and a “number” of states might resist the federal health mandate.

“I think you’ll hear states and governors standing up and saying ‘no’ to this type of encroachment on the states with their healthcare,” Perry said. “So my hope is that we never have to have that stand-up. But I’m certainly willing and ready for the fight if this administration continues to try to force their very expansive government philosophy down our collective throats.”

And, let me tell you, Republicans are the specialists to ask about things being rammed down their throats.

I suspect that this will make Texans even more love the Republican Party, when the Governor tells them they can’t have better cheaper health insurance and the poors can’t buy into a public option.

The Permanent Republican Majority is SURE TO CONTINUE!!!

What the hell obligation does a private citizen in his own home have to act “professionally”?

Win

We both immediately got out our IDs. She got a 5% tip.

Are you kidding??? I’d have given her a 50% tip for flirting with me!

What the hell obligation does a private citizen in his own home have to act “professionally”?

Win

Not.

I’d have given her a 50% tip for flirting with me!

Fuck that. She was flirting with my father, if at all.

If it’s the tapes prove that Gates has been lying …

I think that should read “if it’s the tapes be provin’ that Gates bin lyin’ now …”

As someone who a cop in an unmarked car tried to intimidate because I stared him down after he almost ran me down in the street, my first thought when I heard about this whole thing was, “yeah, it’s that God with a badge mentality at work there.”

Certain cops believe that having a badge should protect them from hearing anything they don’t want to hear – or in my case, from someone giving them a dirty look for almost running them over.

In my case, as I said, I didn’t even know it was a cop until after giving him the evil eye. I was walking across a street in a marked crosswalk, and saw a car coming towards us from the opposite end of the block – and the asshole was accelerating. So I’ve got the eye-lock on him the whole way, because that’s what I do when a car is approaching as I cross the street. When he continued to accelerate, and came within 6 inches of clipping us, I turned around and stared him down as he passed, then continued across the street. He, meanwhile, screeched to a halt on the other side of the intersection, and being the total dick that he was (someone who would almost run you down in the street) flipped on the light on the dash and backed up through the intersection. The whole time, my boss, who was with me, is shaking in his boots and white as a sheet, saying things like “that’s a cop, and he’s coming back!” And I’m saying, “so the fuck what; I’m allowed to give a cop a dirty look when he almost runs me over.” So the cop backs up to where we are standing on the sidewalk, cranks down the window, and says in the most snide way possible, “Can I help you with something?” By this time there are about 10 people watching the whole thing, as other people have been walking up to the restaurant entry. And I’m standing there, arms folded, giving him a level stare, and I say, “No sir, I’m just wondering what in the world you think you’re doing speeding up when you see people in front of you trying to cross the street. You, of all people, should know better.” At that, he looked like he was at a total loss for words, and mumbled something about how he “didn’t think (he) was going that fast.” I said, “well, you were going fast enough to almost hit us. Have a nice afternoon.” And turned around and walked inside.

My boss told me later that he was worried I was about to get arrested, and thought I had flipped the guy off. I said, you know what? If I had, it’s not like I knew he was a cop, and even if I had, it’s not like it’s illegal to flip off a cop. He doesn’t get to not be called out on being an asshole just because he has a badge.

So yeah, I think I have a pretty good idea of exactly what happened here. A cop got pissed because someone failed to show proper respect for his “authoritie” so the cop decided to throw his weight around. Like the cop would have done with me if he had had an opening to do it.

If it’s the tapes prove that Gates has been lying …

We have the tapes and will be releasing them at an appropriate time.

That article really is a small masterpiece of Wingnut thinking.

If the evidence turned out to make my views the correct ones, then my views would be the correct ones. And according to this link to another Wingnut, they are!

They’re so much happier in that quantum weirdness world of Wingnuttery, where Goldberg’s Uncertainty Principle states that you can know facts, or Wingnut facts, but not both at the same time.

Jennifer, I respect your aw-thori-tay.

If we must exchange worst evah cop stories, mine took place in San Francisco. Never mind the story itself which involved parking, a joke about Hashbury and a head-lock, but FFS, San Fran?

Or maybe I should figure that in the most entrepreneurial corner of the nation, working for the state is the only job a wingnut can get.

but FFS, San Fran?

Don’t let the cliches about it fool you, it was the home of Harvey Milk but also of Dan White.

And small tip, not that I care, honestly, but if you’re ever there, calling it “San Fran” isn’t advised.

I have to wonder just what it is on those tapes that would make Jim Crowley’s actions even remotely justifiable.

From Crowley’s own police report:
– He was pretty sure that Gates was the resident even before he asked for ID and he only pressed on because he was “confused with the behavior exhibited towards (him)”.
– He was asked repeatedly for his badge number, but said information was never supplied.
– While investigating a “break in progress”, he allowed himself to be distracted enough that someone managed to sneak-up behind him.
– That Gates followed him out to the front porch – at Crowley’s own insistence.
– That upon leaving Gates’ home, he saw several police officers assembled on the sidewalk.

As soon as he saw Gates, Crowley knew what was going on. As a veteran of the force, he’s probably responded to more false alarms then I can count. And yet he continued to engage Gates and instead of making any attempts to defuse the situation, he just taunted with something like “if you’ve got a problem, let’s just step outside”.

He made the arrest to save face. Here he was, standing outside – after having his bluff called. One old man, yelling at him – in front of all the other cops. If he didn’t do something, how was he going to ever show his face in uniform again.

I was having lunch in a bar with my then-75-year-old father and the waitress asked us both for ID before she’d bring drinks. My white, old, not-rich pop said “You’ve got to be kidding. Is it policy here to proof everyone?” in a neutral tone. The waitress responded “No. I just wanted to be sure.”

We both immediately got out our IDs. She got a 5% tip.

omfg rofl what an awesome story!@ Way to really stick it to somebody who is probably making less than minimum wage, trying to live on tips. Yeah, she pulled an airhead move. And you were a total dick.

And small tip, not that I care, honestly, but if you’re ever there, calling it “San Fran” isn’t advised.

What do the locals call it? (Other than “home,” of course.)

omfg rofl what an awesome story!@ Way to really stick it to somebody who is probably making less than minimum wage, trying to live on tips. Yeah, she pulled an airhead move. And you were a total dick.

Fuck you. She was rude so she didn’t get a good tip. I regularly tip around 20% even when the service is not good, but I don’t have to give my money to an asshole. I also don’t have to give my attention to one, so you’re now going in the kill file. Have fun getting in your moronic last word.

I’d have given her a 50% tip for flirting with me!

Fuck that. She was flirting with my father, if at all.

Hell, I’d give her a hundred just for carding me!

Hell, I’d give her a hundred just for carding me!

How old are you again?

I think my favorite part so far (other than arguing with idiot friends-of-friends on Facebook about the whole thing) was that the cop, in an interview, stated that he clearly wasn’t racist because he’d given mouth to mouth to Reggie Lewis when he collapsed in the gym at Brandeis.

Umm… yeah. Trying to keep a famous black man from dying on your employer’s floor is a strong indication that you aren’t capable of even the slightest racial bias. That makes sense.

calling it “San Fran” isn’t advised.

Is it safe to use “Home of the 49ers”?

And yet he continued to engage Gates and instead of making any attempts to defuse the situation, he just taunted with something like “if you’ve got a problem, let’s just step outside”.

Yep, and asked him outside specifically so he could charge him – hard to disrupt the public peace in the privacy of one’s own home.

And if weren’t already clear this was an arrest for being uppity while black, I just heard tape of the cop on the radio saying Gates should have been grateful the cops were there. He’s a bigger asshole than the goatse guy.

Fuck you. She was rude so she didn’t get a good tip.

I don’t get it. She might have been dumb, but I don’t see rude.

calling it “San Fran” isn’t advised.

They like to call it “The City”.

I was carded at Best Buy for a Death Cab for Cutie CD back in 2005 or 2006.

That is very disturbing. Ok, in this case ut worked because the attempted purchase was thwarted but in most cases I don’t think a simple carding is going to discourage a Death Cab for Cutie fan. We need harsher measures. Maybe a free cock punch with every purchase?

Jesus, the rest of the time these assholes are racing to their nearest gun show or arms dealer, stocking up on assault rifles, ready to bust a cap in any government-related person who even looks like he’s going to come within one inch of their property. A black guy is arrested for yelling in his living room? “You go, cops!”.

She might have been dumb, but I don’t see rude.

It’s subjective. Her tone of stating-the-obvious to an old man that she had to be sure her was 21 before she could serve a drink. If that’s dumb, it’s bedrock dumb.

I suspect servers get it drilled into their heads to card everyone, no matter what. I’ve heard of plenty of bars that got stung by the state sending in some freakishly tall, bearded 18-year-old in a suit and tie. They serve him a beer, and they’re shut down for months.

Hell, I’d give her a hundred just for carding me!

How old are you again?

Fifty one.

Scott, one bar near me was hit with a violation and the new manager insisted everyone produce ID, no matter how well known the patron (like l’il ol’ daily me) was.

That lasted about a week, but anytime someone new walks in, everyone gets carded all over again. I suspect you might be right.

(I hit “Submit Comment” too quickly)

Anyway, I think lots of bars, clubs, and restaurants tell their servers and bartenders to card everyone who orders a drink, no matter how old they may look. Better safe than sorry.

Anyway, I think lots of bars, clubs, and restaurants tell their servers and bartenders to card everyone who orders a drink, no matter how old they may look. Better safe than sorry.

Which is why my father asked the “policy” question. If it’s owner paranoia – justified or not – it’s got nothing to do with the wait staff.

Beyond that, while there is the occasional crack-down in NYC such as the one actor mentions, I haven’t been carded in ten years and I’m a looks-his-age mid-40s.

A friend of mine in a bad neighbourhood in Baltimore (standing on his own front porch at the time) got arrested and thrown in jail overnight for “disorderly conduct” for advising a neighbour of his Constitutional rights when the police were talking to him. Friend is also transgendered, and wears a beard and a skirt all the time.

My opinion of the police, not high to begin with, went way down after that…

N_B,

There’s no mistaking this “Jean Luc Picard” hairstyle and salt and pepper sprinkling for anything less than 45. That’s why I tip nicely.

That’s why I tip nicely.

Hey, as I said before, I tip nicely even when the actual service isn’t good. There’s an idiotic policy, that’s the fault of the owner/manager. There’s a delay, could be any one of a dozen reasons, many of which are no one’s fault.

But I draw the line at rude behavior, since that’s nothing but the staff.

I wasn’t there, so I have to take your word about her behavior.

N_B–

“I was having lunch in a bar with my then-75-year-old father…”

Next time have him say, “Listen, miss. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in
my 75 years, it’s how to obtain a fake id.” Let HER figure it out.

Obama should have just used the Chimpo dodge and say “We don’t comment on ongoing investigations”

The deranged wingnuts would’ve been up in arms about that response as well, but at least their blatant hypocrisy would’ve been even more obvious.

It makes me think an even better Obama response would’ve been “Like my predecessor Mr. Bush, we don’t comment ….”

Oh, the sounds of exploding ‘nut heads with that one would’ve been glorious!

Yeah, I don’t see rude, either.

I guess you had to be there.

I was having lunch in a bar with my then-75-year-old father

Perhaps he got carded because a previous older customer gave her a big tip after he got carded because it sounded like a compliment on how old young he looked.

When arguing this case with some Republicans friends I asked them to consider what they think would have happened if the incident had taken place at Dick Cheney’s house. That actually gave them pause and caused them to reconsider the police officers actions. Of course, these are not wing nuts. These are more the Republican by inheritance and habit type. I mean, I’m liberal and all. I have black friends and gay friends and even French friends, but I do not, and you have to draw the line somewhere, have wingnut friends.

SF police are assholes.

Not as big of assholes as LA police, but as with everything SF / LA, they try hard to keep up.

Anyway, back on topic, I heard somebody on NPR call the Gates thing a “contempt of cop” arrest, which is not at all unusual. Everybody knows it’s a bullshit deal but cops think they don’t have to put up with guff from prols citizens no matter what their color.

I guess you had to be there.

I guess so.

Also, since I work at an airport this thought has occurred to me. Gates had just flown in from China. Anyone that has spent that much time dealing with the airlines is bound to be rather cranky.

Rusty Shackleford said,

What do the locals call it? (Other than “home,” of course.)

Well “the city” as someone else pointed out but that needs some qualification, people get it wrong: The entire Bay Area is what people live in, that is, the city of San Francisco is really tiny, so the whole area is more comparable to other metro areas or cities.

So if you’re in the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley) then you talk about “I live in the City”. It’s considered an area of a larger region, in other words. The point being that you would never be in another State or in LA or something and say simply “I live in the City”. It’s a neighborhood designation, like “downtown” in New York, say.

I think what’s weird about all the nicknames like “Frisco” and “San Fran” is that other cities don’t seem to get this, or do they? That is, people from elsewhere always wanting to use these sort of familiar nicks that actually aren’t used locally at all. Maybe other places get it too, any examples?

“Bean Town.” I’ve never heard that locally.

Having fun Getting bored over at CheezWhizBang. Wish you Megan Fox were here.

Maybe other places get it too, any examples?

I know people from Las Vegas who hate their city being called “Vegas”. I’m sure there are plenty of examples.

The only nickname I’m aware of for my own home, Salt Lake City, is “that weird valley full of loonies” and variations thereupon.

I think what’s weird about all the nicknames like “Frisco” and “San Fran” is that other cities don’t seem to get this, or do they?

What about Philly? LA? Chi-town? I think it has to do with the number of syllabls in major cities. Four syllables is clearly too long for people to bother with, and even 3 is pushing it. Sure, you’ve got Altanta, but that’s got a swallowed syllable at the front so it’s more like -Lanta.

“I was having lunch in a bar with my then-75-year-old father…”

you forgot the opening: Dear Penthouse…

Just so long as you don’t call places by their Area Codes. Sweet IPU, that’s fucking pretentious.

Sgt. James Crowley teaches courses on racial profiling at the police academy

This keeps getting mentioned by wingnuts as proof that Crowley could not possibly be a racist. But I’m thinking that if you’ve got a guy teaching teaching this class who could not deal with and defuse the racial tension in this situation, well that’s a big part of your problem right there.

Where can I get my Three Kevin Aylward Moon shirt?

stocking up on assault rifles, ready to bust a cap in any government-related person who even looks like he’s going to come within one inch of their property.

It does make me wonder: in these fantasies of theirs, what race are the jackbooted government thugs? They’re white, aren’t they? or are they envisioning some multi-racial affair? Multiracial jackbooted thugs? Who ever heard of that?

Sure, you’ve got Altanta, but that’s got a swallowed syllable at the front so it’s more like -Lanta.

I have often heard it referred yo as HOTlanta. And though I’ve heard that name used by natives of the city, I’ve noticed they don’t use it when they are actually in the city.

Mississippi is often referred to nationally as a “hellhole” but I rarely hear people use that exact term here.

Mississippi is often referred to nationally as a “hellhole” but I rarely hear people use that exact term here.

Ah! That’s where the inspiration came from.

Dallas’ nickname is supposedly “the Big D,” but I was born and raised here and never saw that said by anyone but tourists or marketing firms.

Same thing with most Texas slogans.

Oh I didn’t realize that “Philly” wasn’t an actual local name. “Phiwwee”.

Re “Hotlanta”, I thought that was the real name, and Atlanta was something I saw on Futurama.

“LA” is definitely local though. Randy Newman lives there, after all.

Okay, but so I guess other cities have to get that too. It’s always somehow felt like people trying to be “with it” with the local culture by using those names, but what it actually does it paint “TOURIST” in big neon letters on the person’s forehead.

Re “Hotlanta”, I thought that was the real name, and Atlanta was something I saw on Futurama.

And let’s not forget Hotlantis, the awe-inspiring party town of legend that sank into the sea.

Dallas’ nickname is supposedly “the Big D,” but I was born and raised here and never saw that said by anyone but tourists or marketing firms.

Same thing with most Texas slogans.

Even “who shot J.R.”?

Sequel to 300?

Sequel to 300?

300 2

Just so long as you don’t call places by their Area Codes.

*AHEM*

Sequel to 300?

Leonidas comes back as a zombie?

Sequel to 300?

Hmm, an hour and forty minutes of ravens and dead spartans? That may be something that zombie rotten mcdonald might go watch, but you can count me out.

Note: The time stamp is not aware that the phone rang in the middle of typing my post.

*AHEM*

I thought that was just a genericizer, like Hobo #2 or somesuch. Anyways, it’s not like you actually say stuff like “parking’s a bitch in the 212” or whatnot.

300 Days Later?

Am I not posting too fast?

Anyways, it’s not like you actually say stuff like “parking’s a bitch in the 212? or whatnot.

*lowering eyebrow*

Forgiven

The eyebrows are lowering
the poor babe awakes…

Just so long as you don’t call places by their Area Codes. Sweet IPU, that’s fucking pretentious.

Or worse, airport codes. Bonus dumbshit points for calling Toronto “Why Why Zee” when it’s supposed to be “Why Why Zed.”

Away in the 972 – 2

Or worse, airport codes.

Now, hang on there. Portland has to be PDX, otherwise east-coasters just assume you’re talking about Maine.

People assume other people talk about Maine?

People assume other people talk about Maine?

Ah-yup.

Even “Why Why Zee” is better than Tee Dot. Locals call it Chrawna, all other canucks call it “LEAFS SUCK!!!”.

Even “Why Why Zee” is better than Tee Dot. Locals call it Chrawna, all other canucks call it “LEAFS SUCK!!!”.

Something just for you, Dragon-King.

Also, since I work at an airport this thought has occurred to me. Gates had just flown in from China. Anyone that has spent that much time dealing with the airlines is bound to be rather cranky.

Yeah, were he a white guy, Crowley would’ve made a joke, said “Take it easy, gramps” and left.

Too bad Gates didn’t have an admiral Akbar (Blackbar? I just love picturing a lobster-faced dude with a ‘fro) voice yelling “It’s a trap!” when he was asked to step out of the house.

My biggest question concerns the neighbor who called the cops. Doesn’t she know her neighbors? It’s not like Prof. Gates isn’t a prominent figure. Did she just want to hassle him because he has the temerity to live in Cambridge while black?

Thank you DMM. I’ve actually been telling that very joke for years, but that’s allowed because I’m a Chrawn-toe-neen. Them Londoners are phaggortz who oughta shut their holes.

Whatever them Londoners are, that store is fabulous. I get all my goalie gear shipped in from there, because they actually know how their stuff will fit on chicks, and can tell me which brands will have big scary gaps in coverage when a women tries to use them.

My biggest question concerns the neighbor who called the cops. Doesn’t she know her neighbors? It’s not like Prof. Gates isn’t a prominent figure. Did she just want to hassle him because he has the temerity to live in Cambridge while black?

I ride my bike throughout my neighborhood regularly. I am often in areas where I do not know any of the people who live there. If I saw two guys trying to shoulder their way through a front door I would probably call the police. You don’t really want to discourage people from reporting suspicious behavior. Besides, whatever the motivation for the call, it is (or at least should be) the job of the police to assess and handle it in a professional manner. It does not help the police to do their job if their own actions discourage people from calling in suspicious behavior.

I get all my goalie gear shipped in from there

Now that is awesome! It goes without saying that you are awesome.

Does anybody make maternity goalie equipment?

I’ve a couple friends from London, Ontario. The most damning thing about their hometown is how they treat it – not like some cherished place or some place that they are glad to be out of. They got no fond memories, no bad memories, no nothing for the place.

Even for Canada, London is bland.

BBBB, I read that the neighbor was not a home neighbor, but an office neighbor, i.e. she just works nearby.

SL, I agree with you- I was under the impression (quite possibly false) that the next-door neighbor dropped the dime.

I ride my bike throughout my neighborhood regularly. I am often in areas where I do not know any of the people who live there. If I saw two guys trying to shoulder their way through a front door I would probably call the police.

I sort of see your point, but the street Prof. Gates apparently lives on is only a block long. There aren’t really a lot of neighbors to know.

Does anybody make maternity goalie equipment?

Nah, teams will never go for the pregnant goalie, because of the constant threat of bench minors.

Seriously Jodi, get outta there and go back to doing Lesbian Yogurt commercials.

Wrnog threedle. Hockey, this is the hockey thread. Lesbian yogurt goes with the chimps.

I was carded at Best Buy for a Death Cab for Cutie CD back in 2005 or 2006.

You’re in the database now. Comes the revolution, DCfC fans will be the first ones rounded up.

On a more serious note, I was talking about this one with some friends of mine, when the subject of my “civil rights” oration came up. It’s a fairly famous tale in our circle. Long story made short: cop asks for my ID outside a bar where I’m leaning against my buddy’s car waiting for them to pay up inside. I get irate and start telling him we don’t live in Nazi goddamn Germany and I don’t have to show him my identity papers, and so on. My horrified friends walked out of the bar and found me standing on the hood of the car in front of a laughing crowd, in full-on speechifyin’ mode. They placated the cop, got me down off the hood and drove me home.

As the reminiscence wound down, one of my friends said “you know, the only reason that story ended up having a happy ending and the only reason it’s funny now is because you’re a white boy.” He had a point.

Lesbian yogurt goes with the chimps.

Words to live by. I guess.

Sequel to 300?

Oh dear God, no,

I’m less concerned about my thread mix-up as I am now entertaining thoughts about a hockey/lesbian yogurt mash-up. Rrrawr.

Isn’t it hockey season YET???

Go Everblades!

i got carded (by the self-checkout machine, mind you) at the grocery store for nyquil. yes, stop & shop decided no one under 18 can buy cough medicine even though there is no longer alcohol or psuedoephedrine in it.

WFT?

That’s all the knuckleheads have. Gates bawled out a police officer.

And Brad said Obama X didn’t give the press anything. It was an anvil.

I’m still kind of amazed, in a not surprised way, that “Butthurt Cop Trumps Uppity Black Man” was such an important narrative to the Corporate Crackers that a member of the White House Press Corp (fer cryin’ out loud) would feel emboldened to ask about it at a Health Care press conference.

I hope they still go with it. Sounds like Rush is already.

SF police are assholes.
That’s not really true; with a few notable exceptions, the SFPD is, on the average, much more reasonable & professional than most other police departments.

“the SFPD is, on the average, … reasonable”

That wasn’t my experience back in the ’80s when I lived down there, particularly the motorcycle cops. If that has changed that’s great but back in my day, young feller, they were assholes and proud of it.

Course, back in OneMan’s day, tweren’t often you’d see an officer on any kind of horseless, self-propelled velocipede. No, in them days, what you’d generally get was cops ridin’ along on souped-up stallions, and any one of them po-lice driving them “motorised bicycles” would be the target of sneers and derision and such, which was why they were always in such a snit.

I think it would be hard to make a convincing argument that Gates wasn’t acting racist during the event. His own version of events shows his bias. Cops abusing their power are complete fuckwads. Gates is just a racist fuckwad.

http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks

I can’t believe that an individual policeman on the Cambridge police force would treat any African-American male this way, and I am astonished that this happened to me; and more importantly I’m astonished that it could happen to any citizen of the United States, no matter what their race.

…

I can’t believe that an individual policeman on the Cambridge police force would treat any African-American male this way, and I am astonished that this happened to me; and more importantly I’m astonished that it could happen to any citizen of the United States, no matter what their race.

The cop may also be a racist fuckwad but I’d like to wait for some evidence that he is before accusing him of it, instead of just being another authoritarian pig fuckwad.

For some reason i posted the same quote twice, the other should have been,

Now it’s clear that he had a narrative in his head: A black man was inside someone’s house, probably a white person’s house, and this black man had broken and entered, and this black man was me.

Gates is racist for bringing up racism, tincture?

That your defense of arresting the already identified owner on his porch for NO fucking reason at all except “he brought up racism”?

First, he didn’t bring just bring up racism, he automatically assumed the cop was racist because he was a white cop. No different than a white person assuming all black people who are not poor made their money defrauding welfare.
Secondly, where the fuck did I make any sort of defence of the cop or the arrest? Try reading what i wrote instead of just what you’re reading into it and you’ll see I said I think it’s likely he’s just another authoritarian pig fuckwad who was abusing his power.

gg w/ the kneejerk.
PENIS!

Tincture, the cop refused to accept Gates’ ID. and then refused to ID himself. That isn’t Gates jumping to conclusions. Why is the cop refusing that information from the now identified homeowner? Why is the cop treating him like a criminal still? Gates has done all that is required and the cop is still acting like he is on a robbery call. Why is that? Why?

Tincture, you’re really great at noticing what Gates wrote after the incident and completely ignoring the actions of the cop during that time.

The cop refused to identify himself. That puts him in the wrong right there. He fucked up. Stop using Gates opinions to deflect from the cop’s actions.

Dragon-King Wangchuck said, “But you know what? I’m feeling generous – let’s assume that the wingnuts are correct and this has absolutely nothing to do with race. Let’s remove skin colour from the equation.”

I was thinking exactly this. EVEN IF racism had nothing to do with it, since when is it OK to arrest someone for yelling or swearing? Y’all heard about that (white) teenage girl who got arrested for swearing while calling 911 after her father collapsed? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj91eeoFOBk

It seems there are a lot of cops out there “acting stupidly”. Being rude or foul-mouthed should not be an arrestable offense.

What exactly is it about, “I think it’s likely he’s just another authoritarian pig fuckwad who was abusing his power.” that is excusing his actions?

He says ‘Can you prove that you’re a Harvard professor?’ I said yes, I turned and closed the front door to the kitchen where I’d left my wallet, and I got out my Harvard ID and my Massachusetts driver’s license which includes my address and I handed them to him. And he’s sitting there looking at them.

Refused to accept Gates’ ID?

I lol at you pretending that reading Gates’ version of events is a bad thing when I don’t think you’ve read it at all. Gates states that he gave the cop his ID and that it was while the cop was looking at it but before he asked for the cop’s that he thought, Now it’s clear that he had a narrative in his head: A black man was inside someone’s house, probably a white person’s house, and this black man had broken and entered, and this black man was me.

Let’s break it into point form.

Police get call about possible break in.
Cop turns up at place.
Cop finds man inside, says he’s there investigating a call about a possible. break-in.
Gates says it is his house.
Cop asks for ID.
Gates supplies ID.
Cop looks at it.

Yeah, you’re right. The cop is obviously a flaming racist.

into the killfile for tincture

Cop asks for ID.
Gates supplies ID.
Cop looks at it.

Yeah, you’re right. The cop is obviously a flaming racist.

=========
Very informative step you left out there, Sparky.

Cop with deadly weapons then ignores the fact the man he is harassing is the homeowner and a professor and continues to treat him like a criminal, eventually arresting him for “bringing up racism”.

A great deal of this could have been avoided; of course, if police officers were required to use voice recorders the entire time they were on duty. The technology has been around for at least a decade.

What gets me is this never-ending parade of cops assuring us that Gates was out of line (then why were the charges dropped so quickly?) and Crowley was perfectly justified. All I can tell you is I’ve encountered one fuck of a lot more lying cops than lying college professors in my lifetime. Cops lying to protect each other is so commonplace and expected that it’s become a stereotype.

Did Gates behave like an asshole too? It’s entirely possible, but (a) last time I checked, you were allowed to behave like an asshole in your own home as long as you weren’t breaking any laws, and (b) Gates was punished for being an asshole by getting arrested and thrown in jail. When does Crowley – who was even more of an asshole than Gates – get HIS punishment?

Instead, he gets invited to the White House to have a beer with Obama and Gates. Gates is definitely a better man than I am – there’s no way I’d socialize with a lowlife piece of shit like Crowley. The fact that he’s apparently some sort of pig expert on racial profiling explains a lot about why so many cops have been so slow to catch onto the concept.

Very informative step you left out there, Sparky.

Cop with deadly weapons then ignores the fact the man he is harassing is the homeowner and a professor and continues to treat him like a criminal, eventually arresting him for “bringing up racism”.

Missed something out? lol? I only listed the things that happened up to the point where Gates decided the cop was racist. Reading comp is obviously not your strong point. Then again maybe you just prefer your version of events to Gates’.

We both immediately got out our IDs. She got a 5% tip.

I would have given her 30% at least for having a sense of humor…

Gates should have said “yessuh massa, I’s be gettin’ you that there ID thingy right now massa, I sure nough is, yass-suh! I’s sure nough sorry I’s being black in mah own house, yeassuh!”

AFAIK a shorter should be the opposite of what the original was saying.

Ya

i have expereiced a lot of racism from blacks and other minorites that
work in retail and serivce industry. They willl purposely try to ignore you or give you misinformation. A friend of mine told me that this is common thing most minorites get together and do purposely. I implore all white people to only deal with other whites when possible. Also be WARE of
minority plice officers they tend to harrass whites and let others go. If you enter a store and there are only minority employess please go to another store. I am only discussing the non viloent racism I have expereinced on here although I do have many experienceswhere blacks and other monorites have threatend and incited violence on many occasions. PLEASE BE_WARE Blcak on white violence is a growing trend and it is not covered by the media please be aware.

Ed White is of course a stupid asshole.