Obama, Stay Out of This One.

OK, I'll admit it. I am a person of color, an African-American, a Black man. I don't know if that affords me a certain cache on this issue, or if it will make anyone take my opinion seriously. But there it is and it's out there.

RE: Cambridge, MA July 16, 2009 Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
TO: President Barack Obama

Dear Mr. President,

We all know Mr. Gates, Jr. is your buddy, but please shut the hell up. I think it is high time to acknowledge you are better with a teleprompter than you are as an extemporaneous speaker. Don't feel bad, the last president had the same problem. But you are a LAWYER. You were a senator and a state legislator. You were elected to lead ALL the people of this great nation, not just minorities, not just people who agree with you, not just your buddies - EVERYONE.

Let me run it down for you in this fashion. Did you seriously think it was the best thing in the world to call police officers, even just a select few "stupid"? To say that "the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home" shows how little the public, even the president, know about police tactics and officer safety. Is he aware how many times officers receive a Burglary In Progress or Hot Prowl call, only to find the ex-husband or ex-wife lurking around the house. And of course their identification says they live there when they were just ordered out by a restraining order two months ago. It doesn't mean they aren't breaking the law. It doesn't mean we don't check the house for any other suspicious activity or possible intruders about which the homeowner is unaware. Our safety and that of the people we serve is paramount.


President Obama repeatedly said he did not know all the facts of the case during the course of the July 22, 2009 news conference. (Best Matlock-style Southern drawl here) Well, your Honor, I believe that dog don't hunt. The president has spoken out of school.

If you don't have anything nice to say, say NOTHING. Who wrote this speech for him, that ham-fisted Press Secretary Robert Gibbs? Hahaha. My goodness, Mr. President, you sure can pick 'em. You don't know the facts of the case, so guess what? I'll give you a free lesson. Your reply to questions on the issue could be, "Well, as you are probably all aware, Mr. Gates and I are old friends, good friends. I have spoken with him about the matter and offered him my support as a friend. I don't know what the outcome will be, but I know he is a decent, honorable and learned man, with the admiration of many students, scholars and friends. I also know that our police officers here and everywhere have a tough job to do. As citizens we need to offer them our support in their endeavors to keep the peace and help maintain the system of justice that gives us so much pride."

And leave it at that! When he opens up his mouth on this, he can't get some of those idiotic statements back. It's like herding cats; there is no way to organize this chaos.

Now, I know that race is a national and international issue. I LIVE WITH IT. I live with people looking at me, then looking at my kids, then doing a double-take. But there is much less of that than there was when I was a child. The world has changed and we have witnessed it. What we need to do is be honest about what we think, and yes, sometimes we have to watch what we say. But more than anything, we need to have an open dialogue about it. Do Blacks inherently have better rhythm? Are Asians and Indians somehow better engineers? Are Jewish people better with money? Or is it safe to say that we can all excel at whatever we put our minds, hearts and passions into, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity? Think about that, Mr. President.