Get over it...

A prominent Harvard professor was arrested for disorderly conduct this week. Apparently he was returning from an overseas trip and could not get his key to work in his door. His vigilant neighbors called the police to report what they thought was a break in in progress. A police officer responded in a a timely manner. The professor became angry that a police officer was at his house. He had no idea that his neighbors had called the police. Words were exchanged between the officer and the professor. The exchange grew heated, and the professor was taken to jail for disorderly conduct. This happened in Cambridge Mass earlier this week. What I have neglected to mention is that the officer is white, and the professor is black. As this week draws to a close the incident has made national headlines, drawn an apology from the mayor or Cambridge, and a comment by our president. The president of the United States commented on the actions of a police officer in Cambridge Mass. I cant figure out what qualifies the president to comment on an incident that he has zero first hand knowledge of.

The professor immediately went to the press complaining that he was the victim of a racist police officer who was profiling. The police officer spoke to the press this week saying that he regretted the incident escalated to the level that it did. He further stated that the professor was combative from the very beginning. I can speculate that Mr. Gates (the professor) has probably had run ins with law enforcement in the past. I can also speculate that the police officer has had run ins with black men during his tenure as a law enforcement officer in Cambridge Mass. So now we are looking at the possibility of both parties having a chip on their shoulder. I may be way off base, but I think that is a reasonable theory.

If I look back at our countries history I can understand how the professor would be angry and defensive when a white police officer showed up at his house. And, I can understand the frustration of the officer when confronted with a combative black person in the early morning hours. Could the situation have been handled differently by both parties? Probably...But I was not there so I dont feel like I can make that call. I dont recall seeing that President Obama was there either. So my question is why is it any of his business?

Racisim has been a problem in the past no doubt. Great strides have been made, but it continues to be a problem. I think one of the biggest problems faced by society as a whole is that nobody wants to get over it. I cant imagine the pain suffered by previous generations...it must be intense. Mr. Gates, being a part of those previous generations, must have a great deal of fear based anger when confronted by a white police officer. The police officer must have a great deal of fear based anger when confronting a black man in the early morning hours. Look at that dynamic carefully though. That is not one sided profiling.

The problem of racism is not one sided. Stereotypes are perpetuated by people on both sides of the issue. Ths will continue to be a problem as long we ,as a society, continue to see color. It will also continue to be a problem if we keep looking to the atrocities of the past. GET OVER IT! Dwelling on the atrocities of our past dishonors the memories of the leaders that have sacrificed so much to get us to where we are today. Automatically assuming that an incident is racially motivated is a huge part of the problem. Change will never happen as long as those attitudes prevail. I hate to quote Rodney King but he really said it best..."Cant we all just get along?". The answer is yes. We can all just get along. It may take redefining our comfort zones. It may take shedding some misguided notions. It may even take letting go of long held beliefs based on negative experience. In short it takes GETTING OVER IT.