Subscribe to my Feed
« Don’t ask your employees to work for free | Home | London economists apologized to the Queen »
Please, Sergeant Crowley, apologize to Professor Gates!
By Lauren | July 24, 2009
Today’s MSNBC.com headline says it all: “Gates’ case dropped, blame debate goes on.” By now, everyone knows that the Cambridge, Massachusetts police arrested renowned black scholar and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for disorderly conduct earlier this week. Reportedly, the police arrived at Gates’ house when a neighbor called to report a possible break-in at Gates’ house by two black men. When Police Sergeant James Crowley, a white man, arrived at the house, he encountered Gates at his front door and asked to see identification to confirm that Gates was, in fact, the homeowner. While Gates and Crowley disagree about who said what next, it’s clear that Gates believed he was being harrassed based on his race. Crowley denies any racist intent and says that he followed appropriate police procedure in arresting Gates when he allegedly became disorderly.
The charges against Gates were dropped a few days later and Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons has apologized to him on the town’s behalf. However, Crowley has publicly refused to apologize. CNN quotes Crowley as saying, “I know what I did was right. I have nothing to apologize for.” Police Commissioner Robert Haas is standing behind his officer, saying that the police department plans to assemble a review panel of “independent, notable professionals” to analyze the incident. Meanwhile, President Obama has weighed in, his critics have fired back, the political lines are being drawn, and we’re about to enter into yet another nasty public spectacle.
Is all of this really necessary?
It’s understandable that Sgt. Crowley feels defensive. Being accused of racism is no fun, and Crowley clearly thinks he did nothing wrong. That doesn’t mean, however, that he couldn’t have done things better. Most of us would probably react badly if the police showed up demanding proof of our right to be in our own homes. Maybe Crowley could have prevented the ensuing scene if he’d responded a bit more respectfully when Gates first became upset.
There may be blame on both sides, though the fact that the charges against Professor Gates were dropped tends to weigh in his favor. But even if each man owes the other an apology, one of them needs to go first. Crowley may have followed police procedure to the letter, but he offended and embarrassed a prominent citizen in the process, and no amount of self-righteous stonewalling will change that. So please, Sgt. Crowley, take the first step and apologize - a lot of us will respect you that much more. It takes a brave man to admit to being human.
Topics: Apologies, Business Ethics, Social Ethics, business communications, ethics |
July 27th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Actually if Prof. Gates is supposed to be such an educated man why doesn’t he apologize to Crowley?
So you are saying that Gates is not the ‘bigger man’?
July 27th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Hi Isiah,
Welcome to my blog! And no, I never intended to imply that Professor Gates is not the “bigger man.” Quite the contrary - according to news reports, Gates has said he’s quite willing to forgive and forget if Sgt. Crowley admits to his part in what happened. By contrast, Crowley has publicly refused to apologize, so even if Gates apologized for whatever he could have done better, it doesn’t look like Crowley is willing to apologize in turn. That’s a shame, because it’ll keep this story alive and generating bad feeling a lot longer than necessary.
Lauren
July 28th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Lauren,
I understand your desire to see some sort of reconciliation here between Gates and Crowley, however, I do not echo your solution. The issue at stake here is not abuse or misuse of power. Even further, the race card was played by Gates when he accused Crowley of profiling. I find it quite humorous that Sgt Crowley is accused of the very thing he is an expert at, for he has trained other officers at the Lowell Police Academy for five years on how to prevent racial profiling. Keep in mind, he was appointed by Academy Director Thomas Flemming; he was black.
Therefore, this leads me to wonder what “[Crowley's] part” that he must admit to? The entire department he works for supports him, including the black, female peace offices. The president has taken back his comments because he admits they were premature and without all the facts. As more and more evidence is presented in this case, I think the charges were dropped for Mr. Gates because the arrest became high profile, not because of the merit of the professor.
Ultimately, I believe Gates was arrested because he was offended that a white cop was at his house investigating him. So, when Mr. Gates accused Crowley of racial profiling and refused to the proper provide evidence of his residence (School IDs do not have addresses), he was arrested because he insulted Crowley.
I am not white, so I can speak freely about this issue because no one ever accuses me of racism. It is a double standard that is ridiculous. I am not racist, but somehow I feel that my white friends are not as free as I am when it comes to this issue. Race was not the reason why Gates was arrested, so profiling shouldn’t have even been involved in the discussion. The fact that those without facts even bring up race tells me they come to this discussion already looking to play the race card. This is reverse racism and is just as ugly and wrong as the historical racism against blacks.
July 29th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Dear Rusty,
Thank you for your very thoughtful comments - I’m delighted to welcome you to my blog. I think it will be a while before we learn what really happened, and maybe we never will. Depending on what we find out, my position on this may change. For now, however, I still wish Sgt. Crowley had taken the first step toward reconciliation.
I have no doubt that Sgt. Crowley followed departmental procedure during his discussion with Professor Gates and, unfortunately, don’t doubt that Gates could have been more gracious when asked for his identification. I also suspect that Crowley may have been offended by Gates’ prickliness, and gotten his own back up in response. This strikes me as one of those situations where a simple misunderstanding escalated into a really unfortunate scene. If either Crowley or Gates had taken a step back and apologized, the whole mess might have been avoided.
So, why do I wish Sgt. Crowley had apologized first? Because I don’t think the two men were really on a level playing field. Gates was a private citizen, while Crowley had the authority of the police department behind him. In a situation where both people arguably could have behaved better, I think it’s good practice for the person with greater authority to make the first apology because it demonstrates that he or she recognizes the importance of wielding authority with discretion. (That presumes, of course, that the other person will reciprocate, and I hope that Gates would have done so.)
What saddens me most about this situation is that it’s provided a not-very-stable platform for a lot of angry fingerpointing about racism in America. It’s hard to imagine a more sensitive topic, and I think we make better progress in addressing racism if we could do so in a less emotionally heated context. Maybe things will calm down after Sgt. Crowley and Professor Gates get together with President Obama for a beer.
Lauren
August 12th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
I’m curious now that ample time has passed if you still retain your position on this matter. “I still wish Sgt. Crowley had taken the first step toward reconciliation.”
In regards to subject matter of racism in America, I would like you consider a different reason for the intensity of “angry fingerpointing.” My generation (I am 26), is the first generation in which there has not be a systematic oppression of a single people group. That is to say, my generation has only second-hand experiences in racism. Sure, there are little pockets of racism still in existence perpetrated by fringe citizens but racism although, not dead, is in it’s death throes.
Simply put, I believe that white people are tired of white guilt. They don’t want to be held responsible for what their parents or grandparents did to people they never met. I don’t blame them. I would feel offended if someone blamed me the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the atrocities committed by the Japanese army.
Once again, I am not saying racism is dead, but it certainly should not be thrown around as a reason for division so easily. The very fact that we have a concept of “The Race Card” should tell us that it has been abused. When we come to terms with the reality that those who hold to historical racism today teach my generation and the generations after me how to use it to their advantage. They do a far worse thing for the progression to a colorblind society.
August 18th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Crowley injected stereotyping into his police report. Just because Crowley teaches how not to racially profile, does not absolve him for being a racist. By Crowley being an expert; means Crowley also knows how to disguise his racism. The 911 caller account is credible and seriously contradict Crowley’s report. Are you to blind to see?