extreme Catholic 

 
Harvard Professor Gates Arrested: Boston Globe

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling.

This is what happens when the arrogance of power, and the expectation of deference that comes with holding authority over others collide in two people. Pride is often not pretty. This is "Don't you know who I am?" meets "I have a badge, a gun, and more credibility in front of a judge and jury than you do." Like many of the replies here I fault both, but in the end I have to take Gates' side. The police officer is supposed to be the professional, the one who is paid to confront both the innocent and the guilty, and the one who is supposed to be able to walk away when there's no crime, no emergency, and no role for the police.

Labels: politics

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:17 PM   Permalink  

 

Frank McCourt dead at 78

I learned of Ireland from my mother (Monaghan) and father (Sligo), and read the histories of Ireland. I never really understood what the experience of all those 20th century immigrants from Ireland to the U.S. was until I read Frank McCourt, and later his brother Malachy McCourt. From what they wrote it began to make sense in my head: God's providence had given the English, and later the Americans, an empire. God has loved the Irish in a different way and given them the sense of humor to appreciate that.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:06 PM   Permalink