Racism, Cops, and Americans

Coverage of the Henry Louis Gates incident morphed, within mere days, from general statements about the situation that unfolded between Gates and Officer Crowley, to asinine commentary about what beers were or were not chosen for the meeting at the White House. I'd say it's unbelievable, but... this is America, and apparently anything is fair game.

While President Obama tried to turn the incident into something that people could understand a little easier than soundbites or tidbits of a police report, it seems that the public quickly made up its mind about what happened. Half of the country jumped on Obama for saying that the police "acted stupidly", while the other half cried "Racism!". The most telling part of this whole scenario is that while race might have played a part in what happened on Professor Gates's doorstep, nobody really bothered to think about what they might have done, or for that matter, what actually happened.

Let's be clear: Once it was determined that Mr. Gates lived in the house, it was the officer's duty to either ensure that Gates safely got into the house, or turn around and walk away. Instead, the scene escalated, and before long, Gates was (allegedly) yelling about Officer Crowley's mama, and Crowley was helping to handcuff the professor. Furthermore, I think both parties share an equal amount of responsibility (blame?) for what happened. The police officer showed up with vague information from a 911 call made by a cautious passerby. The professor stoked the situation by being belligerent. Interesting sidenote: the police report adds a few details that the 911 caller considers inaccurate.

The furor that engulfed the country immediately following the events in Cambridge boggled my mind. People seemed to be much more interested in talking and gauging the reaction of a new president than with considering the facts and their own feelings on the matter. Dialogue is difficult when everyone is talking, and understanding is impossible. Little by little, America seemed to revert to decades past when it talked about the Gates incident.

For me, the bottom line is that America has managed to convince itself that racism is a thing of the past, while reality rears its ugly head in the form of national headlines every 6-12 months. When we have cops telling people that the responsibility for not getting shot lies on the shoulders of those being confronted by police, it becomes clear that the country is still ankle-deep in the muck. Both Gates and Crowley were stubborn and impulsive during their altercation, but the national "dialogue" that followed is what really made the incident shameful.

The Nation Will Keep Moving, With Or Without You.

For some reason (I think I might have heard John Mayer's "Waiting On The World To Change" on the radio), I've been thinking a lot lately about the "active youth" myth that gets tossed around during most presidential election years. As much as I would like to believe that the 18-24 voting bloc has as much power as pundits say we do, it's just not mathematically plausible.

Here we see how those in the 18-24 age group voted, but in Table 4c of the Census Bureau's 2008 election report, we see that the way this age group voted really doesn't matter that much. Of 25.8 million voters in this youngest voting bloc, only 15 million (53%) are registered. To further clarify this issue, only 44.3% of this demographic even bothered to cast a vote for President of the United States in the 2008 election. Out of 6 voting demographics, the 18-24 group is the third smallest... and it managed to get out the smallest percentage of voters. Again.

It's sad that the people I heard complaining the most during the 8 years of President George W. Bush's administration couldn't manage to get out in greater numbers, especially when you consider that the 2008 election was hyped as the most important of our lifetimes. I lost count of the number of people who became fans of Barack Obama before the election. I wonder how many of them actually made it to the polls?

In any case, the 18-24 voting demographic makes me nervous. Sure, we get more responsible with age, but we're the ones that typically have the newest ideas and the most passion about getting things done. It's too bad that so many of us have fallen into the "things are too difficult to fix" crowd - that robs the nation of some of its brightest minds in their prime. Nothing ever got done working outside of an institution... even the Civil Rights Movement needed laws to get passed before it made real change. So all of you out there crying about how both parties are the same or how one politician or another is a fascist: get a grip and get involved. You're not doing anyone any favors by sitting outside the circle and whining.

I hear you thinking "Stop complaining! The Democrats obliterated the Republicans in the 2008 election! Drop it already!" And you're right - the Democrats did win handily. That still doesn't excuse those who refused to offer an opinion but complain afterwards. The "active youth" myth is just that; a story made up by young adults, for young adults, in order to rationalize a bizarre lack of action in a society that is literally constructed to allow input from everyone. I'll end this post with an excerpt from a great column by David Sedaris about non-voters:

"To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”
To be undecided in [any] election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked."