Did the Cambridgfe Mass. police act stupidly in arresting Harvard Professor

[westkoast]

Hey, every family has the uncle with the crazy sense of humor who gets away with everything.

LOL!  True but JoMal went way over the line with this one.  We have had email discussions about personal things regarding his family.  I would NEVER EVER even utter a negative word about anything we talked about, pissed at him or not.

I have a neice that means the world to me. That is why I took offense to what he said.  I look at her as a daughter and while I don't have one of my own, his words were out of line.

Now you're confusing him with the crazy uncle with no sense of humor.

Had there been some humor in there, like maybe, 'Koast what if some guy broke into your house and raped you like Shaq did Danny Ferry' then maybe I'd agree.  I am all for getting made fun of.

Now that would be scary. 

Duh Ted, I have not even gone through puberty yet, how could I have kids!  I thought you knew I was 11.

Where did you read that? All I've heard is that it was a cordial discussion but that no one apologized. That was made very clear.

After looking at another news source I saw the 'no one apologized' part so that was my bad.  My comment was based on seeing this from a website

"At this point, I am hopeful that we can all move on, and that this experience will prove an occasion for education, not recrimination. I know that Sergeant Crowley shares this goal. Both of us are eager to go back to work tomorrow."

I took that as they both came to an agreement that they both admitted they could learn something about how they each handled the situation.

[Ted]

Agreed Rick. I think the one article that got it very close to right is the one that said Gates wasn't arrested for disorderly conduct, rather for contempt of cop. You disrespect a cop in front of his colleagues or too many other citizens, they're going to cuff you. Can't say I blame them completely, but a bigger man, a more self-secure man would walk away.

If Crowley just walks away and says "Sir, now that we have ascertained there was no burglary attempt on this premises, we will leave you in peace. You have yourself a very nice day . . . Yes, sir, my mother is a very nice woman and she would provide you very pleasant conversation on your porch . . . Okay sir, thank you sir. You have a nice day. Goodbye."

[Reality]

I think it is wrong that JoMal's comments are being swept under the rug.

Hey, every family has the uncle with the crazy sense of humor who gets away with everything.

What he said was very uncalled for, unwarranted, and just placed him on Reality's level as far as I am concerned.

Now you're confusing him with the crazy uncle with no sense of humor.

Ted, Jomal and even LFD (gasp) have definitely been on my level on this thread, westkoast.

[WayOutWest]

I really tried hard to take this seriously, but it's just too funny.

Classic armchair quarterback response. A guy who is either too lazy, too stupid, or too ambivalent to put for ANY EFFORT AT ALL is castigating those who did.

P.S. I'm not kidding.
 

Castigating takes effort you rube!

For some reason you guys are off your game on this one, stepping into this argument would be like stepping into a game of basketball with my 8 year old.

[Ted]

Castigating takes effort you rube!

For some reason you guys are off your game on this one, stepping into this argument would be like stepping into a game of basketball with my 8 year old.

Holy cow, you just busted me with some serious dissing from the Roaring 20's.

[rickortreat]

TED! That was GREAT!

[Reality]

^^ concur 
Mr. Burns:

You! Fill her up with petroleum distillate...and revulcanize my tires....POST HASTE!

put on your Raccoon coat and get ready to Charleston.  23 Skidoo and cat's meow, vo vo dee oh doe and oh you kid! ...

im sure the manual will indicate which lever is the velocitator and which the deceleratrix

"Ooh don't poo-poo a nickel, Lisa. A nickel will buy you a steak and kidney pie, a cup of coffee, a slice of cheesecake and a newsreel. With enough change left over to ride the trolley from Battery Park to the Polo Grounds."

[WayOutWest]

Castigating takes effort you rube!

For some reason you guys are off your game on this one, stepping into this argument would be like stepping into a game of basketball with my 8 year old.

Holy cow, you just busted me with some serious dissing from the Roaring 20's.

I was shooting for Mid-Evil, I guess I should have consulted with JoldMal.

[JoMal]

You guys debate like teenage girls.  In fact my teenage girl would run circles around all of you in a debate/discussion!    I could argue either side of this debate and beat any of you into the ground.  I'm really disappointed in the effort put forth by all of you! 

P.S. I'm not kidding.

If you have to tell us you are not kidding, me thinks your daughter should give it a try instead.

How come people have to somehow convince us they can do something better by saying they can instead of actually, you know, stepping up in the first place.

[JoMal]

[A) No one was actually there to say WHAT REALLY HAPPEND

I kept on thinking about this comment until the absurdity of it finally came to me.

Oh so Dan or I were there?  People on this message board were there to know what went down?  Cuz that is what I was reffering to.  Did you take some classes with Reality on spinning peoples quotes and not bringing in the whole paragraph that was said?  Because CLEARLY I was speaking to Dan that the 'debate' around here can't really be one much farther than us giving our opinions on what WE thought happened since 'no one was there to really say what happened'

As far as absurd, is that like an old man so upset ON A MESSAGE BOARD that he had to take a shot at someones children or how they view children?  Even tho I don't have any, it doesn't matter because you thought I did and made an asinine comment. 

From Ted:

It's okay Koast. I know you're never backing off your position. I can respect the fact that you want to hold your ground in this debate. But I can't respect how you're trying to do it, and I think that is what bugs Dan, JoMal, and me. You twist every fact to fit your argument. You back off your own statements when they don't suit you, and you pick up new facts when the others have failed you. Now, it seems, no Cambridge/Boston cop (African-American or otherwise) can be trusted to be true and honest about this situation.

Read what Ted had to say verrrry slowly and with comprehension this time. What I pointed out in your original quote above is an absurd statement and you should have simply stated. "Okay, I see the point, what I should have stated was that - No one ELSE was actually there to say WHAT REALLY HAPPENED"

Now, this is a simple little debate, actually and valid points can be made on both sides, though not as clearly eloquently as WOW would make, apparently, if he had the balls his daughter has to step up and say something about it. But for you to go off on this as if you were right in the first place and you clearly did not state what you meant, means you have lost the integrity of your arguement and it is going to be pretty hard for you to regain it without stepping back now.

As for somehow disparaging your fictitious and/or future daughter, tell her I am hardily sorry that her dad is a doofus, but I will stand by my original analogy for what it was intended to be. Something you apparently will never see and I truly hope never have to face, because any policeman who shows up at your door to make sure your house is secure, including YOU, will be faced with the same choice that Cambridge cop had to make.

[WayOutWest]

How come people have to somehow convince us they can do something better by saying they can instead of actually, you know, stepping up in the first place.

Because it's much easier, something I learned from that dirt bag Ronald Reagan and his Star Wars program.

That fact that either side can be argued tells you it's not a winable debate.  Unless the Prof confesses that he was being "up-ity" or the cops confess to over reacting this is a no-win, or no-lose, discussion.  The fact remains that both sides of this debate have been poorly represented in this thread.

[WayOutWest]

Something you apparently will never see and I truly hope never have to face, because any policeman who shows up at your door to make sure your house is secure, including YOU, will be faced with the same choice that Cambridge cop had to make.

FYI WK, the cop keeping you safe ONLY applies if you're rich or live in a great neighborhood, being white also helps tremendously.  So stop wasting time on this board and make some money, you're going to need it if you want to keep your daughters safe from rapists!