Another reason Crowley should not go

How can Officer Crowley walk into the lion’s den for a beer on Thursday night, given that (a) the Cambridge and area police unions called on Obama to apologize for his “stupidly” remark; and (b) Obama, in his famous “retraction,” after stating that he had had no intention to malign Crowley and thought he was an “outstanding officer and a good man,” repeated his point that Crowley had overreacted, and that this behavior was part of the larger problem of racism. Obama also said that he could have “calibrated” the remark differently. Thus the words were slightly recalibrated, while Obama’s substantive position remained the same: Crowley’s conduct toward Gates was representative of the white racism that keeps down blacks. Now, did the police unions take Obama’s phony second statement as the apology they were seeking? They certainly should not have. And since Crowley was in support of the union’s statement that was made on his behalf, for him to accept the invitation is to act as though Obama has apologized when he has not.

Here again is the statement by the Cambridge police last week in response to Obama’s “stupidly” remark:

The Cambridge and area police unions voiced their support Friday for Sgt. James Crowley and demanded an apology from President Obama for saying officers “acted stupidly” for arresting black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home.

“His remarks were obviously misdirected but made it worse yet by suggesting somehow this case should remind us of a history of racial abuse by law enforcement,” Dennis O’Connor, president of the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association, said at a news conference.

“Whatever may be the history, we deeply resent the implications and reject any suggestion that in this case or any other case that they’ve allowed a person’s race to direct their activities. However we hope they will reflect upon their past comments and apologize to the men and women of the Cambridge Police Department.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 29, 2009 12:13 AM | Send