A prominent law professor was arrested the other day. He is black, the cop is white. The story has captivated many in the nation because it is so rich with content. I will add my opinion now (everyone else is doing it).
If you have been living under a rock for the last month- Here are the details
This story is interesting to me because it appears to be a modern day recapitulation of race relations during the civil rights era. But there is something inherently positive about this event (I'll explain) if we seek to understand each party and not find fault.
Gimme a...
White cop: Hard nosed blue collar white guy from the Boston area. Probably honest, but sees the world in binary (good/bad), and uses cognitive shortcuts in order to be a successful cop.
Black professor: Well educated, a professor of law at a world class institution. Highly prestigious and intellectual, nevertheless protected from most of the bad in this country by the ivory tower.
Here is my take. Both are at fault. Could the professor have acted in a way so as not to be arrested? Yes. Should he have been arrested despite his behavior? No. This encounter seems to have triggered the worst in both of these respectable people, both pillars of society, and I'm speculating here, but what got both of them heated was the fear of what each one of them represents to the other. Once they reacted to each others role in society- KA-BOOM!!!- national news
I'm going to take some creative liberty, but here are the characters' motivations.
White guy
First the white guy. Maybe he comes from a blue collar background. Many times I have seen people and communities in lower socioeconomic status area tending to be more segregated, whites keep with whites, blacks with blacks, latinos with latinos and so on. I experienced this growing up in my hometown and later on in the working world. And so maybe the cop comes from a police family, a modest background and he is used to being around mostly white people, probably he is exposed to bigots within his own race. Its not an easy world, and people don't go into law enforcement for the money so life gets stressful sometimes. Add to that, in Cambridge lies Harvard, an institution of great wealth, elitism, and status. In the minds of many Harvard = wealth, status, and power, things most will never have, himself included. So maybe there is some resentment between a civil servant and this huge institution that excludes his kind, and moreover he is conservative and the ivy league school is criticized by conservatives for being liberal, privileged, and insulated - read- entitled.
Black guy
Now the black guy. He's a bit older. Maybe his parents saw it through the worst of the civil rights movement. He's old enough to probably even remember some of the injustices personally. In fact he's experienced a lot of injustice in his life because he's black. Despite the racism, he rose above it, he soldiered on because he was smart and persevered. He's a law professor so he deals in arguments. He is facile with words and logic, and in time he is embraced by an institution that is relatively free of institutional racism (ivy league school). Despite having "arrived" at the top of his profession as it were, the memory remains, the memory of the civil rights movement, especially the memory of the negative role law enforcement played during that time. So even as far has he has risen, and though he can function in an unbiased way professionally (part of the reason law attracted him in the first place) he is still human. He still has an unconscious mistrust for law enforcement.
Scene:
At the house, they are looking at one another. It must have been a strange encounter. Two people who never would have otherwise crossed paths in life forced to interact with each other on what would soon become a national stage.
Remember playing with magnets as a kid? Did you ever try to find that distance between them where the force of attraction increases exponentially and overwhelms them both and snaps them together. Thats what I think happened. There were on the brink and parting company, it was almost a non-event. Then something happened. Only those two know what happened. It could have been a look, or word, or an intonation, so much of communication is nonverbal, I wonder what triggered it. But when it did you had both people acting out their scripts. The man of letters and argument - using his "power" against him, words and status as a weapon. Lashing him verbally, full of memories of the bad white cops of the past. This triggered the cop, I work all this hard, I actually protect you, and this is the thanks I get, thats it I'm using my "power" against you - I'm arresting you.
End scene.
The media reports the story, and the flood gates are opened. Is there racism in America? Yes, of course. Ironically, probably not in this instance. I don't believe the learned professor was arrested because he was black, I believe he was arrested because his words rightly or wrongly injured the cop, and the cop retaliated.
I believe this event presents us with the a great opportunity to move race relations forward. Enter Obama. See, this is what I like about Obama, he's canny. I think by virtue of being biracial he's equipped to psychologically undertake both perspectives. Whatever identity struggles he went through as a biracial youth have paid massive dividends, he is a race relations C3PO, fluent in both black and white perspectives. He invites both guys to the White House to have a beer and bury the hatchet. Awesome! This is how problems should be solved, open and honest communication. Not endless lawsuits and arrests. What do you think the two guys could learn about each other? This "beer at the White House" should be the slogan for learning about our differences. I hope both sit down and honestly say what was in their hearts that day. It would take a lot of courage but it would help us all to know, and it would forward the country. This country is changing so rapidly that who knows where we'll be in 20 years, but if we jump on these opportunities to learn about each other on level ground, we make the world a better place for our children, which is the only population available for the future. The opportunity to set an example of forgiveness and understanding is right on the table, it could be an historical event. This incident, as incendiary at it seems on face value, could actually metamorphose into a blessing. I hope it does.
P.S. - you know what i've observed that is good for race relations? education and solid homes. i have observed that people of different races are more likely to be actual friends (that means call you up and hang out outside of school/work/locker room/etc) when both parties are more educated or have solid family structures, stable home, money, food etc... Not exactly a groundbreaking observation, but isn't it funny how our backgrounds sometimes give us away??
