It's not race or rights, it's race and rights.

[enough]

Henry Louis Gate's constitutional rights were abused. They were abused because he is black. Had he been white, the entire situation would have played out differently. The officer acted not only stupidly, but no doubt unconstitutionally and illegally. And race was at the bottom of that.

I don't think the issue of racism is in doubt.

But we also have to discuss the question of whether the citizenry of the United States understands its rights with regard to police power. As long as the entire discussion about this event focuses on the question of racism (was the officer racist or not), the other question remains untouched. Did this officer act correctly while in the line of duty in the home of a citizen? No, he did not. That's why the charges were dropped. That's why the great flurry of "victimization" of the officer was put into play by the police union et al. That's why Rush Limbaugh is talking again about the angry black man. It's all a smokescreen to focus on racism and obscure the almost invisible issue of citizen's rights.

In this case, Barack Obama, acting with the best of intentions, played into the hands of the obfuscaters. I understand and admire his motives in defusing the situation of escalating racial tensions over the incident. He probably did the right thing. But the worst outcome of this situation would be that everyone focuses on the question of whether the officer was racist and forgets the question of whether the officer was acting within the constitution or not. In my opinion, he wasn't.

Do you think most Americans understand what it was that this officer did that was wrong, aside from the fact that the citizen in question was black?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. Until I hear the whole story,

I'm not convinced it's a matter of race.

That places me in the decided minority here at DU, but good sense demands that I know what went on before I can draw any conclusions.

It might have been a matter of men handling things badly.

So, I'll just wait and see....................