Thin-skilled, as in easily provoked to misunderstanding.
African-American university scholar versus Anglo-American police sergeant in a tense confrontation.
Result: Black professor gets busted for disorderly conduct after demanding the officer’s name and badge number.
Seems neighbors had called police when Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates forced his way through a jammed front door to his residence.
Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge, Mass. Police Dept. responded and confronted Gates, who produced proof he was the homeowner.
End of story? Nope. A verbal row ensued, culminating in Gates’ arrest amid accusations of racial profiling.
Gates was cuffed, booked, fingerprinted, photographed and jailed until prosecutors eventually dropped the charges.
Hey, this isn’t about race. It’s about overly aggressive police officers who can’t accept fair comment and criticism about their official behavior. (26 JULY 2009)
