Both Crowley and Gates are sociologically programmed to react in the ways they did.
Bluntly, James Crowley comes out of a Anglo-Saxon, Irish background which has an established background of being unwelcoming to people of color. Remember,the leaders of anti-busing in South Boston – just to note one item. Perhaps, because they came to this county as immigrants with the ability to speak English the Irish felt superior to other immigrants or people who were ” not their kind.” In addition, the Ameircan Catholic Church over nearly two hundred years had never been welcoming to Black. So, there was not much of any comming together in worship which would have ameliorated some racial tensions.
That being said, I don’t think Crowley is a racist. But I do think by culture and occupation he is wired to at least be more suspicious of Blacks and people of color even though it appears he has labored to counter that wiring.
On the other hand, Henry Gates brings with his Black heritage and history of two centuries of measurable police crimes against Blacks. Gates’s reaction was probably as instinctual as Crowley’s.
Not sure that his reaction was unwarranted but it may have been inappropriate.
However, just looking at Crowley’s scowl I would think that his non-verbal communication to Professor Gates within Gates home could be easily interpreted by Gates as a threating over reaction with the historical background of many African or Black Americans.
Is there a solution? Perhaps, and this is where President Obama should step in.
I believe the President should and will invite both Sgt. Crowley and Prof Gates to the White House where all three can sit down and attempt to resolve their personal confrontations.
This could be a ground breaking lesson is race relations where all parties are willing to an honest and blunt discussion of real or perceived race discrimination.
I’m not sure that giving any more personal presidential attention to this issue is in the President’s or the party’s political interests.
And it seems to be working out so far:
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p>http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…
If you think that starting off with this:
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p>is the way to bring sense and understanding to this “debate” – you are sadly misinformed. You don’t know anything about this man. He is young enough to have been a child or not even born during the busing turbulence, yet you want to pin that crap on him. Was his family in even in Southie? Probably not – he grew up in Cambridge. Another thing – his family may not be only be Anglo; it might be a pouporri of ethnicities. You’re making a judgement based solely on his last name. And the nonsense about the Catholics? Never been welcoming? It’s BS. My church shares its building with the Haitian community. My pastor was a missionary in Haiti. My church, Atticus, has taught the children and fed the poor, healed the sick and housed the homeless…regardless of color. Careful sugar – your bias and ignorance of the angel’s work this church has done is showing.
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p>This kind of heated rhetoric may help you stoke your “cred” in certain circles but it doesn’t wash with this Democrat. Sweeping generalities would be wrong about any ethnic group or religion and are no more conduscive to getting to a place of peace on this very sad issue than a snowball’s chance in hell.
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p>You’re really not so much “blunt” as you are heinously over-reaching and self-important.
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p>And I would hope that the president keeps his focus on healthcare and the economy. There is no reason this can’t be handled with care at the local level.
and have run into enough bigotted Catholics to fill a life time. Today, the Roman Catholic Church is be revitalized by the non-white community around the world but this was not always the case. Especially if you went to parochial school in the Boston area as I did for 12 years and ran into many St of Saint Joseph who were as prejudiced against non-Irish as you could get. For the record, I am half Irish which give me some credentials to speak on this issue. They are a bigotted lot and some are my relatives.
Hopefully, times are changing.
You think because you’re “half” Irish you have some cred? You don’t. You’re implying that an entire group of people is inherently racist based on your family and your school experience. That’s bologna. My family is Celtic and Catholic and I wouldn’t presume that you happened to be mentally ill because one of my aunts is, although your commentary does certainly raise questions about your ability to reason logically. And you still don’t know jack about Sgt. Crowley as I pointed out in a previous comment, and you should refrain against painting everyone with such a broad brush.
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p>And the priest I mentioned has been doing missionary work in Haiti for decades; his name is Fr. Jerry Osterman. We’ve been sharing the church for 10 years now. My husband’s aunt was a SSND who taught in Roxbury. One of the priests with whom I worked, Father James Ronan, spent his summer each year in Peru, helping people get food, water and shelter.
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p>So knock it off. If you want to engage in self-flagellation, at least make sure the whip is hitting you and not anybody else.
the priest and NUNS – YES NUNs who were didling little boys and girls.
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p>Lot of womem became nuns because they were lesbians just as some gays became priests.
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p>No offense to you husband’s aunt who was an SND [ sisters of Notre Dame ] for those who don’t know the lingo.
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p>I know I had a few nuns who might have been from Holland because they had their fingers in the dikes. Let’s just say they were very ‘fond’ of young girl students.
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p>Don’t be a fool and hide your head in the sand. Priests and Nuns are prey to the same foibles as non-religious. Some like Bernie “The Pimp” Law get away with it and live in plush accomodations in Rome.
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p>But you have driven this way off the topic. Just don’t sell your soul to some man in a Roman Collar or a woman in a black habit.
Just because you’re losing this debate doesn’t mean you get to muddy the waters with the child abuse scandal, clown. Don’t be a jerk. You’re the one who has dragged in an entire ethnic group and religion into this…and drove this off topic and off the cliff. You are, after all, the same knucklehead that insinuated that Sgt. Crowley wasn’t stable because he was an EMT prior to becoming a police officer.
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p>Again – you want to engage in self-flagellation, then make sure the whip hits the right ass. You.
This clearly violates the ROTR. No sense getting all bent about Atticus’ kinda trollish assertions, Justice4all. I’d suggest we all get together for a beer, but I had to quit drinking 7 years ago. đŸ™‚
we really got diverted off the topic.
Think the thread is ending anway.
Peace and Love
for the gentle reminder, Farnkoff. And I would take you up on that offer if you still drank beer. đŸ™‚ Thanks again.
I take it you have never lived with Jews, Episcopalians, Yoruba, Ibo or Saudis. Every group has its own biases towards others–and I have seen enough of them to know that Irish Catholics are not unique in the fact that they have certain prejudices. I had relatives who went to those parochial schools, and they were rather ignorant when it came to non-Catholic peoples. Indeed they are a bigoted lot. But you obviously have never “surpised” Jewish friends when they found out that you speak three languages, or have a doctorate in nuclear physics because as far as they are concerned most Irish are drunkards! Give me a break; prejudice knows no specific cultural bounds.
all human but I am only writing about my own observations.