“ And, while I realize there are all sorts of issues of race tied up in the Gates case, I think that the power dynamics involved are getting short shrift. Even if you’re white, any time you have an encounter with a police officer, the officer has the upper hand in terms of power, since he’s the guy who has the power to arrest you.
— Jason Zengerle, Race, Power, and the Law on Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s arrest for disorderly conduct after being contacted by Cambridge police for appearing to break into his own home. The commentary by Zengerle is the best I’ve read on this incident, because it deals with the power differential involved more than the race issue. Misuse of police/state power is the real issue here.
As none other than our own Dear Leader commented, such an encounter would likely make any of us (citizens) angry. After the officer determined that Professor Gates was indeed the resident, he should have ceased contact and left immediately. The correct principled response to a police officer questioning your legal right to be in your own home is: “Excuse me, officer, but unless you have a warrant or probable cause to enter my house or detain me, kindly get the fuck off my property.”
Of course, this exact wording isn’t recommended in all cases. But there is a principle involved wherein one’s home is one’s castle. You have the most rights therein, and any that you give up at the door or at the gate are not ones you’re going to see returned to you in good order. A word to the wise.
As none other than our own Dear Leader commented, such an encounter would likely make any of us (citizens) angry. After the officer determined that Professor Gates was indeed the resident, he should have ceased contact and left immediately. The correct principled response to a police officer questioning your legal right to be in your own home is: “Excuse me, officer, but unless you have a warrant or probable cause to enter my house or detain me, kindly get the fuck off my property.”
Of course, this exact wording isn’t recommended in all cases. But there is a principle involved wherein one’s home is one’s castle. You have the most rights therein, and any that you give up at the door or at the gate are not ones you’re going to see returned to you in good order. A word to the wise.
