OK, I hate to admit when I make a mistake. But I’m human and it’s inherent in my nature. I’m not infallible and am subject to societal influences. I’ve had quite an experience today — almost a re-education of what I’ve believed about the Cambridge Police Department but more so about racism and where it exists in this nation. You see, I’m a child of the Northeast – raised in the shadows of MIT, Harvard, Clark University and Boston University. I grew up in a liberal environment presided over by the Kennedy clan. We’re supposed to be the most civilized of our lot. We’re supposed to be the ones who celebrate racial diversity and respect for the human condition. And it’s conceivable that all I’ve been led to believe is built upon a lie.
I had an opportunity to speak with a couple of business owners in Cambridge today. After the brief introductions I asked a question – “how do you feel about all the unfair publicity Cambridge Police have gotten over this Gates affair?” This opened a floodgate of emotions. I learned that allegations of abuse at the hands of Cambridge law enforcement are nothing new. And though Professor Gates may have “settled” his issues with Sgt. Crowley, the entire “beer summit” was a way to diffuse rising tensions in the community. You see, one of the business owners is of Asian descent. She told me stories of how Cambridge Officers think nothing of using racial slurs in responding to Asian business owners. I learned that many “foreign” business owners are afraid to make waves because they know that law enforcement, political officials and MIT administration work together to hide the truth. One comment was ”if we make any waves or go to the press, MIT will raise our rent or do something to break our lease and force us out of business because they own a lot of commercial property in Cambridge.”
In our discussion I asked about the Mayor. I’ve heard so many positive things and have been a booster of her Administration. The reaction was swift and to the point. She’s part of the problem. From what I learned business owners have gone to the Mayor with their concerns about local law enforcement. Allegedly, as recently as two weeks ago, the mayor was approached about the problems between white officers and the Asian community – especially Asian women. I asked this woman, ”why don’t you speak up! Go to the press? Make some noise? You’re entitled to be heard, this is America, for God’s sake!” “It’s in my culture,” she replied through tears, ”To bring attention to myself is like bringing shame to my family and it is not in me to do that. I don’t want to bring attention to myself, I don’t want to bring shame and I am afraid I will be put out of business. And you know that policeman, Crowley? He’s one of the worst, just like his brother who’s another cop. They are mean to Asians.” I wasn’t ready for what I heard. I didn’t want to believe it, yet in that half hour I could feel her pain, her frustration and yes, her fear.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Charles Euchay
What an excellent idea, Silas!!!! I couldn't agree more. This kind of Pundit Summit is what is needed to separate real journalists from blow hards and sycophants. I am ready to do my part here at Blogcritics to instigate such a summit.
2 - Ruvy
Silas,
When has the press reported the TRUTH?
Many years ago, my father-in-law retired from the Postal Service. He was one of those old-fashioned guys who folks knew and gave Chistmas gifts to - people like Charles Schultz, for example, and the actual "Dear Abby". They don't have that kind of postal service worker any more in the States - at least not to my knowledge.
So, the reporter from the local "community" rag stopped over with his camera and did an article on him, a human interest story. Wouldn't you know it, but he couldn't even manage to report where my wife worked correctly? There were no controversial issues in this article at all. But he still screwed it up!
Silas, when the press reports the truth, or somethng like it, you know it - because the government is trying as hard as they can to shut the press down. That is what happened in Iran not too long ago. When folks here tried to report that Rabin had not been killed by Yig'al 'Amir, the government did all they could to smother the story.
Once Dan Rather came to Jerusalem to report on some dumb story, some baloney about some Arab. He messed up the story entirely. When questioned by a local blogger/reporter, he admitted he knew nothing of the city, the history of the area, or anything.
You don't need a "pundit summit". You need to turn off the tube and stop listening to bullshit being reported by boobs.
3 - Deano
The problem Silas is that the aformentioned "pundits" are not newspeople, they are entertainers. They are focused on presenting and maintaining a specific persona and agenda - generally ideologically based. They have no interest in common ground, compromise or meeting in the middle. They don't want understanding on the issues or thoughtful discussion because that is boring TV. Ideas get boiled down to shallow, easily commuicated, easily digested soundbites, not reported, analyzed or presented as factual-based, highly complex issues.
They want fireworks, insults, garandiose statements, they want the frenzy, the sniping, the absolutism because it excites their base, generates more watchers, excites their watchers to become more involved and, most of all, drives advertising revenue.
You want to watch TV news go back to being realy news? Mandate no commercial sales to be associated with the news. Network news used to be a duty by the networks - a loss-leader - not subject to overt commercial interests or profit. Now it is bluntly a circus and it willfully sacrifices credability and in-depth analysis for shallow, ideological sound-bites.
4 - roger nowosielski
Excellent article, Silas, especially as regards the Gates-Crowley affair. It's an eye-opener. Who would have thought that the little town of Cambridge, the seat of learning, would boast such a disgraceful police force. We've all heard of the Boston cops during the busing/school integration period; but that was years ago, and I would have thought things have changed since. Apparently not!
Your "inside story" does seem to put things in perspective: Crowley being regarded as a model cop, the absence of press coverage from the local media, the shroud of mystery which still surrounds this sordid affair. And apparently, from the way things stand, we're not going to get any wiser. The "beer summit" didn't fix any of the structural problem; it was just a PR. And to think, that's the mindset that permeates what we've come to regard as one of the most liberal and enlightened of our communities.
I am skeptical about "the pundit summit," however. Surely, it would be an improvement over the one-sided presentation of events on any of our "news channels." But I wouldn't expect any reasonable discussion between pundits of different political persuasion. All these people consider themselves infallible, their greatest vice.
What might work is a panel format, whereby different guests would be invited to discuss both sides of the issues while "the pundits" serve as moderators - something akin to McNeil and Lara.
5 - roger nowosielski
I second Deano's comments.
6 - roger nowosielski
Here's another episode of police practices from Cambridge Chronicle.
7 - roger nowosielski
It looks like you're right, Silas. All the opinion pieces on Gates from their local rag are letters to the editor, apparently none by the staff.
8 - roger nowosielski
The Harvard Crimson is doing better.
9 - roger nowosielski
Silas,
You will like this one: a letter from one his his colleagues, a certain Ruth R. Wise, to Gates, "A Colleague's Concern."
10 - Zozobra
What makes me gloomy here is that someone who lived in the area during the heyday of the Roxbury projects (60s and 70s) could have maintained a delusion of enlightened race relations for all these years.
Z
11 - Silas Kain
Watching the rebroadcast of yesterday's "Hard Ball" by Chris Matthews I was struck at how Matthews alleges that racism is the practice in the South and intimates that we in the Northeast are "free" from prejudice. Matthews is delusional.
Racism is alive and well in Boston. As someone who has walked the neighborhoods of Dorchester and worked with the people who live in that community, I knew there was remnants of the racism that divided Boston during the days of school busing and Louise Day-Hicks. What I didn't expect was the frustration in the Asian community. Their fears are real, and they feel helpless because they live in the shadow of MIT and they allege that MIT "owns" so much of Cambridge that if they do not submit to business as usual they are out of town. That's no way to live - especially in the cradle of America's Revolution.
Granted these "pundits" are part entertainers. But their viewers regard their words as Gospel. If these so-called pundits really believe the venom they spew, then they should have no problem taking up the challenge. This morning we've begun the process. Before the end of the week punditsummit.com will be going online and all we ask is that if you believe, as I do, that enough is enough - take the challenge. We saw the power of Twitter when it came to the Iranian elections.
This is an opportunity for the grass roots to do something really proactive. Perhaps if enough of us take up this charge we can put positive pressure on these news channels to go re-adopt the standards of Cronkite. There's an election next year, folks. We need to start now so that when it is time for us to cast our ballots next fall we can do so with clear heads. Perhaps I'm a bit idealistic. Perhaps it's too late. But if we don't try, how do we know?
12 - Joanne Huspek
Racism is alive and well everywhere. It's the 800 pound gorilla in the corner. The longer I live the more I realize we have only taken baby steps since the '60s.
That being said, I thought the so-called beer summit was contrived, an exercise for all involved (including the Prez) to save face.
Pundits ARE entertainers -- not journalists (what's that again?) -- and should be viewed as such. If you want the real shimmy on what's going on in Congress, watch CSPAN and witness first hand without spin or blow by blow commentary the elitist tripe that comes from the halls of Congress -- from both sides of the aisle.
13 - Silas Kain
Joanne, I can't dispute what you're writing as it is right on target. However, these so-called pundits are fueling the divide and ironically it was Chris Matthews' performance last night that cinched it for me. He makes it sound like the South is racist and the Northeast is free of all that. He's selling snake oil.
I want to press home your point about the contrived "beer summit". According to those I spoke with in Cambridge yesterday, the sentiment on the street is that this so-called summit was arranged so as to prevent a major backlash within Cambridge.
Barack Obama just lost another 2 points with me because he backed off on an essential truth - the Cambridge Police DID act stupidly. I'm not saying that Professor Gates is without blame. I think he could have handled the situation better but we'll never know, will we? The bottom line is that this Crowley guy has a band of brothers in law enforcement. I'm told people in the Asian community are terrified of him, his brothers and most white cops in Cambridge. That's a problem especially since these same fine people allege that MIT is in the thick of it.
14 - handyguy
Do we have an open "bold" formatting issue here?
15 - Silas Kain
My fault. Need to put in a close tag and can't seem to edit my post. I'll look at it again.
16 - handyguy
I love this article even though [I think] I disagree with half of it or more.
I lived in Cambridge from 1997-2004. I never had any contact with the police or heard any stories. But working-class folks who grew up in the area seemed to me quite different in worldview from the many transplants from New York and elsewhere [like moi]. I find it credible that there might be more racial 'uncouthness' in that local group -- which includes Crowley. But I was still shocked to read Silas's [admittedly purely anecdotal] stories.
As for a pundit summit, it might be entertaining, but it would produce far more heat than light. And since Olbermann and O'Reilly were forced by their corporate bosses to cool their feud a couple of months ago, I doubt those same bosses would allow much in the way of fireworks.
By the way, Shepard Smith is not a pundit, just a news reader -- and he actually gets the best ratings of all of them. And Larry King is not a pundit, he's a [bad, embarrassingly fawning] celebrity interviewer.
As I've often said, I am a Maddow fan, because she's thoughtful and articulate, because she does some actual fact-digging and investigative reporting, and because she is scrupulously polite and fair to her guests but still a skilled interviewer -- and she even devoted time recently to reply, succinctly but fairly, to a complaint from Tennessee GOP Rep. Zack Wamp's staff.
In fact, insofar as this is possible between a gay man and a lesbian, I would even say I have a mad crush on her.
17 - Silas Kain
By the way, Shepard Smith is not a pundit, just a news reader -- and he actually gets the best ratings of all of them. And Larry King is not a pundit, he's a [bad, embarrassingly fawning] celebrity interviewer.
There's a method to my madness, Handy. I look at Smith and King as key players in a pundit summit. Smith isn't a bad guy and I think he's seen the light on how Rupert Murdoch wants Fox News to play the game. Larry King is included because I think his years of broadcast experience makes him qualified to sit in on the discussion and point things out to the others at the table. For the most part he is a celebrity interviewer but for those of us who have listened to him for more than 25 years, he's more.
The concept of a pundit summit may be far fetched but it was these people who referred to the Gates-Crowley fiasco as the beer summit. So, I'm just giving it right back.
18 - roger nowosielski
I'm getting to agree with you, Silas. Obama comes across more and more like a bullshit artist.
19 - Silas Kain
I really had high hopes for this President, Roger. I thought that he could rise above the Washington mainstream and facilitate real change. It's disheartening. Unless we force real reform upon Washington, it will continue to be business as usual. Barack Obama still has an opportunity to pull it off. The problem is that his handlers and sitting members of Congress are more worried about the 2010 elections than they are about the country itself.
20 - handyguy
It's part of the job description for any politician, Roger. The question is whether he uses 'bullshit' [i.e., compromises and communication skills] for good or ill.
21 - Silas Kain
Back at #1. Thank you, Charles. We're working on the strategy now to put pressure on the networks. Again, I think that the diversity and overall civility of Blogcritics serves as an excellent example of what can happen when people talk TO each other. Perhaps this community isn't as divisive as what people are used to; nonetheless, it serves as a shining testament to the foundation laid by our forefathers. We may not be Daily Kos, Huffington Post or The Daily Dish but we're just as relevant.
Ruvy, great point about Dan Rather's missed opportunities in Jerusalem. Let's not forget that Mr. Rather would never have achieved anything were it not for the bullets that killed JFK. He was in the right place, at the right time.
22 - roger nowosielski
Right, Handy, Silas. But the guy seems to lack gumption. He's more concerned with popularity than with passing right kind of legislation.
Handy himself suggested on another thread that what passes for the healthcare reform has been compromised to the point that it doesn't really fixed the systemic problems. Same with lack of follow-up in the Gates' affair. The continuation of the Patriot Act, the backpedaling on the Iraqi war, bailout of businesses too big to fail while small and mid-size businesses are of no concern, the failure to alleviate the foreclosures - you just name it, and it does begin to look worse and worse.
If the economy doesn't turn around, and shortly - and judging by the rising unemployment rates, it ain't gonna happen - Archie may well be right and there will be a shift in 2010 and 2012.
The Dems have a perfect chance to effect real reforms but they're squandering it - more concerned with their hold on power than what's good for the country. Why pass inferior legislation which doesn't really fix anything rather than go for the real thing.
It is pathetic.
23 - handyguy
Honestly, Rog, your #22 is riddled with inaccuracies:
- I think most of us are relieved at the 'lack of follow up' re Gates; enough already
- the President has made it clear he wants to change Bush security policies; it's totally unfair to say he is just "continuing" them. You sound like Cindy, whose politics, all due respect, do not apply to the real world.
- the troops will be out of Iraq as scheduled. Gates has even said possibly earlier. What backpedaling?
- the small business/big business dichotomy: a substantial amount of the stimulus plan is directed to small businesses. Which big businesses would you prefer to see fail? Would you care to speculate on what the consequences of that failure might be?
- There is a huge plan to alleviate foreclosures -- it's just taking banks longer to act than it should. But this is not because the administration isn't doing anything!
- the economy is turning around. There are economists that think the recession ended in July. Jobs are always a lagging indicator. [As someone with a very personal stake in job creation, no one is more impatient than I, believe me.] But no other government, far-left or far-right or in between, would have made a dent in unemployment either.
If Hillary Clinton or John McCain or Mitt Romney or Dennis Kucinich were president, do you think all these problems would have been magically solved?
It's your post that's 'pathetic' in this instance. I expect better of you.
This president, like all presidents is imperfect and deserves criticism. But fair criticism based on a balanced view of the facts, not whiny generalizations.
24 - Silas Kain
Good points, in fact, excellent points, Handy. But the disappointment remains. Anyone even remotely familiar with life inside the Beltway knows that the rules within the District of Columbia usually don't apply to the rest of the Nation.
I like Barack Obama's approach to foreign policy. Some of his domestic policies need work but I heartily commend his commitment to health care reform. The problem isn't with the Oval Office rather it is within the halls of Congress. The President is walking a political tightrope. I'd like to see him really get into his fellow Democrats' faces and tell them how it is. The rest of the country realizes that business as usual must be a thing of the past. It's time for OUR representatives in Congress to show some character and step up to the plate.
25 - roger nowosielski
All the financial giants, Handy, and they deserve it. Morgan & Stanley, BofA, AIG, -- all of them. You do know about the new rash of bonuses coming up. No, these people haven't learned and our action only encourages them.
What have the financial firms done to help the economy, you tell me? The mortgage crisis still persists, unemployment runs rampant, things haven't improved at all for all the hoopla.
I really don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm glad though that you do.