Here's a thought experiment: suppose an organization genuinely wanted to FIND OUT if race was a significant factor in police responses. (Don't go telling me how unlikely this is; I said it was a thought experiment.)

Such an organization might stage various scenes intended to evoke a police response, with no warning to the police. The incidents would need to be done in the same vicinity (so as not to mix results from Boston police with results from, say, Atlanta police). They would need to be done repeatedly (to average out the atypical responses of one cop or another), but spread out enough in time so as not to alert the cops that something is going on. And each scene enacted would need to be done twice -- once with a middle-class white guy and once with a middle-class black guy; then once with a white punk with tattoos and an attitude, and again with a black punk with tattoos and an attitude. And so on. All actors will proceed by a script, which will say in some cases to be polite and in other cases to resist a little. All scenes would be videotaped.

(Heck, it sounds like a great honors project for a degree in sociology.)

The final part of the study would be to see if anyone actually takes it seriously, in the event that the results DON'T conform to the accepted narrative. (After all, we all think we know if the results will be accepted or not... but that's why we run experiments, isn't it?)

We recently ran such an experiment on a much grander scale, you may recall. Innumerable pundits proclaimed that America Was Not Ready To Elect A Black Man President. So we went to the polls and found out -- and I doubt very much if we'll hear that particular whine again.

So -- is a black man more likely to be arrested for B&E than a white man? One wonders.

I wonder what rant Mr. Gates will have when Thieves break into his home for real !!

That will be too bad so sad !

You get what you ask for !!

Thank you James Crowley

Both Obama and Gates owe Crowley an apology.

That arrogant, pompous mofo would never have got arrested if he hadn't mouthed off. He should have recognized the police were doing the right thing, protecting his property by responding to a call about what was undeniably suspicious activity.

The police showed up in a cruiser wearing full uniforms. Instead of getting in Sgt. Crowley's face demanding the his name and badge number or carrying on like Al Sharpton about racism, if he'd properly identified himself, it would have been over. The police would have been gone even if without Gates showing some basic courtesy by thanking them.

Unmentioned here is that the problem with the front door may have resulted from a break-in attempt. Of course, if his house had been robbed that time, why that would only prove racism because The Man wouldn't allow a break-in at a white man's house.

What an asshole.

When asked about it, The One admits (a) he might be biased and (b) didn't know the facts. So why didn't he just shut up instead of gratuitously and prejudiciously flaming Sgt. Crowley? Obama just gave every Afro-Am who gets pulled over an excuse to claim he got stopped for driving while black.

What an asshole.

It’s a flunky department even in Massachusetts. Just ask even surrounding police departments or the state police.

And what Mass person doesn’t know want a flunky Sgt. Sergeant Crowley is please.

Sgt. Crowley men want to slap a b@tch some time.

But the law protects you, go figure.

Sgt. Crowley you don’t even have the set of balls to step down, and God knows everyone is asking you including your own family.

What’s pathetic is the law protects b@tchs like you.