CNN stirring racial pot again. [Archive] - Ron Paul Forums / Liberty Forest

Danke

07-22-2009, 11:04 AM

Leave it to CNN to take a case of misunderstanding and spin as if it were a lynching.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/22/gates.arrest.reaction/index.html

I don't know. From the CNN report, it does sound like Gates was being accusatory from the very beginning.

The officer asked Gates to "step out onto the porch and speak with me," the report says. "[Gates] replied, 'No, I will not.' He then demanded to know who I was. I told him that I was 'Sgt. Crowley from the Cambridge Police' and that I was 'investigating a report of a break in progress' at the residence.

"While I was making this statement, Gates opened the front door and exclaimed, 'Why, because I'm a black man in America?' "

According to the report, Gates initially refused to show the officer his identification, instead asking for the officer's ID. But Gates eventually did show the officer his identification that included his home address.

"The police report says I was engaged in loud and tumultuous behavior. That's a joke," Gates told The Root. "It escalated as follows: I kept saying to him, 'What is your name, and what is your badge number?' and he refused to respond. I asked him three times, and he refused to respond. And then I said, 'You're not responding because I'm a black man, and you're a white officer.'"

"I'd be glad if somebody called the police if somebody was breaking into my house," neighbor Michael Schaffer told CNN affiliate WHDH."

TonySutton

07-22-2009, 11:17 AM

How CNN can turn this incident into a case of racism is beyond me.
What difference did it make that a white woman called 911? She was watching out for his home while he was away.
Blacks need to wake up and see that we are all in the same boat.

It is sad when we do not even recognize our own neighbors.

Also, it is hard to say exactly what occurred at the residence. They do not discuss the tone with which either party communicated, only the words. Whereas I would not want a policeman to randomly impede my travels, in this case the officer was trying to prevent a robbery. I believe Mr. Gates would have wanted the police officer to question any other person who may have been standing in his house.

kahless

07-22-2009, 11:29 AM

apropos

07-22-2009, 11:29 AM

If I saw some guy forcing his way into a house through the back door then yeah, I'd probably call the police too. If I was the owner of the house, I would probably be able to infer that a neighbor called the police. I would be happy to explain it, since it was an understandable misunderstanding.

But this Gates guy seems to have reacted like a lunatic.

Bossobass

07-22-2009, 11:34 AM

I like racial pot. It's much better than the alien or animal pot I've sampled.

Bosso

Immortal Technique

07-22-2009, 11:59 AM

It interlaces with CNN's promotion for their Episode Called"Black In America 2"
It's advertised on CNN every 2 seconds and has been for over 2 weeks.

Jags~Beach

07-22-2009, 12:00 PM

Damage control campaign...

The race baiting is on overdrive on CNN. I guess they are rallying the troops in light of the current fall out occuring with socialist healthcare agenda.

max

07-22-2009, 12:14 PM

'Why, because I'm a black man in America?' "

What a communist dipshit!

This "black man in America" makes more money in one year as an "Ivy League intellectual" than most white folk will earn in 10 years!

No need for that chip on his shoulder. Cops were just responding to an alert of a break-in....an alert that was given to them by a thoughtful white neighbor who apparently thought this jerkoff was still in China (where he belongs!)

There was no habeus corpus violation here....no brutality....just local cops responding and doing their job.

All he had to do was show his ID from the get-go, explain that he was away in China, thank the cops, and have a good laugh over the misunderstanding....

Instead he picks a fight and then goes whining to the communist media

TortoiseDream

07-22-2009, 12:20 PM

Leave it to CNN to take a case of misunderstanding and spin as if it were a lynching.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/22/gates.arrest.reaction/index.html

Yea this was just retarded...that was a horrible reaction by Gates, what's his problem?

max

07-22-2009, 12:27 PM

This line reminds me of a funny situation...

Boris Kodjoe owns a mansion in Atlanta. But when he goes to answer his door, the black actor knows what it's like to be an outcast.

"When I'm opening the door of my own house, someone will ask me where the man of the house is, implying that I'm staff," said Kodjoe, best known for starring in Showtime's "Soul Food."

I once had a black neighbor named Bill. One day, I was talking to him in front of his home as he was trimming his hedges. Another black man (named Xavier) had just moved in 4doors up the street.

Xavier sees Bill trimming hedges and walks down the street. He says to Bill: "Excuse me. I just moved in up the street. Can you stop by and give me a price for lawn maintenance."

Bill laughed and explained that he's the owner. I then cracked a joke: "Can you believe this shit Bill? 21st century and a brother cant even trim his bushes without someone mistaking him for the gardener! If I had said some shit like that, Al Sharpton would be marching up and down our block."

We all had had a big laugh and then shared a beer. ....true story

kahless

07-22-2009, 01:01 PM

'Why, because I'm a black man in America?' "

What a communist dipshit!

This "black man in America" makes more money in one year as an "Ivy League intellectual" than most white folk will earn in 10 years!

No need for that chip on his shoulder. Cops were just responding to an alert of a break-in....an alert that was given to them by a thoughtful white neighbor who apparently thought this jerkoff was still in China (where he belongs!)

Totally agree with above.

There was no habeus corpus violation here....no brutality....just local cops responding and doing their job.

He did eventually show his ID and they arrested him anyway. He might be an asshole but he has a constitutional right to be one and should not have been arrested for it.

All he had to do was show his ID from the get-go, explain that he was away in China, thank the cops, and have a good laugh over the misunderstanding....

Instead he picks a fight and then goes whining to the communist media

Totally agree. However the cops are still wrong since they should not have arrested him especially since he showed his ID.

catdd

07-22-2009, 01:09 PM

Jags~Beach
Damage control campaign...

"The race baiting is on overdrive on CNN. I guess they are rallying the troops in light of the current fall out occurring with socialist healthcare agenda."

Yeah, that and I just read that the ADL is getting worked up over the grilling of Paulson and Bernanke. Just a matter of time before they cry "anti-semitic"

max

07-22-2009, 01:12 PM

Totally agree. However the cops are still wrong since they should not have arrested him especially since he showed his ID.

yeah....they should not have arrested him, especially because that's EXACTLY what this jerk wanted them to do.

they played right into his deliberate provokations

apropos

07-22-2009, 03:46 PM

'why, because i'm a black man in america?' "

what a communist dipshit!

This "black man in america" makes more money in one year as an "ivy league intellectual" than most white folk will earn in 10 years!

No need for that chip on his shoulder. Cops were just responding to an alert of a break-in....an alert that was given to them by a thoughtful white neighbor who apparently thought this jerkoff was still in china (where he belongs!)

there was no habeus corpus violation here....no brutality....just local cops responding and doing their job.

All he had to do was show his id from the get-go, explain that he was away in china, thank the cops, and have a good laugh over the misunderstanding....

Instead he picks a fight and then goes whining to the communist media

+1,000,000

speciallyblend

07-22-2009, 03:54 PM

the bottom line is this is all the cops fault for not listening! wow you guys are conspiracy theorists!

let me know when a white man is arrested for breaking into his own house! any links?? for a white man that was arrested for getting into his own house??

racism is alive and well and the stats prove it! reality is reality

we should waterboard racists! bush says it is ok ;) (sarcasm) well not for the racists!they should be waterboarded!

speciallyblend

07-22-2009, 03:59 PM

+1,000,000

BS, you guys try to make a mtn out of a mole hill. that cop is lucky he didnt get shot! that cop should have a stick rammed up his A__!

speciallyblend

07-22-2009, 04:01 PM

catdd

07-22-2009, 04:07 PM

I'm not clear on why they arrested him, but going there to investigate the call was ok.

max

07-22-2009, 04:07 PM

BS, you guys try to make a mtn out of a mole hill. that cop is lucky he didnt get shot! that cop should have a stick rammed up his A__!

its anarchist hysteria like that which causes sheeple to reject libertarianism...

you think its easy being a cop? they dont deserve that type of abuse from some uppitty black marxist...

Bman

07-22-2009, 04:12 PM

'Why, because I'm a black man in America?' "

The cop was out of line, but when I saw a segment on this they had a black guy who was asked if he was ever profiled by the police and he said when he was younger that he was pulled over at 3am and forced to do a sobriety test.

Now I'm not one who would ever say that racial issues do not exist. They do and they should be dealt with. However, I'm tired of the cry me a river sob story were reflection is done with no consideration to the plight of anyone else and the reasoning comes down to it must be because of my color before anything else.

I use to play in a band. As such I use to drive around around 3 am in the morning. I'm white and I got pulled over plenty of times. Being reasonable I knew better than to drink at the bars I was performing at. So nothing ever came of it, but I have to wonder if in the night sky maybe I must have looked black, becasue based on some arguments I've heard why else would they have pulled me over at 3am.

Sorry to say but no one takes certain groups seriously anymore when they cry wolf. It's just been done too many times and some of us realize the same shit happens to us of white color.

speciallyblend

07-22-2009, 04:15 PM

its anarchist hysteria like that which causes sheeple to reject libertarianism...

you think its easy being a cop? they dont deserve that type of abuse from some uppitty black marxist...

i know plenty of cops. this police officer was out of line . the bottom line is the cop should of never arrested him once he proved who he was! no matter how much this guy was pissed. he showed his id and proved who he was!

you guys are overblowing this! no excuses for this police officer!

now if the guy refused to show id. then the police officer could of arrested him,but this is not the case. the guy showed his id! bottom line the police officer was in the wrong! i would of called the cop everyname in the book.

blacks folks are getting screwed everyday and the stats prove this! go argue with the stats not me!

max your the one making a mtn out of a mole hill not me!

actually they are trained to get the abuse and stay within the law! this cop ignored all reason. how the guy acts doesn't matter. how the police officer acts does!

max

07-22-2009, 04:21 PM

blacks folks are getting screwed everyday and the stats prove this! go argue with the stats not me!

max your the one making a mtn out of a mole hill not me!

blacks DO commit the bulk of the crime......

as fot "getting screwed" whites are denied jobs and college entry by the 1000's in favor of less qualified minorities....

speciallyblend

07-22-2009, 04:24 PM

blacks DO commit the bulk of the crime......

as fot "getting screwed" whites are denied jobs and college entry by the 1000's in favor of less qualified minorities....

yeah sure you let me know when the black man
has the white man held down!

please max give me a break!

you are actually trying to tell me the black man is holding the white man down?? that is freaking funny!

no one is taking anyones jobs ,everyone is losing jobs not just the white man!

give me a break! laughable

speciallyblend

07-22-2009, 04:48 PM

The cop was out of line, but when I saw a segment on this they had a black guy who was asked if he was ever profiled by the police and he said when he was younger that he was pulled over at 3am and forced to do a sobriety test.

Now I'm not one who would ever say that racial issues do not exist. They do and they should be dealt with. However, I'm tired of the cry me a river sob story were reflection is done with no consideration to the plight of anyone else and the reasoning comes down to it must be because of my color before anything else.

I use to play in a band. As such I use to drive around around 3 am in the morning. I'm white and I got pulled over plenty of times. Being reasonable I knew better than to drink at the bars I was performing at. So nothing ever came of it, but I have to wonder if in the night sky maybe I must have looked black, because based on some arguments I've heard why else would they have pulled me over at 3am.

Sorry to say but no one takes certain groups seriously anymore when they cry wolf. It's just been done too many times and some of us realize the same shit happens to us of white color.

yeah i hear you, hell im white and get pulled over late all the time since i dj. once a cop has pulled me over , i kindly say hi officer ,sorry no dui or anything for you today may i help you;) usually they try to make something up and then i say look i know you thought you got a drunk driver but i just got off work can i go now! they leave come back give me my id and then ask to search my car and i say no, then they try again i say no. then i say look i have nothing and your not going to search my car. then they let me go and i drive off!

i just think it is funny cause they try to make up reasons for pulling you over once they realize your not drunk!

speciallyblend

07-22-2009, 05:02 PM

blacks DO commit the bulk of the crime......

as fot "getting screwed" whites are denied jobs and college entry by the 1000's in favor of less qualified minorities....

first of all i wasn't talking crime stats. i am talking being pulled over and ticketed stats!

the bottom line is blacks are targeted ,feel free to check stats in several states , missouri is one ,alabama another and many other states!

Time for Change

07-22-2009, 05:26 PM

Blacks need to wake up and see that we are all in the same boat.

Trust me, they know.
People are waking up at a phenomenal rate, and coming together...hence the CNN divisive tactic.

BlackTerrel

07-23-2009, 03:02 AM

Leave it to CNN to take a case of misunderstanding and spin as if it were a lynching.

Misunderstanding that they arrested a guy for being in his own house?

This is an issue regardless of whether CNN wants to make it one or not.

BlackTerrel

07-23-2009, 03:03 AM

Trust me, they know.
People are waking up at a phenomenal rate, and coming together...hence the CNN divisive tactic.

We're more unified as Americans regardless of race than we've ever been. And the media (especially the entertainment media) is actually to thank for that.

We didn't go from separate water fountains to a black President without the help of positive black people in sports, media, and entertainment.

john_anderson_ii

07-23-2009, 04:13 AM

We're more unified as Americans regardless of race than we've ever been. And the media (especially the entertainment media) is actually to thank for that.

We didn't go from separate water fountains to a black President without the help of positive black people in sports, media, and entertainment.

That's a shame isn't it? I would be happier if we, as a people, had gone from separate water fountains to a black president based on the contents, virtue and intellect of said individuals, and not media spin on skin color or a product of athleticism. As a libertarian, war veteran, and human being, I don't see positive black people. I see positive people. I don't see black sports heroes, I see sports heroes and role models. I sure as hell don't see race as a unifying mechanism, I see philosophy and ideology as the mechanism which unifies. In short, I see people, not groups.

Black, white, Mexican, or Pollack, you make your own decisions in this life. The time you have from cradle to grave is all the stage you are going to get. When a libertarian looks at a crowd of individuals, he sees individual contributions. He sees individuals leading their lives as best they can. When a democrat looks upon the same group, that democrat is disgusted with the group for not including a certain number of an ethnicity, or he is busy trying to break down the group into stereotypical components to figure out how to best pander to the group. The classical republican and neocon sees only potential for the state, as they see everybody else, a battery to be used, and then discarded.

If black people want to be equal and free, than they should stand up for libertarianism. It's the only political movement in these united states which will not take your skin color into consideration for political gain. Every other philosophical and intellectual decision you make is open for discussion, but within libertarianism, your skin color is your own, and you will stand or fall based on the merits of your ideals. No other political party can grant you such immunity. I'm sure the Republicrats would love to expose how your ideals mix with their own, and thus borrow from the credibility and sensitivity of your color with no intention of paying it back.

We Libertarians see a person, with ideals and goals of his own. We don't see a pandering tool, nor a fool, nor an easily manipulated dupe. When a black man, or any other race joins the libertarian movement, we see a fellow libertarian who stands on his own as his own person, and that is what this whole movement is about. We libertarians lead our own lives, make the best decisions for our families, and firmly reject any sort of behavior which makes us kowtow to a higher form of government.

A Libertarian sees only people and deeds. In a libertarian mind, there is no such thing as a second class citizen. In a libertarian world you rise and fall on your own merits. I don't see why would anyone, regardless of race or color would resist this promise.

jmdrake

07-23-2009, 05:56 AM

Gates eventually did show the officer his identification that included his home address.

Even if Gates was being a dick the cop should have just walked away after seeing the ID rather than arrest him.

+1776

If Gates had been white and/or not played the race card a lot of people here would be attacking the cops. Sorry but that's the truth. I didn't see any of this "doing their job" sympathy when an officer tazed a white grandma after she refused to sign a ticket. That said Gates was lucky not to get tazed or worse. And no I don't think this was racially motivated. But I don't think it was the right outcome.

werdd

07-23-2009, 06:03 AM

jmdrake

07-23-2009, 06:41 AM

From my understanding the guy proved he lived there, and the police left. When they left he belligerently asked for the officers badge number and name, thats where it escalated into "This is what you get for being a black man in america".

Ah. You can't question the "officials". That explains a lot. Like I said, this is an example of the growing police state. When they first started making you take your shoes off at airports a woman I know had the "gall" to simply ask why. For questioning the "officials" she was granted a mandatory "free TSA breast exam". Oh yeah...and she was African American. In that case and in this one the real issue is out of control government. It's sad how the media manipulates both blacks and whites into missing the point.

apropos

07-23-2009, 07:19 AM

In a libertarian world you rise and fall on your own merits. I don't see why would anyone, regardless of race or color would resist this promise.

It's because reality is a frightening prospect for most people and they actively try to avoid it. If you take a look at modern America, you see a lot of energy and policy dedicated to cover up the fact that people have a lot of natural inequalities. Intelligence, strength, and good looks are not assigned on a PC mandate, and this is very troubling for those who fear they do not possess them in adequate supply. (I'm sure a whole bevvy of accusations and subtext can be inaccurately read into that statement).

I think there are those who instinctively fear they could not rise very high in a meritocracy, mainly because they doubt they have much to offer, sell, or contribute to society. So the natural reaction is to put one's energies into pretending any disparity is due to some kind of oppression, settle into a nice relativistic opinion of things, and start working to "level the playing field".

It's just an outcropping of the democratic tyranny Tocqueville warned us about.

kahless

07-23-2009, 08:15 AM

jmdrake

07-23-2009, 08:20 AM

Henry Louis Gates Arrest Reports
http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/henry_louis_gates_arrest_reports_062109

I do not see anything in this report that is grounds for arrest and yet the officer stands by arrest.

Of course. The officer that assaulted the ambulance driver is standing by his actions too. Same for the officer that shot a handcuffed man in the back and claimed he was reaching for his tazer. (If the suspect is lying face down and is handcuffed why would you need to taze him anyway?) These are not the type of people to admit they were wrong. (I'm talking about rogue cops. Not cops in general). It's just a shame that Gates mentioned the fact that he is black. Some people automatically assume that if the race card is played the victim must have been in the wrong instead of realizing that whites and blacks are being victimized by an out of control government.

Jags~Beach

07-23-2009, 10:07 AM

Henry Louis Gates Arrest Reports
http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/henry_louis_gates_arrest_reports_062109

I do not see anything in this report that is grounds for arrest and yet the officer stands by arrest. Say what you want about Obama but he is right...

"I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said. "No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And No. 3 — what I think we know separate and apart from this incident — is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."

What is a fact is that Obama is playing the race card like a banner in a parade... Fact is Obama is not a unifyer he is a divider, and his anti-zionist agenda is now taking a back seat to his anti-white agenda...

Last I checked there were plenty of poor white people who are disporportionately stopped by law enforcement. When your poor your a target, becaue your tailight is not a priority to be fixed or your old clunker drawing attention, IMO this is the real issue, and the spin is to make race out to be the issue. In the end it is about being poor, when your poor your going to be hassled by the man and the thing is the majority of blacks and latinos are poor in this country and those with a political agenda to exploit the race card as a result are having a field day because of it.

Playing the race card divides this nation and that is exactly how Obama wants it, because he knows that is the only way he can conquer America, is by dividing it. Now that his Birth certificate issue has reached the mainstream, using the race card is the tactic being used to divert attention from the fact Obama can not legally prove with a birth certificate that he is indeed a natural born citizen of America, and it does not help that his grandmother say;s that she wass there when he was born in Kenya.:eek:

In the end Obama and his media cronies want to sell the notion that he knows what is best for this nation, and anyone who does not agree is either racist or playing politics.

Listening to Obama and seing him being so far to the left of his party, it is as if we are watching the ass of the jackass party speak when Obama moves his lips and when you consider nothing but shit comes out it makes perfect sense.:rolleyes:

apropos

07-23-2009, 10:11 AM

I do not see anything in this report that is grounds for arrest and yet the officer stands by arrest. Say what you want about Obama but he is right in saying this cop acted stupidly however he should have said the fault was on both sides. There is nothing in the constitution that says you do not have a right to be a jackass.

It's interesting you point to the police report as proof of police wrongdoing. A policeman responds to a report of forced entry. The man in the house grows combative and refuses to identify himself. He refuses to cooperate with the questioning officer. Seems like the police did the rational, expected thing.

Let's consider the alternative. You are the police officer on scene. A man you don't know has been reported with forcing entry into the house. He refuses to cooperate or identify himself. Would you gamble your job and the possibility of lawsuit and just leave this combative stranger in the house?

All the guy had to do was show the address on his license and laugh at the misunderstanding, which would be indication of a rational, law-abiding citizen.

apropos

07-23-2009, 10:22 AM

Here is the full police report.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

Brian4Liberty

07-23-2009, 11:23 AM

Gates eventually did show the officer his identification that included his home address.

Even if Gates was being a dick the cop should have just walked away after seeing the ID rather than arrest him.

I agree.

It seems that there was a bit of belligerence from both sides in this case, which usually is required for a case to go that far.

And yes, CNN has been stirring the pot for many years, and quite actively.

jmdrake

07-23-2009, 11:31 AM

It's interesting you point to the police report as proof of police wrongdoing. A policeman responds to a report of forced entry. The man in the house grows combative and refuses to identify himself. He refuses to cooperate with the questioning officer. Seems like the police did the rational, expected thing.

Let's consider the alternative. You are the police officer on scene. A man you don't know has been reported with forcing entry into the house. He refuses to cooperate or identify himself. Would you gamble your job and the possibility of lawsuit and just leave this combative stranger in the house?

All the guy had to do was show the address on his license and laugh at the misunderstanding, which would be indication of a rational, law-abiding citizen.

According to the report YOU posted, the arrest happened after the officer had the identification in hand and was prepared to leave. So there was no risk of a lawsuit if the officer had simply left. Really this is no different from the 72 year old white grandma who got tazed after refusing to sign a ticket. But I didn't see anyone here defending the police action in that case. And to be fair I haven't seen anyone defend that cop who assaulted the black EMT. I think the fact that Gates mentioned race is coloring the issue for some. (No pun intended).

Brian4Liberty

07-23-2009, 11:32 AM

Misunderstanding that they arrested a guy for being in his own house?

This is an issue regardless of whether CNN wants to make it one or not.

An issue of standard Police interactions, or something more?

Things are different when you are a white guy. When the Police pull you over, they usually ask for your drivers license. In response, you say "kiss my ass you nazi scum!". The Police then laugh and say, "oh, sorry, we didn't know you were a white guy!". Then they usually offer your choice of Mrs. Fields cookies or an ice cold beer. I usually ask for the beer, and a couple of extra for the road! We all get a big laugh out of that! If we have the time, we'll put out some road flares to stop traffic, and polish off a quick 6 pack together...maybe set up a dui checkpoint to meet chicks.

catdd

07-23-2009, 12:39 PM

"Really this is no different from the 72 year old white grandma who got tazed after refusing to sign a ticket. But I didn't see anyone here defending the police action in that case. And to be fair I haven't seen anyone defend that cop who assaulted the black EMT. I think the fact that Gates mentioned race is coloring the issue for some. (No pun intended)."

It should never have been turned into a race issue. If it had stayed as another example of police overstepping their boundaries and abusing American citizens then more people would be in agreement. But whites are getting a little sick of hearing about the race card - especially when they are being treated in exactly the same way.
The guy should have never claimed it was racism. He is probably a democrat and can't think outside the box.

acptulsa

07-23-2009, 12:48 PM

The police were called to a break-in. There was no break in. They weren't called to the scene of 'disorderly conduct', and there was no 'disorderly conduct' except in reaction to their presence. And the only reason he was acting that way in a 'public place' (if you can call his front porch that) is because the officer asked him to step out.

No wonder they dropped the charges. This is simply a cop who thinks everyone who stands up to him ever should wear bracelets.

Danke

07-23-2009, 12:59 PM

I wonder if he had been drinking on that flight in from China.

Who would be yelling constantly like that and not remembering that the cop already gave his name two times.

If he was sober, it almost seems like he was looking to get arrested. Lawsuit?

(assuming the Cops' and the other witnesses stories are correct and coincide).

apropos

07-23-2009, 02:46 PM

According to the report YOU posted, the arrest happened after the officer had the identification in hand and was prepared to leave. So there was no risk of a lawsuit if the officer had simply left. Really this is no different from the 72 year old white grandma who got tazed after refusing to sign a ticket. But I didn't see anyone here defending the police action in that case. And to be fair I haven't seen anyone defend that cop who assaulted the black EMT. I think the fact that Gates mentioned race is coloring the issue for some. (No pun intended).

Thank you for the bold lettering. Note that my post mentioning the lawsuit came before I was able to locate and share the full police report with the board. I guess assuming that people realize time is linear is too much sometimes.

You are correct, however...your irate response does imply that Gates' mention of race is coloring the issue for some.