Gatesgate

[Medusa]

Am I the only one who feels that the woman who made the 911 call should be invited to this beer fest? She's taken an awful lot of heat and has been wrongly called a racist for trying to do the right thing and protect her neighbor's home from a break-in but she's being ignored by Obama.

[pomtzu]

I'm with you Mary, for if it hadn't been for her, none of this would be taking place.
She's being criticized and bashed, and folks are putting words in her mouth that she never said to start with. I think Pres Obama needs to apologize to her on behalf of all those who are guilty of this.
What's happening to her surely is sending a negative message to anyone that might make a similar call like she did. They might be inclined to turn the other way and ignore a like situation, rather than reporting it.

[Grace]

Making it three votes in the affirmative! I thought the very same thing while watching her statement.

[Laura's Babies]

Make it 4!~ Maybe it is a "guys night out" kind of thing?

Just think, if she HADN'T called and it been a actual burglar breaking in ...... Next time I bet she won't call!


But I am confused. There was a blond lady on TV being interviewed as the one who made the call, then a dark haired younger lady on yesterday as the one who made the call.. ?????

[Medusa]

But I am confused. There was a blond lady on TV being interviewed as the one who made the call, then a dark haired younger lady on yesterday as the one who made the call.. ?????

I haven't seen the blonde, only the dark-haired woman. My question is: what if she had given the description of the person as being a man of color? Isn't that what we're supposed to do? We're told to be as accurate as possible in our descriptions and she didn't even bring race or color into it anyhow. The person on the other end of the 911 call did. To call someone a racist is one of the most serious charges to level against someone and yet that word is bandied about and ofttimes unfairly. What if the person that she perceived to be breaking into the home was quite diminutive in stature and she said "Well, he's really short". Are the little people going to be outraged? What if she said "I can't really tell if the person is male or female". Will the transgender people be ready for a fight? This has got to stop. She was looking out for her neighbor and her neighborhood and she's been vilified for it. It's no wonder that people are afraid to get involved.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

she didn't recognize her own neighbor?

[Medusa]

she didn't recognize her own neighbor?

See, this is what I'm talking about. Apparently she did not recognize him. Otherwise, why would she have called 911? I'm dismayed to say that I don't know most my neighbors except the ones to the immediate left and right and across the street. People work, long hours, too. My neighbors directly across the street from me are gone nearly all day and night. I only see them pull in or out of their driveway. I never see their faces. Even my neighbor to the immediate left of me is gone so much that when I saw her, I jokingly said "I thought you had moved!" So if I saw someone trying to force a door open, I'd probably call the police, too, and then probably also take criticism for it. We're told to watch out for our neighbors, neighborhood watches used to be big around here but not so much any more and now I can see why. Just a couple of weeks ago, someone tried to steal concrete furniture from my yard. It was clear that they were trying to lift it over the fence. They apparently didn't realize how heavy it was so they just dropped it in the middle of the yard. Did anyone see anything? Who knows. No one called 911, except me when I got home and discovered that the furniture had been moved.

[Karen]

she didn't recognize her own neighbor?

You can live next to someone in Cambridge for years and never see them - it's very densely populated, and yet this is completely true. I feel sorry for the woman who made the call, and think both Gates and Crowley owe her an apology.

[RICHARD]

Seriously,

Only in America can we have some cretin yell "racism" then get 'rewarded' by a beer bash in the White House.

If the AH had no shame, he'd tell the prez, "No thanks, I acted like a moron and need to get my head straight!"

Nope, he's made a celeb because he's BFF with Obama.

What a chump.

[pomtzu]

I live in the country, but still have neighbors on either side - just further away since the lots are 2 acres and have a 200' frontage. I wouldn't know any of them if I fell over them - that's just the way it is. I see them at a distance working in their yards occasionally, but that's the extent of it. It seems no one has time for anyone but their own anymore. If I saw any suspicious actions around their properties, I would still report it and take my chances, and hope that they would do the same for me.

[phesina]

I lived for 13 years in Cambridge right around the block from his house. I couldn't recognize all the people who lived in my building (about 40 apartments), let alone anyone who lived in the next one. That's all Harvard property on that block, rental housing and offices, and all kinds of people are coming and going all the time. And it's right on the edge of Harvard Square, one of the busiest locations at all hours of the day and night in metropolitan Boston.

[Lizzie]

I called out the cops on my neighbor's son and his friend when they were lurking in my garden but all I saw were two young men standing at the top of my front garden at about 2am and then racing around to the back of my house. Of course I called the cops, and I remember my voice shaking when I did so. And of course I gave the best description I could, they appeared to be white, late teens, casual clothing, that kind of thing.

[Pam]

In a country where people have been criticized for not getting involved when they see things happening I think this woman is a hero. I would like her as one of my neighbors.

Make it 5 votes!

[lizbud]

I was under the impression that the woman didn't live in the
neighborhood, but was cleaning the house were she was.The woman really
deserves a apology. Obama can speak out in her defense & tell these
crazy people to apologize to her themselves.

[lizbud]

Nobody needs this kind of talk. Coming from a Boston cop at this
particular time is bad news.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/29/mas...ail/index.html