Headlines, headlines

Headlines make a difference.

Today, the tapes relating to the Gates arrest were released. Boston.com's headline is simply that the tapes were released. CNN.com says, "911 caller didn't mention 'black' suspects."

But there are two things missing here.

The 911 caller said she thought one of the men might have been Hispanic. So, if people want to be all, "Oh, she didn't mention anything about race!" that ain't true. She did make it clear, though, that it looked as if they were having trouble with the key, but that she just wasn't sure.

Secondly, one of the most important things about the released tapes is this: There is no evidence to suggest that Gates' behavior merited arrest. There is no yelling, no shouting.

To me, the tapes mean that the police had every reason to believe that this was not breaking and entering. They were supposed to go make sure it wasn't one. And when Crowley arrived, and Gates was inside and proved residence, that should have been the end of it. And since Gates clearly was not shouting or being disrupted ... I don't understand why there would have been an arrest.

Except that when it comes to discrimination, anger on the part of the subordinate is blown out of proportion and invalidated. In the case of Gates, he was arrested for being angry. His anger was invalidated through Crowley's refusal to recognize that there wasn't a dangerous, illegal situation. His anger was blown out of proportion by what appear to be extremely exaggerated reports of disorderly conduct.

I'm tiiired of hearing about the race card. There is no card. No one does that. This "card" system perpetuates the completely inaccurate and bullshit idea that victims enjoy victimhood and use it to their advantage. I'm sorry, but I don't like being a victim. I'd rather make the same amount of money as men. I'd rather not risk sexual assault every time I walk alone. I'd rather not deal with having to spend more time, money, and effort into making sure I appear acceptable. And I'm sure that many people of color would rather NOT be discriminated against. There is no race card. There is no reveling in discrimination when you're the ones being discriminated against.