The Beer Summit Was Apparently A Success Perhaps Because No Arrogant Bastard Ale Was Served To Any Of Its Participants

YouTube video about The Beer Summit courtesy of Associated Press

By all accounts the meeting between Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge MA police officer Sgt. James Crowley with U.S. President Barack Obama serving as "bartender" and Vice President Joe Biden present as "bouncer" (just kidding) ;-) was successful and productive. If Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley can sit down together and work towards reconciliation in a civil and mutually respectful manner all I can say is more power to them. If this "Beer Summit" can serve as a "springboard" toward a national dialogue on race relations in the U.S.A. that would be great too. If Sgt. James Crowley can comfortably work together with Henry Louis Gates Jr. in the production of the documentary film that he wants to do on racial profiling, as I have previously suggested, without being co-opted that would be a good thing too. If these two men genuinely want to reconcile and constructively and productively work together to improve race relations in the U.S.A. then I think that the American public should allow them to do just that.

According to the National Post/Reuters report President Barack Obama said that he hoped that the "Beer Summit" would give the people involved in the dispute a chance to listen to each other, instead of "ginning up anger and hyperbole," and reflect upon the fact that they all had different points of view. Sounds fair enough to me but I think that it needs to be pointed out once again, hopefully for a final time. . . that the person most responsible for "ginning up anger and hyperbole" in this matter is Henry Louis Gates Jr., not Sgt. James Crowley and not President Barack Obama even if he did gin up *some* anger with his poorly calibrated words. One only needs to read Henry Louis Gates' self-serving "interview" in The Root entitled 'Skip Gates Speaks' to see plenty of ginning up of anger and over-the-top hyperbole that I have already pointed out in previous blog posts here.

So what did each participant in the "Beer Summit" imbibe you ask?

Well it seems that Stone Brewing Co. of Escondido, California never shipped up that complimentary case of their Arrogant Bastard Ale that I waggishly suggested that they might want to provide on the White House as it were.

National Post/Reuters reports - Bud Light for Obama, Blue Moon for Crowley and Red Stripe for Gates. Vice President Joe Biden was also at the table.

Daily Enquirer reports - The four men ate peanuts as they chatted over their favorite beers. Obama drank a Bud Light, Crowley a Blue Moon, Gates a Sam Adams Light, and Biden a non-alcoholic Buckler.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has an article titled 'Beer Summit: Prosit' which discusses the choice of beers and concludes with this parting shot - The tripartite summit and the "brewhaha" preceding it reminded us of the time a rabbi, a priest, and a minister walked into a saloon, prompting the bartender to ask, "What is this, a joke?"

The Baltimore Sun has an article titled 'Rating the brews served at the beer summit' which apparently rates all of the beers served as second rate swill. I would have to concur. . .

Here is the comment I submitted to the article -

I would go with the Blue Moon too, and might even have two or three if it was a half-decent wheat beer which I have some reason to doubt.

Prompted by a waggish commenter elsewhere I had emailed the Stone Brewing Co. suggesting that it might want to ship a complimentary case of its Arrogant Bastard Ale to be served on the White House as it were. :-)

The Washington Post has an interesting article titled 'The Racial Politics of Beer' by one by Maureen Ogle which was apparently written two days in the future since it is dated Sunday, August 2, 2009. . .

Maureen Ogle's first paragraph says -

It was never going to be just a round of beers -- not when it was being served at the White House to a black (and part Irish) Harvard professor, a white police officer (also boasting Irish roots) and the mixed-race president of the United States.

I can't help but wonder if Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s Irish roots are of the Protestant Orangemen variety which might explain a lot about what happened between the two men, seeing that Sgt. James Crowley's Irish background seems to be on the Catholic side of *that* divide. . . Oh dear am I engaging in racial profiling? ;-)

Well it *is* Marching Season you know. . .

I like this bit too -

Of course, nothing says "humanity" better than fermented grain. For 10,000 years, from Mesopotamia to medieval Europe, from Asia to Africa, human beings have prayed, haggled, and waged war and peace while sipping the stuff. In Europe circa 3,000 B.C., beer-drinking played such a vital role in political and religious rituals that chieftains and warriors outfitted themselves with ornate cups and ewers, objects of precious stone and metal so symbolically powerful that they were buried with their owners.

It's well worth a full read.

Here is U.S. President Barack Obama’s statement following the "Beer Summit" courtesy of the Los Angeles Times:

"I am thankful to Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley for joining me at the White House this evening for a friendly, thoughtful conversation. Even before we sat down for the beer, I learned that the two gentlemen spent some time together listening to one another, which is a testament to them. I have always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart. I am confident that has happened here tonight, and I am hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson from this episode."

"It's an attempt to have some personal interaction when an issue has become so hyped and so symbolic that you loose sight of just the fact that these are people involved, including myself, all of whom are imperfect," Mr. Obama said.

Nuff' said?

Well not quite. It does occur to me that Sgt. James Crowley might have been trying to send a subtle message by choosing the Blue Moon. I expect that he hopes that the kind of incident that led to the Beer Summit only occurs once in a blue moon. . .

Is Henry Louis Gates Jr. A Naughty Professor Or Nutty Profesor Or Both?

A good number of people who are not impressed with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s alleged, if not self-confessed, insulting and abusive "in your face" signifying behavior towards Sgt. James Crowley and other Cambridge police officers, to say nothing of his post arrest conduct such as his all too revealing "interview" in The Root webzine, are quite predictably "name-calling" Henry Gates Jr. "The Nutty Professor". I recently took a cue from this predictable stereotyping of professor Gates when posting a comment to a blog post of a blogger who is sensitive about people making fun of the mentally ill. I quite justifiably referred to Henry Gates as "The Naughty Professor" thus more accurately describing his behavior while referencing "The Nutty Professor" in this pun.

Here are some dictionary definitions of the word "naughty" -

1. Behaving disobediently or mischievously: a naughty child.
2. Indecent; improper: a naughty wink.
3. Archaic Wicked; immoral.

http://www.answers.com/topic/naughty

Misbehaving, often in a troublesome way: bad, ill-behaved.
See control/uncontrol, good/bad.

not behaving properly; mischievous or disobedient: used esp. of children or their behavior
showing lack of decorum; improper, indelicate, or obscene

http://www.yourdictionary.com/naughty

So I think that we can safely say that professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. has been just a tad naughty of late and can thus quite justifiably be referred to as "The Naughty Professor". I am happy to report that this Google search reveals that I am probably the very first person to "name-call" Henry Louis Gates Jr. "The Naughty Professor" on the internet with the possible exception of one RuthACod who had a Grumpy Day yesterday.

Update Tuesday 28.07.2009 23:22pm: After tracking down my comment where I first use the term "The Naughty Professor" it is now clear that RuthACod beat me to the punchline by a few hours.

Did The Harvard Crimson Break The CrowleyGates Story? Apparently So. . .

According to the New York Times article titled 2 Cambridge Worlds Collide in Unlikely Meeting -

News of Professor Gates’s arrest did not emerge until four days later, when the Harvard Crimson posted a story on its Web site based on the police report.

Here is the Harvard Crimson story by Peter F. Zhu that "broke" the news of the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to not only Harvard but much of the free world. . .


Renowned Af-Am Professor Gates Arrested for Disorderly Conduct

It is well worth reading. Take note that it is dated July 20, 2009 6:42 PM

Here are some interesting quotes from it -

:The two then moved to the front porch, the report said, where Gates continued to shout that the sergeant was racist, catching the attention of roughly seven "surprised and alarmed" onlookers.

:"I think that the charges should be dropped because Professor Gates was a suspect for being a burglar in his own home," Ogletree said in an interview with The Crimson. "This was precipitated on a false assumption that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time." He added that Gates has been "traumatized" by the entire affair and is now resting comfortably in his summer home in Martha's Vineyard.

:Ogletree declined to comment on whether he believes Gates was racially profiled, as some media reports have suggested, instead saying that his statement of events "speaks for itself." But other prominent black Harvard professors, including medical school professor S. Allen Counter and social sciences professor Lawrence D. Bobo, have suggested that race influenced the police actions. According to the Associated Press, the Reverend Al Sharpton has vowed to attend Gates' arraignment.

Editor's note: I guess that *the* Rev. Al Sharpton is off *that* hook now since the charges have been dropped. . .

:"This arrest is indicative of at best police abuse of power or at worst the highest example of racial profiling I have seen," Sharpton said. "I have heard of driving while black and even shopping while black but now even going to your own home while black is a new low in police community affairs."

Editor's note: But *the* Rev. Al Sharpton is not off *that* hook since Henry Louis Gates was not racially profiled, or even arrested. . . simply for going to (his) own home.

:Ogletree said that he and Gates believe the professor did not violate any laws and are hoping the matter will be resolved promptly. According to the police report, disorderly conduct carries a maximum penalty of a $150 fine.

I expect that at this point in time, more than a week after the arrest, the whole "Land of the Free", and a good chunk of the rest of the Free World, is hoping the matter will be resolved promptly. . . If Henry Louis Gates Jr. gets off his high horse and acknowledges his own "mistakes" in this regrettable, yet in some ways fortuitous, matter perhaps it will be satisfactorily resolved over a few Arrogant Bastard Ales at the White House later this week. Personally I would like to see this matter promptly resolved by both parties responsibly acknowledging any and all mistakes that they may have made and agreeing to work together to improve race relations in the U.S.A., to say nothing of the rest of the free world, but I am probably just dreaming in Technicolor as it were.

I Couldn't Agree More. . . With Chuck Wexler, Executive Director Of The Police Executive Research Forum

"In certain ways this case is more about class, deference and mutual respect," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum in Washington, a nonprofit group focused on improving police tactics.

Source: 2 Cambridge Worlds Collide in Unlikely Meeting

New York Times

Occam's Zweihänder Is A Multi-Cultural Internationally Read Blog!

And off to a reasonably good international/multicultural start for a little known brand-spanking new blog if this Recent Visitors map from my Statcounter web stats is any indication. . .


Update 28.07.2009: I decided to add a couple more visitor's maps

What DOES President Barack Obama's "I Could Have Calibrated Those Words Differently" Back-Tracking Non-Retraction *Really* Mean?

Somebody was just asking. . .

Here is how I responded to that question -

Good question. . .

I'm guessing it means shooting himself in the foot with a bullet from a 2mm Kolibri instead of a police issue 45 caliber service pistol. :-)



Perhaps I should have calibrated my words differently. . . ;-)

All in good fun!

Hopefully the Secret Service will not "act stupidly" by interpreting this humorous poke at the unfortunate fact that U.S. President Barack Obama acted stupidly in publicly proclaiming that the Cambridge Police Force acted stupidly in arresting Harvard University scholar (but no gentleman. . .) Henry Louis Gates Jr. for disorderly conduct aka disturbing the peace as some kind of actual threat against President Barack Obama. On the off chance they do. . . hopefully President Obama will have the good sense not to assert that the Secret Service acted stupidly in interpreting this satirical blog post as a real threat. After all, I am only talking about President Obama shooting *himself* in the foot in purely figurative terms and kindly suggesting that he do so with a much smaller caliber, and thus hopefully less damaging, metaphorical "gun" aka firearm the next time that he acts stupidly and shoots himself in the foot. . . ;-)

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no intention whatsoever to doing the slightest physical harm to U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama, or anybody else for that matter, and would be happy to sit down and have a beer with him to discuss the CrowleyGates scandal. Not that I am expecting an invitation to the White House any time soon. . . ;-)

Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. May Be A Scholar But He's No Gentleman. . . *Some* Of The 911 Recordings Have Been Released. . .

I take note of the fact that Cambridge policeman Sgt. James Crowley refers to Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. as "the gentleman" at the 4:28-31 mark or so of this YouTube video of some of the police recordings that the Cambridge Chronicle has posted to the internet, and calmly notes that Gates "will not cooperate". Referring to an uncooperative African American "suspect" as a "gentleman" is hardly the kind of description that one would expect from the kind of racist "rogue policeman" that Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. has publicly, and indeed *nationally*, slandered Sgt James Crowley as being. . . Henry Louis Gates Jr. may be a scholar but he's no *gentleman*.