Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow

Lucia Whalen never imagined that being a good citizen would set off a national explosion about race.

We now we know that the tape made by Ms. Whalen, the passerby who called 911 to report to the Cambridge police a possible break-in at Professor Gates' home never once mentioned the race of the men until asked. Instead, she noted that it may have been the home of the "gentlemen" she saw because they had luggage and that it appeared that the front door was stuck. When twice asked by the dispatcher whether the men were white, black or Hispanic, Ms. Whalen replied that one might have been Hispanic and that she had no idea about the other.

What are the reasons that police officers ask about race? Identification of some sort certainly is important. But there are certainly other ways to ask. Having seen a shooting victim walking toward me on my walking path two weeks ago, I was more generally asked about the man when I called 911 after specifying the emergency nature of his injuries. My responses then used by the dispatcher to gain increasingly more specific information as appropriate. "Can you describe him for me?"

He is a young man - 20 ish - perhaps white Hispanic.

What is he wearing?

A dark shirt, but it is so blood stained I cannot tell if it is blue or black.

How tall do you estimate he is?

I am 6'1'' so I estimate him to be about 5'8''.

From what direction did he come? Etc.

I volunteered the race of the shooting victim. Ms. Whalen did not mention it. So how did the police report misattribute statements of race to her? Its a curious and disturbing question? Did Sergeant Crowley simply add the race in as a descriptor in an innocent manner. Did he profile Professor in some manner? Angry black man, perhaps, even if the Professor might have had a right to be?

There are generational factors that make Gates' anger more likely as well. He is of an age to have experienced the endstage dregs of racism as fought for in the Civil Rights movement. Moreover, he is a Southerner from a small town; he has often referenced the racism he experienced as a child in his writings. Furthermore, formerly in an interracial marriage, he ran headlong into the social and societal responses from whites and black that attend to such important decisions of the heart.

Crowley voted for Obama and tried to save the life of Celtics superstar Reggie Lewis by giving him mouth to mouth rescusitation as he died 16 years ago. In both cases, his support was race-neutral.

And Ms. Whalen made a call in which she did not mention race. She did what we are all asked to do. She is now receiving death threats from some quarters and will, today, hold a press conference.

This is a reminder that we never know what we are confronting when we meet someone new, when we step onto or walk by someone's real or metaphorical porch, when we look into someone's eyes. It is why we should always suspend judgment until we have real data. The old adage about walking in someone else's shoes comes to mind. Gotta think fast, of course.

And it can start with beer, though perhaps some local brews will be better at stimulating the economy and the national imagination. Rather than each of them drinking their favorite beer, wouldn't it be symbolically lovely if the Professor and the Officer chose beers for each other, or drank the same micro-pub brew when they meet at the White House tomorrow? The White House economic advisors can have some conversations about Massachusetts hop production, support of local brew pub operators and the like. Race and the economy, in one fell swoop.

And why not? If the best address in the free world can't inspire something other than a high-toned buzz, heaven help us.