As more facts trickle out, and the media frenzy seems to calm down a bit, I’d like to take this time to offer my thoughts and observations about the Gates arrest and ensuing debate. Basically, I think the focus has been on race when it really should be more about masculinity.

To summarize: Professor Gates was coming home after a long flight from China. I can say from personal experience that I often feel disoriented and exhausted after a long flight over several time zones, and I suspect that Gates probably felt the same way. Then he couldn’t get into his house and had to bust his way in. So he probably wasn’t in a great mood when he finally was able to get into his home.

Meanwhile, a passerby calls 911 and reports that there are two men trying to break in to a home. According to the Washington Post:

The tape revealed that the woman who reported seeing two men trying to break into a house did not know their race. When pressed twice by the dispatcher to identify the men by race, Lucia Whalen said: “Um, well, there were two larger men. One looked kind of Hispanic, but I’m not really sure. And the other one entered and I didn’t see what he looked like at all.”

We really don’t know what was said when the officer came to the door. The officer may have been professional and courteous, or he may have been rude and disrespectful. And we really don’t know what experiences Gates has had in his own life with the police. Gates was most likely already in a sour mood, and he probably felt that he was being harassed in his own home by the police. And he was most likely belligerent and uncooperative.

He probably should not have been arrested, however. Aside from the questionable legal basis for his arrest, there was really nothing to be gained by arresting him. Even if we assume that the police report is correct — that he was screaming and cursing at the police — he was not using physical threats or intimidation. It would have been better for the police to simply get in their patrol cars and leave. And of course, it would have been better for Gates to not raise his voice or insult the officers — or anyone else for that matter. Yelling and cursing at people generally isn’t a productive way of going about solving a conflict.

Obama really should have stayed out of it. He may have been right — the police did act stupidly — but so did Gates. And there is no reason for the President of the United States to insert himself into a case in which he admitted he didn’t have all the facts. What baffles me is why he said that he did, especially given his reputation as being a disciplined and focused speaker. I find it unlikely that he or his staff did not anticipate this question coming up in the press conference, and I find it even more unlikely that they would have recommended his commenting on it in the way he did. Of course, Obama also grew up as a black man in America, and we don’t know what experiences he or those he knows have had with the police — so he may have been reacting to this on more of a personal level, particularly since Gates is his friend.

I also find it baffling how Gates now says he is going to make a documentary about racial profiling in the United States. Was he not aware that this was going on before? Or did it only become important to him when he perceived it was happening to him?

What was most interesting, however, is how so many people — including the President — were willing to jump to conclusions without all the facts. Some said that it was a clear case of racial profiling, while others said that the cop was just trying to do his job. I think it probably had more to do with masculinity than race — both men were in a standoff and neither one wanted to back down. Gates could have simply gone back in his house and filed a complaint with the police department if he felt he was treated in an unprofessional manner. The officer simply could have gotten in his patrol car and left after he determined that it was Gates’ house. But neither one was willing to do that, and it didn’t turn out well for either of them in the end.

Our culture teaches men that to back down from a conflict is a sign of weakness. That I believe is a much larger societal issue that is being overlooked. Hopefully that will be included in Gates’ future documentary as well.