Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I am the Knitting Police

I’m sure that everyone has heard all about the kerfuffle in Cambridge, Massachusetts in which renowned scholar, Henry L. Gates, Jr., was arrested by Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police department.  Now, I have done quite a bit of reading about this incident, from several different sources, and I have to say, I am absolutely livid.  On many levels.  The Lame Stream Media, the White House, and barking moonbats from every corner of the globe are calling this incident ‘proof of the continuing racism in America’ and ‘the corruption of law enforcement’.  Um…no, not exactly.  Yes, there is racism at work here, it’s just not coming from the police.  It’s coming from the Lame Stream Media, the White House, and the moonbat brigade.

The facts of this incident state that Gates arrived home to find his door ‘jammed’ to the point that he was unable to open it normally, possibly from a prior attempt to break in to the residence.  It’s unknown if this was reported to law enforcement.  Gates and his driver attempted to force entry into the residence, by means of a crow bar.  A passer-by (not a neighbor as originally reported) saw this, and contacted police.  The Cambridge Police Department, by way of Sgt. Crowley, responded to the call.

Upon arrival, Sgt. Crowley found the door open, and Gates inside the residence.  Sgt. Crowley identified himself, told Gates why he was there, asked Gates to step out of the residence, and provide a form of identification that might give Gates a legal reason to be at the residence.

Gates refused to step out of the residence.  Gates refused, until near the end of the contact with Sgt. Crowley, to provide identification.  Gates then launched into a shouting and cursing tirade, questioning Sgt. Crowley’s heritage, whether or not his parents were actually married at the time of his birth, and showering Sgt. Crowley with racist epithets.  Gates was subsequently arrested, not for burglary or breaking or entering, but for disorderly conduct.

Fast forward a few days.  In a press conference about health care reform (TIC), the President of the United States commented on the incident, stating that the police who responded “acted stupidly”.  Really?  Well now, let’s just disect this little bit of “stupid” from a purely law enforcement point of view.

The police responded to a burglary in progress call.  This is not a call you can ‘blow off’ or respond to as if it were a barking dog.  This is a serious, and potentially dangerous, call.  This I know from personal experience, but that is a post for another day.  The ‘burglary in progress’ was called in by a person not familiar with the residents in the neighborhood.  This is a reasonable call.  Citizens have an obligation to report information of criminal activity to law enforcement.

According to the police reports available on-line, Gates was found already inside the residence, and, at first, refused to step outside of the residence.  This is purely an officer safety issue and a ’secure the scene’ issue.  The officers didn’t know who Gates was.  They knew he was in the residence, and possibly in possession of, or with access to, a weapon.  Did you know that Kevlar is not knife-proof?  If the house IS the scene of a crime, no one can be allowed to remain inside, or evidence will be destroyed.

Gates also refused, until well into his contact with law enforcement, to identify himself.  Did Gates assume that, since he is ‘famous’, the officers should know him on sight?  Is Gates really that full of himself?  I don’t know what the specific laws in Massachusetts are, but in Arkansas, you SHALL correctly identify and/or provide proof of that identity, upon demand, to any certified law enforcement officer.  To fail to do so is obstruction of governmental operations.  In Arkansas, if you refuse to identify yourself, you will probably find yourself, and your high horse, being carried down to the jail until we find out exactly who you are.  Would an officer be fulfilling his sworn duties if he responded to such a call, found someone on scene who said “Hey, I’m the homeowner, it’s o.k.!”, and just walked away?  I think not.  We are tasked with protecting life AND property.  I really don’t care who you are, who you think you are, what you look like, your age, sex, or religion.  If I go to a call like that, and I find you there, your name is ’suspect’ until I know differently.

What actually got Gates arrested was the profanity-laced tirade that followed.  According to all reports, this tirade happened on the front porch (stoop?) and just inside the open front door of the residence.  Again, I’m not familiar with the laws in Massachusetts, but in my state, anything that is easily viewed or heard by others outside of a closed residence is called ’public’.  Any sight or sound that can cause general upset or disruption to others, in public, is disorderly conduct.  Based on the reports, this was the legal and correct course of action on the part of the Cambridge Police. 

Now, all of this is bad enough.  But for the President of the United States to, by his own admission, not know all of the facts of the case, and then to publicly comment about a misdemeanor arrest in Massachusetts by calling the police ’stupid’ and, by default ‘racist’ because of who they arrested?  I can’t remember any other sitting president in my lifetime who has set such an outrageous precident.  Imagine what his Secret Service must be feeling like right now.  I wonder how many of them will be requesting a transfer? 

Last reports say that the President has invited both Gates and Sgt. Crowley to the White House ‘for a beer’.  Now I like my beer, but I think that is one that I would have to pass on.   

Not much on the knitting front right now.  Still working on that shawl.  Since my knitting mojo decided to go on hiatus, it’s been a stuggle.  I did get a cute cardi pattern to test knit from one of my girls, LovelyKnits.  I will be starting that momentarily.  That should be fun.  I also found out that I have a BUNCH of BSJ’s to get going on.  Seems that a bunch of my Trooper buddies have been, um…busy.  We have babies on the way.  Soon.

Just one last little tidbit for my girls (and you all know who you are)…has anyone jumped over to the blog of a certain rather famous Cannuck knitter lately?  If not, do.  Read the post for July 25.  Does anyone besides me think that *Z*Moron must be on a rampage again?  It does have all of the earmarks of ‘those’ kinds of actions, no?

My mojo, that is.  All of it.  Knitting, blogging, working, hanging out.  Just.  Gone.  I guess I’m going through one of those little slumps where I just do not feel like doing anything, going anywhere, or being around people.  I’ve even missed the last couple of meetings of my newly-found knitting group.  So not like me.

I think part of my problem is that my youngest son has been spending summer vacation time with dad, grandparents, and other assorted relatives.  Not that I begrudge any of them spending time with him.  He needs to spend as much time as possible with the other side of the family.  I’m just not used to being away from either one of my boys for that long.  Of course, the oldest son is working, hanging out with friends, and gone a large part of the time as well.  I’ve never been able to sleep well without at least one of the boys in the house, and I haven’t been sleeping much for the past couple of weeks.

That’s my problem…I just need a few nights of really good sleep!!

I have been knitting, even through my slump, I’m just not enjoying it very much.  I’m still plugging away at ex-MIL #2’s ‘Ocean Tides’ shawl.  This one will absolutely be done in time for holiday giving.  I’m on the fourth (and longest) section, starting the fourth pattern repeat.  The sample done for the pattern only shows six pattern repeats, but I’m going with eight for a bit of extra width.  Right now, I’m just ready to get the silly thing done.

My newest family members are…a constant source of funny and frustration.  I have discovered that Seamus and Finn can’t eat from the same bowl anymore.  As young as they are, but both being males, it has resulted in some rather spectacular fights.  They both love to jump and do the ‘Tarzan’ on my curtains.  The other night, Finn flew off of the back of the couch, snagged my ball of ‘Ocean Tides’ lace weight (on purpose), and tore off through the house, trailing yarn and shawl behind.  I, of course, was in pursuit, code 3, yelling ‘STOP!’ and ‘NO!’ as if that would actually help.  The yarn and shawl was quickly apprehended without incident (didn’t even drop a stitch!), and returned to the owner.  No charges will be forthcoming.

Thanks to all of my friends, BB Girls, and FB buddies for both the kind words remembering Officer Cannon’s family, and all of the very kind FB comments on my FO pictures.  Y’all sure do know how to make a girl feel good!