Life’s little Kumbaya moments

BY TONY BOUZA

Like all real amateur writers I love doing pieces on topics I only imperfectly and superficially understand—art, foreign policy, literature, etc. This despite the fact that I’ve been practicing/studying police actions continuously since 1/1/53.

Lawyers even pay me $200 an hour for my views, take notes and don’t nod off, as is so often the case when I wander from this reservation.

So today I’ll discuss a subject I understand—the humiliation of Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. of Harvard. Not having studied the case or its documents, I warn the reader this is an impressionistic account. Giving new meaning to absent-mindedness our professor misplaced his key and had to—with help—force his way into his residence late at night A helpful neighbor calls the police. They respond and investigate. All commendable—so far.

Professor Gates is black. The cop is white. Communi-cations are flawed. The resident is pissed. The cop concludes he’s failed the attitude test. Manhandling, handcuffs, carting off, photographing and other humiliations follow.

A furor ensues.
The professor is advised by a caring but inexperienced friend who allows hubris to lend confidence to his counsels.

A well-intentioned, but similarly misguided, President seizes the opportunity for a moment of racial conciliation and promotes a beer-sharing, widely covered, kumbaya moment on the White House grounds that includes the white cop, the professor and The Man himself.

Worthy of Clinton. Touchy-feely.
No apologies follow. The professor was never charged and a curious development followed—the cop, on his first appearance before a police group, receives a standing ovation. Their hero.

He’s committed an egregious act of police brutality and gotten away with it. To his colleagues, he’d not only put a black asshole in his place, but gotten away with it.
Now the dust has settled.

The professor—I assume—is glad for his Presidential moment, but the event has to carry a sour taste.

The cop struts and swells.
The professor’s advisor no doubt feels a curious and utterly misplaced
vindication.

Our wonderful President did his best (forgetting what the road to hell is
paved with) and has gone on to bigger, better things, blithely unaware that
he not only didn’t help—but hurt.

And what should have been done?

I’ve handled literally scores of such cases over the past 20 years. I
regularly advise clients that it’s easier to collect $100K than to secure an
apology.

The only real answer is to sue.

Aren’t we litigious enough?

The fact is we are not (with rare exceptions). The bars to suing are high,
wide and expensive. There are gauntlets to run. Suing is expensive.
Lawyers don’t want to waste their time. Complex documents have to be
prepared.

In fact this case beautifully illustrates my point—many, many cases that cry
out for justice (in the form of a lawsuit) are simply not pursued.
Professor Gates should have sued the white cop, individually, and his
department which, by condoning his actions, became complicit.

It ain’t called justice for nothing.