Causecast

by MAEGAN CARBERRY, Contributing Writer

How a legitimate story regarding racial profiling in America became a national conversation about the merits of Budweiser is anyone’s guess. Sure, it was funny for a second when White House press secretary Robert Gibbs indulged in jokes about the president’s less-evolved taste, but the mainstream media’s ensuing obsession with the so-called Beer Summit was even more uncomfortable than the forced relations between Obama’s awkward drinking buddies. Harvard professor Skip Gates and Cambridge Sergeant James Crowley, survivors of the now notorious misguided arrest in Gates’ home last week, were effectively caricatured in the sensational hullabaloo to the point that the gathering’s intrinsic value was virtually negated.

The best coverage of the event I read came from Gates’ daughter, Elizabeth, who captured the not-so-nuanced interaction in her morning-after post on The Daily Beast:

"As our family rounded the corner to the White House library and I first caught sight of Sergeant Crowley’s lovely 14-year-old daughter—who was wearing an appropriately heavy and charmingly untrained amount of green eyeliner on her lower lashes—we were instantly transported from the post-racial myth of America in 2008 to the reality of 2009. There they stood, a pleasant family of five, listening patiently to the overzealous tour guide boast about the fully functioning fireplace to the left of the doorframe.

As soon as my father’s foot crossed the threshold of the room, the storm of mediators immediately rushed to introduce us, but true to form, my father cut right through the thick tension of hurried salutations and offered the Sgt. his hand and joked, ‘You looked bigger the last time I saw you.’ Crowley’s cheeks flushed red as a smile dashed across his lips, and his young son, whose cheeks had long since flushed the same muted crimson, looked up at his father and smiled. This wasn’t a family raised on hate. At that moment, right there in the library, they were just like us: a young family groomed to perfection, waiting to learn how to get those damn cameramen off their lawn and to put this sensationalized hell behind them."

For all the talk that’s gone on about “teachable moments” since this exchange entered the news cycle, the lesson here has certainly magnified beyond its initial scope. It became a story about the “pile-on” effects of the mainstream media and its echo chamber in the blogosphere, and more disturbingly revealed a nation that is still uncomfortable with its first black president.

Yes, a majority of citizens voted for Obama in the historic election, but back on the campaign trail the president rarely made race a focus of his message. In the last month, he has visited the former slave market in Ghana, given a riveting (and inspiring!) speech at the NCAAP’s anniversary party, and now used his presidential pulpit to underscore the (shocking!) prevalence of the racial profiling of African-American men by police and back up his prestigious black buddy. Oh! And let’s not forget his acknowledgment of Michael Jackson’s death.

It appears the president has gone too black on us. Good thing Lou Dobbs is back leading the Birther movement in an attempt to expose the conspiracy that Obama was not, in fact, born in Hawaii. Maybe we can just oust him and get a white “bitch” like Hillary Clinton in the oval office.

Hmmmm. Looks like racism is alive and well in America.

I’m bummed because I liked the way the president tried to handle “Gates-gate.” Of course the White House encouraged the photo op, but inviting Gates and Crowley to talk was a mature, lead-by-example move that should encourage others to start realistic, open dialogues. Now it seems like lip-service.

Regardless, it’s a positive thing that the issues that have lurked latent below the surface of our country’s desire to declare a post-race America have finally been revealed. I’m sure the collective growing pains will turn much more vitriolic before they get better, but that’s a part of progress. I salute the president for once again putting himself in a challenging but essential position to show us that we can do better.

Photo from The Official White House Photostream