I’ve been watching Juan Williams on Fox for years and while I often find myself disagreeing with him politically, I always listen carefully to what he has to say. He’s generally thoughtful and even-handed.
He was certainly even-handed when discussing Hope ‘n Change’s attempt to eat his own foot at his Wednesday presser. When it came to the Skippy Gates matter, Williams observed that Hope ‘n Change hadn’t bothered to inform himself either about the incident itself or Officer Crowley’s credentials and wondered aloud why the prez had even commented on something that was purely a local matter.
But it was Juan’s comments about police in general that I found interesting. He noted that “perhaps it was reflective of his background as a black man in America” that he always kept his mouth shut around police because “they could be prickly or scared”.
Well, I’m not black but I too have always kept my mouth shut around police officers – usually, it’s “yes, sir” and “no, sir” with me. With notable exceptions, I’ve found the police officers I’ve met to be a fairly uptight bunch. And one of those notable exceptions was a black officer who pulled me over for speeding on I-80 in Pennsylvania.
It was 1986 and my father and I were on our way to visit the Gettysburg battlefield. I got stung in a classic speed trap and I was one of a half-dozen cars in a queue in the breakdown lane. The officer was pleasant, good-humored and asked a couple of fairly intrusive questions about our destination while peering into the back of the car. Bottom line, he was way above average in party manners, but he was still a cop – black or white.
But Juan Williams is right – it’s best to keep your mouth shut around cops and if you’re the President, it’s best to keep your foot out of your mouth.
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