Of course he’s not a Muslim and it would be great if religion wasn’t part of politics, of which both McCain and Obama were at fault for levering their religion to gain votes.

I almost wrote a column with that title: “A Tale of Two Egos” but then tabled it for another piece. I firmly believe that testosterone was a contributing factor in this incident. Even after the incident, in another sign of ego, neither man would admit to crossing a line.

Good point and thanks for your comment.

Thanks for your comments; you have raised very interesting points. I do think there is an underlying mistrust of Blacks that sometimes translates into a perception of “ill-gotten gains,” though I don’t always think this is the case. You could be right that Sgt. Crowley called the Harvard police to expose the fraud. That didn’t occur to me.

I do, however, maintain that success/power is a key issue is Gatesgate, not just as a symptom of broader mistrust of Blacks (which it is to some extent), but as a deep-seated problem in its own right. Many Americans have a certain comfort level with Blacks who have societal roles viewed as “suitable” for them (e.g., secretaries, domestic roles, entertainers), but become extremely uncomfortable with Blacks in any authoritative role.

I think you (and Mr. Fish) are quite correct that there is sizable population of people who cannot believe that Black people can achieve financial or social or political success. They want to see the proof that they know does not exist. Dr. Gates “proof” must be fraudulent so the officer had to call the Harvard Police to prove this fraud.

However, I think that this is merely the most visible aspect of the broader concept that anything that any Black person has, has probably been obtained inappropriately, if not actually illegally. The Black driver of that car may have stolen it but if he does own it, he bought with ill gotten money. He may not have broken any traffic law but was probably on his way to break the law, if not coming back from having done so.

Whether a Black person is “successful” is really not the point. All black people are assumed to be have criminal intent, if not criminal success. It is the experience of successful Black people of being treated like criminals that throws a spotlight on this issue but it is not the issue itself.