All of you have likely heard the story of Prof. Henry Louis Gates, from Cambridge University, being arrested.  You're probably also aware of the mad racial debate that it sparked.

You can read about it on CNN, here:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/24/officer.gates.arrest/index.html

Now, some are siding with the professor, and others are siding with the police officers.  I'm pretty sure both of them were wrong, and both of them acted stupid.  It came down to a pissing contest, and now they're seeing who's going to win.  Who backs down first.

I'm pretty sure Mr. Gates lied a little to make himself not look like an unreasonable angry man.  And there's no doubt that the police abused their power and should never have arrested Mr. Gates, racial or not.

I think the whole issue should be dropped - nothing will come of it, and it will be a pissing contest until the end.  What should be done are actions to prevent this from happening again, whether or not it's to a black man.  If Mr. Gates truly wanted to stop this from happening again, instead of winning a pissing contest, he'd be concentrating on a solution as well.

The solution is simple really. One person cannot be trusted to uphold the law.  Even good people sometimes do the wrong thing under pressure.  And his police officer friends certainly can't be trusted.  Can you imagine what would await for an officer if he spoke out against one of his police officer friends?

Officers should carry around a camera which records audio and video while on duty.

A simple solution to the problem of entrusting the law to one person, and a cheap one at that.  Sure, the first question would be "who will pay for the equipment?".  But can you imagine how much time would be saved in litigation? Our judges and courts cost money, too.  A lot more than a simple electronic recording device.

What would ensue is not only an easy way to prove who was right and wrong, but greater peace. We'd know whether the police officer abused his power or whether the civilian got out of hand, without wasting months of litigation.  And we'd get better behavior from both sides, too.  Police officers would think twice before abusing their power, as they'd know everything is being recorded.  Civilians, on the other hand, would behave themselves, as they'd know the video of their behavior would be used in a court of law, and not look good if they're not cooperating.

Simple solution, problem solved.