More on Gates: The 911 Call.

The 911 recording of Lucia Whalen's call to Cambridge Police was released today and there are a few important things to take note of:

First, as has been previously (but not widely) reported, Whalen is not actually a "neighbor." I had incorrectly identified her as such in a previous blog. She was, in fact, just a person who was walking by and came to the aid of an older woman who was witnessing Gates and his driver enter the home. This is the definition of a Good Samaritan.

Second, at no time does Ms. Whalen make reference to the race of the "gentlemen" she is calling about. The 911 operator prompts her for this information, but she's only able to suggest that one of the men "might" be Hispanic. Race was really the last thing on her mind when she made this call.

And third, the caller is not insistent or presumptive in the least. Whalen does not know if it's a break-in or just someone entering their house, but she dutifully reports the suspicious behavior. If there's one thing that's clear from the 911 call, and I think it's an important point, this is not a call where a white woman reports two black men breaking into a house. That is factually wrong on all counts.

The real victim in this whole case might very well be Whalen. Crowley was unprofessional and Gates was a dick, but Whalen seems like a good person whose account of things was wrongly reported and/or speculated upon (by me, too). Funny, she's not going to the White House for a beer...and she's the only one who didn't do anything wrong! Ugh.