the buzz log

Here's a teachable moment: Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested for breaking into his own house. Really.

It went down like this. A Cambridge, Massachusetts neighbor called the cops on the African American studies head after she observed him and a friend attempting to force open the door of his house. In the middle of the day.

The officer who arrived on the scene seemed confused about being called for a robbery when only the resident was there. He asked the ornery professor to show his ID and step outside to his porch. That's when things got ugly. Gates got mad, accused the policeman of racism, and in front of several witnesses, got cuffed and arrested for "disorderly conduct."

Interest in the arrest immediately spiked as the news spread. (You can read the police report for more details.)

Oh, and the reason Gates had to force open his door in the first place? It was busted. From an attempted robbery.