President Obama has been criticized for using the word “stupidity” after the arrest of the well-known Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates,Jr. His comment lit up the controversy that is overshadowing an important matter dear to the president: health care reform.

It is difficult to say if the president reacted as a black man or as a friend of the victim. For sure, racial profiling is a very sensitive topic. Racial sensitivity is the sixth sense for all minorities, especially blacks and Latinos in the United States. Even the president of the United States who happens to be black did react like any other black would.

America is a victim of its own past, victim of its own reputation and victim of its own reality. Yes, the police officer has an outstanding record on racial profiling, maybe he did act properly. But sometimes, people act not necessarily the way they are supposed to behave. Sergeant Crowley, who has a reputation of a good man, knows also that he’s paying the price for some bad white cops who tarnished the reputation of others.

Maybe Professor Gates overreacted. Should we blame him for being arrested in his own home and kept for four hours at the police station? The whole story brings back the same old reality.

Professor Gates reaction accusing Sergeant Jim Crowley of being racist is the natural reaction of many people. President Obama is Professor Gates’ friend and Harvard buddies. As the Creole of Cape Verde say, “There is no better mirror than a best friend.”