I disdain their flagrant show of power, have witness them work up close and know that sometimes their power can exceed their judgment.

On the other hand, I've known a handful of Ivy Leaguers and a more insufferable group of entitled brats I've never met.

Thus, when I read about the dust-up between Professor Gates being arrested for disturbing the police, I couldn't work up my usual outrage, particularly because initial reports were that the professor declined to show his ID.

Now I don't like this police state we live in, with prisons and police one of the main ways we protect the wealthy. But if you sit in enough political philosophy classes you're told that following the law is the "social contract" that we all agree to by living in our communities. The professors never tell how you can "opt out" of this agreement, but that's another story.

We presume that the much lauded Professor Gates knew about this social contract when the cops showed up investigating a possible break-in. So if he declined to show his ID as first reported, he was asking for trouble.

I don't want to tell the cop my name either when I'm asked, but I do it because I know I'll end up arrested if I don't.

I recognize the injustice of racial profiling , which, coincidentally, I first learned about from black police detectives I used to cover. It's a pretty disgusting practice on the face of it, unless you actually stop a crime in progress. And therein lies the problem.

But I'm not sure this case has anything to do with race.

I think that two representatives of society's most powerful archetypes butted heads, leaving them both bruised and pissed at the effrontery of the other.

I surprise myself because I don't usually like watching fights, but watching this one has had its reward.