Cambridge Cop's Unfortunate Vanity Plate: WHY-TEE

[proud2BlibKansan]

After Barack Obama said Cambridge cops "stupidly" arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates on the front porch of his own home, the police said they "deeply resent the implication" anyone would think they're racists. Maybe clue this Cambridge cop in.

At around noon today, the same time Sgt. Dennis O'Connor, president of the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association, gave his press conference trying to push back against perceptions that the Cambridge cops aren't exactly racially enlightened, Harvard student Seth Bannon spotted this cop pull up to a deli on Massachussetts Ave. in what appears to be his personal SUV with a hilarious license plate: WHY-TEE.

We asked Bannon, who first Twittered the picture, to tell us more:

I was eating breakfast at the Gourmet Express Market and Deli (1868 Mass Ave, Cambridge), when around NOON the black SUV pictured backed into that space and parked illegally. The police officer pictured exited the SUV, walked into the Deli, ordered a sub, got back into the SUV, and drove off. I took the picture as the officer was getting back into the SUV.

I'm not nearly as disturbed by the (entirely unnecessary) illegal parking job as I am by the utter crudeness of the plates, especially in the aftermath of the Gates debacle.

I've attached two additional photos I snapped. In one you can see the officer holding the delicious sub he purchased.

Cheers,

Seth Bannon

http://gawker.com/5322447/cambridge-cops-unfortunate-vanity-plate-why+tee

[goclark]

1. His name is probably "Wyatt T"

Watch him say that one. LOL

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Is anyone here able to trace plates?

:)

[eeyore]

58. I think you need to read the comments at the article.

Whitey is his nickname, given to him by black friends when he was growing up with them. Sounds like he's a good guy.

http://gawker.com/5322447/cambridge-cops-unfortunate-vanity-plate-why+tee

[proud2BlibKansan]

59. And that gives him the right to park in a no parking zone?!

His childhood?

I don't care if his friends think he is a good guy or not. He obviously assumes he is above the law. That makes him a prick in my book, regardless of what his license plate says.

[WeDidIt]

3. Nope, that's not his name

Bet he says he's a golfer, though.

[goclark]

46. LOL

That is a funny name for a plate. :shrug:

[merh]

9. Or he likes white tee shirts.

x(

[EFerrari]

26. LOL

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

4. "Whitey" is a common nickname in the Boston area.

There's a pretty famous gangster from here who goes by that name......

I hope someone at least checked to make sure the guy's last name is not White......

[AspenRose]

10. Interesting that a cop would think enough of a gangster to pay tribute on a license plate

That's just bizarre

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

17. I'm not saying it's a tribute to Whitey Bulger.......

.....but "Whitey", especially if your last name is "White" is a common nickname in Boston.

A lot of people aren't going to like this either, but yes, if your a particularly pale Irishman, it's possible you'll get tagged as "Whitey" for being the palest of an already pale lot.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. That's not peculiar to Boston

I know several people here in the midwest who are nicknamed Whitey. But I can't imagine any of them putting it on a personalized plate. That's just bizarre.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

25. Maybe vanity plates aren't a big deal out there

You wouldn't believe the stupid shit people put on plates in this area.

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. Yes vanity plates are a big deal here

[MADem]

11. Unless he's a blond, or on the Bulger task force, that's a sketchy fucking plate, IMO.

I wonder how he got that past DMV.

[merh]

12. I don't know how one would check that

You have to be a cop to run plates and you have to have a lawful reason.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

13. Yes, I read the article

What is the officer's name?

[merh]

39. I revised because I was the one that was mistaken.

my apologies

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. I know people here in my state who can run plates

And they aren't cops. :)

[merh]

38. Do they work for the licensing division, the ones that give the plates

(our's is the tax collector).

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. No they don't

[merh]

42. that's the only two means of

finding that out that I know of here, LEO or licensing division.

[Jade Fox]

15. delete

[Jade Fox]

20. delete again..

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

23. Really?

Ok, you are correct. I've never heard anyone nicknamed "Whitey". My bad.

[msanthrope]

24. "Whitey Ford", Yankee pitcher. That doesn't excuse this Boston frak, though. n/t

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

27. I don't get what there is to excuse?

If the guy's nickname is "Whitey", or his last name is "White", is that enough of an excuse? Who's going to investigate rather than just assume this dude is a racist? Maybe his father was nicknamed "Whitey" and the plate has been in the family.

I'd be irate if the guy's plate said "Nig-ger" or he had bumper stickers saying "Obama is Kenyan", etc...etc. The fact that a cop from the city where this incident occurred has a plate that happens to be a pejorative term for white folks but also a nickname for anyone named "White" (a common name) is little more than a humorous coincidence to me. If you knew how much it costs to buy a vanity plate, and the trouble you have to go through to get it, I doubt you'd do it just because your trying to make some sort of grand ironical racist statement.

Send it to Conan O'Brien, I'm sure he could use the jokes.

[msanthrope]

28. Dude, I was making a Yankees/Bosox joke, albeit obscurely,

As in, 'Whitey' is an actual nickname, as evidenced by this Yankee pitcher. Because it's a Yankee pitcher, however, this Bostonian is not allowed to even speak his name, IMHO. Maybe too inside baseball?

He's a frak, however, because of his pompous performance at the press conference this a.m.

Lighten up, Francis.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

30. No, I get baseball

Although I hate both the Sux and the Yankers, so it gets sickening after awhile hearing their fans cry how they need more players than they already have.

[msanthrope]

33. Got Rings?

}(

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

35. Any this century?

....Red Sux fans have become mini-versions of you guys the last few years, though.

[msanthrope]

37. It's still young....how about your team? n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

31. Whitey Bulger

Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed was partially based on Bulger.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

43. Then wouldn't he use Whitey?

The hyphen leads me to believe it's meant to sound just how a cop might imitate a black person saying it.

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

50. Can't get vanity plates with any special characters

like a hyphen on our vanity plates in Mass. And we are limited to 6 characters.

And my brother-in-law is a "Whitey".

[Hassin Bin Sober]

55. There is something on that plate that resembles a hyphen.

It's possible he applied something to the plate - I've seen that done. Although it's illegal I doubt he is at risk of receiving a citation.

My point is that spelling looks deliberate. Whitey plus a number would have been available and less suspicious. It fits with my experience with cops and their habits of "talking black" - Police becomes po-lice etc. etc.

[HughMoran]

45. I grew up in the city and never met a person with that nickname

Never heard of another than Whitey Bulger - and nobody wants to emulate him I hope.

I spent a lot of time in Cambridge, Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, Roslindale, South Boston and Back Bay - never once heard that used as a nickname.

[Ikonoklast]

5. This is why people get pissed at cops.

The laws are for everyone, yet there are police that flaunt them whenever they think they can get away with it. After all, who's going to write that jerk a ticket?

[seabeyond]

8. yes. i joked in my post, but yes. i watched a cop at a busy light under an over pass

high school. noon. fast food places. convenient store. traffic moving in all directions. got tired of sittin at a red lite and took a left hand turn across intersection

and people, that want to tell me could have been an emergency. what their damn lights and sirens are for

my mouth hung open at the blatant law breaker, enforcing the law on all our asses

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Here they routinely turn on their lights and sirens to get through traffic

then turn them off when they clear the jam. I see it at least once a week.

[seabeyond]

19. i was really amazed he had the audacity to do that. my conscience wouldnt allow

taking advantage of position in that manner. says something about a person character.

[seabeyond]

6. ahhhhhhm. that is so funny and stupidly. bah hahhaha. n/t

[KamaAina]

7. Uh, maybe he doesn't like golf?

:sarcasm:

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. Or he doesn't like tea but doesn't know how to spell?

[KamaAina]

22. Maybe he's a teabagger

:P

[proud2BlibKansan]

48. Wouldn't surprise me

I have been saying all along their agenda is more about that scary black president than taxes.

[goclark]

47. As in "Why Tee " Up?

Bet that's it. LOL

[Politicalboi]

29. Is he the Why Tee

Michelle was referring too? :sarcasm:

[theothersnippywshrub]

32. How very republican. Certainly Reaganesque and Nixonian

It is always challenging to quantify or accurately place on the continuum of republican bigotry and racism any particular behavior. But this is pure Republican Southern Strategy.

[EFerrari]

34. Exactly. Just enough plausible deniability. Them all over. n/t

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

51. have you read any of the other posts?

I am sure this cop works side by side with African-Americans. Maybe we should ask them why he has this particular license plate.

[Historic NY]

36. Its a no parking or standing zone...he needs a ticket.

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. Good luck with that

[bluedigger]

49. Not saying he's a racist.

There are plausible explanations, I suppose.

But the insensitivity is staggering.:wow:

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. I wonder if he took Crowley's diversity training course

[seabeyond]

52. really, where are our cop defender tellling us why it is perfectly ok this cop breaking law without

qualm. and why really as a public we shouldnt be bothered. and how it really doesnt tell us as a public a cops arrogance and beyond that they feel law does not apply to them

[clear eye]

54. And if his wife is Yvonne & he is Thomas?

and the plate is a combo of their initials? I think you assume too much.

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. Sure whatever you want to believe

Now explain his parking spot. An emergency involving his lunch?

[eeyore]

57. Read the comments...his nickname is Whitey and sounds like he's a good guy

Just check out the comments. There's a reason he has this nickname, and he does lots of racial outreach. Call off the hounds!

http://gawker.com/5322447/cambridge-cops-unfortunate-vanity-plate-why+tee

RenfredJagabat
10:58 AM
I know this officer very well. He needs no "cluing in" on race relations. He grew up in public housing surrounded by the racial diversity Cambridge is known for, including many African-Americans, Jamaican-Americans, Haitian-Americans, Italian-Americans, and Irish-Americans. He was given the name at a young age by folks in the neighborhood because his hair was so light as a kid. He has worked his entire career, from the time he was a youth center counselor to his appointment to the Cambridge Police, to teach young people the value of friendships that transcend race and to bring the city's neighborhoods together. I have watched Whitey many time diffuse delicate and charged situations with a sincerity, good humor, and diplomacy that few people possess. Perhaps above all, he is an outstanding and dedicated father who works very hard to support his family and his community.

While I appreciate the value of online forums and rely on many blogs to get my news, I am continually uncomfortable with speculation and comments about people and situations many know nothing about. It is easy to lambaste someone like Whitey without giving pause to the accuracy and virulent nature of the post. iplaudius promoted this comment Edited by iplaudius at 12/31/69 7:00 PM iplaudius approved this comment

[-..__...]

60. Now you've gone and ruined a perfectly good fishing expedition.

[seabeyond]

61. wonderful. i am glad we got this and were able to hear from someone in know. now, illegal parking,

lol.

maybe he will think twice about how people preceive the cops breaking law and getting us for the same thing.