Arbitration & Mediation

Three Guys Walk into the White House for a Beer

By Victoria Pynchon

I'm happy to see that Obama has asked Gates and Crowley up to the White House for a beer.

Breaking a longstanding tradition of ignoring racial conflict, Obama has officially invited Cambridge police officer James Crowley and Harvard professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr., to the White House for a beer and a bit of conversation about the incident. Obama's hope is that the debacle can morph into a "teachable moment" for everyone, and be brought to a conclusion that will allow the nation to focus once again on providing health care to all its citizens. Latest news has it that Skip has accepted the offer. We're excited to see the transcript of that chat, if it's released.

This is just what Harvard law professor Robert Mnookin, the chair of Harvard's Program on Negotiation, recommended.

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog in Gatesgate:  Might Mediation be the Answer, noted the Boston Globe's commentary that :

Pride seems like an insurmountable obstacle sometimes. On one hand, you have a black man who has withstood taunts from other blacks for working with The Man and achieving success in mainstream society. On the other hand, you've got an officer who is sworn to uphold civil society, dealing with, in his mind, someone who is being decidedly uncivil. How do you get both sides to admit they maybe went too far?

Responds Mnookin:

I would ask each is if they would find it valuable to have an opportunity to really explain to the other person their perspective, to really make it clear what their perspective is, and as part of that, would they be willing to take in the perspective of the other. . . I certainly think there is hope that professor Gates and this officer could sit down together and have a constructive conversation where they each came to understand better the perspective of the other — and themselves.

And if you think we don't all need the lesson the friendly White House beer should provide, check out the 72 comments to the WSJ Law Blog post - discouraging indeed.

Hat tip on the Wall Street Journal Law Blog post to twitter negot8or Jeff Gordon who blogs on negotiation at LicensingHandbook.com.

Full post as published by Settle It Now Negotiation Blog on July 24, 2009 (boomark / email).