In President Obama’s recent prime-time press conference, the president found it necessary to comment on the arrest of his personal friend, Harvard professor Henry “Skip” Gates. Gates was arrested at his home by a Cambridge policeman. Gates is a black man.

Obama admitted he knew nothing about the details but then stated the police acted “stupidly.”

Locally, Samina Masood in her Wednesday Town Crier column talked about the apparent racial profiling of Gates by Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley. Masood goes on to talk about a personal incident of being allegedly profiled while living in Florida.

Nationwide, many liberals are outraged and telling us we need open discussions on race. Many liberal college professors are also angered by this Cambridge incident and are not mincing their angered words.

Now let’s get the fact straight —Crowley did not profile Gates. It was Gates who verbally went off on Crowley, who happens to be white.

Gates brought race into the incident. It was Gates who was screaming about race at the top of his lungs as he followed the policeman out of the house onto his porch. Gates was also screaming about Crowley’s mother. What did his mother have to do with this?

It turns out that Gates is prone to being a “race-baiter.” It seems that Gates has a chip on his shoulder.

Without knowing the facts, Masood discovered this as a “teachable moment” to inform us about racial profiling and the “police state.” Masood appears to have a chip on her shoulder.

Other liberals nationwide are understandably outraged, because by definition liberals have lots and lots and lots of chips on their shoulders.

Meanwhile, Obama creates this nationwide upheaval on race by making stupid assumptions and statements without knowing the facts. Obama may also have a chip on his shoulder.

Obama makes worldwide tours apologizing for American people and our alleged faults, but he can’t bring himself to apologize to the Cambridge Police Department, and in particular to Sgt. Crowley, for his stupid statement.

It appears the real teachable moment we have here is telling Gates, President Obama and all the other liberals like Masood to keep their collective mouths shut before flying off the handle with stupid comments and dumb commentaries that provoke bad feelings throughout Tracy and America.

Knowing the facts before speaking or writing will also prevent unnecessary chips from being placed on their already laden shoulders.

• Tim Michael Case has lived in Tracy since 1982. He owns, operates and is one of the instructors for his own humor traffic school serving the greater San Joaquin valley and the Sierra foothills.