At least now he says he's kidding. This remains to be seen.)Little Ashley Todd seems to have a problem with the truth. Does that seem harsh to say? Am I being one of those big brutal liberals when I say something mean like that? John thought so. John is a wuss. John has always been a wuss. I haven't wanted to tell anyone that, but it is true. He likes to be abused by conservatives. It is kind of a sickness with him. Just kidding.
Okay, now to some facts.
Here is a saved cache of young Ashley's myspace page.
On her personal page we learn, in the first entry:
"Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, but its better if you do".
So we learn that young Ashley (who claims to be 23 but seems according to the police to be 20) seems to really enjoy adding a little "fantasy" to life.
Ashley seems to have taken some time off to work as a Young College Republican volunteer for the McCain campaign, first in New York State and more recently in Pittsburgh. Wednesday something happened to Ashley, but exactly what happened remains a mystery. Ashley contacted Pittsburgh police from a friend's home to tell them that something awful had happened to her. She said that a large African-American gentleman accosted her and relieved her of $60, which she had just withdrawn from an ATM machine in a busy mall, then he had noticed that she had a McCain sticker on her bumper, or that she was wearing a McCain button, and he became enraged and knocked her to the ground and savaged her, then (in one account) he groped her breasts and sat on her and wrote the letter "B" on her cheek. Backwards.
And then the man ran away. The Pittsburgh police took her statement and went forth to try to find out what the story was. When she was offered medical assistance young Ashley refused it, saying she was okay, though she claimed that he carved an initial into her face with a "dull knife", which could reasonably have caused an infection. From the photos Ashley appears to have a black eye and a letter is scratched on her cheek, but the letter was applied so carefully that is abraded the skin without drawing blood. Why it all matters to the national press is that she described her assailant as a six foot four inch tall black man, dark skinned, medium build. In short, a generic large scary black guy. Like "rounding up the usual suspects", right? When in doubt, arrest the scariest looking black guy that can be found close by. But the twist to the story is that the perpetrator, not content to steal her money, according to Ashley became enraged when he found out she was a McCain volunteer and decided to make a political statement by beating her up and scratching the letter "B" in her cheek, all the while saying that now she would support Barack Obama.
To their great credit the Pittsburgh Police listened politely to her story, checked their notes and spotted a series of inconsistencies in her story and called her back in to take a polygraph test and tell her story over again, down at the Central Office, presumably to their crack interrogators. Interestingly, while all this was happening, the local communications director of the McCain campaign wrote a colorful account of the alleged incident and sent it out to the local newspapers and televisions, from which it went national with the intercession of the always-reliable Matt Drudge, who dresses like a film noir obsessed newshound of about 1940 and appears to have the journalistic ethics of a tapeworm. Where the story went from there was to nearly 1400 news organizations and television shows and networks across the country. 1400. Think about that for a bit. Little Ashley's imaginative story really had legs. Crooked legs, as it turned out, but let's not quibble. It is very, very rare for any such story to take off like a rocket, unless... unless there is something that strikes a chord. In this case I would argue that the chord it struck was the "big scary black guy" myth.
This is not to say that there is no such thing as a dangerous black man. Anyone who watches the regional warfare in Africa would dispute that. There certainly are dangerous fellows of a dusky persuasion in the United States and dangerous neighborhoods. EPRush and I managed to get ourselves punched as green behind the ears youngsters when Rush offered an awkward pleasantry to a young fellow of such a dusky hue and since he had a cohort of his homies around he took the opportunity to throw some punches, which we took in good grace so as to not escalate the situation. Stuff happens. I have been hit far harder by white sociopaths in Eugene, and in knocking around the world I have been threatened by Europeans, Muslims, Tibetans and even Hindus. But in our country the myth of the scary black guy is by far our most popular folk tale. Statistically the most danger to life and limb that most of us will face is either an auto accident or risk of violence committed by a family member, particularly if one has easy-to-grab firearms around the house for "self-protection". The National Rifle Association discourages discussion of such statistics, as to dwell on those inconvenient facts might erode membership in the NRA. By coincidence I have been involved in a three-year lobbying effort centered on an obscure sub-department of the State Department. I will not bore you with the details, other than to say it has something to do with my livelihood. As part of that effort we cast around for allies... and we found the NRA. Seriously, we hooked up with the leadership of the NRA, as they had a very small dog, really sort of Chihuahua size, in this same fight. Calling in the NRA is like calling in the Marines. The head Lobbyist of the NRA wears endangered alligator cowboy boots and has his own custom-fitted 727 to help him visit his constituency, like rural doctors used to have a horse and buggy. I mention this to explain that the NRA executives really like their jobs, their very large salaries and their perks a whole lot. They prefer for you to keep thinking about the dangers of Scary Black Guys far more than they want you to dwell on the risk of crazy Uncle Fred dropping by, particularly when Fred has been drinking and he knows where the gun cabinet is and someone in the family said something mean to him at Thanksgiving Dinner.
Thinking about the Scary Black Guy is far more appropriate.
So when a boffo story like "Scary Black Guy Assaults Little Ashley" comes along, particularly when it has a political twist to it, making it "Scary Black Obama Supporter Assaults Little Ashley the McCain volunteer" the press is off to the races. Whooey, look at 'em go! It's like watching a greyhound race!
Look, we have made an enormous amount of progress, and we are about to make a ton more, but it is going to take some time before our culture will be able to let go of our thirst for stories like this one. Ashley Todd clearly had no idea what she was stepping into when she spun this fantasy. According to one account she expressed outrage that the news media went wild over the story. Is Ashley Todd a victim of circumstances? or is there more to the story that we've not stumbled over yet? First of all, let's stipulate that while she is currently claiming to be emotionally unstable, according to her myspace page she just really enjoys being a liar. She could be crazy as well, but we are certain that she is a chronic liar. She wants us to think that she just had a brain seizure and made it all up, just, oh, just for the heck of it, she's not sure why, shucks, she had no idea people would get so uptight about it all. Right? But there are a couple of problems with that explanation: (1) Young Ashley has a black eye, and (2) instead of blaming it on a Vietnamese television repairman, Ashley blamed it on a towering black mugger who was also a fanatic Obama supporter. Coincidences? I don't think so.
I can readily believe that Ashley could scratch her own cheek while looking in a mirror (thus the reversed letter) but could she give herself a black eye? I have my doubts. Would she permit an ally to do so? Again, I doubt it. So where did she get the shiner? It is possible she ran into a doorknob, but isn't it more likely she got in from a fight with a colleague or acquaintance? It comes back to who is statistically more likely to shoot you. Someone you know. I am inclined to think young Ashley got into a physical fracas with someone she knew, and got a black eye. Maybe in fun, maybe one of the other McCain volunteers had an amorous impulse towards her that she did not welcome, and thinks took a bad turn. Whatever happened, she had a nice shiner, or not so nice, depending on the circumstances. She could have seen it as an opportunity for mischief, or it could have struck her as something she wanted a generic explanation for... while getting in a dig at those damn Democrats at the same time. Will we ever know? It strikes me that the Pittsburgh Police have done a very effective job of finding out that no assault took place. They are not amused. The issue, particularly given the publicity the McCain local office gave it, had the potential to darken the reputation of Pittsburgh and the police department. Police really, really hate fake police reports. It is impossible to track down the perp... if there is none. So who gets the blame? Not the person who makes the false police report, the police do, for not being able to solve a crime that never happened. The police hate being put on the spot like that, particularly when the matter has a racial element with the potential to cause a secondary racial incident, leading to further criticism of the police for not resolving the first "crime" in a timely fashion, thus averting the second incident. When people report something like this, a modern police force approaches it like it is a paper bag with an angry rattlesnake in it. Very, very cautiously.
I know Pittsburgh fairly well, since that's where my dad grew up. My grandfather Charlie was a paymaster in a steel mill. He routinely carried a revolver, even on visits to the west coast, which made my parents very nervous. For him it was like having his hat on when he went out. He was a really nice guy, a nice guy with a gun in his pocket. There are no steel mills in Pittsburgh anymore, they've all moved overseas where labor is cheap and workers can be more easily abused. As a result the air in Pittsburgh is wonderfully clean these days and one can enjoy the two rivers that meet there to flow on down to the Mississippi. The air is good, the people are nice and there are a lot of great old mills and factories that can be converted into lofts and museums and studios. Pittsburgh is a great place and lots of fun to visit. It also is racially mixed and does not have a lot of racial tension, thanks to the efforts of those who live there. A Pittsburgh police spokesman noted that Pittsburgh certainly has its share of thieves, but they generally just grab the money and run, so it surprised him that one stopped to make a political statement. And all the while the McCain campaign was busy sending out press releases describing the terrible encounter, that the Drudge Report described as a "mutilation". The Pittsburgh Police would have preferred no press releases and more uninterrupted time for them to review the ATM machines security camera footage and question those in the area that night, including the young woman. After steady questioning young Ashley suddenly cracked and said that she had a sort of blackout, and "thought" that she must have scratched her own face, though "she could not recall doing so", so she just made up the rest of the story. Right. Meanwhile the colorful original story got picked up by 1,400 news outlets. But hey, voters, don't let this story influence you, okay? Just vote your paranoia, okay? Surprise, it's October! Be very, very afraid.
In the end the Pittsburgh Police Department cracked the case and are investigating it further to try to gather all of the facts. Young Ashley Todd could be charged with several counts, one a felony. In the meantime she is being held in protective custody, purportedly to ensure her personal safety, since she said that she has a history of psychiatric problems. That could also be a lie, but in the meantime it earned her a nice hotel stay in a carefully-supervised wing of the city jail. I don't know if Ashley thought up this bright idea all on her own, or whether she did this in consultation with someone in the McCain campaign. If so, we are likely to know in about a day. Ashley seems to be finding this whole "fibbing" thing to be a lot less fun than it used to be. Oh, and they don't grant bail when there is concern for a person's well-being and mental stability.
The Rachel Maddow Show tackled the story tonight and their take on it is that in the deep south it used to be the case that such racially-tinged accusations used to set off a search for a scapegoat, often to tragic effect. The interviewee noted that the professional handling of this incident argues that while such a charge still titillates the public, that in recent years the professionalism of modern police forces cuts through to the facts, without letting racial charges distract them. Rachel Maddow thought that was grounds for celebration. I concur. I also think I am going to write a letter to the Police Commissioner of Pittsburgh, complimenting his force on an impressive show of professionalism.
As a nation we don't have time to waste on junk like this, do we? There are real problems, real challenges, real opportunities. We can accomplish far more if we work together, than if we waste time bickering and sniping at each other and trying to turn Americans against each other over race, ethnicity or color of skin. To dwell on differences, rather than unity, should be seen as "Un-American" and unacceptable. To my delight that seems to be an idea that is catching on.
Here, in no particular order, are some links to the Ashley Todd story: Here, and Here, and Here.
Arthur
Okay, now to some facts.
Here is a saved cache of young Ashley's myspace page.
On her personal page we learn, in the first entry:
"Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, but its better if you do".
So we learn that young Ashley (who claims to be 23 but seems according to the police to be 20) seems to really enjoy adding a little "fantasy" to life.
Ashley seems to have taken some time off to work as a Young College Republican volunteer for the McCain campaign, first in New York State and more recently in Pittsburgh. Wednesday something happened to Ashley, but exactly what happened remains a mystery. Ashley contacted Pittsburgh police from a friend's home to tell them that something awful had happened to her. She said that a large African-American gentleman accosted her and relieved her of $60, which she had just withdrawn from an ATM machine in a busy mall, then he had noticed that she had a McCain sticker on her bumper, or that she was wearing a McCain button, and he became enraged and knocked her to the ground and savaged her, then (in one account) he groped her breasts and sat on her and wrote the letter "B" on her cheek. Backwards.
And then the man ran away. The Pittsburgh police took her statement and went forth to try to find out what the story was. When she was offered medical assistance young Ashley refused it, saying she was okay, though she claimed that he carved an initial into her face with a "dull knife", which could reasonably have caused an infection. From the photos Ashley appears to have a black eye and a letter is scratched on her cheek, but the letter was applied so carefully that is abraded the skin without drawing blood. Why it all matters to the national press is that she described her assailant as a six foot four inch tall black man, dark skinned, medium build. In short, a generic large scary black guy. Like "rounding up the usual suspects", right? When in doubt, arrest the scariest looking black guy that can be found close by. But the twist to the story is that the perpetrator, not content to steal her money, according to Ashley became enraged when he found out she was a McCain volunteer and decided to make a political statement by beating her up and scratching the letter "B" in her cheek, all the while saying that now she would support Barack Obama.
To their great credit the Pittsburgh Police listened politely to her story, checked their notes and spotted a series of inconsistencies in her story and called her back in to take a polygraph test and tell her story over again, down at the Central Office, presumably to their crack interrogators. Interestingly, while all this was happening, the local communications director of the McCain campaign wrote a colorful account of the alleged incident and sent it out to the local newspapers and televisions, from which it went national with the intercession of the always-reliable Matt Drudge, who dresses like a film noir obsessed newshound of about 1940 and appears to have the journalistic ethics of a tapeworm. Where the story went from there was to nearly 1400 news organizations and television shows and networks across the country. 1400. Think about that for a bit. Little Ashley's imaginative story really had legs. Crooked legs, as it turned out, but let's not quibble. It is very, very rare for any such story to take off like a rocket, unless... unless there is something that strikes a chord. In this case I would argue that the chord it struck was the "big scary black guy" myth.
This is not to say that there is no such thing as a dangerous black man. Anyone who watches the regional warfare in Africa would dispute that. There certainly are dangerous fellows of a dusky persuasion in the United States and dangerous neighborhoods. EPRush and I managed to get ourselves punched as green behind the ears youngsters when Rush offered an awkward pleasantry to a young fellow of such a dusky hue and since he had a cohort of his homies around he took the opportunity to throw some punches, which we took in good grace so as to not escalate the situation. Stuff happens. I have been hit far harder by white sociopaths in Eugene, and in knocking around the world I have been threatened by Europeans, Muslims, Tibetans and even Hindus. But in our country the myth of the scary black guy is by far our most popular folk tale. Statistically the most danger to life and limb that most of us will face is either an auto accident or risk of violence committed by a family member, particularly if one has easy-to-grab firearms around the house for "self-protection". The National Rifle Association discourages discussion of such statistics, as to dwell on those inconvenient facts might erode membership in the NRA. By coincidence I have been involved in a three-year lobbying effort centered on an obscure sub-department of the State Department. I will not bore you with the details, other than to say it has something to do with my livelihood. As part of that effort we cast around for allies... and we found the NRA. Seriously, we hooked up with the leadership of the NRA, as they had a very small dog, really sort of Chihuahua size, in this same fight. Calling in the NRA is like calling in the Marines. The head Lobbyist of the NRA wears endangered alligator cowboy boots and has his own custom-fitted 727 to help him visit his constituency, like rural doctors used to have a horse and buggy. I mention this to explain that the NRA executives really like their jobs, their very large salaries and their perks a whole lot. They prefer for you to keep thinking about the dangers of Scary Black Guys far more than they want you to dwell on the risk of crazy Uncle Fred dropping by, particularly when Fred has been drinking and he knows where the gun cabinet is and someone in the family said something mean to him at Thanksgiving Dinner.
Thinking about the Scary Black Guy is far more appropriate.
So when a boffo story like "Scary Black Guy Assaults Little Ashley" comes along, particularly when it has a political twist to it, making it "Scary Black Obama Supporter Assaults Little Ashley the McCain volunteer" the press is off to the races. Whooey, look at 'em go! It's like watching a greyhound race!
Look, we have made an enormous amount of progress, and we are about to make a ton more, but it is going to take some time before our culture will be able to let go of our thirst for stories like this one. Ashley Todd clearly had no idea what she was stepping into when she spun this fantasy. According to one account she expressed outrage that the news media went wild over the story. Is Ashley Todd a victim of circumstances? or is there more to the story that we've not stumbled over yet? First of all, let's stipulate that while she is currently claiming to be emotionally unstable, according to her myspace page she just really enjoys being a liar. She could be crazy as well, but we are certain that she is a chronic liar. She wants us to think that she just had a brain seizure and made it all up, just, oh, just for the heck of it, she's not sure why, shucks, she had no idea people would get so uptight about it all. Right? But there are a couple of problems with that explanation: (1) Young Ashley has a black eye, and (2) instead of blaming it on a Vietnamese television repairman, Ashley blamed it on a towering black mugger who was also a fanatic Obama supporter. Coincidences? I don't think so.
I can readily believe that Ashley could scratch her own cheek while looking in a mirror (thus the reversed letter) but could she give herself a black eye? I have my doubts. Would she permit an ally to do so? Again, I doubt it. So where did she get the shiner? It is possible she ran into a doorknob, but isn't it more likely she got in from a fight with a colleague or acquaintance? It comes back to who is statistically more likely to shoot you. Someone you know. I am inclined to think young Ashley got into a physical fracas with someone she knew, and got a black eye. Maybe in fun, maybe one of the other McCain volunteers had an amorous impulse towards her that she did not welcome, and thinks took a bad turn. Whatever happened, she had a nice shiner, or not so nice, depending on the circumstances. She could have seen it as an opportunity for mischief, or it could have struck her as something she wanted a generic explanation for... while getting in a dig at those damn Democrats at the same time. Will we ever know? It strikes me that the Pittsburgh Police have done a very effective job of finding out that no assault took place. They are not amused. The issue, particularly given the publicity the McCain local office gave it, had the potential to darken the reputation of Pittsburgh and the police department. Police really, really hate fake police reports. It is impossible to track down the perp... if there is none. So who gets the blame? Not the person who makes the false police report, the police do, for not being able to solve a crime that never happened. The police hate being put on the spot like that, particularly when the matter has a racial element with the potential to cause a secondary racial incident, leading to further criticism of the police for not resolving the first "crime" in a timely fashion, thus averting the second incident. When people report something like this, a modern police force approaches it like it is a paper bag with an angry rattlesnake in it. Very, very cautiously.
I know Pittsburgh fairly well, since that's where my dad grew up. My grandfather Charlie was a paymaster in a steel mill. He routinely carried a revolver, even on visits to the west coast, which made my parents very nervous. For him it was like having his hat on when he went out. He was a really nice guy, a nice guy with a gun in his pocket. There are no steel mills in Pittsburgh anymore, they've all moved overseas where labor is cheap and workers can be more easily abused. As a result the air in Pittsburgh is wonderfully clean these days and one can enjoy the two rivers that meet there to flow on down to the Mississippi. The air is good, the people are nice and there are a lot of great old mills and factories that can be converted into lofts and museums and studios. Pittsburgh is a great place and lots of fun to visit. It also is racially mixed and does not have a lot of racial tension, thanks to the efforts of those who live there. A Pittsburgh police spokesman noted that Pittsburgh certainly has its share of thieves, but they generally just grab the money and run, so it surprised him that one stopped to make a political statement. And all the while the McCain campaign was busy sending out press releases describing the terrible encounter, that the Drudge Report described as a "mutilation". The Pittsburgh Police would have preferred no press releases and more uninterrupted time for them to review the ATM machines security camera footage and question those in the area that night, including the young woman. After steady questioning young Ashley suddenly cracked and said that she had a sort of blackout, and "thought" that she must have scratched her own face, though "she could not recall doing so", so she just made up the rest of the story. Right. Meanwhile the colorful original story got picked up by 1,400 news outlets. But hey, voters, don't let this story influence you, okay? Just vote your paranoia, okay? Surprise, it's October! Be very, very afraid.
In the end the Pittsburgh Police Department cracked the case and are investigating it further to try to gather all of the facts. Young Ashley Todd could be charged with several counts, one a felony. In the meantime she is being held in protective custody, purportedly to ensure her personal safety, since she said that she has a history of psychiatric problems. That could also be a lie, but in the meantime it earned her a nice hotel stay in a carefully-supervised wing of the city jail. I don't know if Ashley thought up this bright idea all on her own, or whether she did this in consultation with someone in the McCain campaign. If so, we are likely to know in about a day. Ashley seems to be finding this whole "fibbing" thing to be a lot less fun than it used to be. Oh, and they don't grant bail when there is concern for a person's well-being and mental stability.
The Rachel Maddow Show tackled the story tonight and their take on it is that in the deep south it used to be the case that such racially-tinged accusations used to set off a search for a scapegoat, often to tragic effect. The interviewee noted that the professional handling of this incident argues that while such a charge still titillates the public, that in recent years the professionalism of modern police forces cuts through to the facts, without letting racial charges distract them. Rachel Maddow thought that was grounds for celebration. I concur. I also think I am going to write a letter to the Police Commissioner of Pittsburgh, complimenting his force on an impressive show of professionalism.
As a nation we don't have time to waste on junk like this, do we? There are real problems, real challenges, real opportunities. We can accomplish far more if we work together, than if we waste time bickering and sniping at each other and trying to turn Americans against each other over race, ethnicity or color of skin. To dwell on differences, rather than unity, should be seen as "Un-American" and unacceptable. To my delight that seems to be an idea that is catching on.
Here, in no particular order, are some links to the Ashley Todd story: Here, and Here, and Here.
Arthur
2 comments:
"But in our country the myth of the scary black guy is by far our most popular folk tale."
Doggonit, there you go again. You hit on a great narrative, you invoke personal man on the street familiarity, display 'the facts', and personal innuendo, which is anticipated and accepted, in this forum and them drop the statistical myth bomb. Now despite the fact that Jesse Jackson recently said that he wanted to cut Obama's nuts off, or called New York "Hymie Town" in 1984, Bob Hebert of the NYT, Dec 12, 1993 "In America; A sea Change On Crime" and I quote: Jesse Jackson is traveling the country with a tough anti-crime message that he is delivering to inner-city youngsters. In Chicago he said, "There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery -- then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved."
The murder capitals of the USA rotate between Chicago, Philidelphia, DC, Newark, New Orleans, Baltimore and even Gary, Indiana at one time or another. The reason, and more importantly, undisputed fact is that the primary cause of death of black men in America is at the hands of another black man.
Now this fact that "Little Ashley Todd seems to have a problem with the truth" comment brings up the case of "Little Tawana Brawley" later renamed Maryam Muhammad,of upstate New York in 1987. Six white men, including police officers and the New York prosecutor were accused of kidnap, sodomy, gang rape and smearing her body with human feces and left unresponsive in a garbage bag near her former residence. Public black outrage followed, inflamed by Rev Al Sharpton, her lawyers and supporters to include Bill Cosby. It was a hoax and defamination suits were settled by Sharpton and friends to the tune of $345,000 but as recently as 2007 the Brawley parents stated that the attack happened and "We should be millionaires".
Nobody will remember "Little Ashley Todd" 6 months from now but Tawana, 'Maryam Muhammad', Brawley is going on 22 years and counting.
Finally considering Obama's "typical white person" grandmother who 'confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street', let's take a quick look at the Obama 1995 autobiography, Dreams from My Father. Excerpt from pp. 269-271.
"That night, well past midnight, a car pulls up in front of my apartment building, carrying a troop of teenage boys and a set of stereo speakers so loud that the floor of my apartment begins to shake. I've learned to ignore such disturbances -- where else do they have to go? I say to myself. But on this particular evening I have someone staying over ...
"'Listen, people, are trying to sleep around here. Why don't y'all take it someplace else?'
"The four boys inside say nothing, don't even move. The wind wipes away my drowsiness, and I feel suddenly exposed, standing in a pair of shorts on the sidewalk in the middle of the night.... One of them could be Kyle. One of them could be Roy. One of them could be Johnnie."
Kyle, Roy, and Johnnie are all black male characters in Dreams from My Father --
I start picturing myself through the eyes of these boys, a figure of random authority, and know the calculations they might now be making, that if one of them can't take me out, the four of them certainly can."
The chapter ends:
"The engine starts, and the car screeches away. I turn back toward my apartment knowing that I've been both stupid and lucky, knowing that I am afraid after all."
Thank you, Jon, for bringing up Jesse Jackson. Oh, and Tawana Brawley. And Bill Cosby. And of course our beloved Al Sharpton. You know, if any of that stuff you mentioned had anything at all to do with the Ashley Todd story I'd think you might be growing a brain. But, as you've heard me say so many times before, what?
Jon, there's only a few days left before the election, and I'd like to say that I've appreciated having you here monitoring our progress, and your comments. I want you to know we'll hold no grudges against you for the past 8 fricking years of Republican meyhem, and we might even let you still play in the pool, on carefully selected dates and times, when we take over the Country Club.
For one last time, my friend, blow it out yer ass.
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