Amy Cooper was asked to put her pet on a leash, in accordance with city ordinance. Rather than simply complying with the rules, Ms. Cooper tried to sic the police on the person who pointed out her violation — feigning to be in imminent danger from an “African American man.” Fortunately, the man accused of threatening Ms. Cooper recorded the incident. His sister later uploaded the video to social media, where it went viral; it has already been viewed tens of millions of times.
It is unclear what the appropriate consequences for something like this should be, given how dire the consequences of her actions could have been (as recent events in Minneapolis sadly confirm). However, Ms. Cooper has already paid a high price for her transgression: She has been publicly shamed and terminated from her position as a VP and Head of Investment Solutions at Franklin Templeton Investments. She has surrendered custody of her dog (whom she dragged around by the neck for most of the confrontation). Some lawmakers have called for her to be charged with making a false report to police.
A lot of ink has been spilled over this incident and others like it. One thing that has been largely missing from these stories is the political orientation of the white people who behave in this manner. It may be tempting to view this question as a distraction from the “core” issue at hand — however, I will argue, this component may actually be essential for understanding how many of these stories play out.
Consider Ms. Cooper’s threat against the person who told her to leash her dog: She was going to call the cops and “tell them there’s an African American man threatening” her life. It seems taken as a given that the police are racially biased — that they will act with overwhelming force, and without regard to the actual facts of the case, to defend a white person who appears to be in danger from a black man. Even though she was the one breaking rules, she assumed the police would target him, precisely on the grounds that he was an “African American man.”
This is not a set of assumptions that most conservatives would likely hold. They are generally skeptical of claims of racial bias in policing. While some acknowledge a few “bad apples,” they assert that law enforcement officers typically discharge their duties in a restrained and fair manner, with their responses to situations dictated by the pertinent facts of the case.
In other words, Ms. Cooper’s assumption that the cops would respond in a forceful manner against a black man without asking too many questions, strictly in virtue of his race as compared to hers — this is the kind of belief that liberals tend to hold about cops.
Indeed, based on her demographic characteristics — urban, white, female, highly-educated, of an upper-socio-economic status — it is statistically highly probable that Ms. Cooper voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 general election.
The peculiar intersection of race, class, and ideology that Ms. Cooper embodies is hardly unusual for cases like these. Consider: in areas of concentrated poverty that are being gentrified or that lie adjacent to wealthier areas (as is often the case in urban settings), policing tends to be much more frequent and aggressive — even for small crimes. Those calling the cops on people of color for things like taking shelter from the rain, failing to wave at a white passerby while leaving their AirBnB, sitting in their car waiting for yoga class to start, accidentally brushing up against a white person in a store, etcetera — the people regularly seeking out law enforcement for things like loud music, loitering, “suspected” criminal activity, or domestic disturbances — these are often relatively well-off, highly-educated, liberal, white denizens eager to “clean up” or “protect” the neighborhoods they choose to live in.
Moreover, it is liberals who go out of their way to embed themselves in communities of color — especially young and highly-educated professionals or artists. Granted, rents tend to be cheaper in these areas. However, many are also drawn to such neighborhoods, quite explicitly, because they are “historic,” “cultured” and “diverse.” In so doing, they put themselves in situations where they more frequently come into contact with minorities. If misunderstandings or conflicts arise (as they inevitably will in multi-cultural and gentrifying urban neighborhoods), many reflexively look to local authorities to resolve these disputes on their behalf. Like Ms. Cooper, this is often done in confidence that the police will align themselves with the white person making the call. In practice, then, they are attempting to use police to punish people of color who are insufficiently deferent to their own demands or preferences. However, it is extremely difficult for most white liberals to understand their actions in this way due to a phenomenon social scientists call “moral credentialing.”
Research in the cognitive and behavioral sciences suggests that when whites explicitly denounce racism or affirm their commitment to racial equality, they often — paradoxically — grow more likely to act in ways that favor other whites; simultaneously, they grow more confident that their actions were not racially-motivated.
A similar effect holds when they observe others from their “in-group” making gestures towards antiracism: it convinces them not only that their peers are egalitarians but that their own actions and interactions are non-biased as well. Conversely, blaming or criticizing “others” for a particular moral failing reduces one’s own sense of guilt for that same moral failing.
Consequently, for whites who inhabit social circles where people go around denouncing racism to one another constantly — painting themselves as staunch advocates for social justice — it would become almost impossible for these people to see the role that they play in perpetuating systemic inequality.
Under the sway of moral credentialing, people can take actions that they would recognize in others as “racist” without understanding themselves to be racist when performing those same actions. These dynamics are quite clear in Ms. Cooper’s apology: She acknowledged how someone might perceive her actions to be racist but she insisted nonetheless that her behaviors were not racially motivated and that she never meant to harm anyone.
Put another way, it is not merely the case that liberals and leftists are capable of being dangerously entitled around people of color, they are probably more likely to engage in these sorts of behaviors than non-leftists. Precisely because they view themselves as “allies” to members of historically marginalized and disadvantaged groups, they often feel justified in taking liberties they would deny to other whites — confident that their actions are not racist, that they are merely giving an appropriate response to the situation at hand.
Indeed, Ms. Cooper herself may well have been outraged had she witnessed some other white woman calling the cops on a black man for telling her to leash her dog. She may have even joined the chorus against “BBQ Becky,” “Permit Patty” et al. during previous viral incidents.
However, these exercises in ritual purification do precious little to help people from historically marginalized or disadvantaged groups. They don’t even meaningfully raise awareness, as they circulate primarily among those who are already the most “aware.” More than anything else, these campaigns are a form of catharsis for white elites. With each op-ed and retweet, they reassure themselves that they are “different” from those other whites, the ones who are ignorant, unenlightened, fearful of diversity. They are the good whites and they would never resort to such tactics were they to somehow find themselves in a dustup with a black person.
And perhaps they wouldn’t. But there’s a good chance they would.
Musa al-Gharbi is a Paul F. Lazarsfeld Fellow in Sociology at Columbia University. Readers can connect to his research and social media via his website, musaalgharbi.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this article referred to a piece in the Independent, a reputable British broadsheet that included now discredited information on political donations thought to have been made by Amy Cooper. We regret the error.
Lol, you assume a financial manager in NY is a liberal? LOL you’re stupid and teaching other children? Child, please.
it is statistically highly probable with a name like that, some folks are terrorists.
You are proving the author’s point with this remark.
Didn’t you READ the article? Her political affiliation is not a secret! Don’t accuse the author of your delusional ideas because YOU CAN’T READ.
He can read. But the author showed you no proof about the claim of her being a Liberal or a Democrat. He just said it and you took it for granted.
And from that one sentence, the author assumed and took big logical jumps to try and corroborate the backbone of the story.
I read it all and it was far from being a leveled head ethical writing. It just felt like a well put out hit piece on Liberals and the left.
And boy, does it feel wrong to have a bipolar type of politics that only works on black and white and can’t really see the grey in everyday life.
How from this situation can you extrapolate that every Liberal is evil and take advantage of societies perks and that all conservatives are leveled headed and mindful of their actions and its consequences?
Because I know people from both sides of the spectrum and there are genious and idiots alike in both of them.
I feel like you missed the point of the article entirely the point of it isnt to demonize the liberal space but rather to point out how some use their “wokeness” just to justify that they aren’t racist or bigoted. He argues that in one scenario Amy Cooper the woke liberal will gladly retweet a black lives matter tweet but will call protestors thugs. He argues that sometimes the woke individual isn’t to better their community but woke to be called better that “those other white people”. But thats just my take :>
That’s my take as well.
https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=amy+cooper
I can’t reply to Ashley (below, who responded to lovetruthcourage) directly, so I’ll have to respond here.
1) I wonder how many Amy Coopers are in NYC.
2) A previous boy/friend of hers said the she flipped out when he told her he voted for Obama. I have yet to find anything that says, directly from her, that she is liberal or conservative.
Exceedingly probable. Politics align very closely with psychology and gender. Someone as female, upwardly mobile and clearly neurotic (she’s on record as stalking ex-boyfriends) as she is isn’t going to be voting conservative — that’s for damned sure. Given that she allegedly reprimanded said ex-boyfriend for voting for Barack Obama, the natural conclusion is that she’s a Hilary supporter.
As a point of fact, finance people tend to be pretty woke on ‘cultural’ issues, as well-explored in this article for New Republic, here: https://newrepublic.com/article/148368/ideology-business-school
Indeed, the constellation of political attitudes prevalent among these elites have basically become the default position of the Democratic Party, as explored at length by economist Thomas Piketty (who aptly described these as the ‘Brahmin Left’): piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Piketty2018.pdf
Great docs — thanks man!
this is pretty terrible, sadly. The “Independent” article is based _solely_ on the name showing up on a list of donors. However, Amy Cooper is a common name, and other information associated with the donations (namely, occupation listed as “retired”, or unemployed, or massage therapist), do not match at all. As well, there is the claim from the person she claimed to be having an affair with, that she condemned him for voting for Obama. So, of course White Liberals can be racist, but there is no actual evidence she is one.
This is a devastatingly insightful read, but with surprisingly little meaning. To be clear: it’s of no concern if Amy Cooper really is or isn’t a liberal. She’s just serving as a reminder to an observable phenomenon. I’m regarding myself as liberal (although, being European, US folk would probably call me a “radical”) and al-Gharbi’s words at least ring true enough.
Yet, I would note that – laudably – at no point the article states that conservatives are less racist than self-described liberals; liberals may read it that way, but that’s another story. The article merely points out that when it comes unwittingly acting out their racism, liberals have a statistically higher risk of doing so because of they way their confirmation bias makes them blind to their own racism. I find that uncomfortably convincing.
I do not, however, agree that the subject of political orientation of Amy Cooper is of real importance. A point of this article seems to bee that liberals are more prone to reveal their hidden racism than conservatives. Now let’s reflect: is that good or bad? I would propose that this is a good thing. Although many liberals agree that they would like to eradicate racism, few are labouring under the misconception that they themselves are free of that evil. I am certainly not, even though I hope that one day we will overcome racism in our midst.
Also, the fact that a self-descibed liberal is more prone to unmask themselves as a racist says nothing about the prevalence of racism in that political spectrum, merely that they are more likely to be found out. The flip side of this is, of course, the realisation that self-described conservatives are better at hiding their racism. It does not mean that liberals are more racist than conservatives, just that they are not as good at hiding it. Or put another way: for every liberal who commits an act of racism, there is a high probability that there is a greater number of conservatives who remain unmasked.
Neither is good.
So the bottom line of this article pretty much is ‘there are racists on either side, but liberals are more likely to get caught because they are too full of themselves to realise their transgression’.
Agreed. But what else is new? Nobody in their mind would argue that there are more racists on the liberal side than on the right. That’s why I think the article, although quite insightful, amounts to very little.
Liberals have failed ideology that fails for everyone.
Their pandering to blacks for votes is more insidious because conservatives tend to want to bend over backwards to prove they aren’t racist…meanwhile the liberal uses their virtue signaling as a shield.
Liberals hide their racism. Progressives are simply disgruntled humans.
Neither one advances the goals of America.
“Liberals hide their racism. Progressives are simply disgruntled humans.
Neither one advances the goals of America.”
I thought it was etiquette to at least add a “MAGA” or similar to a troll? Put some effort in it, *please*?
He’s right. Progressives wrote the book on intolerance, only these days they cloak their racism in things like compassion and bizarre Marxist buzzwords like “equity and inclusion.”
Throughout history, the worst intolerance the world over has been leveled by those with collectivist worldviews; progressives, Nazis, communists, socialists, etc. Time has not addressed those evils either — like a law of thermodynamics, the evil of progressive intolerance isn’t destroyed but merely transforms.
Excellent chance Amy Cooper fell into that category as well.
If you’re a so-called liberal, the easiest way to become a former liberal in the eyes of the mob is to step out of place on the victim hierarchy. “Chris” sounds like a white male, so I’d argue you’re already doomed to be forever at the bottom of that totem pole. Such is the nature of the power play that is intersectionality, the newfangled way neo-Marxists divide, exclude and conquer those they can’t beat physically or intellectually. Intersectionality is the new proletariat versus the bourgeoisie and it sounds like you’re a participant just as Amy Cooper likely is.
“Progressives wrote the book on intolerance […]”
I think this is exactly the kind of broad-brush, pars pro toto inductive thinking that is driving conflict instead of consensus, and it seems to be emblematic for the divide that is sweeping the US (and some parts of Europe). Never mind that religious intolerance predates any libertarian idiocies by centuries (inquisition ring a bell?), so when you reference the book of intolerance I think you may be referring to the Bible?
Also, trying to make it personal simply misdirects from the question at hand that deals with the undisputed fact that there are racists among all groups of people; some are more blind to their own racism than others – no matter how doomed I personally may be. I acknowledge my personal shortcomings – but they were hardly the point of the article.
I’d also point out that the worst intolerances have been wielded by *totalitarian* regimes of *any* stripe, all of them ideologically/religiously dogmatic (Catholic Church, Islamic Godstates, Maoists, Nazis, Sandinista, Marcos, Kmer Rouge), and the take-away is that dogmatic/totalitarian ideology is dangerous, no matter wich way they are leaning.
But I’m not sure what your point is – from over here, the right-leaning part of the US surely seems to be marching in lock-step with Weimar-era’s brownshirts. They don’t need racist liberals to swell their ranks, they are doing fine the way the country is going right now. And it’s not as if the conservatives are known for their tolerance, as many tend to have the rather puerile view that tolerance is a weakness. So adding liberal racist to the pool of conservative racists accomplishes what?
Congrats Chris, you’re the 1,000,000,000,000 person to respond to a differing opinion with a shallow “Trump” response. You’re an idiot.
liberals hide their racism…so does that mean conservatives are open about? Because it sure feels like that.
Sure, when you’re ruled by the media. Poke your head out the door and take a look at reality once in a while.
Mick, you’re words are concise and profoundly true. Just look at all these other comments. It’s anger disguised as righteousness.
“I do not, however, agree that the subject of political orientation of Amy Cooper is of real importance.”
Major importance actually. There is a clear scientific link between personality, gender and political affiliation. Just look at any political rally favouring one side or the other. The most neurotic, disaffected and batshit crazy of them all typically align left — the crazier, the further left. There is a massive over representation of crazy in Democrat circles.
Face it, no woman that lives in a high end condo on the shores of the Hudson, single, with a pet and a $170,000 a year job is going to be voting conservative. With a setup like that, she’s probably a raging feminist Hilary supporter or a pretend, Bernie-supporting socialist.
Just saying.
“There is a clear scientific link between personality, gender and political affiliation. Just look at any political rally favouring one side or the other. The most neurotic, disaffected and batshit crazy of them all typically align left ”
Unless, of course, you spent a second with the fine people at Westboro Baptist Church. There is enough batshit crazy going around for both sides. As I said: what else is new. Amy Cooper clearly has a screw loose. That she is a a liberal does not mean all liberals have a screw loose. Neither does that mean she’s the only liberal that is batshit crazy. No-one disputes that.
It also in no way follows that more liberals are crazy than conservatives are. It may seem that way to conservatives, just like it seems to liberals that the conservative party is the “Party Of The Stoopid”. There is scientific proof for neither, your assertion notwithstanding.
“Face it, no woman that lives in a high end condo on the shores of the Hudson, single, with a pet and a $170,000 a year job is going to be voting conservative”
I know a lot of those (female, successful >250k job, single – but they live in European metropolitan areas, and only two of them own a dog) who vote *very* conservative. And they’ll be the first to tell you: being woman has very little to do with that. Neither does owning a pet nor their marital status. So your reasoning seems to be at least based partly on stereotypes.
In fact, *most* of the women you described would vote conservative, and it’s baffling that you’d state otherwise. And bewildering that you seemingly don’t know better (“Face it, no woman…”).
I just looked up the website of the wealth management company from which Amy Cooper was fired.
Here’s the conclusion from a section titled “Perspective from Franklin Templeton K2 Advisors
Alternative Perspectives: COVID-19 Expands Opportunity Set in Credit”
To summarize, credit markets are likely to see continued
dislocation and price dispersion. These are conditions that offer a
very attractive opportunity set that can be captured well with a
highly flexible investment approach.
Jonathan Ned Katz
This episode is emblematic for so many different reasons.
It is an unintended consequence of the “always believe women” slogan.
It also shows that not all women tell the truth, and that some are capable of tilting the table in their favor by suggesting a stereotypical context: black man vs white woman, or simply man vs woman. I am thankful for NOT working in a mixed gender environment, otherwise I’d be living in fear of being unjustly accused. Don’t get me wrong: men are not saints, but every time I hear about a new sexual harassment accusation, I don’t automatically believe whatever has been said.
We want emancipation and equality, that means that we must realize women are at least as good liars as men, and often much better. Definitely they operate from the assumption that THEIR lies will not be called out. And even when they are, it is usually too late for the accused, which in the mean time has been fired, disgraced, divorced, or in this case could have been killed by a white policeman.
I stipulate that every man can be a bastard, but it is also true that every woman can be a bitch.
I’m not persuaded that Amy Cooper is a liberal or a Hillary supporter. The author (based on the Independent, a UK internet tabloid) claims she donated to Kerry, Obama, and buttigieg, but those Amy Coopers are not her:
https://www.truthorfiction.com/amy-cooper-donations-barack-obama-pete-buttigieg-john-kerry/
It is a very reasonable assumption that she is a liberal. She lives in Manhattan, white, wealthy, high education, single living with a dog. In 2016, 88% of people in Manhattan voted for Hillary Clinton; highly Highly likely, she is a liberal. I am starting to think that after 192 years of existence, Democratic party principles run in the veins of liberals: slavery, segregation, Jim Crowe, lynchings, welfare trap. All racist traces of the party are deeply rooted either genetically or psychologically in the minds of their supporters; they spring out instinctively like a dog lifting its leg to pee on a pole.
This sheet nonsense, Shifting the blame of the racist institution like the police that run with negative assumptions about blacks and society at large to liberals and left. Potentially, racism is still a systemic issue in the US intertwined with the capitalist class domination in this society and it ideological hegemony. It will serve no purpose to present the issue as a black alone, and them screaming: “ we are alone, and everyone against us.” This is not true, and will further isolate their struggle from building a wider movement against racism and neoliberalism.
I am not sure since when leftists or liberals like to use the police to settle their scores with black or anyone for that matter.
That’s the best kept Democrat secret, see. They have crafted the narrative that they are the tolerant ones, but I can tell you they are masters at gaslighting people into believing their bullshit. There is nobody more racist, sexist and rapey than Democrat men and women. Ever ever.
Being racist or hypocritical is less important than that she is a vicious manipulative liar. There are lots of people like her.
Brilliant article – liberals are the kindergarten teachers of society – an oxy moron of oppressive inclusion. Be nice to so and so, but dammit make sure you do it with your mask on or we are all gonna die! They create hysteria and are disrespectful and crude while demanding understanding and kindness to those that are disruptive and violent. We have people that have been caged in their homes for three months watching how we are all going to die if we come into contact with one another, and then you watch the liberal media lie and blaspheme the White House, and we wonder why there is the worst rioting since Rodney King. Apples to apples, do you see more conservative folk in nature behave on the high pitch frequency of Molotov cocktails and building burning that you see the more left leaning people doing?
I could only shake my head and sigh at the unbelievable amount of sewage in this article and the so called writer’s logic or lack of. Really expected Columbia University to develop / promote people who could contribute a level headed discourse… by the way, regarding your premise that she’s an Obama tooting liberal, you should do some research first… in other words look before you leap !
Excellent article! Reminds me of the ‘Napping While Black’ incident at Yale back in 2018. White woman (Sarah Braasch) calls security on black student napping in the common room, spends next 24 months on Twitter claiming that Woke Feminists and Joe Biden are trying to have her assassinated D:
What she did here was clear: She weaponized her White Priviledge. Since most conservatives will deny it’s existence, your argument is on its face, stupid.
Most liberals will actually apologize for it.
So you think liberals should have pragmatic utilitarian to conservative hypocrisy that sounds very Clintonesque as tactical in what loses Democrats elections where Americans are very keen on unenlightened soulless gamesmanship as liberals are all too conservative in politics as if they are playing the stock market in which they could never win if they were truly liberal. Energy Credits not change?
This is the nature of the American Police state where all sorts of police military actions are substituted for real political action related to problems of capitalist political corruption as:
“Unending American political corruption two sides of the same capitalist coin in desperate need of systemic political reform why capitalism FAILS.”
That I pointed out related to “Trump Editorial: What if conservatives and liberals switched their reactions to the pandemic? – Roanoke Times”.
Where police wellness checks and simple procedure regularly intrude into the privacy erode democratic institutions and give rise baseless Libertarian nonsense and secondary effects of a political system that has ceased to be democratic or republican but more so oligarchic corrupt hypocritical phony deceptive bought sold and one great lie especially Donny Trumpo as is two faced and self-serving.
Suppose I had started my comment like this:
“Judging by the publication and the author’s name, it is obvious that he is a right-wing ideologue with a hateful personality. … ”
Assume I then proceed to make pages full of deductions about Mr. Musa al-Gharbi’s love life, his family of origin, the wrongness of his political views, and similar fantastical conclusions. Imagine ten or eleven paragraphs of rambling fantasy. You will be doing me a favor, because I do not have the heart (or the energy) to write all that fiction in its adolescent glory.
Comment written and submitted, what would be the point of the effort? No matter what I might write, there would not be a word of truth in it about Mr. Musa al-Gharbi. The reader would know absolutely nothing more about him than they might have known before. Perhaps he resembles anyone or anything I accused him of being, or perhaps not.
Why is that? Because I know nothing whatsoever about the author of this peculiar opinion piece.
On the other hand, a reader would know a lot about me. They could safely assume — using the above-imagined written evidence — that I am inclined to write a lot of angry nonsense. That would be thoroughly proved by my essay itself.
She undoubtedly sneered at Trump every time his name was mentioned, and paraded herself as the oh-so-sophisticated “liberal.” Yeah … I’ve seen these people all my life. They always talk about “diversity,” and then makes sure THEIR home, THEIR apartment, etc. is in the most UN-diverse place possible.
According to data from the Federal Elections Commission, at least two people identified as “Amy Cooper” made campaign contributions to Pete Buttigieg
one such entry, in which the donor is listed as a speech pathologist, gave $3 to the “Pete For America” political action campaign,
while another donor listed as “not employed” donated $125 to the same group
the New York City-based Amy Cooper who donated $1,550 to Obama’s campaign that year was listed as “retired” by the FEC
Amy Marie Cooper, a native of Canada, according to her Instagram profile, studied at the University of Waterloo in Ontario from 1998 to 2003, graduating with a degree in actuarial science. She also completed her master’s in business administration in analytical finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2009. Before working at Franklin Templeton, Amy Cooper worked at AIG, Citi, Lehman Brothers and Willis Towers Watson.
According to the Federal Election Campaign Act, foreign nationals are barred from donating or contributing to presidential campaigns unless they have proof of legal permanent residency in the United States; the identification for this status is commonly referred to as a “Green Card.”
Soooo what was point of the article again???
Amy Cooper – the Central Park Amy Cooper – may not even be one of the Amy Coopers who donated to liberal causes. Read to see why: https://www.truthorfiction.com/amy-cooper-donations-barack-obama-pete-buttigieg-john-kerry/
That is not to say Central Park Amy Cooper is not a liberal, only that it is one of many assumptions in your piece that are based on thin reeds or that are based on the word ‘probably.’ Where is the data to support your characterizations?
Your portrait of white liberals who live in mixed urban neighborhoods as clueless types who are more likely to falsely report neighbors of another color because of un-self-reflective racism hardly seems likely. They have relationships to protect in those shared communities. They also tend to share culture in ways that conservative whites tend to shy away from.
As an off-white, olive skinned person who has lived both in segregated white neighborhoods and in urban mixed neighborhoods North, South, East, and West, my experience is that white conservatives in mostly segregated white neighborhoods all too frequently call the police when they see anyone black, brown, yellow, or red – young, old, male, and female – enter their neighborhoods. By contrast, in my experience white liberals often shoo away burglars of any color, and to be much more tolerant of behaviors that send conservative whites over the edge in general.
she was a white woman who was enjoying “her land” with “her animal” and then a creature beneath her had the nerve to correct her behavior and she was indignant and filled with narcissistic rage – so she called those she understands to be the modern-day “overseer” to “handle” her little problem. That is all. It’s an every day thing. If you are not white, you are “taking” seats in college or med school, you are “taking” jobs, you are “encroaching” into “nice” neighborhoods, etc, etc…. As one white female co-worker (not racist, btw) told me: you’re TOUCHING THINGS! You are TOUCHING THINGS!”
Yep. I have seen liberal pandering up close and recently. It’s gross and cringeworthy to watch. Bigotry of low expectations. The white liberals who do this honestly think they’re not racist.
Much of this has to do with class. To be fair, some white liberal women of a certain income bracket scream themselves hoarse about being black allies and reserve their open bigotry for the white flyover state Nascar set. If they had any willingness to self-analyze or self-correct (they don’t), they would understand their roles as Marie Antoinettes: clueless snobs in a Hall of Mirrors. Someone needs to inform them that Marie Antoinette was not dumb and that her wit did not save her from meeting a terrible end. Not that they’d listen!
Much of this does have to do with class. A well-off white woman’s hidden fear of Black people combined with her fear of poor people and her liberal armor is what led to her weaponizing her white privilege. We cannot think, however, that the problem of racism and classism exists because of individual Amy Coopers. The economy, our neighborhoods, our schools, law enforcement- all institutions under the well-established US socio-political system headed by the wealthy is what perpetuates these racial and class divides. The system must be torn down and rebuilt by the communities oppressed beneath them.
White, upper-middle class women and men can walk the walk right now, no legislative maneuvering or institutional reforms necessary. They can leave their well-paying jobs and take up careers in food service, bus driving, housecleaning, and the like, thus freeing up good, salaried positions with benefits for people of color while maintaining important, badly needed, dirty-work sorts of jobs. It would also prove, once and for all, that they believe in granting opportunities that have been denied to people of color because of race. Of course that would mean having to give up most of their privileges…
https://nypost.com/2020/05/28/amy-cooper-once-slammed-friend-for-voting-for-obama/
I like to think of myself as an apolitical person. I am originally from NY. Schooled from universities in Boston and now have a medical practice in Florida. I’m clearly not was well read as most responding here but I find it amusing that the author and many here assume Amy Cooper must be a liberal based upon her politically correct usage of the word “African American” and for the fact that she “looked” liberal with her sloppy T-shirt and spandex jogging outfit. I come to tell you that conservatives also come in all stripes. Maybe she was upset that her friend voted for Obama because she’s a Republican. Maybe she used the word, “African American” over “black” because in her power lunches amongst her conservative co-workers they learned that this was the best way to avoid being sued, or it was the best way to get the people you believe who were beneath you to get them to do what you wanted them to do. And crazy left wingers? Mind you, I now live in the state of Florida surrounded by people honking their horns in their red pick-ups waving AR-15s and Confederate Flags ready to spit on you if you were less blanco than them. I guarantee these people are not card holding Democrats. I just watched a conservative President tear gas grenade his fellow Americans for a photo-op. Who are the crazies here? There is enough racist sentimentalities and craziness to go around on either side of the political orientation. And don’t be so naive to believe that most conservatives believe that the police treat all races equally. They know what’s going on but they choose to look the other way. We all know this. But the same thing can be said about many liberals. They talked the talk, but never walked the walk- until now. I think it took GF incident to wake people and to their credit they are out in the streets risking their lives in the midst of this pandemic to take action. Conservative media would like their following to believe these protests are inherently un-American and conveniently all of them with looting and violence. Ahh, the convenience of it all. Disgusting.
You didn’t tell us what you think that means, but I’m assuming you believe it confirms she’s a Trump supporter.
I highly doubt that.
As far as I’m concerned, she profiles in every possible way as a man-hating Hillary supporter.
Also speaking of stereotypes. I wonder what most in the black community would think of a fellow black man, who hails from a military family, has degrees from Ivy League, and one who writes and probably speaks proper English but criticizes the party of Jesse Jackson? Ben Carson is that you?
I agree with almost everything in this article, however, I think it’s important to note that Amy Cooper is, in fact, Canadian, and not a US citizen (the Amy Cooper whose donation history was revealed seems to have belonged to an Amy L Cooper, rather than Amy M Cooper, our perpetrator). While it certainly FEELS true that she could be a Hillary voter, I think we become no better than the right wing when we fail to address incorrect details. It would be good if you could maybe clarify this a little so as not to perpetuate the spread of misinformation?
There was more to this incident. The man threatened to take her dog. His words and body language set her off. It is not like she saw a black guy and her reasoning was crippled with fear. That portion of the video that went viral and was accessible to all did not disclose the ENTIRE encounter.
Unfortunately, the white liberal is indeed the root of America’s current crisis. Keep in mind two simple questions: Who stands to lose the most if minorities become educated, employed, and are no longer reliant on the government for their living? Who benefits most from large, racially identifiable segments of America being given inferior public education? The answer to these questions is the same, and this speaks volumes to where their interests in minorities are.
Here we go again with people being half right. White liberals… What could have been a great article inevitably mixes with government/elite propaganda.
RICH white people do not tolerate people ”below them” as is the same with RICH blacks, and Asians, and Latino, and Arab, and Africans, and Indian, and Liberal, and Conservative, straight or gay, fat or thin, ugly or gorgeous and any other group identity we can imagine possible.
The rich and powerful loathe everyone else and take advantage of the world and it’s citizens hourly.
Umm….evidence please. Citations? Only one possible example? It’s a weak hypothesis at best with dots that don’t connect with out a bunch of “what ifs” and “maybes”. I will check the guys site but for this piece to stand alone I should not have to. I am so weary of fact checking.
OK, Found the citations. Used to an old school format. My bad. This will be an interesting rabbit hole.
Same liberals who enjoy burning peoples businesses down all the while yelling Nazi and fascist. The sooner the civil war comes the better.
I thought you did a fantastic job articulating something I’ve sort of felt and have seen, but couldn’t really put my finger on it. Well done!
If I had a nickel for every time I saw a leftist white woman justify highly Machieavellian behavior (aka the use of her innocent reputation to get her way in a petty dispute)
I’d be a millionaire. In fact I can’t imagine one using any other ploy and I say this as a liberal white woman from New England. Whose life matters more that a rich white wife, child, or mother of the Vaterland? If men don’t like to ask for help than w women as the wives of the most powerful are raised to expect carte blanche as a consolation prize. Just wait until your father comes home- what would be the white rich man’s kryptonite if not bulldozing over everyone else to give a white woman whatever she wants? Is needing help itself not eschewed by strong men because it is associated with weakness aka femininity?
If most men are sexist than they believe these delicate creatures are the ones in need of protection from the boogey man. And who is the boogey man if not anyone who threatens to say no to the endless petty demands of the white woman who can’t survive off of her pedestal.
She can’t continue to exploit her patheticness if she is directly aggressive hence hiding behind a white guy. When she steps outside of the cupboard she is still but an angel. If we think women need to be helped all the time and we also don’t apply this theory to black women or poor women how are we ever going to get past this kind of tattle tale behavior? We can’t hold protest signs that say “Women are perfect” while convincing anyone we don’t hold highly sexist ideas about women being child like and above any criticism. Why would anyone believe Amy Cooper? In real life we baby people like Amy Cooper every day and look at it as normal because we don’t examine our own sexist way of looking at women. Leftism can’t afford to start criticizing its own white innocence complex hence all this attention on rednecks. How are rich progs somehow not more powerful than the rest of us and by their own rubric more racist and more responsible for demonizing black Americans if they do in fact see themselves as people who have earned the right to speak as authority figures who are above criticism? There’s nothing modern about treating grown white women like delicate orchids.
I would like to point out something about the much over-hyped Amy Cooper/Christian Cooper kerfuffle. It was part of a pattern of extreme behavior on the part of Chris Cooper, a man who had appointed himself as a Central Park Vigilante.
Cooper was part of a community group that strategized on how to police the park as private citizens, enforcing mask-mandates among other rules. Within this group of hyper-Karens, Christion Cooper stood out. He bragged about being one of the most notorious “dog haters” in the city. As such he was well known for provoking confrontations with dog owners.
Mr. Cooper had a well rehersed routine. He would rush up to offending dog owners, screaming in a manner meant to frighten and intimidate. He didn’t just do this to white-women. In one instance, his attempt to grab a black man’s pooch lead to Cooper (who is a very large man) having a physical altercation with a smaller black man.
These altercations, which were always initiated by Mr. Cooper, followed a predictable pattern.
1. Mr. Cooper approaches the person screaming in an agressive manner.
2. Mr. Cooper issues the same threat: ““If you’re going to do what you want to do, I’m going to do what I want to do and you’re not going to like it.”
3. Mr. Cooper tries to lure the dog away from the owner with treats.
4. Mr. Cooper begins recording, and changes his voice to sound meak and intimidating.
Amy Cooper had every readon to be scared of any man who would behave in such a manner because Mr. Cooper had developed a well-practiced mode of intimidating those he saw a park rule breakers.
https://www.quora.com/search?q=amy%20cooper
campaign contribution information — with donations to Democrats such as Barack Obama, Pete Buttigieg, and John Kerry — leaked online earlier today appeared to suggest that Amy actually identifies as a liberal
Exactly. Man, some are really dumb… and hateful. But mostly dumb.