Posted on 05/29/2020 4:54:08 AM PDT by Kaslin
A lifelong bird-watcher ventured into a section of New York's Central Park, the "Ramble," at 7:30 a.m., hoping to catch a glimpse of waterfowl. In previous days, he had spied scarlet tanagers, ovenbirds and mourning warblers. On Memorial Day, as he waited quietly, an unleashed spaniel scurried into the area -- as happens frequently in the park during quarantine -- though a posted sign notifies owners that all dogs must be leashed.
The bird-watcher asked the owner to please leash her dog. She was less than cooperative. According to the birder, Christian Cooper, the conversation went like this: "ME: Ma'am, dogs in the Ramble have to be on the leash at all times. The sign is right there. HER: The dog runs are closed. He needs his exercise." After more refusals from her to leash the pet, he said, "Look, if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it" and reached for dog treats that he keeps for such situations. Alarmed, she yelled, "Don't you touch my dog!"
That's when Mr. Cooper began to record the encounter. The dog owner, whose name, coincidentally, is Amy Cooper, demanded that he stop recording her, and when he refused, threatened to call the police. "Please call the police," Mr. Cooper responded. Dialing her phone, she warned Cooper, saying, "I'm going to tell them there's an African American man threatening my life."
Wait, it gets worse. She reaches the police and twice recounts that she is in the Ramble and that "an African American man" is threatening her and her dog. Apparently dissatisfied by the response this gets from the dispatcher, she ramps up the panic in her voice and cries: "I'm being threatened by a man in the Ramble. Please send the cops immediately!"
The poor cocker spaniel, all this while, was struggling and twisting and being forced to rise to his hind legs as Ms. Cooper kept an iron grip on his collar.
Since the release of the video, Amy Cooper has been fired by Franklin Templeton where she had been an insurance portfolio manager, lost her dog to the rescue group from whom she adopted him, and become an overnight symbol of racism.
Frankly, I had heard about the consequences before I watched the video and my anti-vigilante antennae were quivering. But the video is jaw-dropping.
It's possible that Ms. Cooper was overwrought because she misinterpreted Mr. Cooper's comment that "you're not going to like" what he would do next. But he reached into his pocket and produced what? A gun? A knife? No. Dog treats. Maybe her imagination ran wild and she feared that he was planning to poison the pooch. But even if that's the case, she could have picked up her dog and gone home. Instead, she played upon racial stereotypes of "scary black men" to make a false claim to police and, it's safe to assume, to intimidate him. He merely asked her to respect the park rules. There was zero reason to call the police. There was zero reason to tell the dispatcher that the man was African American.
As someone who has written about false accusations of racism (though I've never denied that racism is real), these cellphone videos are grim reminders that old-fashioned white racism continues to have deadly consequences. Eric Garner. Ahmaud Arbery. George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis this week after an officer held him down with a knee on his neck. They and others are evidence of what actor Will Smith said in 2016: "Racism isn't getting worse. It's getting filmed." (The four officers who were involved in Floyd's case have been fired and the FBI is investigating.)
Amy Cooper told CNN that her "entire life" is being destroyed by this. She has apologized and claimed not to be a racist. Does anyone ever admit to racism? I think even David Duke claims that he's merely standing up for white people.
Still, Amy Cooper can salvage some grace from this awful fall from it. She can start by confessing that, yes, she is a racist, and vowing to change. She can volunteer for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America or the Success Academy or some other organization that works to make life better for African American kids. She can study up on the history of slavery and Jim Crow. And she can send a check to the ASPCA while she's at it. She understandably feels that her life is being "destroyed," but if she handles this right, it could be vastly improved. She could become a symbol of redemption instead of sin.
Yes. And they will be the better for it, certainly the rest of us will be.
Just call your favorite loony The Bird Man of Harlem and Central Park.
Don’t make President Trump ashamed to be in your tag line.
Look outside the picture you are being fed.
http://www.nycaudubon.org/manhattan-birding/central-park
“gay sex” poor birdies!
This video made the national news. Dozens of graphic videos of blacks being violently racist against whites are filmed but NONE make the national news.
Why the double standard?
Because the numerous examples of black on white violence far in excess of this non violent video would debunk the “liberal” narrative that only whites can be racist.
That’s interesting. There is much about this incident that still needs to be unpacked, especially for me. Thanks for the information.
And Mr Cooper is on the board of the NYC Audubon.
http://www.nycaudubon.org/leadership-a-governance/board-of-directors
She threw that in to get the police to come. She thought it sounded good. But even more she was trying to intimidate Mr Cooper. She had no need to call the police at all. Put on the leash, walk away, obey the rules of the bird sanctuary.
You know this because you are in his head? Even though the reporting says the opposite you know?
“Thanks! Freepers are seriously deluded on this racial incident. They hate the liberal white woman so she is to blame.
This black Harvard Grad/Idiot spends his free time trolling Central Park dog owners with his bag of doggie treats. What a head case!”
dennisw is seriously deluded on this racial incident. He hates the liberal black man so he is to blame.
This white woman/idiot spends her free time with her dog off leash where it is supposed to be on leash and calls in false accusations to the police when someone asks her to stop. What a head case!
His interests overlapped.
His actions speak for themselves.
He probably usually masturbates over the video he gets.
Your last time is about 20 years ago..
Is the Ramble in Central Park still a part of contemporary gay life in New York?
Reading this article it seems that due to a variety of factors Central Park, and specifically the area around the Ramble, was a major factor in gay life for much of the 20th century. I’ve never seen any indication of that when I go there, mostly I see birders. In today’s world, where grindr and gay bars are fairly ubiquitous, does the park still make up any element of contemporary gay life?
http://nymag.com/news/features/47179/
“The rambles were used because people could meet in secret, so that they could hide their identity. That’s not so much a problem in NYC anymore. The rise of the internet and hook up apps made seeking anonymous sex in a park or a bathhouse pretty much unnecessary. People used to use the Brambles because they had no other safe way to meet other gay men (safe being a relative term).”
“We don’t have to hide anymore. We can date openly. We can have casual sexual relationships a lot more easily. No one needs the brambles anymore.”
You are seriously troubled. Please stop bringing your sick fantasies to Free Republic.
Christian Cooper, a graduate of Harvard and a past president of its campus ornithological club, is a senior biomedical editor at Health Science Communications. He previously worked as an editor at Marvel Comics. In 2019, he was featured in the premier episode of Jason Ward’s Birds of North America (shown in the tweet below) and in 2012, he was among the Central Park birders who were interviewed for the documentary film Birders: The Central Park Effect.
White liberal women are stupid. The OJ trial and the Central Park Jogger case ought to be enough to alert them that white women are below black men on the hierarchy. Indeed, the career arc of Obama vs Hillary is indicative enough. Get a clue, ladies. Men outrank you.
I think I’m contributing more than you.
His actions require explanation. They defy acceptance that this was an “accidental” encounter.
You wanted to joke about it. So can I.
I fully agree and have no sympathy for her. I should have said that in my first comment. My point was that the consequences of the call were determined by her mention of his race and not by the call per se.
The guy is a board member of the Audubon Society and this is a designated and protected bird watching site. He was actually doing his duty in trying to get her to leash her dog - dogs aren’t supposed to be there even on leash. And no, he was not “stalking white women.” Sheesh, it’s people like you who give FR a bad name.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.