Proud Member of The Moms Clean Air Force
Print This Post
Oct
24
UPDATE: Video from this afternoon’s CNN report on the hoax:
Original post:
There are a lot of ways to look at this one, but none of them are good. From KDKA:
Police tell KDKA that a campaign volunteer has now confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter B in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker.
If you want to read the details of what she said happened, Michele Malkin’s post on the incident has good links. Malkin also included this in her original post:
I’ve reported on the great lengths that warped attention-seekers have gone to in perpetrating fake hate crimes, including beating themselves up, carving swastikas on their dorm room doors and walls, locking themselves in bathroom stalls, and burning down their own houses.
Which is why I’m not jumping up and down with outrage over Drudge-promoted story of a McCain volunteer claiming to have been attacked by a black man whom she accused of carving a “B” in her face after spotting her McCain bumper sticker.
She refused medical treatment after reporting the incident to police. Why on earth would she do that?
Skepticism is a tool of people who apply critical thinking and I’m very glad it was applied in this case.
So why is this so bad all around?
1. For McCain – who wants to be associated with supporters that do things like this? McCain and Palin both called the volunteer yesterday to wish her well.
2. For Obama and minorities – this young woman described the generic ooo scary scary black man as the person who allegedly victimized her. I was in fact mugged by not one but five black men. And I struggle against the paranoia I still have from that – which happened more than 20 years ago – when I’m in places I don’t know by myself because I know that there is no such thing as a generic ooo scary scary black man. Ugh (as in, I hate how people make up alleged perps to be black aka the scariest stereotype they can think of – I’ll keep my scariest stereotype to myself for now but it has nothing to do with race).
3. For real victims of violent crime – does she have any idea how much harder she makes it for other victims of violent crime to be taken seriously when she fakes stuff like this? Thanks.
4. For the law enforcement people – what a waste of their time and Pittsburgh’s resources. Does she forget we’re in a financial crisis and cities are crunched for services and money just like everyone else?
Supporters who go this fringe seriously need help. This volunteer is reportedly just 20 years old. She has a lot of time to live and get straight. I hope she does.
Talk about making sure you screen your campaign workers.
ALSO: Hattip to Mark McNally of the conservative blog, Paindealer. He posted about this early today, we had some comment and e-mail back and forth and he wrote this update on the situation. No one likes to be duped but this particular kind of thing is just so damaging. Honestly, I think the McCain campaign has dibs on being more pissed off.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:48 pm October 24th, 2008 in Crime, John McCain, Law, Politics, WH2008
Comments
3 Responses to “McCain volunteer confesses: fabricated story of attack by tall, black male”
Voted into Top 25 Political Mom Blogs
Now on sale-WLST essay included!
Posts About Pepper Pike City Council2010 WE Magazine 101 Women Bloggers to Watch
Category Specific RSS
Pepper Pike Cleveland+ Politics Women Ohio Elections Law Jewish
Seemed like a hoax to me from the start which is why i didnt write about. None of it really made any sense.
Its like people are taking crazy pills.
Like Ben, I was suspicious yesterday about this story.
Consider, however, another point…
Just as Rovian politicians “create reality”…so too, now, Republican supporters.
Wasn’t this woman “creating reality” with her story? Granted, that reality only lasted for 24 hours, but it was created.