Random TV Thoughts

I find this interesting because I’m totally on the black guys’ side here but wolf is so adamantly against him

im not a podcast guy so maybe we will have to take this offline /queerbabyballs

I haven’t really “followed” it other than the fact that I stumbled on the Kmele/Bari pod so I went back to read some of the original reporting at that point and I’ve contributed to pay attention when Kmele has updates occasionally. But here’s my thoughts…

The first ? I’m not positive about, but I believe the rest is accurate. He may have initially asked calmly but I don’t recall if there was any solid info on that. After that he tried to lure the dog and said “if you’re gonna do what you want, I’m gonna do what I want. And you’re not gonna like it.”

Now, he very well may have just meant he’s gonna tie her dog to something or call animal control or whatever. But AFAIK this detail was basically not reported by anyone until Kmele did his investigative report. And to me this a hugely important detail. If you’re a woman alone in a park and a man says that to you, not only do I understand the impulse to feel threatened but frankly I’d think you were borederline insane to NOT feel at least a little bit worried. So assuming that quote is factual, I think she’s 100% justified in calling the cops. And if the birdwatcher were white, there is absolutely zero doubt that evry person who’s mad at her would be on her side because “believe all women”. 

She probably didn’t NEED to mention his race, but if we weren’t obsessed with race in this country it would be a perfectly cromulent detail about the physical description of the person you believe is threatening you. 

The other thing that was seemingly ignored by he Twitter mob and any of the mainstream reporting is that this guy had a history of similar behavior with other dog walkers. He’s “right” in the sense that those people are violating park rules by not leashing thier dogs. But it didn’t take Kmele much effort to find people who have established that this dude has a pattern of behavior that could be perceived as threatening. 

So my beef here is the same one I usually have in stories like this. The Twitter mob picks up the few details that fit their narrative, blows it up into a made up racist attack, refuses to pay attention to any other details that might prove them wrong, and ruins someone’s life because reasons. And anyone who reported on this story and couldn’t be bothered to look below the surface and ask even the simplest of investigative questions because narrative is not qualified to be a journalist and is a giant part of the continued racial divide in this country. 

Additionally, there was a HORRIBLE phone connection between her and the police operator so the perception that she was panicking about a black man being near her rings pretty hollow. You get to hear the 911 call which was readily available to everyone who reported on this and used by seemingly only one person, Kmele.





The Real Story of “The Central Park Karen”

Everyone in this story is an asshole on some level, basically. None of it happens if she follows the leash law, presumably. I walk my dog off-leash all the time if I'm in a place where I'm not likely to encounter anyone, but I feel like if I were in NYC I'd just assume I'm always gonna see someone so I'd leash my dog. But he way overreacted, and his words absolutely constitute a threat that warrants calling 911 IMO. Add to that his history of similar behavior with other dog walkers, and more importantly his behavior since then (refusing to even consider that any of this could be his fault, continuing to pretend it had anything to do with race, capitalizing off it for fortune and fame, and the complete and utter lack of empathy for the ridiculously outsized consequences that she received for a very minor transgression) make me just hate this guy so fucking much. My biggest issue, as I've said, is with the media. The repeated incuriosity of these people who jump to racist conclusions in virtually every one of these viral "Karen" type stories is just disgusting, and a complete embarrassment to their profession.

Here’s my take that nobody asked for.

Someone correct me if I am factually incorrect.

Super liberal NY woman thinks she can do whatever she wants.

She’s Alone and she encounters a black guy.

When he asked her to follow the rules did she? Sounds like she refused.

So he tries to scare her/threaten her.

She immediately freaks out and calls the cops.

Fuck her.

I didn’t know the black guy capitalized on this.

So fuck him too.

"I don't have time for that 90-minute podcast", I've got 12.75 hours to log on a dead messageboard today"