You’ve all probably seen this video by now:
This was shot in Central Park yesterday by Christian Cooper (no relation), the man Amy Cooper was threatening.
There are so many things that I find troubling about this woman, that I felt compelled to share. But first, let me share her “apology” with you:
“I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family. It was unacceptable and I humbly and fully apologize to everyone who’s seen that video, everyone that’s been offended…everyone who thinks of me in a lower light and I understand why they do. When I think about the police, I’m such a blessed person. I’ve come to realize especially today that I think of [the police] as a protection agency, and unfortunately, this has caused me to realize that there are so many people in this country that don’t have that luxury.”
Now, I’m all for a good redemption story and I’m prone to accepting apologies that offer some indication that lessons were learned. This is not that.
Let me step back to all of the things I found troubling about this video before the “apology”.
First and foremost, this woman lives in Manhattan. Back in the olden days when I took a train to work, I would hear 14 different languages being spoken on my way to work. We have a very diverse culture here. You have to work pretty hard to be a racist here. Also, here is where NYPD is. Here is where Eric Garner was murdered. Here is where the Central Park Five were railroaded for a murder they couldn’t be tied to by a shred of physical or eyewitness evidence.
Here is where I don’t even think about calling the cops in my neighborhood (Harlem) unless the situation is very dire. Why? Because I know the history of the NYPD.
More importantly, I’ve been watching video after video of black men being abused and murdered at the hands of police officers for years now. Those videos have broken my heart and informed me of the severity of the problem. I admit to being ignorant as to the scope of the problem before the endless videos started appearing. I knew there was a problem, but I had no idea how big and how systemically entrenched it is. The injustice of these videos is further bolstered by videos of white men (and women) behaving abhorrently to police officers over and over again and living through it.
This woman, Amy Cooper watched the same videos and read the same news stories but instead of being heartbroken or better informed, she identified a weapon that she could wield when she needed it. She repeatedly told Christian that she was going to tell the cops that an African American man was threatening her life. Twice, during her call to 911, she emphasized African American man. She did this deliberately, and armed with the knowledge that gained from watching all of those videos of unarmed black men being beaten or killed. That knowledge didn’t evoke understanding or sympathy for the plight of black men in America. No, she saw an opportunity to weaponize the injustice.
Those were my observations before her “apology”. That nonpology just makes everything worse as it was not only a straight up lie, it was literally the opposite of the truth. She ended up on CNN where she accidentally let it spill that her “entire life was being ruined right now”. Awwwww, poor Amy! All she was trying to do was to ruin someone else’s life. Does she really deserve this?
Guess what, Amy Cooper? I think you’re a bigger piece of shit today, than I thought you were yesterday. Her employer Franklin Templeton has placed her on administrative leave while they “investigate”. You guys watched the video above, right? Are you done investigating? Yeah, me too. I’m sorry but this woman needs to be fired and shunned from society. I have no interest in tolerating or forgiving people like this, especially after her disingenuous, rectally generated nonpology that wasn’t even well crafted to line up with what we know about her just by watching the video.
