amy cooper and fear of men who are strangers

[mrsadm]

I just have to say that it's good to discuss all the prejudice against blacks BUT maybe I missed it, but there is also a very real fear in women for being attacked and raped. And I would not trust anyone to give treats to my dog.

[Loki Liesmith]

1. This is a laughable argument.

[BigMin28]

2. Yes it is

SMH

[greenjar_01]

3. Good God

[SharonClark]

4. Wow! Amy Cooper was not being attacked and raped and no one offered treats to her dog.

She called the police on an innocent person and made it about race. There is no excuse.

[pnwmom]

11. He did but that's not the point. He offered them to the dog as a way to get her

to put the animal on the leash. She refused repeatedly, so he called to the dog, to give him a treat. He correctly guessed that that would motivate the woman to leash her dog.

[SharonClark]

17. Thanks for the correction.

[LeftInTX]

21. I think he offered treats to her dog

But he did it so the dog would leave the birds alone.

But yeah, the minute she said, "I'm gonna call the police and tell them an AA is doing.....(sorry can't remember her words)"..I knew it was about race and that she wasn't scared.

She may have had genuine concern about the dog treats, but I have no idea. But I just don't connect concerns about AA and possible tainted dog treats. If this is a new stereotype, I've never heard of it.

[csziggy]

22. Actually, yes, Christian Cooper did "pull out treats"

In a Facebook post, he claimed the dog was “tearing through the plantings” and told her she should go to another part of the park. When she refused, he pulled out dog treats, causing her to scream at him to not come near her dog.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/27/central-park-dog-viral-video-christian-cooper-comments-amy-cooper/5265010002/

In an earlier interview he said (my memory, maybe not totally accurate) that he does the treat thing because people do not want strangers feeding their dogs and it tends to get the owners to get their dogs on leash quickly.

[Tipperary]

38. Well, he did say he had treats for the dog.

He says that himself.

[StarfishSaver]

5. Nice try

But not buying it.

If that were the case, she'd have yelled into the phone: "A MAN is threatening me and my dog."

Instead, yelled, repeatedly "An AFRICAN-AMERICAN man is threatening me and my dog" - with an hysterical emphasis on the African-American.

This had nothing to do with her being afraid of men. This didn't even have anything to do with being afraid of black men.

This had everything to do with her weaponizing her white femaleness to retaliate against someone she thought had no right to challenge her.

[Solomon]

36. Not to mention the fact that she ran directly toward him, not away from him.

[qazplm135]

6. are you serious right now?

First of all, when's the last time you were afraid of someone and then rushed up on them (while dragging your dog)?

Second, are you really trying to justify this encounter as "Fear of rape?"

[Captain Stern]

7. 'Fear of Men Who Are Strangers' might have been a good topic.

Instead, you've intertwined that with a case where a woman was clearly not in fear of a stranger.

This seems to me to be a clumsy attempt to conflate two things that really aren't the same at all.

[pnwmom]

8. If you watched the video it was clear SHE was the aggressive one. He asked her to back off.

She wasn't afraid of him -- she was mad at him.

He wanted her to follow the law and leash her dog. She refused. Then, in order to try to get her to leash the animal, he called the dog over for a treat. That's what made her leash the dog -- as he correctly guessed that it would.

[Dr. Strange]

43. The exact words were...

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.

I'm not a woman, so I might view it differently.

Would women find those words threatening?

[pnwmom]

49. You completely took the words out of context. I am a woman and I heard and saw the whole thing.

No woman who was afraid would have run up into his FACE like that.

[Dr. Strange]

53. Yeah...

that doesn't seem like the behavior of someone who's "afraid". It strikes me as a little suspicious.

[mrsadm]

9. I'm serious

I understand her fear. I would have been very afraid. But I would have immediately walked away to avoid any confrontation.

Living in Manhattan taught me to be suspicious of strangers.

And yes I watched the video.

[mrsadm]

12. edits added to explain more.

[pnwmom]

13. If you watched the video why would you have been afraid? SHE ran up close to HIM.

He's the one who should be afraid. HE asked HER to back off.

[SharonClark]

15. You understand "her fear"? What fear could that possibly be when she was the aggressor and liar?

[herding cats]

20. She escalated it and kept moving toward him. That's aggression not fear.

He was the one who said, "please don't come close to me." She wasn't afraid, she was angry and wanted him to stop recording her. Then she escalated it even more by going stupid and racist.

[dalton99a]

30. +1

[FBaggins]

42. I think what you're missing is that others DON'T think you "understand her fear"

You understand your own fear in what you imagine might be a similar scenario (stranger comes out of the woods near you and isn't friendly). And it might be reasonable to discuss whether her animus was BOTH racial and sex-based... but what you see as a response that you wouldn't take yourself in response to the fear you perceive... others take as evidence that refutes that assumed fear.

You think that she had a fear that you might share but would act differently... I see instead an entitled individual willing to use race and sex to get her way when confronted. I don't see "scared"... I see "angry".

[MrsMatt]

58. I can understand "the" fear (of being accosted by a strange man)

but not "her" fear (clearly not afraid)

Big difference. Christian Cooper was clearly not a threat. She was completely an entitled ass.

[11 Bravo]

10. I would insist that I be asked for permission before anyone gave food or a treat ...

to my dog.
Having said that, Cooper was never threatened in any way; and I fail to see ANYTHING on that video that took place which could lead her to in good faith claim otherwise.

She automatically assumed that her word would prevail over the black guy's, and she got busted.

Fuck her.

[pnwmom]

16. The whole reason he offered the treat was to get her to put the dog on a leash -- which she did.

Then she practically choked it to death.

[11 Bravo]

18. I know why he did it.

I simply don't allow strangers to give ANY edible substance to my dog without my permission.

I believe I made it abundantly clear what I think of Cooper's lame-ass attempt to play the victim.

[pnwmom]

24. And that's a reason he keeps the treats handy. So when people are letting their dogs loose,

like this woman was, they'll have a motivation to put them on the leash.

[11 Bravo]

26. We're talking in circles here.

I'm not pointing a finger at the guy, I'm on his side. And if, as you say, he is using treats to force pet owners to follow the rules, I wish him luck.

I can only speak for myself, and the fact is that I require no motivation to leash my sweet rescue lab in areas requiring it.

And NOBODY feeds my dog without my permission.

[unitedwethrive]

33. Lots of people carry dog treats to punish bad owners.

My two year old is afraid of strange dogs, so I always carry beef jerky to throw on the ground if a dog is poorly restrained and starts to come near our stroller. No, I don't ask for permission, but I have to say that the neighbors have learned to control their dogs.

[StarryNite]

37. I've tossed dog treats to dogs on the loose before too.

I used to walk my dog past a neighbor's house where the dog was loose all the time. It would act aggressive towards my leashed dog. So I started tossing treats to it when we would pass and on about day three the dog was happily expecting the treats instead of acting aggressive. It worked out well. I never saw the owner.

[11 Bravo]

44. I'm not a bad owner, so it shouldn't be an issue.

She's always on leash, unless we're on private property, or in a situation wherein unleashed dogs are allowed.

And distracting an animal you perceive as a threat to your child takes it to a completely different level. Go for it.

But aside from that, I'll say it one more time. Do NOT offer food to my dog without my permission.

[LanternWaste]

60. Compel, not force.

Avoid the melodrama... it looks shrill and hysterical.

[11 Bravo]

62. "Compel"and "force" I used neither term.

(Imagining I did might just bespeak actual shrillness and hysteria.)

And I suppose I could have avoided the melodrama by ignoring your post, but what the Hell.

I've been here a long time, and the occasional "most righteous lefty dude"posts never cease to amuse.

Carry on.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

14. Come the fuck on. She said she was going to call the cops and tell them an "African-American man

is threatening my life," and then said to 911 that he was "threatening" her. He was not. Her actions are inexcusable.

[Ms. Toad]

19. I agree with the title - if you replace Amy Cooper with women

BUT - Amy Cooper's fear of men was general, she would not have threatened to call the police to report an "African American" man. (Not just once, but repeatedly)

But doing so, she was expressly using his race as a threat against him. I'll call the cops on you (sub voce - and you know what happens to black men when the cops are called).

When the elevator story was going around a few years ago about a famous black man who was offended by a white woman on the elevator who refused to tell him what floor she was getting off on, he attributed it to racism. My reaction to that story was - no her refusal to tell him the floor was most likely based on gender. As he reported it, she didn't mention his race, she didn't use his race to ward him off. She merely refused to tell him what floor she was getting off on. Nothing in that story suggested to me that her actions were specific to his race, rather than gender.

That is not the case here.

[Squinch]

23. Dear God in heaven. Hey, you guys, the cracks in the woodwork have opened again.

Stuff is getting out.

[Cal Carpenter]

25. You can go ahead and remove the overt and specific racist component

in Amy Cooper's actions, but be aware it says more about you than it does about anything else.

She was more angry than afraid. She was angry that he did not participate in her attempt to dehumanize him. She was angry that he didn't run away when she threatened to call the cops and emphasized his race, knowing what the result might be.

If she was afraid of anything, it was that the security of her privilege and entitlement were threatened, not her body.

She was more of a danger to him than vice versa.

[KWR65]

27. Women should have the police harass black men becuase of rape?

You are no different then the woman in the video.

[jrthin]

28. Really? nt

[Behind the Aegis]

29. Good thing he didn't whistle at her.

Suggestion: Delete this or reword it in such a way that the aggressor (Cooper) is not painted as the victim, better yet, leave her out of the discussion about legitimate fears women may have in regards to men unknown to them.

[unitedwethrive]

31. What? Then don't break the leash law and invite confrontation!

He did not offer the dog a treat out of the blue.

[tazkcmo]

32. Does not apply in this case.

She was entirely in the wrong.

[Tipperary]

40. Agree.

She is the one who escalated the situation. She was way out of line.

[SouthernCal_Dem]

34. This makes no sense

She kept walking up to him and he told her repeatedly to stay away.

Did you watch the video?

[Celerity]

35. pure bollocks, you should self-delete

[Kaleva]

39. Males that a woman is intimate with pose a far bigger threat then male strangers

"More women are killed by intimate partners in the United States than by any other group of people. It's not strangers, friends or acquaintances who pose the biggest threat to women's lives: It's the men they date and marry."

https://testkitchen.huffingtonpost.com/this-is-not-a-love-story/#intro/

[Brainfodder]

41. I am a big dude, and I have been walking behind females in parking lots and had them speed up on me.

I laugh usually, but I said out loud once: "I've got your back" as I slowed down and let her feel less crowded, she turned & smiled.

In summer I am racing from the exit to my car, I don't even notice anything but shoes on other people at that speed.

I've got to get anything chocolate or frozen/chilled home ASAP and it's still going to take 10-15 mins to get there, thanks traffic lights....



...and now, What's a store, What's a parking lot?, the gameshow where you keep your life, continues?

Iso since early March, deliveries only, could get used to it?

[ProfessorGAC]

56. I've Done That, Too

And, I'm not a big guy.
But, night time, parking lot at store, woman happened to park in exact same direction I did.
A couple times I said "Don't worry, I won't let anybody sneak up on you. My car is right there, too."
I don't know if they were nervous about me following behind, but I sure didn't seem to hurt anything. The reaction seemed calm.

[cwydro]

45. She could have leashed her dog and walked away.

She came AT HIM at one point.

I'm a small woman, and if I felt myself or my pet was in any danger I'd be getting the hell away - not engaging with a man I didn't know, no matter his race.

[raccoon]

46. If she was really afraid of him, why didn't she turn around and

Run or walk in the other direction? Why stay there and argue with him???

[BlueLucy]

47. Nope. She was not ONE bit afraid. She's a RACIST.

[BlueLucy]

48. She is an entitled dog owner who thinks rules do not apply to her whiteness...

especially not coming from a black man. I've run into many dog owners like her in parks who refuse to get their damn dog on leash or even scoop up their shit.

[Corgigal]

50. It's NYC,

have you been there? New York women, fo the most part don’t fear shit.

Said this raised grown New York woman.

[MicaelS]

51. "Oooh, I am in fear for my life."

Sounds like another case of FWWS. Fearful White Woman Syndrome.

That is always the justification from white women about calling police on anything, or anyone.

BTW, I am a white man.

[Hekate]

52. I also am wary of strangers, being both small & old, but Amy was the aggressor in every sense...

I was appalled at her behavior -- she faked fear and hysteria, using what she hoped would be trigger-words for the police. As a couple of people have pointed out (Robin Abcarian in the LA Times among them) she weaponized her white privilege. And as I point out, pulled the trigger. She could have gotten him killed, and she damn well knew that.

Why dog treats? I do believe his account: it is his long-standing non-threatening strategy to get people to leash their dogs. The birding park is not a leash-free dog park.

I'm not betraying sisterhood to say Amy was in the wrong here, just like I was not betraying sisterhood early on to point out that Tara Reide's evolving stories about Biden were as full of holes as a sieve. They both got busted, deservedly.

[GoneOffShore]

54. Context matters. And the treats were offered to keep the dog from tearing up the habitat.

So just stop.

[Bettie]

55. If she was truly afraid of him, she would have

leashed her dog and left, instead she moved toward him and threatened him.

Also, she could have, oh, I don't know, taken her dog to a dog friendly area instead of a place where they aren't permitted.

Entitlement. That's what this was about. The woman felt entitled to do whatever she wanted to, including attempting to have a stranger executed by cops. I don't believe for a second that she was afraid.

[Codeine]

57. Why are some people driven to defend this woman?

What on Earth is it about her that makes people want to run interference for her bullshit?

[MicaelS]

64. You just watch....

There will some media person trying to do a "redemption" of this woman by trying to set her up with a meet with Mr. Cooper, where she can cry her eyes out.

[Act_of_Reparation]

59. Real fear can still be irrational.

[MrsCoffee]

72. So can racism.

[Act_of_Reparation]

73. Was anyone suggesting otherwise?

My point is her being scared of an unfamiliar black man is evidence of racism, not the opposite as the op suggests.

[LanternWaste]

61. Do you aggressively approach males you are suspicious of?

If not, your point is, at best, misplaced.

"BUT maybe I missed it..."

[dsc]

63. This is a very bad situation to try to make this case

I have, at times, made this case with other videos where this kind of thing came up. The one that I remember most was the one where a man was trying to get in an apartment complex and refused to say who his relative was. I felt then and still feel that it was perfectly justified to insist he leave since he didn't live in the building and refused to say who he knew who did. I also would understand why a woman in particular would could feel afraid in that situation. But here, this was a very different scenario. This woman was not afraid she was pissed. She also clearly lied in her phone call.

[ChubbyStar]

65. 2002 sign up just now posting this?

Go away, you stink.

[MicaelS]

66. Makes me wonder how is the weather in Moscow n/t

[mrsadm]

67. To clarify, my comments were more general than

this one incident. I was lucky to escape some scary things in NYC. A friend of mine was shot dead during a mugging. But maybe I am also watching "Criminal Minds" too much while being home to avoid the virus.

[MrsCoffee]

71. Well your fears have nothing to do with this situation.

He was there with his sister. Amy didn’t encounter a lone man in the woods. She encountered a couple in a Central Park bird watching patch.

This situation was pure racism. Your attempts to minimize that are not appreciated.

[qwlauren35]

68. The question is

Would you react exactly the same way if a white man told you to leash your dog.

Remember. This man was telling her to leash her dog.

That's not the behavior of a potential rapist. He is not trying to win her confidence. He is not trying to lure her behind a bush.

I fear being attacked and raped (not in broad daylight with people around me). But I do not have a race-based fear. Just a man-based fear. So, if a white man approached me or a black man approached me, it wouldn't make a difference.

This woman was not fearful. She was ANGRY that a black man told her to leash her dog. And out of her anger, she tried to GET REVENGE by calling the cops who would TAKE HER SIDE, and POSSIBLY HARM THE BLACK MAN. She knew it. She counted on it.

Do you remember the white girl who said that she was attacked by black men because she didn't want her mother to know that she was out all night hanging with her friends?

SOME WHITE WOMEN LIE. AND THEY DON'T CARE IF BLACK MEN GET HURT.

Focus, kiddo. That is the point of the discussion. You can go somewhere else to talk about genuine fear of rape. This woman was not fearful. She was angry, manipulative, cunning and racist.

On second thought, please go ahead and start a thread about white women's BASELESS fear that black men will rape them, and how WHITE MEN have perpetuated this fear so that white women have an excuse to get black men incarcerated FOR DOING NOTHING.

[MrsCoffee]

69. You think she was afraid that he and his sister were going to attack and rape her?

Why do I have to read shit like this here?

[mshasta]

70. WOW