# Living while black in America **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 9, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611 "2018-07-09T21:17:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 80
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1583 "2020-05-26T17:06:29Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > An African American man who was out birdwatching, and who “threatened” her by giving her dog some treats. What a monster! I didn’t see any treats being offered in this (news story) version of the video. Maybe the complete version, which I haven’t seen, had that? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1584 "2020-05-26T17:23:29Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I didn’t see any treats being offered in this (news story) version of the video. Maybe the complete version, which I haven’t seen, had that? He didn’t start recording until after she flipped out and got right in his face. If you read the article, he talks about always carrying some dog treats because owners hate when you give their dog treats so they put their dogs on a leash. By the time the recording started, treat time was over. ETA: Below the video from CNN is the actual video the guy took, along with quotes from him and the racist. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1585 "2020-05-26T18:02:07Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I didn’t see any treats being offered in this (news story) version of the video. Maybe the complete version, which I haven’t seen, had that? It’s not in the video; he says that it’s his practice to carry the treats for dogs that are off-leash, in order to encourage owners to control them. Also, the woman’s own testimony confirms that he had the treats. According to [this NBC story](https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/central-park-confrontation-goes-viral-white-woman-calls-cop-on-black-birder/2431773/): > [@](#): > > Amy says she overreacted but she claimed that Christian was screaming, and that she felt threatened **because she didn’t know what was in the dog treats**. Also, for any racists who doubt that he was bird-watching, or believe that he had other more nefarious reasons for being in this part of Central Park, the [New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/nyregion/amy-cooper-dog-central-park.html) that: > [@](#): > > Mr. Cooper, who is on the board of the New York City Audubon Society… And sure enough, he’s listed on their [Board Officers page](http://www.nycaudubon.org/leadership-a-governance/board-of-directors). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1586 "2020-05-26T18:03:33Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It’s not in the video; he says that it’s his practice to carry the treats for dogs that are off-leash, in order to encourage owners to control them. Also, the woman’s own testimony confirms that he had the treats. According to [this NBC story](https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/central-park-confrontation-goes-viral-white-woman-calls-cop-on-black-birder/2431773/): > > Also, for any racists who doubt that he was bird-watching, or believe that he had other more nefarious reasons for being in this part of Central Park, the [New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/nyregion/amy-cooper-dog-central-park.html) that:And sure enough, he’s listed on their [Board Officers page](http://www.nycaudubon.org/leadership-a-governance/board-of-directors). I love the idea that she calls the cop because she thinks this older gentleman who’s birdwatching is feeding poison to her dog in front of her, because that’s totally a thing that happens. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1587 "2020-05-26T18:07:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I love the idea that she calls the cop because she thinks this older gentleman who’s birdwatching is feeding poison to her dog in front of her, because that’s totally a thing that happens. I love how she thinks someone feeding her dog treats is a crime, but her not keeping the dog on a leash in a public space is totally OK. Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1588 "2020-05-26T18:23:13Z")
CentralParkKaren should have called [1-844-WYT-FEAR](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/opinion/calling-police-racism-wyt-fear.html)! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1589 "2020-05-26T18:34:58Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I love how she thinks someone feeding her dog treats is a crime, but her not keeping the dog on a leash in a public space is totally OK. “But he needs his exercise!” ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1590 "2020-05-26T18:46:44Z")
I fell sorry for the poor dog, who is getting jerked around rather viciously by his rabid handler. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1591 "2020-05-26T19:20:38Z")
And she lost her job. Which really, really had to happen. Can you imagine black clients and colleagues having to deal with her, knowing what they now know? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1592 "2020-05-26T19:23:10Z")
She lost her job, where she was a Vice President, and she lost her dog. She should face charges of animal abuse and filing a false police report. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1593 "2020-05-26T19:57:09Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I love the idea that she calls the cop because she thinks this older gentleman who’s birdwatching is feeding poison to her dog in front of her, because that’s totally a thing that happens. I know that poisoning pigeons in the park is a thing. Someone wrote a [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY) about it and everything. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1594 "2020-05-26T19:57:48Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > She lost her job, where she was a Vice President, and she lost her dog. She should face charges of animal abuse and filing a false police report. Her job was at Franklin Templeton, which is an investment house. I’m not super-familiar with how they title roles, but banks have had serious title inflation. VP is pretty much an entry-level job there. This whole story is baffling. I assumed when I first read it that she was filmed surreptitiously. When I actually watched the video, I was stunned. I can’t wrap my head around how someone would act like that knowing they’re being filmed. Putting aside the enormous display of privilege, what did she think would happen? (Rhetorical question.) I apparently have much to learn about these ‘Karens.’ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1595 "2020-05-26T20:33:12Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > The in-house racist commentators in my local paper have already chimed in with their assurances that the man could not have been birdwatching because “Those people don’t do that” > [@Gyrate](#): > > It’s not common but [yes, those people do do that](https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/dirt/2019/03/20/birding-where-are-black-birders/). And they get shit for “[birding while black](https://orionmagazine.org/article/9-rules-for-the-black-birdwatcher/)” too, unsurprisingly. > > ETA: It appears to be very uncommon indeed: Googling “black birdwatchers” brings up several articles from several years but all are about the same guy (J Drew Lanham). > [@mhendo](#): > > Also, for any racists who doubt that he was bird-watching, or believe that he had other more nefarious reasons for being in this part of Central Park, the [New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/nyregion/amy-cooper-dog-central-park.html) that:And sure enough, he’s listed on their [Board Officers page](http://www.nycaudubon.org/leadership-a-governance/board-of-directors). While they are definitely uncommon, I know a number of black birders in New York. There’s a couple who regularly participate in the Audubon Christmas Count I do each year in the Bronx. I must admit however that I was briefly confused by the original headline in the NY Times, “White Woman Calls Police on Black Bird Watcher in Central Park,” since black-bird watchers are much more common than black bird-watchers. (And regardless of their style guide, the Times should have just used birdwatcher.) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1596 "2020-05-26T20:35:08Z")
White Louisiana cop fired after posting that coronavirus hasn’t killed enough black people. > **[Officer fired for making racist comments online; some say it’s a...](https://www.kxan.com/news/officer-fired-for-making-racist-comments-online-some-say-its-a-misunderstanding-due-to-new-facebook-feature/)** > > KAPLAN, La. (KLFY)- A Kaplan police officer was fired hours after posting what some have said was a racist comment on Facebook. The comment was made underneath a live feed of the governor’s p… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1597 "2020-05-26T20:38:57Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > This whole story is baffling. I assumed when I first read it that she was filmed surreptitiously. When I actually watched the video, I was stunned. I can’t wrap my head around how someone would act like that knowing they’re being filmed. Putting aside the enormous display of privilege, what did she think would happen? (Rhetorical question.) I apparently have much to learn about these ‘Karens.’ That’s the thing. She _starts_ freaking out because she’s being videoed, then virtually attacks the guy, showing she doesn’t feel any threat at all from him, then goes into an obviously phony act that she’s being attacked by him when he’s filming her from yards away. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1598 "2020-05-26T20:44:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > While they are definitely uncommon, I know a number of black birders in New York. There’s a couple who regularly participate in the Audubon Christmas Count I do each year in the Bronx. > > I must admit however that I was briefly confused by the original headline in the NY Times, “White Woman Calls Police on Black Bird Watcher in Central Park,” since black-bird watchers are much more common than black bird-watchers. (And regardless of their style guide, the Times should have just used birdwatcher.) Maybe he was a black black bird bird watcher. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1599 "2020-05-26T20:56:24Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > [White woman (Amy Cooper) apologizes after calling police on a black man and saying “There’s an African American man threatening my life.”](https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/us/central-park-video-dog-video-african-american-trnd/index.html) > > Watch the video, y’all. She can apoloize all she wants, but she would have been perfectly content if the cops locked that guy up. That’s what should happen to her. Fucking sick. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1600 "2020-05-26T21:19:14Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I fell sorry for the poor dog, who is getting jerked around rather viciously by his rabid handler. She’s picking the dog up by the leash, so that his front legs aren’t even touching the ground. Really not someone who should be a dog owner. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1601 "2020-05-26T22:05:34Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Her job was at Franklin Templeton, which is an investment house. I’m not super-familiar with how they title roles, but banks have had serious title inflation. VP is pretty much an entry-level job there. > > This whole story is baffling. I assumed when I first read it that she was filmed surreptitiously. When I actually watched the video, I was stunned. I can’t wrap my head around how someone would act like that knowing they’re being filmed. Putting aside the enormous display of privilege, what did she think would happen? (Rhetorical question.) I apparently have much to learn about these ‘Karens.’ Described a number of places as ‘Head of Insurance Investment Solutions’. Franklin Templeton is a investment management company. At investment banks VP is often only one rung up from the bottom among MBA holding front office permanent employees (Associate, then VP) and a person either makes that step fairly quickly or is gone. Apparently it’s a higher title at FT. This is apparently a strange person, as the dog walker ID’ing her to the world said. That doesn’t exclude being also a nasty person but it might not be possible to attribute a rational thought process. In case of the formal justice system I don’t disagree in principal with severe consequences for people guilty of serious offences, but sometimes worry about the safeguards against wrong outcomes, or disproportionate consequences. A particular case can show a weakness in those safeguards without demonstrating that the person is factually innocent. It’s not defending that person’s actions to question the system. The current process of stripping people of their jobs via social media pressure because of what they are seen saying/doing on phone video’s has no safeguards, it’s mob action. It’s a new thing, not headed in a good direction IMO, though again that doesn’t mean the people on the video’s were not acting nastily, sometimes dangerously. But ‘cell phone video’s plus mass social media pressure to fire people who act badly on them, _finally_ we have a powerful tool to create a better, more harmonious society’. I think that’s seriously kidding oneself, assuming good motives. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1602 "2020-05-26T22:07:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I must admit however that I was briefly confused by the original headline in the NY Times, “White Woman Calls Police on Black Bird Watcher in Central Park,” since black-bird watchers are much more common than black bird-watchers. (And regardless of their style guide, the Times should have just used birdwatcher.) Context clues, man. It might be way more common to see a blackbird watcher than a black birdwatcher, but in terms of which ones have white women calling the cops on them? It’s the black birdwatchers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=79) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=81)