To hope this racist woman loses her job

[TildaKauskumholm]

twitter.com/melodyMcooper/status/1264965252866641920?s=19. Was appalled to see this video on Twitter - a guy in Central park, NYC, who was birdwatching, politely asked a woman to put her dog on the lead as per the regulation in that part of the park. He started filming it as she got abusive and called the cops, to say that she (white) and her dog were being threatened by an African-American man and could they send the police (as we know this can often result in a shooting).All the while she was holding her dog up by dangling it from its collar, half strangling it. The man left and his sister put the video on Twitter, resulting in the racist dog strangler being identified very quickly... she has a high powered job with an insurance company. The animal shelter took back the dog, and her company says she is on 'administrative leave' hopefully meaning she will get fired. I was really shocked and dismayed that such open racism is still going on, even though she was being filmed! Surely she must lose her job at least, what company would want to be linked to something like this?

If it's any help @totallyyesno, I agree and can see your point.

There is a genuine question about how we think racism should be best addressed.

On the one hand, if the woman had committed a crime, and I think she may have done, she should be charged with it and punished by the legal system.

If one the other hand, we want to educate people about racism, perhaps the video should be shared, but not revealing the identity of the woman.

Yet, for those who say they want the woman "to never work again", it would suggest that their motive is not to address racism, but rather to ruin a woman's life for ever, without even the chance of rehabilitation.

I cast believe so many on this thread are trying to speak up on her behalf! Yes, there are two sides to every story but what we can see is very definitely a white woman wielding her white privileged like a weapon. Whatever we didn’t see or don’t know does not excuse that. If you don’t want your vile behaviour filmed how about you don’t behave in such a way. This kind of behaviour really needs to have more of a spotlight shone on it so it can be dealt with.

It's not hard to see. Plenty here for a start!

So when my neighbour shouted racist abuse at me I was wrong not to film her and shame her on social media?

@DeeDeeCherry that’s chilling, I’ll look it up.

Yes she made a mistake but can we have some perspective? I have worked with offenders - including people convicted of serious violent racist attacks.

She didn't make a 'mistake' - it was a calculated move.

The issue is that her racism is so deep-rooted that she immediately moves towards using his ethnicity against him.

Ethnic minorities in the UK live their lives experiencing racial micro-aggressions on a daily basis. The majority of white people fail to recognise this, dismiss incidents as being 'minor' or 'misunderstood' or 'mistakes' and do little to change their overall behaviour.

White people in the UK have a tendency to accept ethnic minorities only if the ethnic minorities 'act white' or act according to what is seen as acceptable by whites. I've seen and experienced this throughout my life.

So can we stop with all this wilful blindness to everyday racism. Racism is not always explicitly violent or involve using key slurs - the more pervasive and pernicious type is the type that is subtle enough to get swept under the rug. It's the type of racism that makes it more difficult for ethnic minorities to get jobs or further their careers, the type that causes them to have subpar healthcare, and harsher prison sentences. It's the type of racism where white people can easily deny that they're racist because they abhor the N word, or have black friends, or donate to charities for disenfranchised ethnic groups.

If you are white, please take the time to really consider what ethnic minorities are saying when they tell you that something is racist - you need to trust them and their lived experiences.

The woman in this video is undeniably racist, don't excuse her actions.

It was a sad and upsetting video.

I think those who have not watched it should and then respond.

This woman was trying to use her race to intimidate this man, she wanted him to know there could be consequences because of his race...it reminds me of slavery.

Unfortunately there are many people who have views like hers and they can live and work in multicultural places.

I understand people filming these situations because of what has happened in the past to black people and what is continuing to happen to them.

Life is so unfair. Why can't we all treat each other with respect.

If one the other hand, we want to educate people about racism, perhaps the video should be shared, but not revealing the identity of the woman.

But if the identity is not revealed then where’s the accountability?

I doubt her employers look favourably on her for putting them in disrepute.

i mean obviously an normal person doesnt send the racist person death threats, but its about being held accountable, which filming as incident shows. Its not abut being righteous its about calling some out when we see it.

Surely we know enough about SM now though to know that inevitably it will end up with death threats and people jumping on the bandwagon? There has been enough coverage of social media shaming to know that this sort of behaviour has consequences too.

'You seem determined to see racists everywhere '...
Ok....
No more determined to bring this shit to as many people's attention as possible.
Racists
ARE everywhere

To be fair, she revealed her identity when she removed her mask.

But if the identity is not revealed then where’s the accountability?

The legal system, as I pointed out above.

To be fair, she revealed her identity when she removed her mask.

She could have easily have been identified before that by people who know her.

No one should be issuing death threats. That’s wrong.

The police are a threat to black men in the US. No one should be calling the police on an innocent black man. That’s wrong.

@BlackKite Thanks!

I have to get back to work now so I won't follow up anymore but I have to believe we can work to eliminate racism without wishing to destroy someone's life as the alternative is too depressing!

Racists are comfortable being racist in public when they don't think there will be any consequences for it.

Shaming works because it lets people know that actually this is not acceptable and you may see your life ruined because of it.

We can never get rid of racist people, especially in the US where it is deeply embedded in our entire society. But maybe we can at least deter them from harming and threatening people, from saying horrible shit and ruining other people's lives.

True @BlackKite, thought it would have been harder if she didn’t remove it when she knew he was filming.

Mind you, if she had followed the rules and leashed her dog in the first place, we wouldn’t be talking about this.

I’m not a lover of doxing, But I also don’t like racism and threatening behaviour (hers).

@bike

The legal system, as I pointed out above.

But in order to that the identity has to be revealed. Often the only times the identity is revealed is putting up the video online.

@totallyyesno well, thanks for all your examples of death rates and examples of opinions presented as facts! And the bloke in Israel. Cheerio!

LOL at the people tying themselves in knots on this thread to defend her. You guys never fail to disappoint.

One final thing - there seem to be some posters here arguing that shaming someone for being racist online is good because it will stop people being racist for fear of losing their job. To me, this is all the wrong way round. We need to stop people being racist because they realise it is wrong to be racist - not just out of fear! Unless we really work to change attitudes then we are doing precisely nothing to eliminate racism, we are just teaching people that their lives can be destroyed by mob mentality at any time so they had better keep their racism hidden. I don't think that helps anyone.

You seem to determined to see racists everywhere. My opinion is that shaming on social media is wrong and, like vigilantism, can have unexpected consequences - including increasing racism. This doesn't mean we don't call out racism but it does mean that we don't try and burn people at the stake because we think we are automatically on the side of the righteous. That way madness lies

So what was the alternative here? Should he have tried to report her to the police for time wasting? I think we both know exactly how far he would have got with that.

Should he have shrugged, accepted her racist tirade, and then let it go, leaving her feeling empowered by the fact that she used state brutality to threaten and intimidate a black man and got away with it?

Or should he make it public, so that this woman faces consequences for her actions and will never attempt this again? And so that other women who might have tried this think twice about what they have to lose before doing so?

I don’t see any basis for criticising him for going for the third option. Of course it’s wrong if the woman receives death threats and if any are made the perpetrators should be punished. But he doesn’t owe it to her to protect her from the consequences of her own actions by allowing her threats to him and to other African Americans to go unchallenged.

The reality is, virtually nothing has been so effective at challenging the institutionalised racism in America as video evidence of the treatment African Americans and other people of colour have faced. Without footage of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Botham Jean, justice would certainly not have been done. Without footage of countless unjustified traffic stops, police searches and racially motivated attacks people in America would still have the option of putting their fingers in their ears and pretending the problem doesn’t exist.

It makes life much more comfortable for the perpetrators of racism if we all decide that sharing footage of their behaviour is wrong and ‘part of the problem’ but it’s actually a hugely powerful agent for change and one of the most effective ways in which black voices are actually being heard in America.

@totallyyesno wow aren’t you a proper Gandhi! Let the poor racists be, that will change their attitude 👏

See ya then totally. You'll be missed

We need to stop people being racist because they realise it is wrong to be racist - not just out of fear!

How do you do that though if people who are being extremely racist flat out refuse to acknowledge their racism, that they don't even know they're doing it in the first place?
With extreme bigotry, people usually just can't see what they're doing, they think there's nothing wrong.

I wish mumsnet had a like button. Some powerful posts above.