Man Allegedly Pulled Gun On MAGA Hat Wearing Couple - Media Reporting and Being Careful (1 Viewer)

[SaintsInDome2006]

In terms of hoaxes I recall a candidate who falsely accused a rival candidate's father of being a conspirator in a presidential assassination, an allegation which was made by a political ally who owned a major tabloid who it just so happens got immunity in a criminal investigation involving the same candidate. 

Thankfully that candidate was rebuked, because that's really the right approach as a society and.... [hold on I just received a note...]. nm.

 

[Henry Ford]

I think the proper report is:

"Police responded to an incident today and X filed a report claiming that Y happened.  Police are investigating. The publicly available evidence of the report is as follows:

The actions as described would likely fall under the ____ laws in that state, and are considered violent felonies with potential prison sentences of ___.  Anyone with any information regarding the report is encouraged to contact police."

 

[zftcg]

I would actually like to see this poll a little differently. 

If a black guy is getting beat up by two dudes and they have a noose it is believable he was afraid for his life. 

What if it was two guys jumped out from behind a dumpster quick threw a noose on him and immediately ran away? 

Would people still think that is worse than having a gun pulled on you?

That would change my vote.

Yes, obviously if there is actual violence it is worse than implied violence, and the implied violence of a gun is a lot scarier than that of a noose.

What's interesting about racially motivated attacks, though, is that the implied can be plenty scary precisely because of the historical backstory. Imagine if you came home one night and saw a flaming stick stuck into the ground in your front yard. Now imagine how you'd feel if you were African American and there were two sticks in the form a cross. Same deal with regular graffitti vs. swastikas on the front door of a synagogue. When there's an unmistakable message behind the action, it gets a lot more scary for everyone who's a member of the targeted group.

 

[E Street Brat]

I voted noose.  Because a black man can't choose to not be black.  He (or she) was targeted because of their color.   A MAGA hat wearer can choose to not wear the hat.  So for instance, if he is going into a known hostile environment for a MAGA hat wearer(like this bored HA HA HA --joking..kind of)  he can choose to not wear it.  

A black man cant choose to not be black when he needs to.

So I chose noose--by some

So the women didn't deserved to be raped because of how she was dressed. But she still should have known better? 

 

[Dedfin]

Wow, first the Bowling Green Massacre and now this. I hope the town can recover.

 

[Henry Ford]

Why do we think of the Holocaust in terms of genocide against Jews but not against communists? The Nazis were putting the commies in camps long before they even got around to the Jews.

The reason is because, while violence against anyone is horrific, we consider it a special category when it is done based on immutable characteristics like race or religion as opposed to something like political preferences, particularly if that racial or relgious group has historically faced discrimination and violence.

So if an African American were attacked by racists who put a noose around his neck, it would be awful not just for the message it sent to him, but for the message it sent to all black people, who are keenly aware of this country's long history of using lynching as a form of political terrorism. 

Pulling a gun on someone for their political beliefs is bad, just as pulling a gun on someone for any reason is bad. But they're not in the same category.

I believe this falls under the general category of "give me liberty or give me death."  

In the words of the great philosophers Barenaked Ladies:

We've got these chains
Hanging 'round our necks
People want to strangle us with them
Before we take our first breath

It is patently unacceptable in a free society for us to just live with people's lives being determined for them by circumstances of their birth.  I'm not saying it's the proper way of categorizing wrongs, but I don't see us changing that any time soon.  I'm also not saying we're not being hypocritical by failing to implement policies that can return actual social mobility to our country, but racism and sexism are pretty low-hanging fruit on the "birth determinism" spectrum.

 

[ffldrew]

I think the proper report is:

"Police responded to an incident today and X filed a report claiming that Y happened.  Police are investigating. The publicly available evidence of the report is as follows:

The actions as described would likely fall under the ____ laws in that state, and are considered violent felonies with potential prison sentences of ___.  Anyone with any information regarding the report is encouraged to contact police."

Shouldn't they add the descriptions of the attackers from the victim? Or is that not "publicly" available evidence

 

[Henry Ford]

Shouldn't they add the descriptions of the attackers from the victim? Or is that not "publicly" available evidence

If the descriptions exist, I would think they would be in that section, yes.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Wow, first the Bowling Green Massacre and now this. I hope the town can recover.

Interesting. Do you think pointing a loaded gun at a person and threatening to kill them because of a MAGA hat is cause for making a joke? 

 

[sho nuff]

Interesting. Do you think pointing a loaded gun at a person and threatening to kill them because of a MAGA hat is cause for making a joke? 

Not sure the threat was just about the hat?  They argued apparently about gesturing or saying something to them about the hat.  The threat came after the argument, no?

Not defending it (it’s disgusting) nor the joke.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Not sure the threat was just about the hat?  They argued apparently about gesturing or saying something to them about the hat.  The threat came after the argument, no?

Not defending it (it’s disgusting) nor the joke.

I think you’re right. There was a mixup after the initial bird flipping. The attacker didn’t just point the gun at the guy with the hat.

 

[Insomniac]

>>Phillips, who was wearing a veterans cap, told police he made the gesture at the man and a woman with him because of the MAGA hats they were wearing, according to his citation. The man then confronted Phillips inside the store and an argument began.<<

- The alleged assailant *may be a veteran.

- The alleged victim mixed it up with the attacker. Slightly different twist on the story.

The version I heard yesterday was that the victim was (understandably) pretty offended and had his wife with him, but he confronted the guy and they got into it. Then the guy pulled a gun on him.

Did this happen in a "stand your ground" state? 

 

[tonydead]

Interesting. Do you think pointing a loaded gun at a person and threatening to kill them because of a MAGA hat is cause for making a joke? 

You should check his posting history since it reads like you're not familiar with it.  

 

[tonydead]

Hypothetical question?  Because, at face value today, I'd say an actual crime is always worse than a made up crime.  

To answer the hypothetical I'm guessing the crime with the gun would carry more time.  Actual assault vs threat with a deadly weapon, I dunno I guess that's why we have laws to tell us what's worse.  

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Did this happen in a "stand your ground" state? 

Yes, KY is SYG.

 

[timschochet]

I’ve never been beaten up and I’ve never had a noose around my neck so I have no idea how scary that might be, but I HAVE had a gun pointed at my head and that was the scariest moment of my life. Don’t wish that on anyone. 

 

[Joe Bryant]

You should check his posting history since it reads like you're not familiar with it.  

No idea.

 

[Insomniac]

Yes, KY is SYG.

So, at least in theory, if the man in the MAGA hat approached the man exercising his 2nd amendment rights in a way considered threatening the gunman would be justified in not only pointing his gun at him but actually shooting him.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

>>Terry challenged Phillips to either shoot or fight him but Phillips took off with his mother, who was also shopping for groceries. The Pierces followed Phillips into the parking lot, against the wishes of Sam’s Club management. Outside, the men argued and Phillips allegedly accused Terry of assault.

The Bowling Green Police Department sent Yahoo Lifestyle a police report in which Phillips admitted to making threats because of the MAGAhats. Phillips told police that after flipping off the couple, Terry followed and “put hands on him.” (Terry denies that and store surveillance cameras endorse his claim).

The police say security footage doesn’t show Phillips revealing his gun because he walked out of view. Once in the parking lot, reads the report, Phillips told Cherrie, “It’s a good day to die, b****.” However, Phillips told police that the couple yelled at him while he unloaded groceries into his car.<<

Yahoo

- Picture of assailant included. He had his mother with him.

 

[Zow]

I genuinely don’t understand the purpose of this pole. 

 

[JohnnyU]

I genuinely don’t understand the purpose of this pole. 

...to dance on?

 

[zftcg]

...to dance on?

What about this Pole?