We’ve heard this fake and ugly hoax-of-a-story before: A white woman (a supporter of Sen. John McCain in this presidential race) is attacked by a black male to create some kind of a media frenzy. Sadly, this is not the script from “To Kill a Mockingbird”we’re talking about here. This is not Harper Lee’s Pulitzer-Prize winning story about an innocent black man (Tom Robinson) falsely accused of raping a white woman and defended capably but in vain by a white lawyer (Atticus Finch). This unbelievable story, this chilling made-up story, is one that is all too real. Once again, some of us were fooled by this young white Republican woman who claimed that she was raped by this stereotypical large 6-foot-4 black man who allegedly became enraged even more when he saw that she was a McCain supporter. This was a play on racial fears. Supposedly, he attacked her, sexually assaulted her and carved a “B” into her face (The “B” was supposed to signify Sen. Barack Obama). It was a frightening story that was too frightening to be true. The troubling thing is just that: IT WAS NOT TRUE. The 20-year-old woman, Ashley Todd, had a shaky story right from the start. The inconsistencies in the story had local authorities feeling more than a little suspicious. Ultimately, she admitted Friday that the story had been a terrible hoax. Many of us were taken in by this tale. Many of us wanted to believe that this young white woman was attacked and brutalized by this large and mysterious black man. Many of us wanted to believe that she was attacked in part because she was a supporter for Sen. McCain and he perpetrated this attack because he was a supporter of Sen. Obama. Trouble is … all of it was nothing more than a lie. Here is a passage from a CBS/AP story, “Maurita Bryant, the assistant chief of the police department’s investigations division, said Todd is being charged with making a false police report. Police doubted her story from the start, Bryant said. ‘She just opened up and said she wanted to tell the truth,’ Bryant said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. ‘She was upset with the media for blowing this into a political firestorm.’” What was she thinking? This horrible lie has done little more than opened up another racial wound that reminds us of the lie Susan Smith told about a black man attacking her and her kids and other such made-up tales that play into the fears of so many of the menacing black man preying on white people (especially white women). This young woman needs to be punished. She needs to learn how dangerous her accusation was at this point in our nation’s history.
CBS/AP:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/24/politics/main4544204.shtml
2 comments:
This is not a racial matter in any stretch of the imagination, except in the eyes of racists.
Thanks for the comment. I respect all comments ... even those I disagree with. I will add that racism is complex and not one dimensional. We've seen this historic tale several times before in high-profile cases. I would remind anyone to recall the Charles Stuart case and the Susan Smith case as just two examples of lies during which people used the stereotypical and mysterious black man as the criminal who was on the attack. I think this young lady is disturbed and needs help. I hate to see her prosecuted, but she has put herself in that position and the legal system has to run its course. I think we, as a society, have to get away from labeling people who point out racism as racists. This is why it is difficult to confront racism and to discuss racism. Fear makes people call those who bring up racism "racists." I thank you again for taking the time out of your schedule to post a comment.
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