Althouse: Another fake hate crime.

July 3, 2012

Another fake hate crime.

Student admits that she wrote notes to herself attacking herself for being a lesbian.

Let's remember what lawprof (and Nation columnist) Patricia J. Williams wrote years ago about the Tawana Brawley story: She was "the victim of some unspeakable crime. No matter how she got there. No matter who did it to her and even if she did it to herself."

54 comments:

rhhardin said...: It's what Kenneth Burke calls a grammatical possibility.

Hate is always possible, and this group is a likely target in the narrative, and it has to remain a grammatical possibility in the social boilerplate.; 7/3/12, 8:54 AM
rhhardin said...: It's not fake, it's fiction.

And we learn from fiction.; 7/3/12, 8:56 AM
David said...: Girl wanted some attention. Now she's really got it.; 7/3/12, 8:56 AM
Colonel Angus said...: I commented in the Anderson Cooper thread that being a victim is lucurative in 21st Century America. I don't normally pat myself on the back for offering my prophetic wisdom but I will make an exception in this instance.; 7/3/12, 8:58 AM
Dante said...: It lends credence to the "Anything Goes" mindset of leftists. Now, what was the purpose of Fast and Furious, in which thousands of guns were sent to Mexico, in an untraceable fashion? Could it be to enhance US made violence down there?

And the president said only that pointing fingers at the White House for national security leaks was only despicable, or some such. He never denied the allegation.

Minds that should not be paranoid want to know.; 7/3/12, 8:59 AM
rhhardin said...: She looks like Kagan.; 7/3/12, 9:05 AM
Anonymous said...: She only helped reveal the hate.

She only wrote things that she knows people out there want to say.

If such people were intelligent enough to, you know, actually write.

But they're out there.

We know they're out there.; 7/3/12, 9:06 AM
Colonel Angus said...: Perhaps she was inspired by President Obama and created a composite bully.; 7/3/12, 9:07 AM
The Drill SGT said...: On the contimuum of evil, these fake gender hate crimes rank less evil than the fake race hate crimes. Those have the potential to impact more innocents and cause damage to life and limb. A fake nasty note to some lesbian? Wasted police resources sure. Beyond that, see how she likes a jail cell for 48 hours...

ps: I'd make a fake rape charge a felony...; 7/3/12, 9:08 AM
Anonymous said...: It's been at least two decades, maybe three, since a so-called "hate crime" on a college campus was more likely to be genuine than fake. Nowadays it is quite safe to assume that every such case is a staged false-flag operation perpetrated by the supposed victims, until proven otherwise.; 7/3/12, 9:09 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: Please. My bullshit meter goes past red at the suggestion of a "hate crime" against a lesbian. No one hates lesbians. Boys love the very notion and girls are often a bit intrigued.; 7/3/12, 9:10 AM
bagoh20 said...: How is this different from your silly labeling of suicide as "self-murder"?; 7/3/12, 9:11 AM
Richard Dolan said...: "No matter who did it to her and even if she did it to herself."

It's certainly true, as rhh says, taht we learn from fiction. But fiction isn't history, and what it has to teach is quite different from historical truth. This is really a story about whether truth necessarily matters, whether it ought to matter in these stories. Over at NROnline, there's a discussion about Nabokov's Pale Fire as a "book about how fictions can overtake reality." It's an old story, going back (at least) to Plato. This is just another replay on that familiar theme.

What's dangerous about it, and the element that an agent provocateur uses to advantage, is the power of fiction to move the emotions. Normal people want to do the right thing, and that includes avoiding occasions of hurting others. Patricia Williams is playing with that idea when she says that Tawana Brawley suffered an unspeakable crime, even if she did it to herself: in that universe, it's always the right thing to 'stand with the victim' even if the victim and the perpetrator are one and the same. I suppose the difference between the Brawley story and this one is that Brawley's fiction created its own victims (ADAtty Pagones, among others), while the Connecticut one was just a wild goose chase intended to advance an agenda.; 7/3/12, 9:18 AM
Colonel Angus said...: No one hates lesbians. Boys love the very notion and girls are often a bit intrigued.

A point of parliamentary procedure. Boys like the notion of the beautiful buxom blondes making out. In reality you're more oft to see the Paul Bunyan looking lesbians which I don't think most boys care to contemplate since it looks far more like two guys making out. YMMV.; 7/3/12, 9:20 AM
virgil xenophon said...: Hate-crime? "Mere facts?" (Or lack there-of) "Facts? We don't need no stinkin' facts! It's ALL about the narrative!" Silly rabbits...; 7/3/12, 9:24 AM
Chip S. said...: Victimpersons have got to remain aware of the difference b/w hate crime and thought crime.

Undoubtedly people hate her--even more so now--but until they act on their hate they've only committed thought crimes.

If we revived some of our 17-century jurisprudence, we could make a lot of headway against crimethink.; 7/3/12, 9:27 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: A point of parliamentary procedure. Boys like the notion of the beautiful buxom blondes making out. In reality you're more oft to see the Paul Bunyan looking lesbians which I don't think most boys care to contemplate since it looks far more like two guys making out. YMMV.

Yes, true enough, but you're actually supporting and extending my point. Males--who must comprise in the ballpark of 90% of hate crime perpetrators, with the remaining 10% being females who are trying to gain male approval--are excited by hot lesbians, or prefer not to think about not-hot lesbians. Neither state lends itself to malicious or aggressive behavior.; 7/3/12, 9:34 AM
Wince said...: There does seem to be a pattern.

Worse is when people are not held accountable for their claims.

After much publicity and recrimination, the hate crime allegations of Destinie Mogg-Barkalow
were allowed to slip down the memory hole.; 7/3/12, 9:34 AM
edutcher said...: My God, it's Hatman!; 7/3/12, 9:34 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Little Lies; 7/3/12, 9:36 AM
Dante said...: Erika, I do find it interesting that porn often has women doing it with themselves (and studies show that the most erotic thing to men is two women having sex). I have yet to see any heterosexual porn in which two men are going at it.

However, some lesbians look disgusting, and the thought of seeing them have sex is nauseating. Hot chicks can do whatever they want. And I agree, women do seem to find it intriguing, which leads me to believe women can swing. Men, seems like you are gay or not. A recent study of bisexuals found almost none were. Some were gay, and surprisingly the next highest group were hetero, and a very tiny percent were bi. That's using the new penis width gauge, so measure it how you will.; 7/3/12, 9:37 AM
Brian Brown said...: Again, when it comes to politics, the left lies as a manner of course.; 7/3/12, 9:42 AM
Andy said...: Yes, that kind of thing does happen.

So do these kinds of things:

"Stabbing outside Howard Theatre listed as anti-gay hate crime"

Arlington police now calling vandalism of lesbian couple’s SUV an anti-gay hate crime

Plano Police Are Working the City's First Anti-Gay Hate Crime Case

Atty: Brooklyn 8th Grader Blinded After Pair Of Bullies Beat Him In School Cafeteria
2 Students Charged; They Also Allegedly Shouted Anti-Gay Slurs During Attack

Man arrested in possible hate crime attack in downtown Portland

Gay Bashing Near Hancock Park Has Victim in Critical Condition -- LAPD; 7/3/12, 9:45 AM
Christopher in MA said...: I'm sure Hat will be along any moment to say that the girl was driven to this by all the seething anti-gay bigotry out there.; 7/3/12, 9:46 AM
Shanna said...: fake nasty note to some lesbian? Wasted police resources sure.

The problem is that we waste police resources on a note in the first place (when most of them can't even be bothered to investigate theft or other real crimes).

Fake rape charges, if they can be definitively proven, are very serious. If it's he said/she said we really would never know one way or the other. I don't think those should be prosecuted unless there is actual evidence (one way or the other).; 7/3/12, 9:48 AM
Christopher in MA said...: "Allegedly." "Possible hate crime." Boy, did I call it or what?

Maybe you should put a pink triangle on that stupid chapeau of yours, Hat, and really wallow in your delusions of persecution.; 7/3/12, 9:48 AM
Andy said...: By the way, those are just some of the incidents from the month of June. There were other attacks in June. And I could do this for every month of the year.

I personally don't like to call attention to anti-gay attacks unless there has been a police investigation or charges filed or strong corroborating evidence.

The shooting of the two lesbians in Texas recently might turn out to be related to their sexuality, or it might be for some other reason. I don't like the gay groups that are holding vigils for them without any evidence yet that the shooting was an anti-gay attack.; 7/3/12, 9:48 AM
The Drill SGT said...: That's using the new penis width gauge, so measure it how you will.

I don't know how gays would do it, but this hetro math guy would measure circumference and solve for D in D=C/pi

YMMV; 7/3/12, 9:49 AM
The Drill SGT said...: thinking more on it, a pipe wrench would work for me. you might try a micrometer as well :); 7/3/12, 9:52 AM
Andy said...: My God, it's Hatman!

Maybe you should put a pink triangle on that stupid chapeau of yours, Hat, and really wallow in your delusions of persecution.

I have said many times that I haven't personally faced anti-gay bigotry in my life. In theory, I live in a state where I'm not allowed to get married, but that's not something I want to do right now anyway. A couple of times a year I hear someone say "faggot", but that's rare in the circle I hand out in, and it doesn't bother me.

But there is something really perverse about pretending that queer people aren't being beaten and killed every year in this country because of their identity. Or fired from a job. Or denied an apartment. Or thrown out of the house by their parents. Or bullied and harassed until suicide seems like the best option.

Anti-queer bigotry is a real thing and it's hurting people. Pretending that such a thing doesn't exist is just a total disconnect from reality.; 7/3/12, 9:53 AM
edutcher said...: Andy R. said...

My God, it's Hatman!

But there is something really perverse about pretending that queer people aren't being beaten and killed every year in this country because of their identity

What is it about the words, "She faked it", that fail to register?

But there is something really perverse about pretending that queer people aren't being beaten and killed every year in this country because of their identity

So are those straight white males Hatman hates so much.

PS Grow a sense of humor, kid, or you'll being the personification of the old Billy Joel song, "Angry Young Man",; 7/3/12, 10:03 AM
Shanna said...: Or bullied and harassed until suicide seems like the best option.

There are people being bullied and harassed all the time for all sorts of reasons. It should all be dealt with, either by teaching the kids how to deal with it themselves, or teaching the administrators.

My money is on the kids, personally. Schools tend to be awful at stopping that kind of stuff. And parents should move their kids if they can't fix the problem. (if you are an adult, grow up and figure it out yourself); 7/3/12, 10:04 AM
Colonel Angus said...: Anti-queer bigotry is a real thing and it's hurting people.

Is queer an acceptable term again? I only ask because I'm still working off an old edition if PC Speak.

Since anti gay bigotry is as widspread as you indicate, its even more perplexing that this person needed to manufacture her persecution. It seems all she had to do is walk outside.; 7/3/12, 10:04 AM
Andy said...: What is it about the words, "She faked it", that fail to register?

You think every single anti-queer crime in America has been faked?; 7/3/12, 10:07 AM
Christopher in MA said...: But there is something really perverse about pretending that queer people aren't being beaten and killed every year in this country because of their identity.

Strawman. First of all, no one is "pretending" that these things aren't happening (mostly because the gay rights groups shout it from the treetops. We all know about Matthew Shepard, but who remembers Jeffrey Curley?). We know they are.

But as edutcher and shanna pointed out, many people are being beaten and killed because of their identity. Does the term "punch out" mean anything to you?

Hate crime legistlation is pernicious, because it sets one group as being especially worthy of the protection of the state. It presumes to know you're being beaten because you're gay. Or white. Or a woman.

Yes, gays are getting beaten and killed. As are whites, asians, blacks and left-handed Anabaptists. It would engender a great deal more sympathyfor your position if you didn't insist that straights love beating up queers, or that this country is particularly hostile to gays.; 7/3/12, 10:12 AM
Daniel Fielding said...: Another attention-whore leftist who tried drawing attention to herself. It is good she got caught, has been expelled fron the university, and is facing charges. Hope she gets everything she deserves.; 7/3/12, 10:13 AM
Petunia said...: Every violent crime is a hate crime.; 7/3/12, 10:14 AM
test said...: "You think every single anti-queer crime in America has been faked?"

Apparently in LeftyLand you're not allowed to notice something if something different ever happens. It's one reason LeftyLand is so boring, too many rules to keep track of.

Funny coincidence though, all the rules enforce not understanding reality. And the program is working.; 7/3/12, 10:16 AM
Daniel Fielding said...: AndyR- you seem to not realise that almost every so-called incident of alleged crimes committed against "queers" ( your word, not mine), turns out to be a fake. Queers like to wallow in their alleged "victimhood", and get extra privileges.; 7/3/12, 10:20 AM
dbp said...: "But there is something really perverse about pretending that queer people aren't being beaten and killed every year in this country because of their identity"

There is something really perverse about using derogatory terms for homosexuals when you set yourself up as their spokesman.; 7/3/12, 10:24 AM
edutcher said...: Andy R. said...

What is it about the words, "She faked it", that fail to register?

You think every single anti-queer crime in America has been faked?

No, but most of the publicized ones seem to be.

Again, what about the hate crimes against those straight white men you hate?

Ever hear of the knockout game?; 7/3/12, 10:24 AM
test said...: "Daniel Fielding said...
Another attention-whore leftist who tried drawing attention to herself. It is good she got caught, has been expelled fron the university, and is facing charges. Hope she gets everything she deserves."

She'll be rescued by the academia -activist complex. Her error was getting caught so soon. If she were better she could have blown up a few buildings first. Then her golden parachute might have landed her at the the state education department and the head of a 100 million dollar charity like it did Bill Ayers. Instead she'll have to settle for working for one of ACORNs children. So instead of rubbing noses with the leftist elite she'll have to show up and chant like an idiot for her livelihood.

But there's no chance a leftist would become a productive member of society. That's beneath them.; 7/3/12, 10:27 AM
KCFleming said...: Most of the left's heroes and martyrs seem to be fakes, history modified to fit their idealized past.

Hence Obama's memoir.; 7/3/12, 11:04 AM
Renee said...: Ouch Chris in MA. The Jeffery Curley murder makes me so ill, I have not thought about it in a long time.

I remember years now, the gay community would fly their flags and litter the walls with fliers, then freak out of some were on the ground. Usually a flag be pulled down by a drunk over the weekend.

Some of my gay classmates were upset how the gay activists came so zealous that they became sort of miserable people to hang out with.
That can happen to anyone. It is that an individual is at home within the gay community, then it takes on a us vs. them vibe.; 7/3/12, 11:27 AM
Pianoman said...: Fake but accurate.; 7/3/12, 12:20 PM
Peter said...: Tawana Brawley changed her name, converted to Islam, and moved to a small town in Virginia. I have no idea how she supports herself.

But as far as I know, she's never recanted the rape accusation.; 7/3/12, 2:03 PM
Blue@9 said...: AndyR- you seem to not realise that almost every so-called incident of alleged crimes committed against "queers" ( your word, not mine), turns out to be a fake. Queers like to wallow in their alleged "victimhood", and get extra privileges.

Oh COME ON. There's a difference between being cynical and being obtuse. What extra privileges are queers getting? Sheesh.

Let's face it, there is anti-gay bigotry, especially among certain races, cultures, and classes. Personally, if I were gay I'd do conceal carry. Hate crimes are a bogus classification, but assaults on gays do happen.; 7/3/12, 2:11 PM
Paddy O said...: The left-handed Anabaptists deserve it.; 7/3/12, 2:19 PM
karrde said...: @Skookum John
It's been at least two decades, maybe three, since a so-called "hate crime" on a college campus was more likely to be genuine than fake. Nowadays it is quite safe to assume that every such case is a staged false-flag operation perpetrated by the supposed victims, until proven otherwise.

About 6 years ago, the campus that I was studying at was the victim of something that looked like a hate crime.

That week had just ended with the culmination of the local LGBT effort. The group and its friends had worn "Gay? Fine By Me" shirts, and offered flyers/shirts/paraphernalia to anyone who walked by. The last night of that effort, a small concert was held in the student-Union building.

Next morning, the campus sidewalk was decorated with anti-gay diatribes, done in chalk. (The campus sidewalk was often used as a social bulletin-board, once the snow cleared...)

The event happened within a week or two of finals. Lots of students were going to leave town right after finals and never come back.

Some students wondered whether this was a put-up job by friends of the LGBT club. To my knowledge, nothing was ever proven...

I still don't know what to think.

I suspect that that if a student (or local non-student) was really incensed by the LGBT-awareness project, they might have started chalking the threats onto the sidewalk after the first day of the project. In that case, the perp would have escalated until the end of that week.

Instead, the threats didn't appear until the morning after the last day.

All I have is suspicion. And notable events like this, in which another person faked threats against themselves.

If such hatred is prevalent and needs to be guarded against, why would any member of the threatened group create false threats? Does it mean that they have never seen any real threats? Does it mean that the threats are verbal, not written?

Or are the threats more imagined than real?; 7/3/12, 2:48 PM
karrde said...: @bagoh20,

silly labeling of suicide as self-murder...

You may have noticed something about the words "suicide", "fratricide", "patricide", "homicide", and even "genocide". If you haven't, I have. I'll try to describe what I've noticed.

These are all Latin-sourced words. The prefixes are "sui-", "fratri-", "patri-", "homi-", and "geno-".

The prefix "sui-", and associated Latin words, mean "of oneself" or "by oneself".

Likewise "Fratri-" refers to brothers, "patri-" refers to fathers, "homi-" to a generic human, and "geno-" refers to the genus, roughly an indicator of clan/family/tribe.

Each of these "-cide" actions refer to a killing. A person killing him/herself, their father, their brother, another man, and a tribe/group of people.

Thus, "suicide" is sourced from a Latin phrase which means "self-killing".

While it is not usual, it makes sense. It renders "murder of self" into a single word, one of many Modern English words sourced from Latin.

You may cavil at the application of "murder of self" when "killing of self" might be more accurate. An argument could be made.

But I find it impossible to say that suicide as "self-murder" is silly.

And I'm still trying to figure out why you've mentioned it in this thread...; 7/3/12, 2:59 PM
bagoh20 said...: "But I find it impossible to say that suicide as "self-murder" is silly.

And I'm still trying to figure out why you've mentioned it in this thread..."

All killing is not murder. Murder is the crime of taking everything from someone. There is no crime in taking what is yours.

If it were, attempted suicide would be a serious crime.

This post is about a supposed crime that someone has done to themselves. Althouse has referred to suicide as "self-murder". I'm making the point that the idea of a crime against oneself, including murder, is a silly idea.; 7/3/12, 4:06 PM
Crunchy Frog said...: Let us not forget Kerri Dunn, Claremont McKenna College professor:

http://articles.latimes.com/2004/aug/19/local/me-dunn19; 7/3/12, 4:37 PM
Paul said...: "even if she did it to herself."

Oh damn... I just shot myself in the foot. Is that a HATE CRIME? Who dunnit?

A LIE is a LIE is a LIE.

Cry wolf to often and nobody will come. LIE about about a wolf and no one will believe.; 7/3/12, 6:13 PM
dbp said...: "This post is about a supposed crime that someone has done to themselves. Althouse has referred to suicide as "self-murder". I'm making the point that the idea of a crime against oneself, including murder, is a silly idea."

I think the idea of a hate crime is that not only is the victim of the crime injured, but other members of that minority are terrorized by it. So this lady should still be prosecuted for causing potential terror in other lesbians.; 7/3/12, 7:02 PM