September 28, 2019

Here is a girl whose name and picture should not be in the newspaper.

I saw this story in a tabloid yesterday and chose not to blog it, because the child should be protected, but now I'm seeing it in the New York Times: "Black Virginia Girl Says White Classmates Cut Her Dreadlocks on Playground/The police said they were investigating a report by 12-year-old Amari Allen that three white students forcibly cut portions of her hair at their Christian school."
The girl, Amari Allen, who is in sixth grade, and her family said the assault happened on Monday during recess on the playground of the school, Immanuel Christian School in Springfield. They said the three boys, whom they would not name, had been bullying Amari since the start of the school year in August.

“They put me on the ground,” Amari said on Friday in a phone interview. “One of them put my hands behind my back. One put his hands over my mouth. One cut my hair. They were saying that my hair was ugly, that it was nappy.”...

Cynthia Allen, who is Amari’s grandmother and legal guardian, said in an interview on Friday that Amari was initially hesitant to tell her what happened to her hair, but that on Wednesday she finally broke down crying about the episode. “They called her ugly and told her she should not be alive,” Ms. Allen said. “They said she shouldn’t have been born.”... 
Here's the NBC4 report, putting the names Mike Pence and Karen Pence in the headline: "Boys Pin Down Black Classmate, Cut Her Dreadlocks at Virginia School, She Says/The incident occurred at the evangelical Christian school where Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen Pence, teaches part-time." The page has teasers for stories about discrimination against black people for their hairstyles. Additional factual assertions (reported without the usual "X told Y" phrases that the NYT is careful about):
[O]n Monday, she was at recess and about to go down a slide when one of the boys grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth. Another boy grabbed her arms. A third boy cut off some of her hair.

"They put their hands over my mouth. They put my hands behind my back. And they started cutting my hair and saying it was ugly," Amari said The bell rang and the boys ran off laughing.

Scared, Amari told no one. On Wednesday, her grandmother was doing her hair when she noticed long portions of it missing. The girl started crying and told the whole story.... 

148 comments:

Big Mike said...

I live in Virginia. I am certain this will turn out to be yet another hoax.

pious agnostic said...

Big if true.

David Begley said...

If the boys dipped her dreadlocks into an inkwell would the NYT report it?

daskol said...

Didn’t Mitt Romney do something like this in high school? What’s with these conservatives and their forced haircuts.

Lucien said...

Definitely a national story.

Shouting Thomas said...

Tawana Brawley made up her story to cover for staying out beyond her curfew.

Maybe it's true. I doubt it.

Blacks are so heavily propagandized to blame whites for everything that these stories have to be presumed to be hoaxes.

Quaestor said...

Lying about racial and sexual assault is hardly news on university campi, no semester can pass without one or more false incident reports. What's new here is the age of the "accuser". At least Tawana Brawley was past puberty.

Ken B said...

1 if it happened that way there will be witnesses. None came forward. None are mentioned.

2 a racist meltdown in a CVS in a progressive community does not reflect on the community but with Karen Pence it’s different.

3 never believe early reports. Worth investigating not worth putting in the paper. Except of course to smear Pence.

Fernandinande said...

LOL. This plays right into Sailer's "Let's Talk About My Hair".

If the boys dipped her dreadlocks into an inkwell would the NYT report it?

Only if the boys were white, the girl was black and the school was Christian, otherwise the everyday beatings and other mistreatment kids get at schools across this great land of ours are not national news; they're not even local news in the Podunk Gazette.

And this event isn't news, it's propaganda.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Hoax. No one has used the word 'nappy' in fifty years and if Karen Pence teaches there that place doesn't have one square inch that isn't under camera surveillance. Also, it just doesn't pass the sniff test. Why would the supposed perpetrators do that, knowing how they would be punished with the hammer of God for such a stupid and pointless stunt? What are their names?

Kevin said...

Big if true.

Should also be big if false.

But we do not live in that world.

tastid212 said...

They’re coming for Pence now.

Gahrie said...

If the races had been reversed, would they have been mentioned? Would the story have even been covered?

tastid212 said...

They’re coming for Pence now.

Bob Boyd said...

I think it's safe to assume Karen Pence told them to do it...because Mike Pence told her to tell them to do it...because Trump told Mike Pence to tell Karen Pence to tell them to do it...because he wanted to please his base.

West Texas Intermediate Crude said...

Even worse than the alleged hair cutting:
"Immanuel Christian School is an evangelical private school that explicitly bars its employees from engaging in or condoning "homosexual or lesbian sexual activity" and "transgender identity," as NBC News reported earlier this year."

That is at least twice as bad as having Mrs. Pence teach part time, and four times more relevant.

CWJ said...

The MAGA hats were the worst.

She was on a slide at recess, not in some out of the way place. Yet no witnesses, no names. When she tells her grandmother, there are still no names. We'll see how this plays out. If true, we'll hear a lot more about it. If not, it will be dropped with the initial accusation just out there untretracted.

CWJ said...

Where was Mitt Romney when this happened?

Skeptical Voter said...

The hook of course is that it happened at a school where Mrs. Pence teaches part time.

Absent that fact the NYT wouldn't give two toots for the tale.

MadisonMan said...

I'm suspicious re: the truth of this of this ugly incident. If this happened on the playground, where is the supervision?

I agree that her name/picture do not belong in the paper.

Rick said...

I am certain this will turn out to be yet another hoax.

One of the key tells of a hoax is the perps being unidentifiable (this was Sabrina Rubin Erdely's mistake). I thought from other reports the boys had been identified but this report is not specific so I think secondhand reports are presuming it. Still the indication she expects punishment implies she can/did identify them. Hoax events generally look for other consequences (like hiring people who look like the "victim").

I think this is more likely to turn out true than similar events we've heard about in the past.

Craig Howard said...

I call hoax.

wild chicken said...

Why do these local children's stories have to become my problem?

tastid212 said...

They're coming for Pence now.

Oso Negro said...

Boys do stupid stuff. Leninism is required.

Michael K said...

"Nappy." isn't that a black term? I know the term got Don Imus fired but he was, as I understand it, using a black term.

Ralph L said...

It's ridiculous that the police had to be called, but procedure trumps any use of judgement by anyone in power.

Darrell said...

They never saw a Black girl in Virginia before. Never.

Automatic_Wing said...

Even when it (inevitably) turns out to be made up, it will still reflect some "larger truth" about wiypipo in general and the Pences in particular.

JAORE said...

Horrible, if true, but:

Where Mike Pence's wife teaches.... there's the hook.

The hook makes me suspicious.

I'll wait for a clearer opportunity to be outraged.

Too many invisible"Wolf!" cries to jump that high, that fast.

robother said...

So, impeach Pence first?

BUMBLE BEE said...

Open the other eye Professor.

h said...

WaPo had this on Sept 26, and still no follow up. VP Pence's wife teaches art at the school, which should bring out the Trump haters.

h said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ken B said...

It occurs to me your reluctance to blog about kids will get more and more troublesome since using kids as beards or props is becoming the default way the left (mostly but not exclusively) works. The success of Thunberg guarantees it will get worse.

JAORE said...

FWIW, it is tragic that I am skeptical of "some say", according to someone close to the issue, a "woman alleged" or "racial incident".

But far too many of these, breathlessly reported in the media, turn out to be unsubstantiated or pure bull excrement.

Sad times.

n.n said...

It may be another Jussie-smollett. I wonder if they have quotas to determine what local news is elevated for national attention. They are notoriously selective and opportunistic in their choices.

W.B. Picklesworth said...

Fudge Rule is in effect.

rhhardin said...

It's in the newspaper because it gets clicks. The racial horrors interest group, the anti-Trump interest group, the innocent children interest group.

tim maguire said...

I don’t know about hoax, though it is a possibility and you have to wonder, given the description, why there aren’t witnesses. Lots of them.

My question is, why is this news? It sounds like fairly run of the mill bullying. The boys should be punished locally, not made national pariahs.

gilbar said...

I totally agree that her name shouldn't have been in the paper (until it's proved to be a hoax anyway)

But, Serious Question?

IF, Three guys (three Black guys?) had attacked and (even)raped a white girl;
would it have made the news?

It seems that THE ONLY REASON this counts as news, is because it's (apparently) white on black crime

sean said...

Let's wait for the facts. Many of these stories turn out to be hoaxes. That said, here in New York, children are often mean to each other in the playground, and occasionally engage in racial insults, though I can't say that's common.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

I'll take Things That Didn't Happen for a thousand, Alex.

I fear sometime soon that phrase is going to be very sad.

gilbar said...

another view (sorry)

If it was three black guys, that attacked and cut the dreadlocks of a black girl,
would THAT have been news?

madAsHell said...

It's OK because it's behind a pay wall!!

chuck said...

Maybe, maybe not.

Nichevo said...

If her name is published, it's for a reason. Now she can grow up to be famous black lesbian seditionist like they want her to. If fraud, that would just make the irony more delicious.

Nichevo said...

“They put me on the ground,” Amari said on Friday in a phone interview. “One of them put my hands behind my back. One put his hands over my mouth. One cut my hair. They were saying that my hair was ugly, that it was nappy.”...


I don't like the geometry. Was she prone or supine?

Then again, if this can get Mitt Romney out of office, full speed ahead.

NCMoss said...

The story sounds a little too contrived; it would be more believable if it included MAGA hats, bleach and a Subway sandwich.

Jupiter said...

Al Sharpton is on it!

Ray - SoCal said...

It’s a shame when your first thought is a hoax, because of so many hoaxes.

Second thought is why is this national news? Answer - Oh, Trump connection.

Third thought is why is the majority of black and white violence, by Blacks 82.5%, yet this is not reported nationwide. Yet this story is. Answer - politicized media

His Name Is John Weed: 59-Year-Old White Man Murdered by Two Black Teens Playing "Knockout Game" at Fair in Maryland

gilbar said...

from NBC ...
she was at recess and about to go down a slide when one of the boys grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth. Another boy grabbed her arms. A third boy cut off some of her hair.

"They put their hands over my mouth. They put my hands behind my back. And they started cutting my hair and saying it was ugly," Amari said.

The bell rang and the boys ran off laughing.


And NO ONE SAW? It was at Recess, and NO ONE SAW?
It was at Recess, and when she came in, she didn't mention it, to ANYONE?

madAsHell said...

The Vice President's wife works at the school. The girl plays violin, and is a straight A student.

It's a hoax.

Michael said...

Did not happen.

Levi Starks said...

The left will win,
Cutting the entire baby in half is well within their range of acceptable outcomes.

John Ray said...

If True: The boys should be expelled. Their respective parents should render to each of them extreme punishment. The boys should face whatever other punishment the law allows for such insane acts. Does not matter if the V.P. himself teaches there or Warren's Cherokee grandmother teaches there.

If false: Adam Schiff wrote the article.

Temujin said...

5, 4, 3, 2, 1....how long before this is exposed? And when it is, will you see it in the Times, or will they have moved on? And...I'm sure Mrs. Pence was behind it. The Pence's are behind most of the evil that Trump cannot get to.

JaimeRoberto said...

Before long they'll be saying that Mike Pence and his wife were the barbers.

Mike Sylwester said...

Usually the hoaxsters are older than 12.

Wince said...

Reminds me that Mitt Romney should immediately resign his Senate seat.

wildswan said...

Probably tried to cut it herself. I did at that age and it didn't turn out well and I tried to comb over. Which didn't work either. And there was trouble at home and ridicule at school.

LYNNDH said...

Had to drag Pence into, right?

Tomcc said...

More evidence that verifiable facts are an anachronism in today's press.

Mary Beth said...

How did they get scissors out onto the playground? Does "about to go down a slide" mean she was at the top of it or about to climb up it? Because I don't see how all of them could be at the top and no one notices. I also don't see how three boys could grab a girl and no one noticed either. One would think that a Christian school with rules about sexual conduct would be more vigilant in observing the interactions of male and female students.

It may have happened, but I think it's also highly likely she wanted to get out of that school and go to a regular school. Where do most of her friends attend school?

I wouldn't wait a couple of days to tell anyone. I would be screaming as soon as they let me go so that the teachers could catch them with the scissors and hair.

Le Stain du Poop said...

well, given that 100 per cent of "hate crimes" against POCs turn out to be hoaxes, I am pretty sure this is a hoax.

cacimbo said...

Kids bully each other every day. If this happened - it is horrible and the involved children should be dealt with appropriately. There is no reason for media to turn sixth grade behavior into nationwide news.

The Godfather said...

In one version of the story, the grandmother didn’t notice the missing hair for two days. In the other version she noticed the missing hair, but couldn’t get the girl to explain what happened for two days. That’s two very different narratives, and each gives a different impression of how severe the haircut was.

The Pences don’t seem to have anything to do with the events.

Narayanan said...

Boys had scissors. They were prepared.
QED: boy scouts.

Narayanan said...

,,,assault happened on Monday during recess on the playground of the school,,,
______
Witnesses? Recess on playground?!

J. Farmer said...

Skeptical. What was with the grandma not wanting to give the police information to the school?

Mary Beth said...

I've looked at the playground now. It is possible they could have all been at the top of the slide and were unseen by anyone.

It is weird if the boys used the word "nappy". Who says that? Who would describe dreadlocks as nappy?

Narr said...

Little boys can be very mean. But let's see how it develops.

Narr
Was Mitt spotted nearby?

Darrell said...

There has never been a Black girl in Virginia. Ever. What did you expect them to do?

Birches said...

This cannot possibly be true. Sixth graders do not say things like that, especially at a school like that. School playgrounds these days are not left unsupervised to allow something like that to happen. Only our millennial SJW press and their Boomer counterparts could believe something like this. I'd be more inclined to believe it if it were high schoolers, but no way on elementary school kids. Hoax.

alanc709 said...

I'm surprised a 12 yo boy would know the word "nappy".

William said...

The story is plausible. So is the possibility of a hoax. If it turns out to be a hoax, I wouldn't be too hard on the little girl. If it turns out to be true, I wouldn't be too hard on the boys. Is that consistent? Kids do dumb things.

rcocean said...

Skeptical. Very skeptical. little boys usually confine their meanness to other little boys and rarely cross gender lines. Further, I could see them taunting her, pushing her, and hitting her. But cutting her precious hair? caring about hair is a girl thing.

So, fake hate hair crime. But congratulations to her for "raising attention about hair hate" and the need for vigilance in the never ending war against counter-revolutionary thought. Probably the only interesting thing in the story is why the NYT thought this was national news. Evidently, real news about the economy, foreign policy, immigration, etc. is too boring for its readers.

rcocean said...

10-1 we find a noose next.

Darrell said...

This tale is more believable than any the Democtats came up with to impeach Trump.
At least it has that going for it.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Hoax until proven true.

Leland said...

The left needs this hate to be true to justify their hate.

Jeff Brokaw said...

Why even blog about it? Obviously a partisan hit job, most likely false, definitely not compelling or interesting in any way.

Just say no. Don’t feed the beast, even as red meat for commenters to pile on.

Nobody needs this kind of story in their lives.

Yancey Ward said...

I will take "Hoax Hate Crimes" for $2000, Alex.

Look the very fact the girl won't name the boys tells you everything you need to know here. Actually accusing a real person by name is a step very few hoaxers are willing to take.

Yancey Ward said...

Look, if this really happened as described, there would be multiple witnesses. I am about 99% sure this is a hoax- the clinching detail was the connection to Mike Pence.

M said...

Nappy is a black word. I have never heard a white person use this word.

This may have happened (I had kids grab me and cut my hair in elementary school. We used to think you needed to learn how to deal with this stuff, not run to the news papers) but I have a hard time believing that upper middle class white boys would use the word nappy.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
FullMoon said...

1. Some other girls did it and the kid is afraid to rat on them.

2. Some boys actually did it.

3. As mentioned before, she did it herself and was afraid granny would give her a whoppin' if she fessed up.

Oh, and the girl never expected Grandma to make a big deal out of it. If she lied, she will probably stick to it unless it is proven otherwise.

ga6 said...

"That’s two very different narratives, and each gives a different impression of how severe the haircut was."

You have never had to interview certain populations on a daily basis..Getting the correct current time of day can be a challenge.

"nappy"? spells hoax.

Michael K said...

Smells like Hoax and nobody should get excited until the rest of the story comes out.

Ambrose said...

6th grade boys with scissors in their pocket during recess?

Mike Sylwester said...


Explanation 1 (from wildswan)

Probably tried to cut it herself. I did at that age and it didn't turn out well and I tried to comb over. Which didn't work either. And there was trouble at home and ridicule at school.

Explanation 2 (from Mary Beth)

it's also highly likely she wanted to get out of that school and go to a regular school. Where do most of her friends attend school

I predict that one or both of these explanations will turn out to be the correct explanation of this hoax.

Kevin said...

One thing we know for sure.

This girl is now getting into Harvard.

M Jordan said...

Not buying it but am reserving judgment before calling it a hoax. As an evangelical Christian myself, I am sometimes disheartened by this community. Protestantism in general has fallen to a low estate. Baptist’s produced the “mean” Christian and Methodist the “nice” one. So shallow. There’s a line in a grand Charles Wesley hymn, “O Can It Be” that goes, “Tis mystery all, the Immortal dies, Who can explore His strange design.” The exploration of this “strange design” is what stirs me. Sadly, I don’t hear much of that in today’s Christianity.

chuck said...

> Some other girls did it and the kid is afraid to rat on them.

I have it on good authority that that will get you kicked out of the girl scouts.

Unknown said...

Maybe it's true. I'm sure if it is the sixth grade boys will be named and shamed in the national news. Surely there were witnesses if the incident actually happened. Now that the police are involved hopefully we will find out.

I do suspect it's a hoax because "nappy" is a term mostly used by African Americans. But yeah they should have kept her name and picture out of the news.

I follow an NBC station in Omaha because I used to live there and I still have a lot of friends there. I have noticed that recently a lot of "national" news stories are trivial things like white man tortures pet rabbit, store clerk uses the n-word, etc. Just random stories of stupid people that include a "racial" element but not worthy of national attention.

Quaestor said...

The problem with moderation is the lack of conversation. Everybody is talking to the unresponsive aether like one of those occasional "Hello, Galaxy!" SETI transmissions.

The Minnow Wrangler said...

Maybe it's true. I'm sure if it is the sixth grade boys will be named and shamed in the national news. Surely there were witnesses if the incident actually happened. Now that the police are involved hopefully we will find out.

I do suspect it's a hoax because "nappy" is a term mostly used by African Americans. But yeah they should have kept her name and picture out of the news.

I follow an NBC station in Omaha because I used to live there and I still have a lot of friends there. I have noticed that recently a lot of "national" news stories are trivial things like white man tortures pet rabbit, store clerk uses the n-word, etc. Just random stories of stupid people that include a "racial" element but not worthy of national attention.

gilbar said...

Poplar (or, maybe it was an Aspen?) said...
School playgrounds these days are not left unsupervised to allow something like that to happen


It was on (or near) the top of a slide (she was a 6th grader, and still using the slide?)
You'd think that if the teachers were watching Anything, they be watching the slide (they Still ALLOW Slides?)

Not only didn't the CHRISTIAN School Teachers notice 3 BOYS gand assaulting a innocent girl
NOT ONE OTHER "CHRISTIAN" Student noticed this VIRTUAL GANG RAPE either

or, IN FACT; EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY "CHRISTIAN" was gathered around, Chanting
Cut OFF the Bitches HAIR! It's "Nappy" !!!

This isn't JUST an indictment of VP Pense, or an indictment of the entire White Race...
THIS IS AN INDICTMENT OF THE ENTIRE SO CALLED "RELIGION" OF "CHRISTIANITY"
until we pass a law, BANNING the practice of this so called religion; No Girl's Hair will be Safe!!!!


</sarc

Yancey Ward said...

The grandmother is the probable hoaxster in this case- the girl is either just an unwitting tool, or she told a convenient lie to the grandmother who has completely overreacted.

Amadeus 48 said...

Mmmm...I don't know. Let's see what turns up.

RigelDog said...

I've only ever heard black people use the word "nappy." I've also learned that it's a big part of black culture to present yourself with groomed hair, regardless of which style you choose. Nappy is used as a critical comment or insult implying that you are unkempt/have "bad hair." So I'd expect that if this child was attacked and her hair insulted, it would have been other black children doing it. Maybe she was insulted and got so embarrassed of her hair as a result that she tried cutting it herself. A;so, if there are white people who think of using this word as a racist insult, they would have to be elderly at this point--certainly not 12 years old; not even the age of those 12 year old's parents and maybe not even their grandparents.

CWJ said...

"Nappy is a black word. I have never heard a white person use this word."

Howard Stern

CWJ said...

Correction Imus.

Gospace said...

M said...
Nappy is a black word. I have never heard a white person use this word.


I'll 100% agree with that. I know the word from having read it before, and can kind of figure it out from context here, but not sure of it's actual meaning. I'm 64 years old and cannot recall ever having used it in a sentence or heard anyone else use the word nappy to describe anything. I'm not curious enough to google it's meaning.

Howard said...

Q lamenting the lack of a dopamine fix do to Ann's tape delay umpiring. I thought you people were not Slavic to immediate gratification

Ann Althouse said...

I’m blogging this story because I believe there are many adults in the picture here, including the people at the NYT, who are not doing enough to protect this child. Whether the story arose 100% from a real life incident or whether it’s all made up or somewhere in between, the girl’s needs are the overwhelming top priority and every adult with anything to do with this should do all they can to help and protect her.

I don’t know that the boys have been named and accused. It sounds like they go to the school and would be easily identifiable. If particular boys are accused, then treating them fairly is also paramount. If the boys are not named, then it’s very hard to believe the story.

As I read it, the story emerged after interaction with the grandmother. The child might have been pressured and asked leading questions and had no idea of what a big deal it would become. That’s why her name and picture should never have come out before an investigation. Even after an investigation, I wouldn’t burden her life with this story, whether it’s true or false.

Mark Jones said...

Ralph L said, "It's ridiculous that the police had to be called, but procedure trumps any use of judgement by anyone in power."

That's the whole POINT of "zero tolerance" rules. It relieves the nominal authorities of any risk of actually having to make judgment calls or of exercising their authority and/or discretion. God forbid they get into trouble for overreacting or underreacting, or failing to salute this week's approved victim group sufficiently.

Just robotically follow the "zero tolerance" rule, no matter how stupid, absurd and unjust the result may be, and you're covered. Any argument or accusation against you can be dismissed with "I was just following our 'zero tolerance' policy." 'I was just following orders' is once again the last refuge of villainy.

Michael K said...

Even after an investigation, I wouldn’t burden her life with this story, whether it’s true or false.

You mean like Tawana Brawley ?

But that was part of the scam, for which Al Sharpton has never paid a nickel.

gilbar said...

Nappy is a black word. I have never heard a white person use this word.

Technically, "Nappy" is a BRITISH word; and saying that someone's hair is DIAPERS is RACIST!
</sarc

on a serious note,
Whether the Girl had this happen to her
Whether the Girl made the WHOLE THING up

The Fact IS; the Girl is a Minor (12 years old?) And Minor's names (to say NOTHING of assault victims
Are NOT supposed to be in the press. Until, and Unless, she is
A) Charged
B) as an Adult
it's pretty much a CRIME to report her name (unless she's a Victim, in which case, it's Just WRONG)

Jim at said...

Once again, it appears the demand for hate crimes exceeds the supply.

Jim at said...

If it turns out to be a hoax, I wouldn't be too hard on the little girl.

Sorry. No.

If it turns out to be a hoax, everybody involved in peddling this story to the national media needs to be called out and ostracized. Publicly. With vengeance.

I am sick and tired of being blamed for crap I had nothing to do with. I'm even more sick and tired of being blamed for crap they're making up.

Michael K said...

The problem with moderation is the lack of conversation

And the duplicate posts. Partly due to blogger, of course,

Narayanan said...

There by choice or window Dress?

Private and not costless
https://www.icsva.org/admissions/tuition/

Jupiter said...

"The child might have been pressured and asked leading questions and had no idea of what a big deal it would become."

Huh. Ya think?

Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene said...

"Lookin' back on when I
Was a little, nappy-headed boy"
Lyris, "I Wish" Stevie Wonder, 1976?

12 year old Stevie Wonder fans, definitely.

FullMoon said...

Have heard white girls use "nappy headed ho" plenty of times with their black friends
Can be in fun, or in insult.

The Vault Dweller said...

Assuming the story is true, and I'm not trying to say one way or the other on the story - because it doesn't sound unbelievable to me, this is not a national news story. This isn't even close to the level of a national news story. So there is absolutely no good journalistic imperative to run this story. And I agree with Althouse that the girl doesn't need this kind of publicity. It looks like her grandmother is probably responsible for that.

Now it looks like the goal of the NY Times running is to 1) stoke fears that white racism against black folks is pervasive, 2) smear the Pences, and 3) smear christians. The most egregious act of journalism malpractice is the final paragraph:

Immanuel Christian’s website — which describes the school’s expectations of students, parents and guardians, and its employees — says that it does not accept gay students and that it requires employees to affirm that marriage should be between one man and one woman.

This has absolutely nothing to do with story, yet is included anyway, to try and create a false link between opposition to gay marriage, and racism.`

Narayanan said...

Why passive : Police were called? Who called them? Grandma? School?

Stylistic similar to *Kavanaugh, accomplice,* etc.

The Vault Dweller said...

I've only ever heard black people use the word "nappy." I've also learned that it's a big part of black culture to present yourself with groomed hair, regardless of which style you choose. Nappy is used as a critical comment or insult implying that you are unkempt/have "bad hair."

I don't know if nappy means unkempt. I think it more means, "unstraightened" or having a hairstyle that is not typically seen or accepted in higher levels of 'white' culture. We could contact Don Imus for clarification.

Nichevo said...

including the people at the NYT

Your friends? Your idols? The people who put out the good media? The only stuff you like to see?

Are we learning yet?

Spoiler alert: No, Ann Althouse is not learning.

Rabel said...

The grandparents called the police, not the school.

Nappy was not at all uncommon as a description of kinky hair where I grew up. It wasn't considered insulting, just descriptive and mildly humorous.

The grandparents also called the press. They sat with the girl for numerous on-camera interviews with local media.

I'm going with 60/40 that it happened.

Ken B said...

If it’s a hoax I agree that it will most likely be the grand mother’s intervention which is at the root, either cynically or the girl being afraid or confused. In any such case I agree with Ann that burdening the child is wrong.

When I was in school slides were popular. Lots of kids around the slide, always. So where are the witnesses?

I would not be surprised if this story just disappears.

rcocean said...

Some of you characters are insane, and shouldn't be allowed to be parents or run with scissors, or operate heavy machinery while drunk or sober. Assuming this is all true, which I doubt X 1000, these are still 12 year old kids.

No, the boys don't need to named by the national news media, shamed for life, or expelled from 6th grade. They should be suspended for a few days, made to understand why their behavior was wrong, and made to publicly apologize to the girl and their classmates. And that should be that. Unless they act up again. They shouldn't be ruined for life.

Of course, I think this is 100% fake and shouldn't have been reported by the NYT. This is stuff that should stay in Grade school and handled by the School and the parents.

William said...

Nappy means hair that looks napped in. Similar to hat hair. Imus got in trouble for using it so white people know the word.....There are grounds for taking this story with a grain of salt. Those same grounds should have cautioned the reporter to not report it until the facts were established. The media probably would not have reported anything if the story were a hoax. Why is it anymore newsworthy if it turns out to be true?.....I wish people in the news media would examine their own biases with the same zeal that they examine those of eleven year old white kids.

The Minnow Wrangler said...

Too many things now become "national news" because they involve race in some way. Even if they are otherwise insignificant and have no effect on American citizens in general. I don't understand why the media is always trying to incite racial strife. It is sad.

Clyde said...

Very, very skeptical.

Roughcoat said...

Maybe she deserved it.

What.

Doug said...

The boys should be punished locally, not made national pariahs.

This presumes that there were actually boys involved.

My presumptions is that it is a hoax.

n.n said...

to try and create a false link between

NYT style guide: close associations. NYT is good, identifying the "Christian school". NBC4 is better, identifying "Mike Pence's wife, Karen Pence, teaches part-time."

rcocean said...

Here's one difference between men and wimmens. Most women really, really, care about their hair. and men don't. I've probably thought 4 minutes about my hair in the last year. mostly, "Do i need a haircut?"

Women, however, spend massive amounts of time on their hair. Its really important to them. which is why WW2 female collaborators as punishment had their hair cut off. And they were traumatized. Whereas men in the military had their hair cut in basic training and didn't care. That's why boys would never think of cutting off a girl's hair. It'd never occur to them.

Besides, who would pick on a girl? They're just girls. They can't even throw a baseball.

n.n said...

So where are the witnesses?

I would not be surprised if this story just disappears.


And return as a political myth, to be recycled for fund-raising, labeling, judgment, and cancellation purposes.

ken in tx said...

In grade school, I once trimmed my eye lashes down to the lids with those blunt school scissors. My mom was agast. I didn't think fast enough to blame it on anyone else. I think the girl did it herself.

JAORE said...

I seem to recall that when the Gosnell abortion horror show was exposed the national media (CNN?) said they didn't give it much coverage because it was a "regional" story.

But an alleged cutting of hair, now THAT is important!

Narayanan said...

Odds on this kid attend school after weekend?

Markoni said...

Newsweek is all over it:
"Sixth Graders Hold Down Classmate, Cut Her Dreadlocks at Private Christian School Where Karen Pence Teaches"
No allegations, no questions.
It happened.
https://www.newsweek.com/dreadlocks-cut-bullies-karen-pence-immanuel-christian-school-1461662

doctrev said...

Don Imus called some black lady athletes "nappy-headed hos" at some point and it just about cost him his radio career. It didn't take, because he's Don Imus. I would have fallen off my chair laughing if one of the women had called him a nappy-headed host, bonus points for truth, 110% A++.

Of course this is a hoax, and of course the truly clueless and cuckservative offer it any credibility at all, even in the weaselly "I'm a lawyer and absolutely anything can happen" sense.

James Sarver said...

I'll bet those boys had bowl cuts. And Hitler mustaches. And were giving the OK sign. And were in proximity to Karen Pence. In the same country ruled by the evil dictator Trump.

Case closed.

Fernandinande said...

A GoFundMe Was Created to Support Amari Allen, the ‘Victim of a Hate Crime.’ The Family is Taking Legal Action

Help 12 Year Old Amari Recover From Bad Haircut, er, Assault

$1,155 raised of $10,000 goal

She looks rather down-trodden, awww.

Marcus Bressler said...

H.O.A.X.
The NYTimes wouldn't have published it except for the trope: 1. Racist white boys attack defenseless black girl. 2. Christian school. 3.Where Mrs. Pence teaches part time.
Daily attacks by black thugs on whites (or Hasidic jews in NYC) don't warrant coverage; nor do nasty things that happen to children at PUBLIC schools.
Agree with the Hostess that her name should not have been published.

THEOLDMAN

Think she or a gf cut off her hair and she made up the story to her grandmother on the fly. Also, no white person other than Imus uses the term "nappy".

TheThinMan said...

Don Imus was outright fired at the time as a result of the head of CBS asking Al Sharpton what to do. Who voted Al Sharpton to represent all blacks? Why beg forgiveness from this longtime racial bully for your racial peccadilloes? At least Imus was doing comedy. Sharpton was serious with his multiple anti-Semitic rants, resulting in riots, death, destruction and innocent lives ruined.

MJJM said...

I'm not surprised that this family tried to pull this hoax, but I am surprised there are that many stupid people around who actually believe it.

glacial erratic said...

10 to 1 it is another hoax. Here in Seattle we are hearing all about the "racist flyers" found in an upscale (read "liberal") neighborhood. I'm betting 100-1 it's a hoax.

Thorley Winston said...

The girl just admitted that it was a hoax.

Gokage said...

Oh look, she lied about the whole thing. Her family issued an apology. Derp.

Dude1394 said...

You think not? It is obvious to me that EVERY THING in the democrat media needs to be fact checked.

" Statement of apology from the family of the 12 year old African American girl who now admits she made a false assault allegation against 3 white boys in her class. @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/JfSVvOF9ZX

— Julie Carey (@JulieCareyNBC) September 30, 2019"

Skippy Tisdale said...

"She Says/The incident occurred at the evangelical Christian school where Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen Pence, teaches part-time."

Goodness how convenient.

"One cut my hair. They were saying that my hair was ugly, that it was nappy.”..."

Nappy is the tell.

I live in the ghetto in North Minneapolis. I ride the 5 bus right through it to work and back each day. The bus is filled with black schoolkids because Metro Transit is one piece of the MPS transportation mix. White kids don't say nappy. And after 20 years on the 5 bus, I can't say I ever heard a black kid say nappy either. The mother is making shit up. Now if the boys had put a noose around her neck a poured a bleach-like liquid on her in the middle of the night on the coldest day ever, then THAT would be believable.

Skippy Tisdale said...

Now that I think of it, I did hear a black kid say nappy once. He was homeless and I worked with an arts organization that used art to help street kids. He wrote a poem and I remember two lines that read:

My Afro was half the universe'
But all the world saw was nappy.

Kid started getting passed around at sex parties when he was only three-years old.

Unknown said...

She and her family were only too happy to give TV interviews on all the local station
And now that her lies have been exposed ... They won't identify her.