the original hoax—fake hate crime
“The student grabbed national headlines in the days after Trump’s election victory when she claimed she was stalked by an intoxicated 20-something man with bad body odor and an unkempt appearance. The man, she said, forced her take off her hijab and threatened to set her on fire with a lighter if she did not.”
while the university of Michigan should it’s self not be embarrassed those who helped play up this lie should be! let’s hope this woman is charged with a felony.
This is terrible and only diminishes when it occurs for real in the future. All it does is harden the hearts of people who will suspect each future one is a “false flag” incident. This is also on the heels of the Greenville SC black church burning (with “vote for trump” graffiti sprayed on the bldg.) – the arsonist now charged is a congregation member.
I have a dear loved one who suffered a date rape. But at the time, the culture routinely didn’t believe such claims.
it is terrible because it is terrible, not because the next time it could be real.(otherwise it would be ok?) so many of these “attacks” turn out to be hoaxes… 3 hate crime hoaxes exposed just yesterday…including the church spray painted with trump that was burned. a community college student in Nassau county NY too.
and the woman who pulled the hoax about being attacked for being muslim on the nyc subway. thankfully she was arrested last week for her hoax. (false police report)
that is on the heals of multiple other hoaxes of these types both on and off college campuses in the last month…and if these hoaxers pushing their cause or just looking for attention , are smart enough not to file a police report they have broken no laws. they only get tangled with the justice system when they file a police report that once becomes exposed as a hoax is a false police report.
Where did I say it was OK? I said it was “terrible AND…”
Of course, intrinsically it’s terrible because laws were broken. But on a broader scale, don’t you agree with me that when legitimate hate crimes occur, there will be people who will be more skeptical as to their legitimacy?
Look at it in reverse. When Michael Brown was shot by the Ferguson police officer, many people were quick to believe the hokey “eyewitnesses” and the narrative that he was “executed” by the officer. Thus, the unrest and rioting.
When it was later proved that Brown did attack the officer (by the presence of Brown’s DNA on the officer’s neck and inside the car window), no one went back to clear up – because the shooting represented something more. But that doesn’t help that officer much now does it? Indeed, there were some black activists who clearly said “Michael Brown SHOULD NOT be our hero or martyr” but that was ignored by most folks because the event took on a larger narrative.
The hoaxes are doubly nefarious because they weaken future claims of similar (and actual) hate crimes. Just like false claims of sexual harassment or assault. You agree with these two sentences, don’t you?
Or is your anger only reserved for people who make false claims but not towards people who commit hate crimes and sexual assault/harassment?
Really, be honest. Were you as incensed with the idea that a woman in a hijab was attacked equally as you are at the woman now that she is found to be a hoaxer? Why or why not? Should it not be equal? Or is your justice skewed?
Of course you know that the Daily Caller is not a very reliable news source. . . . they are in the Breitbart school of fake journalism. They make Fox “news” look trustworthy. The story may be real, but 80-90% of what I read there is so hugely exaggerated that it’s impossible take anything at face value. Please triple check your source on that one.
what angers me is that the initial story is reported all over the place because it fits a media narrative. often times without the media using the words" alleged" it is reported as fact… when the hoax is exposed the follow up is non existent or very muted by the same outlets that gleefully reported it in the first place. what % of these “hate crimes” are hoaxes? 50,60,70% more? it is a real problem and an eager media is so anxious to find hate they toss out all journalistic integrity.
and dustyfeatrhers you have got to be kidding…you think the hoax is actually true? or because you do not like the daily caller the fake story is actually true and the daily caller is fake? (smh) is that a joke ?
I don’t understand the psychology of people who want to be seen as victims. Publicity? Or racist and bigoted views of the people they make up as their attackers?
There have been hundreds of hate crimes reported and investigated since the election. I hope that you were as angered by those as you are by this report of a hoax, @zobroward. The SPLC puts out periodic reports on hate crimes, the investigations, and results. I doubt that the % that are hoaxes is anywhere close to the numbers you posted.
I agree with @Dustyfeathers . If you are getting your news from The Daily Caller, you need to expand your horizons. Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel? Uh uh.
SPLC is 100% political/ agenda driven and I give them as much validity as you give the daily caller.
you are aware the splc is a political organization. and I would easily put hate crime hoaxes at 50% + probably a lot more. but I get when the hate crime hoax fits the narrative, many who were so initially outraged kind of just quietly ignore the truth or claim the truth is fake news…SMH.
and sure you keep getting your info from real sources like msnbc, huffington post and the NYT .(the best sources for fake news) dumb people like me will keep falling for sources like fox, daily caller etc…because I am not enlightened.
the best of the new outrage against “fake news” was when I saw brian williams talking about it and how bad it is. (is he not the guy suspended by nbc and demoted for fake news?)
You’ve avoided answering the easy question posed to you. Let’s say your 50% of reported hate crimes are hoaxes. Do you or do you not feel the other 50% of REAL hate crimes merit equal to or greater outrage/calls for justice than a hoax?
Simple yes or no is all is required. And if it’s difficult for you to answer – maybe reflect on that.
@zobroward I’m just pointing out that the Daily Caller is not a reliable news source. They may have a genuine story and they may not. Or, if a story is based in fact, the slant may be so great as to be distorting. Fake news often includes just enough “real” fact to make it believable. If one reads the Daily Caller, I’m saying: please also check more reliable sources of the news, maybe four or five other sources from the wide spectrum of sources available.
I do read the Daily Caller–because I want to inform myself of what the professional Right Wing propaganda news machines, like Breitbart, are doing. I also read the Washington Post, the NY Times, the Chicago Trib, USA Today, the Miami Herald, the LA Times, Milwaukee Journal-S etc. I like to read widely because I want to see how stories are being played throughout the country. These news orgs are super easy to access on your computer.
Now, things may have changed over two decades, but probably not by that much. If the incidence of false police reports relative to total crimes has increased greatly, then there are much bigger problems generally.
These hoaxes are hate crimes. They are trying to smear someone or some group for something not done.
Which is worse depends on the damage done. Obviously an actual attack with injuries is worse than a made up story with no individual defamed. However, when the hoax damages the lives of the hoax victims (like the Duke lacrosse case or the UVa fake rape case) that is pretty bad.
@zobroward Please don’t make assumptions about where I get my news, and please don’t put words in my mouth. If you’re interested in an actual civil discussion, I think you’ve had ample opportunity here to participate in one.
alwaysmom …
" If you are getting your news from The Daily Caller, you need to expand your horizons. Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel? Uh uh." yes I do read the daily caller, fox news etc and find them excellent sources.not sure why you think you can make a statement like that and not expect me to respond.
so let me say this to you about what you said–
thank you for the wording…your wording is a perfect response to your last post.
“Please don’t make assumptions about where I get my news, and please don’t put words in my mouth. If you’re interested in an actual civil discussion, I think you’ve had ample opportunity here to participate in one.”
@zobroward, look, I’m not interested in continuing this back and forth. The difference in the two comments is that it was you who quoted The Daily Caller, so you clearly do get your news there. I never mentioned any news site. All the best to you and a Merry Christmas.