Amy Cooper, the woman who let her dog run loose in the birdwatching area of New York City’s Central Park, and called police on a black birdwatcher who asked her to leash the dog, allegedly had previously stalked a co-worker whom she “chided” for voting for Obama, according to the New York Post. (Read story here.)
“The incident occurred … in … a wooded area of Central Park where dogs are required to be on leashes. Christian Cooper, who is black, said he was bird-watching in the area …. He approached the woman and asked that she leash the animal, he said. In the video, Amy Cooper refused and called 911, telling the operator that ‘there is an African American man. I am in Central Park. He is recording me and threatening myself and my dog.’ At one point, Cooper shouts to the operator, ‘Please send the cops immediately,'” USA Today reported. (Read story here.)
The video quickly went viral because, by telling the 911 operator a black man was “threatening” her, she was seen as putting his life in danger. Her actions were widely interpreted as racist, and she was fired by her employer within a day or two. The new revelations add fuel to impression that “Central Park Karen,” as she’s been dubbed, was motivated by racism and has anger issues.
This woman has a bias, but she may or may not be a racist. There is nothing to show that the incident would not had gone down similarly if the man had been of any other race or ethnicity. Remember we are supposed to believe her because she is a woman and not be skeptical.
I’m skeptical.