This morning, while reading HuffPo, I came upon a very disturbing video. This video is part of a new documentary called American Blackout by Ian Inaba of the Guerrilla News Network (GNN).
Inaba allowed several black police officers to talk at length about allegations of racism on Capitol Hill and about the now infamous altercation involving Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and a white Capitol Hill police officer.
The officers’ identities are cloaked and their voices have been altered because they fear reprisals for speaking out. Their perspectives on the McKinney incident deserve your attention.
The March 29 altercation between McKinney and the police officer, in which she allegedly refused to stop, give identification and then decked the officer for grabbing her, made the outspoken congresswoman the year’s poster child for bad behavior and bad hairdos. No doubt it has contributed to her sagging polls during her reelection campaign. Comments on this blog and others; the punditocracy, and the mainstream news media hammered her repeatedly. Going on morning news and entertainment shows did not help her cause.
Yet the black officers say that McKinney was targeted because she wrote a letter on behalf of their black officer’s association demanding the ouster of the counsel of the Capitol Police, John Caulfield, for racist remarks and for contributing to and supporting a hostile environment in the police organization.
Capitol Hill police officers are trained to recognize all congresspeople, especially black congresspeople. Yet some white police officers repeatedly stopped black congresspeople like Cleo Fields of Louisiana for identification, whether or not they were wearing business suits or casual wear. The black officers witnessed these white policemen openly speaking of ‘getting’ McKinney, and celebrating vociferously when she was caught and the incident made news. As a result, McKinney is now facing charges brought by that same counsel, John Caulfield.
You have to have QuickTime to access this video.
Whether you like or dislike Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, this video reveals that there is a much larger issue involved.
it looks like the girl was set up, with the cops knowing that she wouldn’t take sh*t from nobody.
with the cops knowing that she wouldn’t take sh*t from nobody.
At bottom that’s why everyone from the Daily Kos bubbas to the commentators on Fox news are offended by Cynthia McKinney (and why, incidentally, the bubbas on DKos make me ashamed to (sometimes) vote in the same political party or, for that matter, breath the same air) They cannot stand it to see a black woman who won’t take the shit they serve up.
After reading the McKinney threads on DK anyone still insisting that the Democratic party does not have problems with race and gender is blind as a bat and clueless to boot.
Thanks for this diary
After reading the McKinney threads on DK anyone still insisting that the Democratic party does not have problems with race and gender is blind as a bat and clueless to boot.
This sentence needs repeating.
Thank you!!!! I’d give you a 5 if I could. I’m starting to prefer green to orange more and more…
See under Blogs.
http://www.rawstory.com
Raw Story’s picked up the video
Good, because Markos (who assiduously cultivates and panders to the bubba element on his blog ) has posted that idiot poll along with his ‘expert’ opinion.
Damn, that thread yesterday was difficult to read. It was like listening to 50 Nancy Graces. I’m not going to read today’s thread, I’ll lose my temper.
n/t
What poll?
The republican poll showing Johnson with an enormous lead and has results which contradict the evidence of the volunteers who are phonebanking.
I don’t like anywhere in the deep South.
and unfortunately, Raw Story had the video link running overnight and got rid of it before noon.
Yeah, apparently Johnson’s more palatable to Kos and certain Kossacks. He’s quiet and a guy, too.
I really don’t give a damn one way or another who wins. I don’t like Georgia anyhow. The place is really socially as well as racially stratified, and still economically depressed in some respects. I didn’t like it.
But, yes. The hatred for Cynthia McKinney is inordinate and inappropriate. I just wanted people to look at some facts brought by these cops.
They may end up missing McKinney one of these days. There are times you have to be loud and times you have to be quiet. This time you have to be loud.
And that poll Kos spoke of? The polling organization was revealed to be connected to a Repub. That’s what one of the commenters said on my diary. Interesting.
I think my poll has a bit more credence. ;D
telling responses on that thread, to say the least.
Blksista, thanks for posting this diary.
Wish I could say that I’m surprised.
Are you thinking of putting this up at the orange place? Cynthia McKinney has taken a beating over there, and it would help those who have been speaking up on her behalf.
That’s been my plan. Give me an hour this p.m.
Great!
Thanks a lot.
just for clarity, this blog never hammered her. At least, I don’t recall hammering her, nor do I remember the other front-pagers doing so.
but the Orange Zone is going ballistic over this diary.
Yes, it sure made me duck in here for a breath of air. it’s not the heat… it’s the humidity.
different culture.
I doubt whether I have “trusted user” standing any more. I asked SusanG to remove what I call ‘graffito’ in the areas where you think the diary might belong and she did. Stuff like ‘bye bye’ and ‘good riddance.’ However, she left the moniker, ‘conspiracy theory’. I don’t think that what I wrote is a conspiracy theory. There are some verifiable facts. And besides, I found the video on Huff Po, for goodness sake! I hardly think Arianna’s a place for this kind of thing.
Truth be told, I was there when McKinney was ousted in 2002. People in DeKalb Co. had had it with her. My sister didn’t like her either. I want to say that I am not a supporter of McKinney, or of all of her stands. She embarasses me at times. She goes off at the most inopportune of times. And I can readily believe that she has more national following than local following.
But I don’t hate her as many on Kos seem to. I think that hatred is that she is a…black…woman.
I am, though, a supporter of justice. I think more was going on at the surface than many would admit.
And Kos–well, I’ve already figured that in order to get some “love” from him, I would have to believe unblinkingly in KosPolitics. And I don’t. I can’t.
Which is why I am here…
And you are surprised?
Please.
AG
Thanks for the diary. I have never been quite so pleased with this group of folks as when I first voted in your poll and found unanimous agreement: “I didn’t need to see the video to know.”
Provoking a response by invading a person’s space or acting disrespectfully is a stunt that cops pull all of the time, ESPECIALLY against blacks, and ESPECIALLY against “uppity” and outspoken people.
The cancer of racism is behind so many of this country’s crimes.
My suspicions were there from the beginning. The wingnut media jumped all over this with both feet, but the corporate media raced to be first.
“Rush to judgment” understates the situation.
Somehow, the media were primed.
I figured she’s been a target since she called for that investigation after 9/11…stating she thought that bushco may have had some warning or info of attack. She was crucified for that and she’s been a walking target in my mind ever since.
The whole slugging ‘incident’ felt wrong to me from the start so this information doesn’t surprise me in the least..then add the fact that she’s black and that doubles her attacks by many because racism is alive and doing well in far far to many places.
oh my god that place has just driven me ABSOLUTELY CRAZY.
When this first happened was when I really started to get turned off. I started spending all my time on MySpace, having fun and tuning out of the politics for a while.
I was still reading and lurking at DKos, but this week I started commenting again and not much time passed before I was called a troll. Me, member since Sept. 2004. By someone who is not even a TU, no less!
Anyway, I think I will come here for my politics from now on. I can’t take that place. So many restrictions, blog police, nasty attitudes, name-calling. Sometimes I think it’s being taken over in an orchestrated effort by Republican operatives. But then again, I am a “tinfoilhatter”!
Anyway, great diary, thanks for posting blksista. i haven’t even watched the video yet, but i also chose option 2 in your poll! i’ll take a peek now.
We ain’t perfect over here, either, but you are certainly welcome to join us! Lots of orange outcasts here, by choice and by overzealous orange banning practices.
I think it’s a much nicer place to hang out.
“Ribbit, ribbit” – Darwin the Frog
thanks man!
🙂
Welcome to the frog pond, missreporter! Come on over to the Froggy Bottom Cafe and chat sometime.
Thanks for this diary, blksista. We had our own small version of this kind of treatment at our last primary election in Indiana when Julia Carson (IN-7) was hassled for trying to vote on her congressional ID card!
I remember you. I thought you were cool. Dailykos is the biggest aggregation of brain power bereft of wisdom that I have ever witnessed. I like seeing controversial polls like the one above over there. These polls demonstrate that the biggest mouths are not in the majority.