Where Can I See The McKinney Videotape?

[rucky]

I get back into town (and online) to see one of my heroes slaughtered right here on the DU. I heard some Drudge scoop before I left, but didn't think it would turn into a train wreck. I'm going from thread to thread, here, trying to piece it together, but nothing is making a lick of sense. I'm assuming everybody's seen the tape but me.

since everybody's speaking so authoritatively (pun intended) on the issue, I thought you could point me in that direction.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. It's in the same place as the Abramhof/dubya photos

and those pictures of kids being tortured at abu ghraib are there too.

[rucky]

2. I don't understand. Wouldn't they want to parade it all over the TV?

if it is as they describe?

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Must be on pay per view

LOL

[pacalo]

7. Exactly. They're hoping that if they milk the press without proof

of what really happened, our imaginations will run wild.

And this character assassination party is trying to attract the African American voters?!

[Solomon]

22. What difference would it make if they had the videotape? I'll never

forget thinking, "now, they finally got it on tape for the whole world to see". I could barely watch as a group of armed police officers viciously beat an unarmed black man for speeding.
I felt relief. "Halleluha, white people will finally see what the hell is going on."

That's what I thought. But then..

Within a matter of minutes we started hearing how "you can see on the tape, he won't obey the officers". "He keeps covering his head with his hands - you see, right there, he's attacking the police."

That day changed my life forever.

Nope. A videotape will not help you at all. It'll only piss you off more when you hear commentators "interpret" the tape for you.

[pacalo]

29. Wow. You've made a damn good point.

[Catrina]

3. Who needs a tape? We have the rightwing talking points to go by. Just

to fill you in, don't even try to defend her. She's GUILTY, because we Dems are not 'hypocritical' and we don't like her 'behavior'.

Oh, since you were out of town, I'll give you the RNC talking points.

The first one went with 'she whacked him with a cell phone'. That was gospel for a while, until it went all the way down to 'she poked him' after we demanded proof, provided her own statement, and, like you, asked for the video tape, or the cop's ID, or something! One or two here even defended the cop because how could he recognize her when she changed her hair style so often?? That one really got me. I always thought she had pretty distinctive features. But to some, I guess 'they all look alike'. Sad to see this on DU.

When they couldn't play that one out anymore, it shifted to the second talking point. 'Well, it's not whether she's guilty or not, we don't know that yet (WOW! who'd a'thought?) WE DON'T LIKE THE WAY SHE'S BEHAVING! See, she went on TV and despite the bad behavior of some of the anchors she had to endure, it was Cynthia's behavior we were not supposed to like!

And that's just here ~ I haven't even checked out the rightwing sites ~ didn't need to, I saw all their talking points right here. My friend read a post from one the rightwing blogs, and I thought she was on DU!

Sad, isn't it? But they are no doubt happy tonight, as she is now going to be dragged before a GJ. She was busy that day, voting the way we want our Reps to vote. She was out there firing questions at Rumsfeld also, not letting him off the hook, making them accountable. I guess she won't be doing it much longer ~

Oh, as for your question, we never did see the video, nor do we know who the cop is.

[pacalo]

4. And notice how fast her "case" is going to the grand jury?

They'll surely see the video from the security camera.

[ConsAreLiars]

6. Well said!

That is a perfect summation of how the RW CorpMedia dittoheads are spinning this story on DU.

[rucky]

8. *sigh*

:shrug:

I really expected to see a video the way people are spouting off around here.

The ranks of the still-sane are narrowing. Stockholm Syndrome is kicking in as the hyper-neurotic clamor to please our authoritarian parental figures with a display of blind reverence for "the law" (at the expense of justice).

[Catrina]

10. Exactly!! 'blind reverence for the law' ~ I remember reading that it was

that same kind of naive reverence that Jews in Germany had before the holocaust. They really respected the law, and actually though everyone else would.

That's an excellent way of putting it. We had several DUers here telling us that 'You NEVER lay a hand on a cop, never, NOT EVER, GET IT??' Not one, but several. Not even, we were told, if he had put HIS hands on you without cause.

There was a reverence for the authority of cops (someone, please explain this to me) throughout the threads on McKinney that was quite disturbing to me. I actually asked one poster if he WAS a cop, he was so adamant about their great power, and how WE should respect it and NEVER, EVER forget it.

I hadn't thought of the Stockholm Syndrome, but you may be right... I learned a lot over the past few days about so-called progressives, (not all of them by any means but enough to make me wonder) and their sense of awe of cops and willingness to dump someone who should have had earned at least a little credibility with them.

[timtom]

12. There!! That's the phrase I was searching for.

"blind reverence for the law"

I responded to a post on a McKinney thread and referenced exactly this concept. But thoze words were precisely what I meant.

A belated thanx.

[bowens43]

13. naive reverence that Jews in Germany

Wow! What a ridiculous analogy. If she did it she was in the wrong. Simple as that. If she did it there is no defense for it.

[Catrina]

15. There it is ~ the 'if she did it' mantra, without the 'if he did it'

What is it that she did? I've read her statement. I'd like to compare it to the cop's but he hasn't made one, and he's in hiding from some reason. I'd love to also compare both their statement to the video, but now we're being told the video conveniently missed the whole incident. How lucky for HIM.

You're obviously in the rightwing's camp of 'she must have done it, we heard it on the media, or the cops said so'

I'm in the camp that actually read Cynthia's statement so I know, unlike so many genius' all over the Internet, that she did not say (as the incredibly clueless press has been reporting) that she slapped him and apologized for it. No, she did not say that. But let's not let facts get in the way. And that's not all, but incredibly, the Capitol Hill Chief of Police backs her account of what happened. I'm not sure he's doing it intentionally.

Now, if both the Chief and Cynthia are correct, the cop is the one who should be in trouble. Well, that would be in a world where everyone gets the same treatment and no one is above the law!

Contrary to all the posts telling us that cops are untouchable, they are simply not allowed to put their hands on someone without a very good reason.

With both Cynthia and the Chief basically saying the same thing, you might want to add to your Cynthia 'if' scenario the following:

'if HE did it he was in the wrong. Simple as that. If HE did it there is no defense for it'.

[Virginia Dare]

18. It is ingrained in our society....

perhaps for good cause, you can look at it both ways, but regardless, the brainwashing begins at a very early age, perhaps 4 or 5 when children first go to school in this country. OBEY AUTHORITY.

I once saw a very interesting film which compared three different preschools, one in Japan, one in China and one the U.S.

In a nutshell-- In Japan the focus was all about fitting into society and learning to resolve differences independently. The teachers never interfered when conflicts arose. In China, the children were not allowed to think for themselves at all. There were no conflicts among the children because they were never allowed to freely interact with each other. Everything was regimented, including their toilet breaks. In the U.S., the teachers resolved ALL conflicts between the children. My impression afterwards, the U.S. fell somewhere between the Japanese and Chinese when it came to enforcement of authoriarian rule, probably leaning more towards the Chinese way.

My point is, even though we supposedly live in a "free society", there is still a large emphasis on authority here, and particularly respecting authority. You can make all sorts of philosophical arguments one way or another about the justices and injustices of it, but that is the way our society functions, and it is enforced at a very early age.

[dogday]

19. Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.

from..........Albert Einstein



it is my signature line and it says it all.....

[Virginia Dare]

21. Great quote...

but I would emphasize the word "unthinking", that is what must set our society apart.

[dogday]

23. Unthinking to me means not asking the question

is it right or wrong......

[Virginia Dare]

25. Yes, that's what it means to me as well...

in any situation. Sometimes it makes sense to respect authority, sometimes not. But one always must think first.

[zbdent]

16. So where's the Repukes' "blind reverence for the law"

when it comes to unconstitutional and illegal wiretapping of ordinary US citizens who have nothing to do with terror groups? Or the son of a Repuke who raped (yes, the term would be rape if a distant cousin of Ted Kennedy had done it) several pre-teen and early teen boys with a broomstick? Or the reverence of Tom DeLay's illegal activities, which were far worse than Jim Traficant's?

[Gabi Hayes]

34. substitute authority for law

[Twist_U_Up]

20. I heard on cnn yesterday..........

there was no tape of the incident.

I said to my wife...... No tape of an entry point entering Congress ??..................:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

kinda like no tapes of the Pentagon on that one very ugly day

[farmboxer]

9. I can see the bias on the MSM, it makes me sick!

I respect her. She has stood up for America and told it like it is.

[file83]

11. I heard that the "tape" doesn't actually show the incident because...

...they had walked out of view of the camera before they made contact with one another.

So, to answer your question - people have been generally falling in one of three camps.

Camp Lynch Her= "I believe the cop's word - McKinney is a loud mouth - she's guilty!"
Camp Switzerland = "I'm waiting until all the facts are in before I pass any judgement..."
Camp McKinney = "I believe McKinney's story - the cop was a jerk, she was standing up for her rights!"

That sums it up. You haven't missed much (except for some pretty entertaining flame wars).

[hlthe2b]

17. yes, but I'll add one small detail...

"Camp McKinney" and "Camp Lynch Her" are quite obviously sparring with vehemence-- to be expected....

But the intensity with which some of "Camp McKinney" is going after "Camp Switzerland" is incomprehensible to me...:shrug:

Regardless, at a time when the media focus (and ours) should be on Delay, I'm sure the RW is enjoying us eating our own on this "crisis"...:eyes:

[BigBearJohn]

14. WE SHOULD START A ROSES DRIVE FOR HER! THOUGHTS?

[Avalux]

24. We don't know the facts and

I'm not happy that McKinney hasn't stated what really happened yet, or the way she's handled herself with the press. I can't support a roses drive at this point.

[Catrina]

31. Actually, Cynthia McKinney did make a statement several days ago.

She described the incident and added that she regretted that it had happened.
The cop is the one who has not made a statement and is, apparently, in hiding. Now, there is no video, and the Capitol Hill Police chief, who confirmed some of what McKinney said in her statement, is resigning, although I don't believe it is because of this.

That has been the problem with this whole thing. People did not bother to read her statement, or any of the official statements.

[Terran1212]

37. She deserved one a long time ago for being such a rebel

[rucky]

30. my uncle the florist thanks you!

my money is going to take back Congress, tho:

www.actblue.org

[ecstatic]

26. excellent question! umm...no tape has been released

Some people have decided to side with the Capitol Police, after all, Blacks are a violent race! :sarcasm: She must have hit him, unprovoked!

[helderheid]

27. I'm as boggled as you are. n/t

[Hell Hath No Fury]

28. What's happened is...

the mask has been pulled off many here at DU.

It has happened before when a real hot button issue is brought up and, in the heat of argument, the ugly truth about what many of our members really feel about things comes out.

And it's generally not pretty.

The bigotry, the anti-woman views, the militarism, the "me first" attitudes -- stuff that you just don't expect to see on a progressive site.

The irrational response by many here to Ms. McKinney's run in with the Capitol police has been like overturning a rock in a garden to uncover the slimy, squirming mess that lurks amidst the carefully manicured scene.

That is what happened while you were gone.

on edit: I personally always like these blow-ups because it lets me know where people truly stand and often confirms long-held suspicians I've had about certain longtime posters.

[Janice325]

32. I'm so silly!

When I read the title of this thread I thought you were referring to her apologizing for the incident today in front of Congress a little while ago.
I didn't see it, it was mentioned on the noon news here in Atlanta.

[aikoaiko]

33. me too, but alas McKinney apologizing won't stop the apologists for

her behavior.

[Gabi Hayes]

35. jesus....see post 28

[aikoaiko]

36. right, never criticize a democrat, yada yada yada

Anyone who disagrees with how McKinney handled herself must be a racist, misogynist, or even worse, not a good democrat.

I don't think you understand the word liberal very well.