1. I think Amy Cooper is contrite faux liberal, I said that in the other comment. I think to an extent she got what she deserved - but the mountain out of a molehill comment was about the media furore. What she deserved and what she needed are different things. A judge should have sent BOTH of them on a course based around the principles of restorative justice. She could've learned far more about her actions in context, he could've learned why it might be a bad idea to approach a woman in a wooded secluded area. They could've had a genuine conversation and reflected on their individual parts in what was a shared experience that went south very quickly. Instead it made world news. That's the mountain out of a molehill.
2. As I've said before, I don't think punishment works. I prefer learning and conversation. If the consequences of finding someone like Amy Cooper are to shun her out of society then I don't think the world is going to get less racist. Do you think Amy has got less racist or more racist? Do you think Amy's friends have reflected? Or do you think they've blamed the media? Again... I don't think anyone will actually shun Amy Cooper. I think contrite faux-liberals will pretend to and they will thank god it wasn't them... without stopping to wonder whether it could be. Spoiler: it could. I also don't think she's demanding her job back, I think she's demanding due process.... and I support that. It wouldn't happen here in the UK, if you want to read about a similar situation (tangentially) then read about Sharon Shoesmith. She sued. She won. It wasn't popular but it was lawful.
3. I don't think she'll be wiser and kinder, I think the opposite is true. That's the point.
4. I will bow to your knowledge of him here, I don't know him. I do know TV though and I know the higher your profile the more likely you are to be presenting. He was offered the job AFTER the event not before it and him being a household name likely played some part in their choice, even if it were simply to raise the profile of the show through controversy. The TV world does things like that a lot. That doesn't mean he isn't a great birder, it doesn't mean he isn't going to make a great show - it does mean I'm cynical about his suitability and temperament given the TV world and how it works.
5. Once again. No problem with him asking politely.... big problems with the phrase "Look, if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it" and then proceeding to take a bag of dog treats out of his pocket. There were many ways the two of them could've resolved the matter - that was not the best way.
6. I don't think punishment results in behaviour change. Never have, never will. Accountability yes. Punishment no.
7. I'm unsure of what laws you're talking about here. They were in a shared community space, she was acting badly, he chose a ham-fisted method of getting her to stop (see point 5) and it escalated into a world wide event. She was thrown out of her job and subsequently tried to sue her company for a lack of due process. If the situation had been reversed, I would've expected him to do exactly the same. We can argue about the fairness of the law and we can argue about the propensity of lawmakers to circumvent fairness but that's not what is being questioned. The law looked at this and sided with him. Then it looked at how she was treated by Franklin Templeton and sided with her employers. Very interesting read. https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/amy-cooper-loses-discrimination-lawsuit-against-former-employer-who-fired-her-after-central-park-incident/ Here in the UK she would be able to appeal her firing on due process but not in the US.... as I've said before, your country should've unionised long ago but the Taft-Hartley act was put through off the back of racists scaring the workforce into believing that 'the blacks' were going to steal jobs and tank the economy. It's one of my favourite things to remind complaining Conservatives stuck in middle management jobs on ever decreasing wages. Your grandparents racism fucked your chances of a decent wage and that's why you can't have nice things.
8. Agreed, nothing he did was illegal... but she is entitled to a legal defence and this would include explaining her actions based on what she knew at the time, not what she knew after the fact. He doesn't have to modulate his temper, none of us do, but if the temper, the phrasing he used and the situational antecedents cause a reaction this can be used as a defence. We may have different Hearsay rules in the UK - here it means A written or oral statement made otherwise than by a witness giving their own first-hand evidence in proceedings, which is tendered as evidence of the matters stated and which is relied on in court to prove the truth of the matters stated. - Jerome could've presented his evidence in court if invited by the defence. The prosecution could've questioned it. hearsay evidence can be admitted if the court is satisfied that it is in the interests of justice for it to be admissible. On this occasion, I would suggest it is. I would also suggest it is relevant as Jerome cites being Black as a reason why he is able to give his evidence and suggests there are other people who are too scared to give evidence because they are white and afraid of the consequences of doing so. It doesn't matter to me that he's black, it matters to the legal discussion Jerome is having.
9. Then take her to court and charge her $250,000. I don't have a problem with this. Nesting bird sites need to be protected. They need to be protected by legal professionals not enthusiastic amateurs. Ask the council to set up a camera. She wouldn't be hard to catch, then make an example of her. I have zero problem with this approach.
Crotchfruit is used for humour purposes because I like the sound of the portmanteau it doesn't suggest a wider misanthropic view - rather a love of language.
10. And last but not least... I don't identify with her at all. As I've explained, she fits the mold of the sort of person who I don't like. She is a contrite faux-liberal. Had Christian Cooper asked me to leash a dog, I likely would've done so because it seems a reasonable request. If I'd refused (and I am allowed to refuse) then that would've been that. If he'd started filming me, I wouldn't have been happy but there's nothing I can do. If he'd said "Look, if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it" and then called my dog over, I would've punched him as an act of defence. A dog is my family. My pack. I have strong feelings. I would then have been taken to court and I would've used the 'reasonable and proportionate' defence based on the antecedents and what I knew at the time. In the UK I would've brought Jerome's evidence in to support my statement - I'm not sure it would be allowed in the US, as your rules on Hearsay seem a little convoluted.
