Secrets of the City

Re: Augsburg student?

Srsly?

That first part wasn’t a question.

She calls Palin “a role model.”

Oh no.

So, she’s full of shit then?

I’m just sort of curious as to how anyone would see a dark blue Palin/McCain button at 9:30pm outside.

With a vision born of hate.

That will teach her to vote republican

I’m sure it was the three Somali guys who were running from the U of M after pulling the fire alarm.

That dog story is awesome.

I want Peanut.

And the puppies.

I am inclined to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.. you know, innocent until proven guilty and all that.. but this sounds like total bullshit.

I think the chick just wants to go home. She’s 18, which means she’s likely a freshman, and I bet she’s enduring a healthy bout of “homesickness.”

So she lies to her mom.

“Mom. I can’t be here anymore… These blacks assaulted me because of my McCain button!”

“Oh noes!” Mother calls the cops in an effort to protect her daughter who is thousands of miles away.

Daughter panics. Plays along to avoid getting charged with lying to cops.

Am I right?

I’m skeptical too. Are there unidentified roving politically-charged black female gangs on the Augsburg campus?

It’s curious, because the police say they have no reason to doubt she was assaulted (and it would be pretty hard to fake a punch in the eye, although the head-hitting-wall thing is a separate matter); however, the circumstances as described seem awfully strange.

Maybe a boyfriend did it and she’s trying to cover it up. Or maybe some faculty at Augsburg did it.

Or maybe she assaulted herself or had a friend do it..

I’m thinking that a gang of black females hugged her because they were so happy that McCain lost but she interpreted it as a threat and called 5-0.

Even those scenarios seem unlikely — or at least, they would be fairly easily disproven, like the McCain worker in Pennsylvania. I’m tending to think she is just misrepresenting the encounter…? The Strib story says she “declined medical attention” so it’s possible her injuries aren’t even that severe. I don’t mean to sound cynical, though — of course the police and others should continue to do their due diligence on the matter.

I kinda wonder why stuff like this even gets reported, though — there doesn’t seem to be any real public interest to it (unless there is indeed an unidentified roving politically-charged black female gang on the Augsburg campus).

Why does this sound mysteriously like the girl who carved a “B” on her face and smeared black makeup under her eyes in Philly?

I think spycake makes the interesting point — why report this? There’s no doubt with the election it’s interesting– and it’s certainly runs counter-intuitive the giant collective national hug narrative that’s been following the Obama election (which also makes it worth reporting).

Part of me thinks this is a case where it’d be worth waiting until someone gets arrested. But there’s a lot of crime cases where the initial report seems crazy, and it turns out to be true. By reporting it — often people come forward to rat out the bad guys (or girls in this case).

I wonder if we’d be questioning this woman if she were black and an Obama supporter who was allegedly beaten up by McCain supporters. I doubt it.

I wonder if we’d be questioning this woman if she were black and an Obama supporter who was allegedly beaten up by McCain supporters. I doubt it.

I don’t know. Ask Tawana Brawley.

Bob, I’m sure that 20 years ago, the mythical MNSpeak would have been populated by racists who would have questioned Tawana Brawley. Today, I wonder if she would get the treatment that I’m reading here.

At any rate, I hope they find the people who did this to the Augsburg student, and send them off to jail.. And if she made it up, as with anyone making a false allegation, I hope she gets sent to jail.

Jason, I wouldn’t normally even question it, but what with that girl in Philly, I guess I’m a little suspicious about people’s motives, especially young people’s.

Yes, we know in any partisan tumble that if the roles were reversed the brainless, kneejerk other guys would have exactly the opposite reaction because they don’t think things through the way our magnaminous, thoughtful selves do (whichever us we’re talking about). On the other hand, it’s likely that if the roles were reversed the other guys would be conjecturing about how it would be if the roles were as they are now.

I hear you. But just as I like the question about whether the media should report this kind of thing… I also think it’s fair to question whether the public should publicly question her.

She lives here. I presume at some point she’ll stumble upon this page. And assuming what she says happened, did happen, this really sucks.

Psst, it was Pittsburgh.

I agree with Jason that locally people should show a little restraint before wild-ass speculation about the guilt of private citizens who splash across the news.

I think ti even run this story borders on some kind of undefined sensationalism.

Psst, it was Pittsburgh.

There’s a difference?

if the story was just, “she was roughed up randomly” I doubt the media would care.

I’m not really even questioning that she was assaulted, I’m questioning that she was assaulted *because* she was wearing a McCain pin. More likely is that she was assaulted *while* wearing a McCain pin. Which, I guess we’ve learned, is the only reason people assault each other: political swag. Random acts of violence be damned!

Also, in post-racial America, is the “McCain button” the new “race card”. If so, I’ll take 2.

I think anyone wearing political swag at this point deserves at least a light verbalberating, especially losing swag. Winning swag gets a little while longer, but it’s been 9 days. Take off ye damned button.

At any rate, I hope they find the people who did this to the Augsburg student, and send them off to jail.. And if she made it up, as with anyone making a false allegation, I hope she gets sent to jail.

Jason just wants to see someone – anyone – get sent to jail.

how long can I keep on my franken button, then, kevin?

Good

But there’s a lot of crime cases where the initial report seems crazy, and it turns out to be true.

Speaking of crazy – since it’s TV sweeps period, I wonder if KSTP news will be giving us an update on the Smiley Face Killer pods?

Good question, grote. I think the recount allows you some extra time, but don’t get carried away.

What about tattoos, Kevin? I’m not saying that I have one but I’d really like to know the ground rules on political tattoos.

Bix, you have an Obama tramp stamp, don’t you.

I hope I’m not engaging in wild-ass speculation. But since it has been reported everywhere, and the details (as reported) sound suspicious, I think some public skepticism is warranted.

I have no doubt that personally, if you reversed the political allegiances and the races of those involved, I would find the story just as suspicious. The normal reaction when receiving an unprovoked punch to the eye from an identifiable group of strangers on your college campus would involve alerting some kind of authorities immediately.

Finally, in the Strib story, not only is the political button repeated as the sole motive for the attack, but the victim herself makes the statement “conservative versus liberal” and her parents talk about “PETA people” and “close-mindedness” hurting their “small-town conservative” daughter. None of these statements appear to contribute toward finding or identifying the perpetrators — what, are they supposed to put “liberal” in their police description? “Possible PETA persons”?

The same set of groundrules applies for political tatoos as would apply for tatooing the name of your boyfriend/girlfriend on you. I’m sure we’ve all f*cked somebody with somebody elses name artfully tatooed above their b*ttcr*ck and know what I’m talking about.

I’m sure we’ve all f*cked somebody with somebody elses name artfully tatooed above their b*ttcr*ck and know what I’m talking about.

Kevin’s dark past is finally emerging!

Now is that Buttcrack or Buttercrock?

Bix, you have an Obama tramp stamp, don’t you.

HA HA HA HA!!!!

Bix, you have an Obama tramp stamp, don’t you.

Perot/Stockdale ‘92

And

Alan Keyes ‘08

I really thought he’d get the Constitution Party nomination this year. How wrong I was. How very, very wrong.

My dad has his own name tattooed on his arm. The tattoo is a heart with a banner across it with his name in the banner.

weird.

Kevin’s dark past is finally emerging!

————–
Racist.

In tattoo news NE Tattoo is now open on Lowry and Central where Aardvark Records used to be. At Grumpys last night one of the regulars had gotten a largish tat of the Grain Belt Beer sign on his forearm from there.

Website not up yet I guess.

I have herve villechaize on my arm.

Grote, that’s not your arm.

The real Mr Villechaize? I knew he was looking for work but I didn’t realize how desperate he must be.

A third possibility is that it did happen (with or without political cause) and she was drinking or something and didn’t want to call the cops because she’d get in trouble with the school. But the whole story is pretty implausible. Non-sexual stranger crimes with injuries are nearly always reported to the police, quickly.

As for the media’s response, Ashley Tood was EVERYWHERE after her “attack.” Betcha never saw the story about the Black Obama doorknocker who actually got assaulted. Media loves them white ladies.

I have no idea why this isn’t working.

Obama Tramp Stamp

It’s almost like a prompt. “Change” Ok, you want to flip back over?

Heads I win, tails you lose.

@Miller:
that looks fake.

@baker:
hee!

@yepnope:
True that.

She reminds me of the girl who was “kidnapped” in Madison 5 years ago or the girl at UW-Eau Claire who was “attacked” by a guy in a hockey mask.

They both were trying to get attention from either a boyfriend (the Madtown lass) or from friends and roomies (the Eau Claire lass).

Dude, the chick did this to herself.