"Offended and outraged." That was the reaction of MoveOn's Ilyse Hogue to Rand Paul campaign worker Tim Profitt who suggested that Lauren Valle should apologize for being thrown to the ground and having her head stomped by his fellow supporters. Raw footage shows 23-year-old, 110 lb Lauren being held down by two big men as another kicked her head (causing a concussion) and stepped on her neck. A fourth person, a woman, simply stepped on her. It's not clear why, considering Lauren was still on the ground. Meanwhile, candidate Rand Paul accepted the handshakes and cheers of those around him.
The video itself is shocking, along with the otherwise casual reaction of onlookers. The guy in the white sneakers stepping on Lauren's neck is Tim Profitt. He says, unlike the other attackers, he only stepped on her because he "suffers from chronic back pain."
It's more than a little ironic that today Valerie Jarrett and Lynn Rosenthal are holding a press conference to discuss the Obama administration's effort to combat violence against women. If only the Republican Party were as concerned about violence as the rest of us.
As shocking as the attack on Lauren may be, it really isn't much of a surprise. For over a year and a half the Republican party has been encouraging violence among its members and earlier this month Media Matters listed several dozen examples.
Trying to make sense of the pattern, I took this information and organized it into a timeline.
Like clockwork, when the stakes were high -- the passing of health care reform and throughout the primary season -- there was an uptick in incidents. So it is only expected that this close to the election we would see the transition from violent rhetoric to violent acts. And the justification for this action? Profitt more or less says that she asked for it.
Hogue notes in her statement, "Lauren's exercise of her First Amendment rights cannot possibly justify the violence against her any more than a woman's clothes can excuse a sexual assault. If Tim Profitt can get away with blaming Lauren for his attack on her, then women -- and all those speaking out for their beliefs in this political climate -- will have reason to fear."
Hogue continues, "Candidates on both sides of the aisle, including Rand Paul, must condemn Profitt's outrageous statements and call out this violence for what it is: anti-women and anti-American."
I agree. Violence and the rhetoric that encourages it needs to stop now. It will be interesting to see if Jarret and Rosenthal address this issue at today's press conference.
Update: Thousands are signing a petition and sending in photos, standing in solidarity with Lauren. View the photos and send in your own.
My latest blog post:
SHARRON ANGLE & ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION -- GETTING OUT THE FEAR VOTE
http://adrianzupp.blogspot.com/2010/10/sharron-angle-illegal-immigration.html
"I HAVE THE POWER!"
when they are putting a beatdown on a young lady/peaceful protestor.
But just let THEM be on the RECIEVING END of such a beating?
"What's It Like To Lay At The Mercy Of Merciless Men?"
Let THEM answer THAT!!"
--RKJ
Nice bit of double-talk there.
You can draw a heckuva circle , though.
Diana Sawyer and the conservatives at ABC News disregarded this attack all together, and then the group on ABC's View took three days to address the attack and still refused to speak seriously to the incident. CBS' Harry Smith tired to imply that it was something that the young lady did that justified this "mob attack."
This is a classic case of media manipulation and steering where all is focused on the one man putting his feet on the woman head while ignoring all the others in the mob attacking this young woman.
The racially conservative hypocrites at the justice department and in the republican party who wanted to prosecute the New Black Panthers Party members, for merely standing on the sidewalk; all these are silent over these hostile conservatives’ mob attack on this young lady.
I hope Moveon.org will be more forceful in demanding justice for this young woman from Obama and Holder's justice department.
Rachel's special on the murders of doctors performing abortions reveals what can happen when the practitioners of the dark arts in that Orwellian World or from those Christian preachers who spread their poisonous fog of hate and ignorance and infect the fragile minds of the mentally and emotionally ill who end up committing these murders while these practitioners of those dark arts turn these poor misguided souls into martyrs that end up encouraging others to kill these doctors. These practitioners are using the same terrorist guide book that Al Qaeda uses!!!
But, just imagine what they would have done to a big, buff Black man under similar circumstances ...
"BOOM BOOM--OUT GO THE LIGHTS!"
Gonna take more than three chicken-bleep-yellow Rand-Boys to take HIM down!
--RKJ
They did what they had to do...
It's too bad a set of fellows like these hadn't been present in Memphis in 1968 to prevent James Earl Ray from acting out his intentions.
I'd argue a more accurate comparison is "too bad a set of fellows like these hadn't been around in Montgomery to keep Rosa Parks from acting out her intentions..." think of all the people who were inconvenienced by the boycott...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiLeud-sxrM
- not Obama. he has tried and tried against a mountain of opposition and sabotage of everything he has tried to do - but i'm sure you know that.
Weak!
Remember the first song on the radio? "wev'e only just begun" (Carpenters) well..............so has the real political violence I'd say