Drudge Puts Dangerous Spin on Mugging, Implies Violence Targeting McCain Volunteers
Yesterday, a horrible incident took place in Pittsburgh: a young woman was robbed; and then, after the assailant noticed that her car had a McCain sticker, he returned to brutalize her, including scratching a backwards 'B' in her cheek with a knife. Although horrible by itself, what makes this story even more shocking is the way right-wing media has tried to twist the coverage with rhetoric suggesting that this ATM mugging was actually a pre-meditated act of political violence aimed at the McCain campaign.
At 4:03pm, today, a WTAE-TV Pittsburgh reported that a 20-year old woman was robbed at an ATM machine, and then subsequently had the letter 'B' scratched into her cheek with a knife--supposedly in response to her assailant seeing a 'McCain' campaign sticker on her car. This is how WTAE reported the story:
Woman Attacked At ATM, Assailant Carves Letter Into Her Face
Woman Robbed, Attacked With Knife At Bloomfield ATM
POSTED: 4:03 pm EDT October 23, 2008
UPDATED: 4:30 pm EDT October 23, 2008PITTSBURGH -- A 20-year-old woman who was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield was also maimed by her attacker, police said.
Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard tells Channel 4 Action News that the victim was robbed at knifepoint on Wednesday night outside of a Citizens Bank near Liberty Avenue and Pearl Street just before 9 p.m.
Richard said the robber took $60 from the woman, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim's car. The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using the knife to scratch the letter "B" into her face, Richard said.
Richard said the woman refused medical treatment after the assault, which happened outside the view of the bank's surveillance cameras.
The robber is described as a dark-skinned black man, 6 feet 4 inches tall, 200 pounds with a medium build, short black hair and brown eyes. The man was wearing dark colored jeans, a black undershirt and black shoes. (link)
The crime was horrendous. Anyone who mugs another person, whether it is for $0.60 or $60, is a criminal who deserves punishment. And to beat someone up--and then scratch a 'B' in their face--supposedly in response to seeing a McCain campaign sticker on a person's car--that is an act that demands immediate criminal prosecution. The young woman attacked deserves a speedy recovery and quick restitution of her property and dignity by the courts.
The problem with this crime, however, is not just that it happened, but the way that Matt Drudge has obviously tried to spin it into a political watershed for the 2008 Presidential campaign by rewriting the headline and carefully omitting several crucial elements. The end result is that a mugging punctuated by an odd act of violence has been transformed at the hands of a right-wing media figure to appear like a targeted act of violence against the McCain campaign.
Not long after the original WTAE story, Drudge added the following incendiary headline on The Drudge Report:
SHOCK: MCCAIN VOLUNTEER ATTACKED AND MUTILATED IN PITTSBURGH...
'B' CARVED INTO 20-YEAR OLD WOMAN'S FACE... DEVELOPING...
Note two things that Drudge has strategically left out of this headline: (1) the actual details of the crime (e.g., an ATM robbery, followed by an assault) and (2) the fact that the robber brutalized the young woman after the initial crime had been completed, when the criminal noticed the bumber sticker on her car. The omissions are crucia because they repackage a story of theft and assault into a story of political violence.
What Drudge has done, in other words, is reframe a report about a mugging to make it seem like the beginning of targeted political violence against the McCain campaign. Hence, it seems from his headline that there are criminals in the U.S. currently out looking for McCain volunteers with the goal of brutally assaulting them--that someone was looking for McCain volunteers to attack, found one, and beat her.
Now, Matt Drudge's blog is one of the most visited websites on the internet and is well-known for its Republican Party leanings, it's deep connection to right-wing media outlets, and the phenomenal speed with which it can disseminate a story--whether that story is true or false. It is important, therefore, to consider the grave danger carried Drudge's spinning of this story.
Given Drudge's choice of words, one could imagine the Drudge headline as the basis for right-wing media and the Republican base to conclude that political violence has begun against the McCain campaign--despite this being a false and misleading representation of the events.
Even worse, the immense site traffic at The Drudge Report enjoys, combined with Drudge's implication that this horrible mugging incident in Pittsburgh was in fact targeted political violence against Republicans, could result in widespread panic amongst by McCain supporters mislead by Drudge's manipulative reporting into thinking that they were the target of some kind of organized assault.
If either of those things were to happen, the Drudge headline of the WTAE story could quickly tip the the Presidential election into a dangerous place by heightening the 'us vs. them' tensions already set in motion by the McCain-Palin campaign rhetoric.
Finally, since Pennsylvania is a 'swing' stage--a state that is still too-close-to-call in the Presidential election polls--it is not beyond the realm of possibility that Drudge's deceptive re-framing of this mugging story could result in heightened tensions on the ground, and possibly contribute to outbursts of violence by people who believe they are under 'attack,' as a result of Drudge's rhetoric.
However Drudge's headline is interpreted, it has the potential to provide an excuse for actual political violence under the guise of self-defense.
Just to give an idea of how incendiary this story could become, since I began writing this post, the Obama-Biden campaign has already issued the following statement:
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman for her to make a speedy recovery, and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended and brought to justice."
Their response shows the necessary and swift intolerance that any crime of this nature deserves. Whether or not The Drudge Report will succeed with its dangerous ploy to recast this crime as the beginning of political violence against Republicans remains to be seen. But at the very least, we can expect Drudge's spin to be the lead on every right-wing media outlet at least to the weekend.
How mainstream media handles it is another story. Will news producers at CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS refute Drudge's irresponsible flirtation with rhetoric that has the potential to spark widespread panic? Let's hope so.
***UPDATE (Fri Oct 24, 1:48pm EST): Pittsburgh's CBS affiliate KDKA is just now reporting that the 20 year-old woman in question has recanted her story:
A Pittsburgh police commander says a volunteer for the McCain campaign who reported being robbed and attacked near a bank ATM in Bloomfield has confessed to making up the story. Police say charges will be filed. More details to follow.
I am relieved, in the end, that this young woman was not the victim of a robbery or assault. However, the false accusation of political violence--tinged with racial profiling--raises serious ethical and criminal consequences for this young person. Needless to say, the way right-wing media attempted to transform this story remains an object lesson for this election season and beyond. -- JF
© 2008 Jeffrey Feldman, Frameshop
Follow Jeffrey Feldman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JeffreyFeldman
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It's not so much that the "B" is backwards.
I call B.S . on this story. Refused treatment? Incident NOT on ATM camera? Carve a B on her face? PLEASE... Who ever broke the story should be investigated for lying.
I don't believe it happened. It's just Drudge and the Republicans trying to stir up racial division and fear.
Is it any surprise? McCain has tried to resurrect every Republican dirty trick that worked in the past.
This is just an attempt at a Willie Horton redux.
You got it. So so sad.
How about this scenario:
The black guy knocks her to the ground, kneels down with her head at his knees and her feet away from him and then carves the B in her face. It would appear backwards as it is. He would have been right handed and that is why her left eye is black. Then when she fell, he carved the B into her cheek as described above.
yeah, that must be it, yeah, that's the ticket.... and her REAL name is Morgan Fairchild too... yeah, YEAH, that's gotta be it!
:)
The police polygraphed her when several points in her stories (two interviews) didn't jibe. The only thing Drudge got right was that this story is still developing.
Notice the "B" on her face is backwards? I bet it looked just great when she looked at it in the mirror. She is what she used: not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Amazing, the lengths these wingnuts will go to attempting to discredit Obama.
Willie Horton's at it again. DAMN YOU WEEKEND FURLOUGHS. Next time try an "O". It looks the same backwards and forwards.
hilarious!!!
we have all been robbed the past 8 years and the soul of the american people has been carved-out but where is the uproar in the right wing media?????
Hey Drudge, check out the sources first before you print it on your website. I wrote to the Pittsburg paper and informed them that I do not believe her story, it sounds too fishy for me. Believe me I am street wise and this was too stupid for a black man to attack this white girl in that matter. Believe me when all truth comes out in the public, I bet it was her boyfriend who whacked her a good one on her eye and she is protecting him for whatever reason. Little liar, this is so distrubing to me, to lie like this and make minorities look bad for their evilness.
Hoax Big Time. 9:00 at night. ATM has a camera but doesn't capture the woman on it.?No one apparently around to witness either? Mugger was waiting for McCain voters so he could attack them? Backwards B? Remember Morton Downey Junior claimed he was attacked by a group of neo-nazis, or was it skinheads?, that carved a swastika on his forehead? It turned out he had carved it into his own head in the mirror and it was reversed as a result. Give me a break. Hoax. I am surprised the author didn't even bring up the idea...
I read the articule and came away with what I felt was the truth. A man robbed a woman and as he was leaving, noticed the McCain sticker. He then went back to the woman and carved a B on her face.Did not find the articule bias at all. Wonder if he had seen an Obama sticker and went back to carve an O on her face how that story would have been treated?
I got a bridge in Brooklyn, priced reasonably, that I'm sure you'd be willing to buy, too.
Surprised the author hasn't even considered the fact the whole story is a hoax. At the ATM but no video? Mugger lying in wait to abuse McCain voters? Backwards B? Refused medical attention? Remember when Morton Downey Junior claimed he was attacked by Neo-Nazis that carved a swastika in his forehead? It was discovered he did it to himself in the mirror because the symbol was backwards. Please...
I think the story is a hoax. If someone is going to rob you they want to get the money and run. They are not going to have time to look at your bumper sticker and get all political.
Also the B on the woman is backward and looks too neat for someone who is angry to carve on her face. Here is the photo:
http://hot
UPDATE: There was just a police department rep from Pittsburgh on TV and she said police are currently investigating many "INCONSISTENCIES" in her story...Ap
I don't know if the story is true or false. I don't know if the wounds were new, or old.
The facts I do know are these:. No intelligent woman would go, alone, to an ATM machine at 9:00 p.m., in any big city.
Any intelligent woman, after being robbed, and assaulted, would go to the police.
So, it's her fault then that she was assaulted???
she wasn't assaulted though.
What's incendiary about this is the intent to make it so.
There has been one attack after another on Obama volunteers this whole campaign - particularly in the south and the midwest - that have gotten no coverage from the national media at all - but now they have the one story to use to distract from that fact. And in the process heighten the tension so they can get some real blood flowing in the streets.
Drudge is disgusting, the media is disgusting, McCain is disgusting. I'm still voting Obama.
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