Wednesday, March 18, 2015

MORAL RELATIVISM.

You've heard about the NYPD sneaking into Wikipedia to edit brutality victim Eric Garner's page and those of other victims so that they might better reflect the cops' own view of events. Probably you figured this is the sort of bullshit that's so egregious even conservatives wouldn't approve out loud. Well, you forgot about City Journal, also known as Late-Stage Giuliani In Print, where the problem is always The Black Guy. Here's Matthew Hennessey (whom we last saw asking "Is Bill de Blasio still a Sandinista at heart?") on the subject:
Cue the predictable howls of outrage at this attempt to whitewash the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man. The technology website Ars Technica called the edits an attempt “to sanitize Wikipedia entries about cases of police brutality.” Think Progress said they were an example of the police department’s fumbling its response to “increased scrutiny” after recent protests. 
The outrage is misplaced, however. The real scandal is that anyone thinks Wikipedia is a reliable source of unbiased information.
[blink. blink.]
...At best, Wikipedia is an approximation of the truth. If the philosophy is come one, come all, then the NYPD has as much right to fiddle with the entries that pertain to it as anyone else. Let the edits fall where they may.
In other words: See, Wikipedia isn't perfect, so why are you complaining that we're smearing it with shit? (In other words, their traditional argument when it comes to healthcare or any other public equity they've fucked up.)

Just in case you're not yet sure where Hennessey is coming from, here's his portrayal of the Garner case:
Garner’s death was caught on a cell phone video and has been viewed by millions across the country, but what happened on the day he died remains in dispute.
You know, like everyone saw the Apollo 11 moon footage, but there's still a perfectly understandable controversy over whether it was fake. Also global warming!
Reactions to the video vary. Some think the cops murdered Garner; others think he goaded them into taking him down. Some see Garner as the victim of an out-of-control police force targeting African-American men. Indeed, Mayor Bill de Blasio called Garner “a father, a husband, a son—a good man.” Others say that he was a career petty criminal with a chip on his shoulder.
In either case, I'm sure all good people can agree that Garner deserved to die.
With so much to disagree about, it’s no surprise that Garner’s Wikipedia page has become a battleground.
For people like this America needs a Master of Bullshit degree, perhaps bestowed with a cattle brand.

59 comments:

  1. Oatler9:46 AM

    I want to see a Wikipedia entry that describes the police as a gang of murdering thieves protected by the government, (police state).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Zack Budryk9:49 AM

    others think he goaded them into taking him down.
    The murders are coming from inside the victim!

    ReplyDelete
  3. They're almost there:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_state#Examples_of_states_with_related_attributes
    ~

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  4. Cue the predictable howls of outrage at this attempt to whitewash the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man.Indeed, what is this country coming to? What's next, opposing torture?

    Some think the cops murdered Garner;Yeah, when you murder an unarmed person who's no threat to you while they gasp for mercy, that impression tends to get made.

    others think he goaded them into taking him down.And murdering him.

    Some see Garner as the victim of an out-of-control police force targeting African-American men.Because of the way they targeted an African-American man who wasn't even the reason they had been called out, and then murdered him.

    Others say that he was a career petty criminal with a chip on his shoulder.Whom they murdered.

    With so much to disagree aboutYeah, what about his socks? Were Garner's fucking socks properly matched? Opinions differ!

    For people like this America needs a Master of Bullshit degree, perhaps bestowed with a cattle brand.The downside is that people might not be able to see it. "Some claim the red-hot branding iron was crammed up Matthew Hennessey's ass; others note that Hennessey is a lying fascist weasel with shit on his shoulders."

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  5. Halloween_Jack9:54 AM

    Reactions to the video vary. Some think the cops murdered Garner; others think he goaded them into taking him downit's all about the ooga-booga.

    FTFH.

    Let the edits fall where they may.

    So sayeth disowned cognac heir Matthew Hennessey, now a serious challenger to Mickey Kaus in professional goat-blowing competitions.

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  6. Donalbain10:08 AM

    http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/z1aahs/the-word---wikiality



    RIP Satire 1000BC - 2015AD

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  7. What's next, opposing torture?

    That would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.
    ~

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  8. Wikipedia edit wars are normally the domain of petty trolls, white supremacists, would-be propagandists from fringe political groups and paid instigators from authoritarian states. It's nice to see that our first line of defense against the criminal menace is getting in on that action. Because really, nothing makes you look good like defacing a Wikipedia page in your favor.

    I suppose I should say something about Hennessey, but ultimately it's just another "Wikipedia, amirite?" article - and what do you say about that that hasn't already been said about a thousand whiny bloggers over the past fifteen years? Well, there's this: Wikipedia does not have a policy of "come one, come all" and "[l]Let the edits fall where they may." There are rules, preposterously byzantine ones, but they exist to stop this kind of shit from happening.

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  9. Zack Budryk10:47 AM

    Actually, it's about ethics in chokeholds.

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  10. Wikipedia edit wars are normally the domain of petty trolls, white
    supremacists, would-be propagandists from fringe political groups and
    paid instigators from authoritarian states.

    Plus que ça change, eh what?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Some people look at Mr. Hennessey (who does not have a wiki page and probably would like one) and see an ambulatory sack of puke and scabs. But others look at Mr. Hennessey and wonder "Who is this man and why is he hitting on the stink bugs eating my tomatoes?"

    It is all a matter of perspective.

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  12. Chairman Pao10:53 AM

    Hennessey is making a strong play for the Throne of Equivocation. Is he about to go Ides of March on Jonahus Caesar?

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  13. Brother Yam10:54 AM

    For people like this America needs a Master of Bullshit degree, perhaps bestowed with a cattle brand.

    To the forehead, for the good of the rest of us...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ted the slacker10:58 AM

    "others think he goaded them into taking him down"
    Unintentional bulls-eye. "Talking back while black = inviting a beating" is exactly the bleeding equation that so many people are righteously pissed about. I wonder why Mr Hennessey has a blindspot to this issue, what possibly in that equation causes him to lose perspective... a complete mystery

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  15. It's kind of the Father Flannigan approach to police brutality: There are no bad cops--just cops that are misunderstood when they murder Blacks for petty crimes, or for no reason at all other than being Black.

    People such as Hennessey will be cheering come the military coup d'état; they'll be enthusiastically denouncing anyone around them for thought crimes and then looting the deserted homes. Because to people like Hennessey, the only true freedom is to be liberated from the necessity of thought through the imposition of utter conformity.

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  16. OT: Once more, anyone interested in a Northeast meet-up, please drop me a line at

    bennforum at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  17. There are rules, preposterously byzantine ones, but they exist to stop this kind of shit from happening.

    Let's face it: Only liberal fascists would superscript citation needed next to anything written by a conservative.

    ReplyDelete
  18. DocAmazing11:51 AM

    This is all well and good but the real question: is there a Conservapedia page on Eric Garner?

    ReplyDelete
  19. My comment would like to be the waifu 2d erotic option girlfriend to this comment.

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  20. Would like to subscribe to your horror magazine.

    ReplyDelete
  21. TGuerrant12:02 PM

    Black people really need to stop all this goadation. Why, that Hussein Obama guy has been goading nice white Congressmen into impeaching him since November 2008 and that's a shitload of goading to put up with from somebody who's whole family is living in federally subsidized housing.

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  22. Marion in Savannah12:07 PM

    I knew I remembered something about goats when I saw this:

    http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2015/03/mickey-kaus-quits-daily-caller-after-tucker-carlson-204135.html

    ReplyDelete
  23. Where in the Northeast? The Northeast is kinda big. I'm in Connecticut.

    ReplyDelete
  24. petesh12:14 PM

    At best Faux News is an approximation of the consensus reality that true nutbaggers label the "truth." I blame Marcuse, Steinem, Obama .

    ReplyDelete
  25. Gromet12:15 PM

    I dunno, man, the guy was selling loosies. If you don't kill him, it sends a message that crime is okay. And not just crime -- sass mouth. Go watch the video: Garner isn't just a law-breaker, he's a sass-mouther. Now some would call that standing your ground, but good people can disagree. And from responsible civilization's perspective, when a cop is confronted with sass mouth, he doesn't really have any alternative to breaking departmental policy to deploy a chokehold banned from use because it often leads to fatality. I mean it's either that or withstand sass mouth and the sale of loosies, right?

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  26. JennOfArk12:41 PM

    The slack jaw is supposed to serve that purpose.

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  27. We're trying to figure that out. Possible participants thus far include Boston (aimai), northern Mass (mds), northern NYC (BBBB), and southwestern Vermont (me). Add yourself and we have Connecticut.

    Which, coincidentally, is one of the places suggested thus far for a meet-up (New Haven, specifically).

    ReplyDelete
  28. gocart mozart1:13 PM

    Never walk to the front door holding a screwdriver while black.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOfJcYUlqjo

    ReplyDelete
  29. gocart mozart1:28 PM

    Suspicion of loosie selling.

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  30. JennOfArk2:25 PM

    Good point. At the time of his murder, Garner didn't have the requisite number of untaxed cigarettes on his person to be in violation of the law, nor was he observed selling loose cigarettes.

    ReplyDelete
  31. JennOfArk2:29 PM

    Disgusting. 3 seconds from "drop it" to filling him full of lead. The motherfuckers KNEW they were being called out to deal with a mentally ill person and they go immediately for the guns. They couldn't taser? Then you hear "he was coming at us." Fucking BULLSHIT.

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  32. Gromet2:37 PM

    Oh but you know he did it. Look at the guy.

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  33. Gromet2:41 PM

    That's horrifying. That's evil.

    Why does the camera swivel away from the guy right before they kill him? Did they not directly capture the shooting on purpose, because they wanted to be able to describe it in their favor?

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  34. Gromet2:43 PM

    Hmm. I'll be in NYC next week, is the plan. Very tight schedule, though... (Normally in Los Angeles.)

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  35. bekabot3:34 PM

    Some see Garner as the victim of an out-of-control police force targeting African-American men. Indeed, Mayor Bill de Blasio called Garner 'a father, a husband, a son—a good man.' Others say that he was a career petty criminal with a chip on his shoulder."

    "....some say..."

    "In either case, I'm sure all good people can agree that Garner deserved to die."

    Oh, yeah, and. Let's choke all the career petty criminals with chips on their shoulders to death, including the yellow and white ones, and let's record all of it on videophones, and then let's let the edits fall where they may, I dare ya.

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  36. satch3:42 PM

    It wasn't the choke hold that killed Garner, it was the lack of air.

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  37. satch3:52 PM

    "Talking back while black = inviting a beating"

    I distinctly remember reading in the National Review that this tactic was invented when Martin Luther King and his minions used it against Bull Connor and the Birmingham, Alabama PD, and it worked so well then that black people have been using it ever since to goad otherwise reasonable police departments into embarrassing overreactions.

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  38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj6ikN2O364



    There is a pretty good precedent we can follow, even if it is just Hollywood fantasy

    ReplyDelete
  39. Meanie-meanie, tickle a person4:13 PM

    Reactions to the video vary. Some think the cops murdered Garner on their own; others think he goaded them into murdering him.

    FTFY

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  40. shorter hennessey: "whatever."

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  41. no. but now's your chance, doctor.

    ReplyDelete
  42. ColBatGuano4:58 PM

    If the philosophy is come one, come all, then the NYPD has as much right to fiddle with the entries that pertain to it as anyone else. Let the edits fall where they may.


    God damn liberals and their moral relativism! Wait, what?

    ReplyDelete
  43. DocAmazing6:48 PM

    Physician, schlemiel thyself?

    ReplyDelete
  44. Smarter than Your Average Bear9:14 PM

    A cattle brand would be far too pleasant a punishment. By all means "brand" them but strap them down and do it with a chisel - a not particularly sharp one either.

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  45. Smarter than Your Average Bear9:18 PM

    Because, I assume, he's white? (never seen his picture)

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  46. Smarter than Your Average Bear9:22 PM

    Well there you go he was giving his customers cancer. Why that's practically homicide right there. The fine outstanding NYPD had to relieve him of his life force in order to save the life force of hundreds.

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  47. Isn't Dinesh D'Souza a petty criminal?

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  48. Here's what I'm wondering: the edits all came from IP ranges within One Police Plaza. That gives us two possibilities:
    1. Whoever thought this up is too stupid to realize that computers have IP addreses which can be traced.
    2. Whoever thought this up knows perfectly well that computers have IP addresses that can be traced, and wanted it to be known that the cops were editing this.

    I'm not sure which possiblity is worse.

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  49. PersonaAuGratin11:27 PM

    Broken WindowsExcise Stamp Policing.

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  50. AGoodQuestion11:45 PM

    And for goading the police into killing him, he'll never have to worry about doing time. This comes SO CLOSE to being the perfect crime.

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  51. AGoodQuestion11:52 PM

    The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a mouth is a good guy with a choke hold.

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  52. AGoodQuestion11:56 PM

    Dinesh D'Souza is a petty everything.

    ReplyDelete
  53. sigyn3:25 AM

    "Let's choke all the career petty criminals with chips on their shoulders to death, including the yellow and white ones..."



    Errrn, let's not be too hasty here, are we including scofflaws in the petty criminal category now? Asking for a friend.*


    *Now that I think about it, I actually am.

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  54. redoubtagain7:46 AM

    I go with possibility 2, AKA "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by fascist-ity."

    ReplyDelete
  55. bekabot1:51 PM

    Technically, yeah.


    "He seemed like such a nice boy and spoke like such a nice boy and dressed like such a nice boy and acted like such a nice boy and he had such a good education...and look how he turned out in the end. Tsk. I have to say he must have brought it on himself because he had all the advantages...it just goes to show you that you can't be too careful these days. You've gotta watch out who you pal around with."


    (...couldn't happen to a more deserving fella.)


    (Okay, okay, so I'm not a nice person. I'm a mean person but at least I know that about myself and admit it and try to keep it under control and don't revel in it the way I've seen some other people do — from time to time. Is all.)

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  56. bekabot1:51 PM

    Ooooff, now I feel I must explain myself...that was never a serious suggestion. In fact the intention behind it was to discourage similar incidents, not to encourage them. Think of it as a remark made by a scofflaw (which is a term subject to extensive interpretation, as I am painfully aware).

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  57. sigyn2:46 PM

    Oh, I knew you were kidding! I was just kidding back. It's all good.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Meanie-meanie, tickle a person6:41 PM

    When bodycams started to become a thing, did anyone over the age of 8 think the police would be caught dead catching themselves in the act? Too lazy to look for it now, but I was reading yesterday about a city--Denver?--where the cams mysteriously failed to produce any video in many confrontations. Mysteriously. Would be more of a mystery if they had worked as planned.

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  59. Gromet7:47 PM

    You know, in all seriousness, a friend of mine from high school became a cop and ended up shooting a guy. There were charges of racism and brutality, but it was all caught on a dashboard cam that entirely exonerated him. Super drunk dude really did try to kill him, and he really did follow every procedure by the book and not use deadly force until he had no other option.

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