More "News" Reporting.

So, this Saturday past was "Occupy Broad Ripple (With Guns)" here in Indy, in response to a series of crimes in the area. 

http://www.wthr.com/story/16096793/awareness-is-aim-of-occupy-broad-ripple-with-guns

Please note this quote:

"It is legal as far as we're concerned for people to carry their guns if they have a valid permit," says IMPD Officer Catherine Cummings.

Got that?  It's constitutional, it's legal, it's a right in this state.

A lot of us wanted to be there, but weather and family stuff intervened for a lot of us.

Now, there's some debate that one of the organizers may post on a white supremacist forum.  I can't speak to this, because I don't know the man, and I do know my articles have been copied on a number of sites I don't approve of.  I will state, however, that lacking any criminal action on his part, he has a right, if he so chooses, to be a racist asshole.  Once this discussion started, the gentleman recused himself from the event organization.

I suspect WRTV6 heard about this possible connection, too, because they published this crap:

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/29863719/detail.html

Okay, first, there is no "Broad Ripple Pub."  There's a "Broad Ripple Tavern," which is what I presume they refer to, and a "Broad Ripple Brew Pub."  Basic facts elude reporters, as always.  This is why they get paid less than SF writers, less than romance writers, even less than horror writers.  They can't even get their facts as solid as admitted writers of fiction.

Then there's this:

Serena Vela works at Za’s Pizza and said someone working the event handed her a flyer that featured an unnerving message.

"The flyer kind of hurt me a little bit, especially on the third page because it says a noose for Mexicans and African-Americans," Vela said.

Now, this is actually significant and interesting.

First, what does this flyer actually look like?  What does it actually say?  This is not presented as a quote, so is it a paraphrase?  What is the context?

Second, how does Ms Vela know it came from someone "Working the event"?  Did they identify themselves?  What is this person's name?  All kinds of people wander around Broad Ripple, doing all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons.  It's usually littered with flyers.  Did this person say, "Hi, I'm with Occupy Broad Ripple with Guns, my name is XXXXX, I speak in official capacity for them"?  Or did some clown walk up, say, "Yo, bitch," and hand over a sheet?  Several sheets in fact, since we're told it has at least 3 pages. 

Third, what motivation would this person have to provide a flyer to someone obviously not the target demographic, knowing it would cause trouble for the rest of us?  There's certainly nothing in any forum regarding the event where anyone suggests anything like this should or did take place, so if it was an "attempt at recruiting" it would be pretty lame.  "I'll recruit for my racist organization not by targeting emails and websites, but by walking around Broad Ripple handing flyers to minorities we plan to oppress."  Um...yeah.  Also, no one else has seen said flyer.  No one involved with the event was aware of this alleged brochure.  So either they're all lying to me (I guess I'm not cool enough to be in the conspiracy), or it doesn't actually exist in our group.

~~~

Mike Williamson to myrt_price

show details 1:55 AM (22 hours ago)

I assume the complainant furnished a copy of the alleged flyer.  Do you have a scan of it, please?
Thanks
Mike

~~~

Price, Myrt myrt_price@wrtv.com to me

show details 3:34 PM (8 hours ago)

I did see a copy of it and after I read it I threw it away.

Thanks for watching.

Myrt

~~~

Mike Williamson to Myrt, show details 5:14 PM (7 hours ago)
It didn't occur to you that such a flyer was news? Or that some of us would like to track down the source, if any?

As it is we have a purely hearsay incident with no physical evidence.

Unless, of course, your intent was to smear all gun owners by association...

Mike

~~~

Price, Myrt myrt_price@wrtv.com to me

show details 5:46 PM (6 hours ago)

Thanks for watching, I hope you have a great weekend.

~~~

Nope.  Like most reporters, Ms or Mr Price is utterly interested in actual facts, or in doing anything productive.  The Seagull school of writing.  Fly in, crap over everything, make a bunch of noise, take off.

No flyer exists to support this story.  Very convenient, eh?  Nor any description of the alleged perpetrator who, as obnoxious as he would have been, was reportedly nonviolent and acting in accordance with his First Amendment rights, and only enough to "kind of hurt me a little bit."  Not to actually cause any fear or intimidation, according to the quote.

Nor, per emails, does Price actually give enough of a shit to care.

So, near as I can tell, either

A:  Serena Vela or Myrt Price are lying, and this document never existed (or was fabricated by one of them), or, if it exists

2:  Myrt Price doesn’t give enough of a shit about racism to follow up on it, and opposes our civil rights, specifically to defend ourselves, which the police and courts agree we have and allow us to practice unhindered. This would mean that Myrt Price endorses helplessness in the face of criminal violence, which is to say, endorses criminal violence.  Not to mention racism.

It's possible someone won't like this post.  No problem.  Show me the supposed flyer, identify the person who allegedly passed it (the alleged individual in question is pretty distinctive), and I'll post the flyer here for all to see.  We have experts at identifying art styles and formats and can offer opinions on its source.

Otherwise it's all a bullshit smear.

You know, it's not that the press lies that pisses a lot of us off.  It's that they don't even make the attempt to lie competently.  This is why they're increasingly irrelevant.

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