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It appears that a couple of Rand Paul supporters in Kentucky have completely lost their minds. The video footage of the events that transpired during Monday night’s political debate between Rand Paul and Jack Conway plays like a hysterical Saturday Night Live skit—only it’s not pretend, and it’s not all that funny. A group of people actually tackled a woman, who was there to protest Rand Paul, and allowed a man to stomp …
… on her head all because her political views differed from theirs. It’s moments like these when I am mortified over the state of my country and some of her citizens.
The woman, Lauren Valle, is a volunteer for the organization MoveOn. Luckily she didn’t sustain any serious injuries and according to the official word, she appears to be okay.
First, I have a couple of questions:
1. Why do these people feel that the only option in dealing with a member from an opposing political party is to get all crazy and physically violent?
2. Didn’t anyone ever teach that crazy dude with the sneakers that it’s never, ever, okay to step on someone’s head? I would hate to run into that guy after his guzzled down a couple of beers. People like this, man … this is the kind of stuff that’s really going to put us (humanity as a whole) in a bad, bad way.
Aren’t most people taught the general principal of kindness and love, that violence is never the answer as young as preschool and elementary school? When kids are caught tackling other children, not to mention stepping on them forcefully and intentionally, there are always consequences. … Aren’t there? Parents are called and recess privileges are usually lost. It’s kind of a big deal for children to behave in this manner, so for adults to act out like this seems pretty dangerous. My question is — why are grown men resorting to physical violence in order to silence another person who is merely speaking their own piece? Surely they understand that it’s not okay to gang up on one person, no matter how offensive they may find their views.
Have American tea partiers lost their minds? Are they viewing one too many Glenn Beck episodes? What is everyone so pissed off about? Aren’t Americans supposed to agree to disagree? I am convinced more so than ever that politics brings out the very ugliest in humanity.
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I see this as typical “poor wimmenz” crap. She rushed the car of a politico at a political event while wearing a disguise. That is a guaranteed a$$-whoopin anywhere in the world. If this had been a man nobody would have batted an eye. Most people would say he got off light, and should be arrested for doing something so stupid. All people are really saying by getting worked up about her beating is that “women don’t have the common sense not to do something like that”, so instead of getting the treatment a man would. You should give her a time out, like a child.
Are you fucking kidding me? No one should be able to look at a video of someone’s head being stomped on and not wonder whether the person being violently assaulted does not deserve the attack! Regardless of the gender of the victim! And where the hell do you get the idea that she rushed the car of the political figure from? The video didn’t show that, and no news sources are reporting that. This is a rally, hundreds of people are pushing up against each other. The fact that she was a protester isn’t some huge shock either, there are *always* people protesting. All we know that happened is that she was there ready to present Paul with a fake award and that she was wearing a wig- likely because no “respectable” republican woman would have a hair cut like that. What exactly would warrant her arrest? The fact that she was wearing a wig? The fact that she is a democrat?
I think I can safely say that I think no one should have their head stomped on. Male, female, saint or douche bag- I wouldn’t wish that on even my worst enemy. You know, due to having morals and all.
Also, as a testament to the craziness of the crazies doing the head stomping, they are now demanding an apology: goo.gl/jO0m
http://www.redstate.com/rs_insider/2010/10/27/exclusive-video-lauren-valle-before-the-head-stomp-vid/ A wig, a hoodie, rushing the car, tossing something in. All proper behavior at a political event right? Maybe they should have given her a hug and sweets? What would have happened to a man who did this? Also, she is a liar…..Booya!
Dude. Being a liar doesn’t entitle people to hold you down with your head on a curb and smash your head to their heart’s delight.
I don’t care if she was a lying, baby kicking, puppy burning, seasoned criminal. That shit is not cool.
Hoodies are totally worthy of head stompage! Obvi!
So are wigs. Women with short hair should not wear wigs!
Fuck wigs and hoodies!
She didn’t toss *anything* into the car! WTF? Not even that shitty waste of 2 min of my life link says anything about her tossing something in. They say she shoved a sign in his face. Big deal, there was a window which she was close to and held a sign up near it. Even in the slowmo you can tell she isn’t shoving it into the car, but turning it around the right way so he can see it! It doesn’t even cross into the car!
What exactly is she lying about? That on this limited perspective video on a conservative biased website which records only part of the event and doesn’t even show her face that we can’t see her being chased or her head stomped on?
If a man did this, the proper response and the reasonable fucking response would not be to shove them on cement and then step on his head and back. American History X flashback anyone? You restrain someone if you need to, but she didn’t do anything violent. If they wanted to prevent a protester from being so close, they stop them, block them, and ask. If the protester does not comply then you can involve someone with authority over the situation if you wish, but ultimately she or he has the right to be there.
@Gigi, You ARE young aren’t you. Trust me, you will look back at this in 20 years and cringe.
They had her restrained,there wasn’t a need to push on her with his foot. But it appears she looked dangerous and was wearing that wig. George Wallace was shot by someone rushing him on the campaign trail,he spent his remaining years in a wheel chair because of it.
I remember when Hillary was campaigning in the senatorial race,her republican opponent walked across the stage and handed her a piece of paper,liberals were up in arms about him invading her space. I’m confused.
Joey, why, why, why do you always have to turn it into liberals vs. conservative? Not all of us fit into nice little boxes.
Honey, I’m cringing now.
Indigo,everybody needs a hobby,mine just happens to be obnoxious conservative banter!
Gigi,I love it when you call me honey!
I’m not watching it…but does anyone really deserve to have their head smashed in?
From what I can tell from all this is that a aggressive protester (woman) started a violent indecent.
.
As much as I wish people would behave this is typical riot behavior. People have even died when protests turn violent. Put enough angry upset people in one place people will start to act out male or female. What they are angry over really make no difference.
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What happened to this person is sad and vigilante violence should never come into play, but I have to be honest. I can’t see this type of event being talk about in this manner under slightly different circumstances. No Rand Paul is not head of state or super famous, but had that been Princess Dianna/Obama/ hell Justin Bieber security would have tackled this woman well before she even got close(They would not have stepped on her head).
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People may want to side with her because “it was just a sign”, but next time it could be a pepper spray, poison or worse. Rand Paul could have been in very real danger.
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I hope nothing happens to the man that only held the woman down as that is the same risk taken when just trying to break up a fight.
I have to agree with Bobby.
I was reading an article today on CNN.com about the origins of the Tea Party movement and ironically is sounds a bit familiar…minus the violence.
“On February 10, 2009, Mary Rakovich stood outside a town hall meeting that Obama was having in Fort Myers, Florida, and protested the economic stimulus. With two bad hips, a walker and several anti-stimulus signs, Rakovich essentially took on the leader of the free world. Many activists believe she was the first person to publicly protest Obama’s economic agenda.”
I am with you Gigi, this type of behavior should not be condoned for any reason.
@Laura Pomeroy, Bobby is right, that woman could have touched off a riot, it has happened many times before. Maybe getting stomped in the head will teach her to think before she acts (doubtful from the way she acted after the incident), or is the fact that she is a “poor woman” excuse her from the consequences of her actions?
Ok, *sigh*.
Joey I wasn’t talking to you, but to my lover, boring. It’s an abusive relationship. I stay in it because I like the punishment.
@Boring Why do you keep bringing up that she is a woman? It has nothing to do with it. You’re clinging to an argument that no one is addressing because it’s stupid (presumably just to aggravate, because that’s your forte).
I don’t care who started it, who was the instigator, and if the woman’s behaviour was so brash that she pushed the other men to the brink of sanity.
You can not hold someone down and stomp on their head.
They don’t even allow that behaviour in Guantanamo.
@Sarah Taylor-Spangenberg, Test, test, test, today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.
What’s with all the pathetic attempts to justify this? In a democratic society, it is not okay to respond to speech acts with assault. Ever. Even if you think the speech acts are “agitation” or an attempt to “touch off a” (one-woman?) “riot.”
If Rand Paul felt threatened, he should have instructed his security to stop things like that, for this very reason – private security generally do not engage in this type of criminal assault.
@ Boring – Cute. LOL
So remember that big tea party gathering where they all protested Obama AND carried weapons? Yet this small woman in a wig and hoody appears menacing to these big brave REAL American heroes, so dangerous that it takes four of them to man-handle her to the ground and another one to step on her head. And people are actually trying to justify their behavior. I’m ashamed of this country right now, this hyper-partisanship is destroying us.
I don’t think the protesters “allowed” the guy to stomp her. And it wasn’t her head. There is a difference, it was her shoulder. Also, one of the other protesters stopped the guy immediately and he did. It’s not like this was a huge, vicious beatdown of a completely innocent bystander. The fact that the victim is associated with MoveOn really makes me question how nonviolent her actions were, too. MoveOn is full of nutjobs. Of course she didn’t need to be stomped on, but I don’t think restraining her was out of the question, either.
I’m Australian, American politics won’t affect me that much. Politics aside, what I find unspeakably appalling are that Republicans are defending the crowd beating this woman (if she was a man, it would be horrible, but a woman?)
Their complete disconnection from reality and their ability to rationalize utterly indefensible violence aimed at WOMEN puts them squarely in Jew killing Nazi territory. I’m not obeying Godwin’s(sp?) law here, that’s simply the level of inhumanity evident in their willingness to beat and break innocent, weak people who are turned into scapegoats by their leaders.
Truly, truly terrifying.
The crowd didn’t beat her! ONE guy did it, and he was swiftly and forcefully told to cut it out immediately. They restrained her, and last time I checked restraint =/= beatings. This is also NOTHING like the Holocaust, and do not cheapen the suffering of the Jews by comparing this to it.
I think the australian is making more of a comparison to how scapegoats are made and how it can escalate to blind violence. Obviously, it is a huge stretch, but this is teh internetz, there is a direct positive correlation between the longer an argument lasts and the likelihood that someone is going to be compared to Hitler.
Bahaha you’re right Gigi! I had forgotten about that rule of teh interwebz. It’s a miracle no one got called a Nazi during the extensive body hair/shaving discussion from a few months ago.
[...] cannot wait for election season to be done with already. I’m over the Facebook dildo photos, the head stomping, the Teabaggers, and the Christine O’Donnell witch commercial. It’s embarrassing. It’s [...]
You failed to note that just before that so called stomping incident that she tried to attack Rand Paul. She Ran up to the motorcade and threw her arm into the vehicle in the seat where Rand was sitting. She almost hit him in the face. She deserves what she gets. O yea theirs a video of her attacking the motorcade but the Mainstream corporatist media will only tell one side of the story to make you agree with them.
Yes, indeed. Way to tell part of the story. I’m noticing that seems to be business as usual around here. Where I come from, that’s called lying.
In case that’s not a reality check, how’s this: I’ve worked security before for people that you don’t run up to at a dead sprint out of nowhere. It’s definitely standard procedure to give an order to halt, maybe pop pyro (if you’re in a military outfit), and then shoot.
Once again, this sounds like someone doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
I keep replaying this and each time I just think “Paaaaarty Fooooul”.
Except I doubt that woman in the gray sweatpants with badges was doing keg stands or the guy in the super classy white trainers just had a date with a beer bong.