Why Didn't Anybody Come To Her Aid?
Watch both of the videos here -- teens attacking a woman they believe is pregnant, brutally beating her. From CTV Canada:
Two 15-year-old girls are set to appear in Toronto court on Wednesday after being charged in the beating of a young woman on a downtown sidewalk that was videotaped and posted online.Police allege that three girls attacked the woman late Saturday or early Sunday in the Yonge Street and Dundas Street area.
Footage of the attack posted on the Internet shows a young woman being punched and kicked by two people after the three have an argument.
More here, at Canada.com:
While comments made during the video suggested the victim was pregnant, police said Tuesday that was not the case.The video is about three minutes long, with most of it showing verbal sparring between the woman who gets attacked, the three other young women and at least two men.
Someone with the group appears to be holding the video camera.
The woman is called a "crackhead" several times during the exchange, and appears to be the instigator of the conflict at times.
At one point, one of the young females asks, "You're pregnant and you're trying to fight b-------s?"
The physical confrontation comes after the woman hits one of the other females with a jacket she is holding, who then retaliates.
A beating then takes place that has the three young females punching the woman until she falls down, then continuing to punch and kick her while she is helpless on the sidewalk.
Many of the blows are directed at the woman's head, while some also are to her mid-section and back.
This happens despite the fact the attackers appear to be under the impression their victim is pregnant.
More here in the Toronto Sun by Terry Davidson -- including video of the beating:
The 35-year-old Native woman, who is homeless and addicted to alcohol, told the Sun Tuesday evening that the beating took place late Saturday night, but she can't remember exactly when. She blamed a gang of teenage girls for the violent assault."I don't know, maybe I egged it on, but I didn't deserve that," the woman said during an interview in a coffee shop in the Queen St. W. and Jameson Ave. area. "I have no recollection, because I'm an alcoholic."
The three-minute video shows the victim first in a verbal confrontation with three young girls outside a 24-hour Burger King restaurant on Yonge St., south of Dundas St. Within seconds, she is punched to the ground and kicked repeatedly in the face and stomach.
The video was posted on a hip-hop website sometime on Sunday. Toronto Police were subsequently called by someone in the U.S. who had seen the video.
The police have since arrested one teenage girl in connection with the incident.
pissedoff20, a commenter on the Sun's website, has it:
This story is sad and pitiful on so many levels. A woman who has squandered her life for alcohol and brought four (count them four) children into this world who probably have fetal alcohol syndrome which will adversely affect the rest of their lives. How selfish of her and unfair to those children to have to start and live their lives with that handicap. Also, it is probably us, the taxpayers, that support those children as I hope they are in foster care.She is a sad cliche, a stereotypical native addicted to firewater. No hopes,no dreams, no aspirations and has robbed her children of their future. Allegedly sexually assaulted by her boyfriend's brother. Both the boyfriend and the brother must be just lovely people and the pastor is a "trustee" for the boyfriend. Holy smoke, what adult male needs a trustee...what kind of trouble is he involved in?
The woman is so lacking in credibility (she can't even remember being beat up) that the police don't pay attention to her story. Do you really blame them? How do you prosecute a case with a witness who history includes that she can't remember being visciously beat up on the street? How drunk do you have to be to not be able to recall that? I wonder if she remembers half the time that she has children.
Then the subhumans that beat her up. They could have walked away no matter what she did. They are barbaric beyond belief, they have lost their right to be in society. Depsite what this woman did, you walk away from a confrontation with someone who does not have possession of all their faculties. You do not hit, kick, punch, slap someone who is down on the ground. No intelligent, aware human being does that. And the person who filmed it and egged on those savage, crude, nasty little street sluts should be jailed. And all of their parents need to brought to account for their failure to raise children with some moral centre, mature judgment, values, ethics, principles, compassion, empathy, common sense. They are complete and utter failures as parents.
Why is no one looking at the cretin who runs the website that would allow this type of violence to be posted and glorified. What about everyone who walked by and didn't even bother to anonymously call the police? The guy in the Burger King store bears his share of responsibility also.
We will pay for this woman's children, addiction treatment, housing, etc. etc. The taxpayers once again are raped because of someone's irresponsible life choices. Not to mention what her medical bills will be in the future due to her addiction and what harm she has done to her body. Everyone here is an irresponsible loser and sadly beyond redemption. The first casualty of loss of personal responsibility is civilization.
Terrible.
Clearly, some male abused these girls and caused them to act this way. We should find him and punish him severely.
dee nile at November 30, 2011 7:36 AM
Rule of engagement #1- don't get in between the bitches at a girl fight. Girls are dirty fighters. I would not intervene. No way. I would step back and call the cops though.
LauraGr at November 30, 2011 8:13 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/11/30/why_didnt_anybo.html#comment-2818782">comment from dee nileClearly, some male abused these girls and caused them to act this way.
What a dumb thing to say.
This site is for rights for all people, and fair treatment for all people, including men. You post here from time to time, so you know that.
Trying to turn this post like you are is just obnoxious.
If anything, I'm guessing these girls don't have daddies in the home.
Amy Alkon at November 30, 2011 8:47 AM
Why do some people assume that the nearest man is responsible for being an unpaid bodyguard? If you're not a friend or part of my family then I have no moral or legal duty to protect you. I'll call the police which are paid to deal with situations like this, but; that's about all.
This woman gets no sympathy from me. She is a blind drunk alcoholic, who started insulting strangers, and then she hit one of them with her coat. If you start yelling insults at strangers, and physically provoke one of them for no reason, then you deserve what you get.
If this woman would have been actually pregnant then it would be a different story. But she wasn't.
Thats without even getting into the fact that she decided to reproduce FOUR times, with criminal scumbags, who she let abuse her children, and worst of all poisoned her children with alcohol when she was pregnant.
I say put her children in a foster home, cut off her welfare, offer her a lump sum to get her tubes tied, and let her accept responsibility for her life or starve to death.
Mike Hunter at November 30, 2011 9:41 AM
The first casualty of loss of personal responsibility is civilization.
This. This. Right. Here. This should be emblazoned on billboards EVERYFREAKINGWHERE and especially on the foreheads of those who would seek to take away that responsibility. I'm talking to YOU, Governanny. And your many so-called reprehensibles, er, um, I mean Representatives.
...cut off her welfare, offer her a lump sum to get her tubes tied, and let her accept responsibility for her life or starve to death.
If only, Mike. If only.
Flynne at November 30, 2011 10:42 AM
What a dumb thing to say.
If sarcasm were posted on the interwebs, would anyone notice? I took it as a toungue-in-cheek comment, but maybe I'm being too generous?
If you start yelling insults at strangers, and physically provoke one of them for no reason, then you deserve what you get.
Really? so, if they'd have killed her, or severely injured her, you'd be fine with that? I could deal with that sort of social order, but I don't think it would be to your actual liking.
Remember: that's the society you'll end up having.
I R A Darth Aggie at November 30, 2011 11:08 AM
Trash. All of them.
I'd have called the police (and made it known that I'd done so), but there's not way I'd have physically intervened and put myself in danger for some shit-talking drunk instigating a fight with a bunch of ghetto babies.
ahw at November 30, 2011 11:08 AM
IRA Darth,
Dee has been here before making some pretty bigoted statements towards men. For that reason, I doubt it's sarcasm.
And while this was a HUGE overreaction on the part of those 3, when you grow up in a society that holds you accountable for nothing, what is there to stop you from doing anything you want, no matter how atrocious?
E. Steven Berkimer at November 30, 2011 11:37 AM
Pissedoff20 is awesome.
Pirate Jo at November 30, 2011 12:00 PM
Really? so, if they'd have killed her, or severely injured her, you'd be fine with that? I could deal with that sort of social order, but I don't think it would be to your actual liking.
Remember: that's the society you'll end up having.
Lets stay on topic. She didn't get killed or severely injured. She got a well deserved beating. If that's the worse that happens to her after all of the permanent physical and emotional trauma that she's inflicted on her children then she's getting off extremely easy.
Also yes I'd be fine with a social order in which after you: verbally harass; physically provoke; and destroy the property of strangers for no apparent reason you get beat up. I noticed in one of the articles they cut out the first part of the video in which the woman was doing all these things.
Law abiding citizens don't go around harassing other people so they have nothing to worry about. But if I were to pull that crap on a group of teenage punks downtown I would expect the same outcome as this women had, and I would deserve it.
This kind of reminds me of the debate leading up to the passage of the castle doctrine in my state. Its a law that presumes that a criminal who forcibly enters or intrudes into your home or occupied vehicle is there to cause death or great bodily harm, therefore a person may use any manner of force, including deadly force, against that person. Critics of the law lamented that there would be "blood in the streets" if the law passed. My retort was always 'Don't break into occupied homes or vehicles; then you'll have nothing to worry about.
As an aside after the passage of the law crime when down, and there was no noticeable increase in the use of lethal force. Most criminals may be morally bankrupt, but; they're not totally stupid. Most of them realize that whatever is in that house isn't worth their life.
Mike Hunter at November 30, 2011 3:15 PM
"The first casualty of loss of personal responsibility is civilization."
Yeah the loss of personal responsibility does seem to be at the core of a lot of our current problems.
I still think that's one of the biggest divides between the libertarian/conservatives and the liberal people in the nation: Most people seem to think that we should be mostly free to do what we want (including things like using drugs and stuff). One side seems to think we should then live with the consequences of those choices and actions, the other seems to want to coddle everyone and protect them from the consequences. The latter results in far more people making poor choices, often multiple times.
Theodore Dalrymple's "Life at the Bottom" talks a lot about this and shows examples of how protecting people from their choices results in a lot of repeats.
Miguelitosd at November 30, 2011 5:57 PM
Yonge and Dundas? Been through there many times. I've eaten at that BK. It's a busy area even late at night. I can't believe someone didn't call the police.
I agree with LauraGr that I wouldn't try to break it up. You never know when you're going to get bitten or something. And besides, if you're a guy and you try to restrain a female perp, you are likely to wind up being charged with sexual assault.
Cousin Dave at November 30, 2011 6:23 PM
I don't know anything except that there aren't any heroes in this story.
I can't tell while watching the video if the native woman knocks the glass container out of someone's hand or if she drops it herself. It isn't clear. It's also possible the (assuming) bottle was thrown at her and she waived the coat to deflect it. Perhaps she was trying to throw it at those that were mocking her. My guess would be its her own bottle and she dropped it inadvertently. Who can say for sure.
I do know from personal experience that drunken Indians can be a big pain in the ass. I don't think being a pain in the ass rises to the level of forfeiture of life.
I would also like to add as a mitigating thought for the native woman, that native Americans have gotten the short end of the stick concerning susceptibility to an addiction to alcohol. Not trying to excuse her behavior, just add a thought to consider. I don't like the idea of saying it's the alcohols fault, but I also think its indisputable that alcohol has had a devastating effect on Native Americans. For practicalities sake I think we still have to function on a personal responsibility basis for society to work. Sucks for far gone alcoholics, but that's how it is.
This situation is sad all around. Final note, as an American myself, I didn't really understand the umbrage up thread about the woman being on welfare. This took place in Canada, not the US. Taking away the payments of US welfare recipients is a different argument, which is also different from taking away payments to recognized tribes. They have been awarded payments by our government for a reason.
Abersouth at November 30, 2011 6:27 PM
I'm pretty sure dee nile's comment was meant to be sarcasm, which doesn't always translate well over the Internet ( ? Just a thought.)
Secondly, pissedoff20 lost me at comparing higher taxes to rape. That maxed out my stupid quotient for the day.
Clearly, these teens are out of control, even if they were provoked (it reminds me of the marauding gangs of adolescents in my city's subway - nary a daddy to be found in any of their houses, I'm sure). Of course, since everyone is now convinced they're one YouTube video away from reality TV stardom, I'm not surprised that someone was filming it - or that no one called the authorities.
Teaching empathy and how to handle conflicts should start in the home - but that's assuming that these kids have an intact, functioning home with responsible parental figures, which is a HUGE assumption.
You may want to check out this article from The Washington Post about a recent spate of violent and/or fatal altercations between female college students in the DC area.
These girls are not underprivileged - they're college students from middle-class homes. But none of them seem to know how to handle conflict without escalating it into violence, and it seems to me that this is a milieu that rewards having a confrontational attitude or reacting to every imagined "disrespect" with histrionics and violence.
Some schools and colleges are trying to step in and are starting to offer conflict mitigation classes, which is a start (I mean, how often do you use your college calculus? and how often do you have to deal with conflict?), but I think this may be too little, too late - appropriate behaviors should be modeled by parents in the home when a child's behavior is still tractable.
Choika at December 1, 2011 6:14 AM
Men are taught to control their violence. Women ... not so much.
Jay R at December 1, 2011 8:18 AM
I wouldn't get involved in this fight, either. I'd be outnumbered, and I don't know what kind of weapons they might have. I would call the police, though.
MonicaP at December 1, 2011 2:17 PM
Cant get the vidoes to play but for what I surmise from the articles is the 'victim' started it.
Now once they had her backed off they probably should have stopped, but hindsight it 20/20 and when you are in the middle of a fight your higher reasoning tends to shut down.
And no I wouldnt have gotten involved. When guys are put on sex offender lists for pulling children out of the road I'm not going to risk my life to touch multipule underage girls, who would be writhing all over the place, to pull them off someone who started the fight.
I have to doubt I have the streangth to do so and the physical skills to deflect any such attacks directed at me in retaliation - but I dont believe society at large would give a shit if I wound up labeled as a violent sex offender in the aftermath
lujlp at December 1, 2011 3:55 PM
"The taxpayers once again are raped because of someone's irresponsible life choices. Not to mention what her medical bills will be in the future due to her addiction and what harm she has done to her body."
Actually, as a Canadian, I would be on the hook for her medical bills no matter what she did.
A) We have OHIP.
B) She's a Native, so even if we didn't have OHIP, her medical bills would be covered under treaty terms.
C) She's homeless, so she is provided for in terms of medical care, glasses, braces, crutches, etc etc etc.
Canada is the epicentre of the loss of personal responsibility, and this video proves it. I'm actually embarrassed for Canada. I can say though, that this was a racially motivated attack and has nothing to do with her homelessness, as Native Canadians are subjected to systemic racism on a daily basis.
Angel at December 1, 2011 4:56 PM
Angel, by what reason do you think this was racially motivated? Would you classify it as sexist too? Because I doubt they would have picked on a raging male Native. I think it is simpler, just dumb people doing dumb things.
I think this video would support the assertion that Canada has a culture that allows an absence of personal responsibility, with a caveat. The people interviewed are seemingly aghast of the behavior they view on video. (One could make the meta point that these interviewees, by virtue of them being put in front of the camera, are also possibly playing to the 15 seconds of fame because they will get to be on television. So they are only saying what they say because there will be an audience. ) But their professed abhorrence of the beatdown leads me to believe that they do not condone it.
By virtue of being a Canadian, you have the right to take umbrage with being on the hook for the stupidity on display.
Abersouth at December 1, 2011 6:16 PM
Abersouth;
If you actually sit down and look into the way Natives are treated up here, you would see why I think it is a racially motivated attack. Most people up here consider Natives to be useless wandering drunks, (due to the government's careless attitude toward the issue, they just don't give a shit) and therefore subhuman. I have worked with many Native people, and many male Natives are attacked in any given week, largely due to being drunk and homeless. The only reason the people interviewed are outraged is because this one got caught.
There is a reason no-one intervened.
And I'm not on the hook for anything. I'm actually pretty involved in this issue, I'm one of the few who made a difference.
And
Angel at December 2, 2011 9:45 AM
http://wherearethechildren.ca/
Angel at December 2, 2011 9:47 AM
Leave a comment