Talk:Central Park birdwatching incident

Language

Is "racially-charged" considered a contentious or value-laden label?(Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch) Marcinus PhD (talk) 14:36, 13 June 2020 (UTC)

There are several issues with editorializing/impartial language in the larger ramifications section that needs correcting as well as additional citations. Specific locations for improvement have been noted. Marcinus PhD (talk) 16:39, 13 June 2020 (UTC)

Racially charged -- wtf does that mean? Racist or not. White people policing this too? Ketlag (talk) 23:21, 13 June 2020 (UTC)

"Racist" is a considered a contentious/value-laden word, which should be avoided on Wikipedia, unless there is a reference to support that view. Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch I didn't want to delete it completely before initiating conversation here. Marcinus PhD (talk) 11:16, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

That is some bullsh*t. "Racist," is considered "contentious/value-laded" to white people — DUH. Freaking hell, I thought this place was supposed to be above that? The incident was racist. Racially charged? GTFO with your PhD. Ketlag (talk) 23:32, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

This isn't my opinion or rule. My personal opinion is irrelevant. This is a Wikipedia standard, in keeping with the tone of being an encyclopedia. Edits are being done in good faith according to Wikipedia style guidelines. Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch Marcinus PhD (talk) 11:22, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Well I respectfully disagree. "Wiki standard," or whatever you folk call it is precedent set by... I'm not going to complete that, but hope you understand. Wikipedia must ever evolve with the times and refuse to stick to convention, esp. when it comes to the use of the word "racist," to describe, wait for it, racist encounters. Anyway, I've shouted in this void far too long to realize how super editors and bureaucrats on this site refuse to change and continue in their blinded ways. Ketlag (talk) 21:44, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Legislation

Consider moving the legislation section to its own article and then linking or including in related links. While related, it is not directly part of the topic of the article, which is the incident in Central Park. Marcinus PhD (talk) 14:40, 13 June 2020 (UTC)

That section is not yet notable enough for its own article, unless we're talking about a specific law that has been discussed for years. epicgenius (talk) 01:29, 14 June 2020 (UTC)

Good point, thanks. Perhaps incorporating in Larger social ramifications section is then more appropriate.Marcinus PhD (talk) 11:28, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

Yes, that may work. epicgenius (talk) 13:52, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

Incorporated into social ramifications section. Updated with additional details and 2 more references, but reference needed for link to George Floyd protests. A link to the bill language may also be useful.Marcinus PhD (talk) 19:01, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

First name only on subsequent references?

In subsequent references to the two main folks in this article, should we be referring to them as "Amy" and "Christian", as opposed to "Amy Cooper" and "Christian Cooper" or "Ms Cooper" and "Mr. Cooper"? Is there any sort of wikipedia standard when it comes to this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chrisspurgeon (talk • contribs) 01:42, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

@Chrisspurgeon: It's fairly normal to use surnames and first names only when multiple people share the same surname. It's just not very often we have two individuals who share a surname but aren't related, so it's intuitively a little awkward here. But we normally do not use honorific references like "Mr." GMG^talk 22:55, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

@GreenMeansGo: Gotcha. Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chrisspurgeon (talk • contribs) 16:12, 3 August 2020 (UTC)

Necessary to use full name?

I was wondering if it is really necessary to use the full name of Mrs. Cooper. As she is not a public person, I don't think that her name matters. It feels like public shaming... Is there a Wikipedia policy about privacy of non-public persons? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:67C:10EC:578F:8000:0:0:3F (talk) 01:41, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

WP does have exactly such a privacy policy. Unfortunately for Amy Cooper, her name is synonymous with the incident; so if the incident is notable, so is she. To be honest, I'm not sure there should even be a page for this. However, it has certainly received adequate press coverage to justify it. Bueller 007 (talk) 04:51, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

There indeed should not be an article for this. It's ridiculous. We don't create Wikipedia articles for all incidents, "just" because there's coverage. Tallard (talk) 22:35, 1 December 2023 (UTC)

Of course there should be a page for this. It's one of the most notable examples of a racist Karen trying to get a black man in trouble with police when he did nothing wrong--and her lies were recorded, so it's a matter of public record. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.196.162.105 (talk) 19:16, 27 May 2021 (UTC)

saying, as he did, "I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it", could be taken as a threat. and then trying to feed something to her dog, could be threatening as well. may have been reasonable as a woman on her own to call police. wikipedia should improve this article. 122.148.8.208 (talk) 01:27, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

To the deleting editor

If you don't see the individual fact supported in one sentence, tag it. Don't delete the entire paragraph. Especially when the rest is supported. And the fact is easily found by any editor seeking to improve the article. Let's work together logicially to build a better article. Not go around doing needless damage, like this. --184.153.21.19 (talk) 05:06, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

It is not "needless damage". It is a potentially libelous claim about a living person that can and should be removed on sight. Such claims are not supposed to be added to Wikipedia in the first place without proper citations, and it is the job of the person who added the material to cite it. Bueller 007 (talk) 05:14, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

What in tarnation are you referring to. What is potentially libelous? That "her dog" was her dog? Are you serious? THAT is a blp violation? On what planet? That's unsupportable. Plus - you have not given any reason whatsoever ... none ... zero ... for your improper deletion of the rest of the para. That was cited. And by your editing - you KNOW it was her dog. It is in countless articles. You are not sloppy. So this is difficult to understand. --184.153.21.19 (talk) 05:20, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

These deletions are also odd. Fix it. Add to it. Don't mess up what you know how to improve. You are a good editor. Leverage your skills. 184.153.21.19 (talk) 05:21, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

Please acquaint yourself at least slightly with Wikipedia policy before you comment further: "We must get the article right. Be very firm about the use of high-quality sources. All quotations and any material challenged or likely to be challenged must be supported by an inline citation to a reliable, published source. Contentious material about living persons (or, in some cases, recently deceased) that is unsourced or poorly sourced—whether the material is negative, positive, neutral, or just questionable—should be removed immediately and without waiting for discussion.[1] Users who persistently or egregiously violate this policy may be blocked from editing." [1] Removal of poorly sourced material about living persons is Wikipedia policy. Bueller 007 (talk) 05:23, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

And this was not all redundant. Perhaps you were working too fact and confused. But here, also, you deleted material that was properly referenced. With an edit summary that was not accurate as to part of what you deleted. I acquainted myself as you suggested slightly with Wikipedia policy. It says that's a "no-no." I think that was the technical term. Both for the improper deletion. And for the misleading incorrect edit summary. 184.153.21.19 (talk) 05:27, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

Not at all redundant? The paragraph removed starts with "Christian Cooper's video begins with...", as does THE VERY NEXT PARAGRAPH THAT WAS KEPT. Dear lord. Bueller 007 (talk) 05:29, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

This is also odd. You are SERIOUSLY concerned that WP will be sued for libel for the statement ... supported in numbers of RSs ... that the woman owned the dog? You really think that? You really think that statement "a false statement about another that unjustly harms their reputation and usually constitutes a tort or crime." And you thought that good reason to delete the entire rest of the paragraph??? With lots of RS support? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.153.21.19 (talk) 05:33, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

More similar problems

Here the above editor makes a number of more odd deletions. No good reason. None.

1. . He without reason deletes the RS supported fact that she was pointing her finger in his face.
2. . He deletes the RS supported fact that the man said please.
3. . He deletes the all-important fact (can we continue to assume good faith - he has done this before) that she says to Christian: "I’m calling the cops … I’m gonna tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.” RS-supported.
4. . He, without any logic or effort at explanation, once again undoes the inlining of 9-1-1. What is he thinking? His edit summaries never let us know.
5. . He deletes "There is an African American man—I am in Central Park— he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog. Please send the cops immediately!" And replaces it with a less fulsome summary description. Leaving out her language "threatening myself" and leaving out the last sentence. Why? No good reason. Given the above, this is especially concerning. --184.153.21.19 (talk) 05:43, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

The only explanation is that the person making these deletions supports Amy Cooper. These deletions are clearly intended to minimize her racism. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.196.162.105 (talk) 19:20, 27 May 2021 (UTC)

Second phone call

[2] The NY Times has reported that Amy Cooper called the police a second time, and that should be added to the article. JDDJS (talk to me • see what I've done) 16:22, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

She did not call a second

time even the New York times corrected themselves on this. The dispatcher called her back because she was having trouble hearing her.I have not been able to find a complete transcript or recording of the second call however I suspect that 1 must take into account the difficulty that they were having hearing each other since reception is very bad and the ramble this may have caused your comments late. This needs to be fully investigated 100.2.238.26 (talk) 01:40, 4 June 2023 (UTC)

Important New Details in This Story

This Bari Weiss podcast diligently puts the whole birdwatching incident into a completely new context.

It should be considered for updating this page. Gadly Circus (talk) 11:55, 5 August 2021 (UTC) Gadly Circus (talk) 12:01, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

This. Ms. Cooper herself gives a more complete explanation than any journalist has. Huckfinne (talk) 01:33, 22 September 2021 (UTC)

Secondary source [3]. Sizeofint (talk) 19:42, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

The last paragraph of article is almost incomprehensible to read, as of this moment:

"On May 25, 2021, Amy Cooper filed a lawsuit against her former employer, Franklin Templeton, alleging race discrimination under federal law, race and gender discrimination under the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws, defamation, defamation per se, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence arising out of its statements and actions about her and the Central Park incident when it suspended her the day of the incident, fired her the next day, and subsequently made statements to media; and characterizing Christian Cooper as "a birdwatcher with a history of aggressively confronting dog owners in Central Park who walked their dogs without a leash. It was Christian Cooper's practice and intent to cause dog owners to be fearful for their safety and the safety of their dogs..."[36] Franklin Templeton said "We believe ... the company responded appropriately. We will defend against these baseless claims."[37][38]"

The paragraph should be rewritten, with the new details added. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Igotalottastuff (talk • contribs) 13:09, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Addition by A.J. on 9/11/21: I also heard the Bari Weiss podcast with reporter Kmele Foster, an objective black man. This Wikipedia article is presenting the early, presumptive version of the story and dismissing her claims as lies. It's far too subjective in hindsight (automatic theme of black as innocent victim of white). Very telling is the way his voice got meek once he started recording her, and he was unwilling to press charges because he knew he was the real aggressor. It comes down to a series of contextual details that were omitted in early reporting. Also, the close timing of the Floyd case worked against her in the court of public opinion, which is the problem with so many stories these days. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.22.113.182 (talk) 09:22, 11 September 2021 (UTC)

I find it amazing that a guy 1) walks up to strange woman who's alone in the park; 2) starts with her over something minor; 3) says "I'm going to do what I want to do, but you won't like it," and 4) tries to lure her dog away. And SHE'S the bad one for feeling threatened. Carlo (talk) 02:06, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

Agree.Needs to be addressed in the article. It is skipping over a lot of important details to say he quote offered her dog a treat unquote. He did a lot more than that. And we don't really know that it was just a treat actually he says he pulled out his bag of treat.See his own comments on his page about the incident 100.2.238.26 (talk) 01:37, 4 June 2023 (UTC)

he stirred her up first, then pulled out the take-away phone 122.148.8.208 (talk) 02:53, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

The Tension Between Birdwatchers and Dogwalkers Was Simmering Even Before the Incident

Important sources that add context: https://www.westsiderag.com/2020/06/10/the-tension-between-birdwatchers-and-dogwalkers-was-simmering-even-before-the-amycooper-incident https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/manhattancb7/downloads/pdf/minutes/2020/min05_20.pdf (page 18) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 51.211.210.207 (talk) 08:26, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

The tension between birdwatchers and dogwalkers and Christian Cooper's controversial activism against dogwalkers was also key part of the Bari Weiss podcast mentioned in the article. I think this background should absolutely be discussed in the article. Peter G Werner (talk) 13:35, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

The Bari Weiss podcast probably isn't going to be considered reliable on Wikipedia. West Side Rag might, and could be used to add context, but it doesn't use this "controversial activism" framing as far as I can see. As an aside, I don't think anyone's saying there are activists against dogwalkers -- it's just people who let their dog off-leash in areas where it's illegal to do so. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 13:52, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

Nice scare quotes around 'controversial activism'. Biased much? Peter G Werner (talk) 17:58, 9 January 2023 (UTC)

I... quoted what you said. That other people don't treat your choice of framing as Objective Truth, but as ... a frame ... doesn't mean other people are biased. It means any frame implies a bit of bias (just like "he was just out birdwatching" while omitting the interaction with the dog is a choice of frame that has some bias to it). The takeaway is that we need to reflect what reliable sources say. If they don't call it "controversial activism", then neither should Wikipedia. If they do, so should we. If only one or two reliable sources do, we might include it but attribute it, etc. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 19:08, 9 January 2023 (UTC)

Awkwardly written sentence

The sentence

"The following day the company fired her from her job as head of the firm's insurance investment."

is awkwardly written. Perhaps she was head of the firm's insurance investment department? 2601:200:C000:1A0:B008:BB33:FE3:C147 (talk) 15:45, 18 May 2022 (UTC)

Requested move 4 October 2022

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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result:
No consensus. See below no agreement either to keep the current title or to rename to the proposed name or something else. So the status quo ante will remain. As is also usual with a no-consensus outcome, editors can strengthen their arguments, discover new ones and try again in a few months to garner consensus for a title change. Thanks and kudos to editors for your input; everyone stay healthy! P.I. Ellsworth , ed. ^put'r there 03:13, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

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Central Park birdwatching incident → Central Park dogwalking incident – The dog is a far more central focus of this event than birds. That is the animal both Coopers were interacting with. HearthHOTS (talk) 06:43, 4 October 2022 (UTC)— Relisting. Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 13:06, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

• Move to Central Park racial incident, which is more relevant than birds or dogs here. 162 etc. (talk) 21:43, 4 October 2022 (UTC)
• Move to Central Park racial incident per 162 etc. The incident was mainly based on race. Only one person involved was walking a dog, and only one person involved was watching birds, but both were involved in the controversy because of their race. – Epicgenius (talk) 16:29, 5 October 2022 (UTC)
• Disagree This blew up on social media because of the birdwatcher. Dogwalking incidents are more common. The birdwatcher made this a story. Yes, only one person was watching birds, but there was also only one dog walker. And whether the incident was mainly based on race is debatable. Roger (talk) 19:12, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

  The state of New York literally passed a hate crime law (the "Amy Cooper" bill) in response to this incident. It's not about birds. 162 etc. (talk) 20:38, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

  And C. Cooper got a birdwatching tv show in response to this incident. [4] Nobody got any dogwalking contracts. Roger (talk) 22:52, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

  And whether the incident was mainly based on race is debatable - No, this is clearly based on race. Amy Cooper said, and this is quoted in the article, "There is an African American man—I am in Central Park—he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog. Please send the cops immediately!" There is extensive discussion of the controversy over Amy Cooper's comments in the "Reaction" section, particularly as it relates to race. The fact that Christian Cooper was watching birds is only tangential to the incident itself; that's just what he happened to be doing when the incident happened. – Epicgenius (talk) 13:08, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

  She described the man who was threatening her, told the location, said what he was doing, and asked for help. She might have done regardless of the man's race. Maybe you think that the man only confronted her because she was white? It is true that a lot of others did not know the full story and jumped to some racial conclusions. Trevor Noah managed to be racially inflammatory, as usual. But the original incident was a simple conflict between a birdwatcher and a dogwalker. Roger (talk) 09:08, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

References

• Relist comment: I originally closed move request 11:38, 12 October 2022 (UTC) as: moved to Central Park racial incident. Also supported by reliable sources cited. #Post-move has made me aware of info not in the original discussion above, so I have reopened and relisted the move. Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 13:06, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
• oppose initial proposal as neither common name nor more specific. Oppose "Central Park racial incident" for the reasons I mentioned below. Neutral between keeping as is and moving to something like "Central Park birdwatching racial incident". — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 19:21, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
• Do something: The incident was about a dog not being leashed or it was about racism or alleged racism. It was not about birdwatching. Birdwatching just happened to be the easily forgotten reason that one of the involved people was there (and perhaps why he was especially concerned about the leashing requirement in that area). Consider 2020 Central Park unleashed dog incident or 2020 Central Park alleged racism incident. I suggest the latter. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 20:00, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
  • The perspective that this is somehow primarily about dogwalking/off-leash dogs doesn't jibe with my reading of the sources. Yes, there was someone walking a dog, and yes there was conflict about the dog being off-leash. That's the backstory for the conflict, but the main story as the sources reported it was someone calling the police on a man as though he were dangerous when he was just out birdwatching. Anyone's free to disagree with that framing, but that's generally how it was reported, in part because of the cultural moment in which the event happened. There was (and continues to be) a huge amount of emphasis placed on the fact that he was "birdwatching while black" (or otherwise doing something very much nonviolent but treated as though here were menacing). That he was birdwatching of all things -- something which connotes tranquility, nature, and [to some] boredom -- is part of what made this the story it was. I've written enough about this at this point, though. Suffice to say, I oppose any name which centers the dogwalking (and certainly prefer "racial incident" to "alleged racism incident"). — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 20:18, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
    • I never said this incident was primarily about dogwalking, but the police were not called while he was birdwatching. They were called when he rebuked the woman for having her dog off-leash, said "'Look, if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it,' and beckoned the dog toward him with a dog treat." That's not birdwatching – that's something else. If some unfriendly stranger beckoned my dog and offered some unknown treat to it without my permission, after scolding me and telling me that I wasn't going to like what they were going to do, I venture to say that I would be rather worried about what they might be trying to do (even if I knew I was in the wrong about having my dog off-leash). I'm not saying that what she did was fully justified, but this is more complicated than calling the police on someone who was birdwatching. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 00:54, 16 October 2022 (UTC)
• relisting comment what about something like Central Park Cooper conflict ? I think we all agree both people involved have the surname Cooper and they they were having some kind of conflict with one another. This avoids needing to characterize the issue as being bird/dog/race/helmet/bicycle related. HearthHOTS (talk) 09:29, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

  To me that doesn't seem like a very natural choice. You would need to already know a lot of irrelevant detail about the incident in order to know that it was a Cooper-vs.-Cooper encounter. I have the same problem with the "Ramble" suggestion – relatively few people would know what that means. My preference would still be "alleged racism" or "unleashed dog". —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 12:41, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

• Support as proposed. The dog was the central point of conflict. Rreagan007 (talk) 18:25, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

Post-close

I missed this, but would've opposed. Every time I've seen this, it highlighted the activity he was engaged in. Just searching/highlighting the source list for "bird" shows it's one of the most common words in the headline. The fact that he was engaged in a peaceful activity and its contrast with the tenor of her complaints jibed with the race-related discussions of the moment. Many publications framed it in that context as "birdwatching while black" ([5] [6] for example). It even inspired Black Birders' Week. More importantly, while it was certainly a racial incident, there have been many racial incidents in/associated with Central Park, starting with, well... the creation of Central Park and demolition of Seneca Village. The Central Park Five comes to mind. There were the Central Park be-ins (granted, about racism), there were incidents of anti-Asian hate there in the last few years, and countless stories involving race that didn't cohere into a major story. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 12:56, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

I think that, if there is genuinely any ambiguity, the page could be moved again to 2020 Central Park racial incident. However, in regards to the other articles:

• Seneca Village was less of a single incident and more of a long-simmering pattern of discrimination.
• The Central Park Five were involved in a single incident, but it was based primarily on a rape, not a racially tinged confrontation.
• The be-ins were about racism, like you said.
• While it's disappointing that there were numerous racial incidents in the park over the last few years, I don't think they merit their own article, at least not yet. Perhaps this could be covered in another article about racism in NYC, though.

– Epicgenius (talk) 13:04, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

I agree they don't need their own article. My point (beyond the connection to birdwatching being a defining feature -- and I don't think I'm biased by being an occasional Central Park birdwatcher :) ) is that everyone who has heard of this incident will know what you're talking about if you say "Central Park birdwatching incident", but I don't think "Central Park racial incident" will be nearly as recognizable. Maybe adding 2020 would help that, but so would just moving it back to focus on the thing which so frequently framed it (or e.g. "Central Park birdwatching racial incident" or something). That more sources framed it using more general terms is true, of course, just as it's true that even more sources called it just an "incident" (with various modifiers). — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 16:43, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

You have a good point. I still think the incident was mostly racial in nature, but the name "Central Park birdwatching racial incident" may be descriptive enough if the "Central Park racial incident" title is vague. – Epicgenius (talk) 19:15, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

Closer here. Given this post-move discussion, what is the least disruptive, most policy compliant way to proceed? I am open to overturning my close to "not move as proposed", specifying that the close does not preclude RMs for other proposed article titles, and moving back to the original "Central Park birdwatching incident". This would allow a more focused RM on "Central Park racial incident" to be opened. Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 03:45, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

I oppose it also. The absurdity is seen in the first sentence, which starts, "The Central Park birdwatching incident was a confrontation on May 25, 2020". Yes, the birdwatching incident. You could change it the racial incident, but there are lots of racial incidents in Central Park. No one would call this the racial incident. It was more of a conflict between birdwatchers and dogwalkers, than whites and blacks. Roger (talk) 04:40, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

On a side note, the first sentence probably shouldn't be phrased like that per MOS:BOLDTITLE, since it's not an official title. It would be better if the lead sentence went something like this: On May 25, 2020, there was a confrontation between Amy Cooper, a white woman walking her dog, and Christian Cooper (no relation), a black man who was birdwatching, in a section of New York City's Central Park known as the Ramble. – Epicgenius (talk) 14:24, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

more of a conflict between birdwatchers and dogwalkers, than whites and black - While I agree with the rest, the initial conflict may have started as a typical conflict between birders and off-leash dogwalkers, but escalated to a racial place. I don't think any of the coverage didn't mention race. But we do need something better to contextualize it, and that initial conflict (with a focus on the birdwatcher because it fits into a trend of black men put in threatening/deadly situations while doing something relatively mundane) provided the secondary framing that makes the incident easy to identify. As for what to do at this point, Rotideypoc41352, maybe the simplest way would be to let the RM run another week or so? You're also within your closer's prerogative to say "anyone is welcome to start a new move discussion whenever they want" and leave it as is. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 12:36, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

I've reverted the moves, and reopened and relisted the discussion. Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 13:12, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

I think in the very least "birdwatching" should be changed to "birdwatcher". The incident did not occur while birdwatching, after all - the man obviously stopped watching birds (assuming that's what he was doing earlier as he stated - are there videos from minutes earlier?) to approach this woman and speak to her. So while he is a birdwatcher and the incident involves a person who has birdwatched, birdwatching did not occur during the incident itself.

Central Park birder incident would be even more concise and I believe I recall the man referring to his hobby as "birding" rather than "birdwatching" so it would be respecting his semantics. HearthHOTS (talk) 09:33, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

assuming that's what he was doing earlier [!?]. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 13:17, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

How about 2020 Central Park Ramble incident? CapitalSasha ~ talk 22:43, 16 October 2022 (UTC)

• Oppose move, there are good arguments above in favor of a move (although there isn't a single agreed-upon alternative title), but the current title best meets the basic criteria for article titles. The number of times that "birdwatcher" or "birdwatching" occurs in the References section goes to show that the most recognizable and natural title should include either "birdwatcher" or "birdwatching". User:Rhododendrites laid out how referring to it as simply a "racial" incident would be imprecise. Concision isn't an issue here, and the current title is consistent with naming conventions on events. The best option is to keep the current title. Surachit (talk) 20:46, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Judgment misspelled.

Only one e in judgment. 199.101.178.99 (talk) 02:27, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

Removed conjecture/opinion from last sentence while keeping information. The judgment will be out soon enough, no need to extend the journalist's opinions of the proceedings into the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:569:74C7:FE00:C5D0:E775:AE3:6FE6 (talk) 20:11, 31 May 2023 (UTC)

Information about Bari Weiss podcast

An editor has seen the need to revert my edit in which I included details from Bari Weiss's podcast episode (which was already included in the article), claiming those details somehow violated WP:NPOV. That seems an odd suggestion—especially as this C-class] article is obviously lacking in detail and context.

I fail to understand why a neutral point of view requires the exclusion of Kmele Foster's name—especially given that he was the interviewer for the episode (rather than, as many might assume from the current version, Bari Weiss).

Further, Foster spent months doing what has almost certainly been the deepest journalistic dive into this event, revealing a host of previously undiscovered and unreported information. This included interviewing Jerome Lockett, a black dog owner, who said he was intimidated and harassed by Christian Cooper—as were several of his white acquaintances, who were too afraid of being "canceled" to speak out.

This information has been cited by numerous RS—and it's not a "view" at all, but rather undisputed factual information—which is why I sincerely question on what basis it is unworthy of inclusion, let alone WP:UNDUE. Thanks kindly! ElleTheBelle 22:17, 17 November 2023 (UTC)

Newsweek editorial by Amy Cooper

Something about https://www.newsweek.com/i-was-branded-central-park-karen-i-still-live-hiding-1839483 should probably be added to the article. Sorry, I don't feel up to doing it myself.

(To me, it feels like she's just confirming herself as a whiny Karen. And how smart is it, when most people had forgotten who she is, to remind us all? Never heard of the Streisand effect, or did she actively _want_ to invoke it?) CRConrad (talk) 07:11, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Maybe read the article again, without bias. It is about internet bullying and the dangers of misinformation. 2001:4C4D:2184:C00:F251:6F9D:2B52:E09E (talk) 21:46, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Why is the female identified by race while the male is identified by ethnicity

This "white" vs "African-American", this simply is irrational. Needs improvement. Tallard (talk) 22:26, 1 December 2023 (UTC)

Disputed

There is repeated removing of documented information pertinent to the accuracy of Amy Cooper's report to the police. Left out is that before making a concerted effort to call and then lure her dog from her, Christian Cooper made a vague verbal threat.

While Amy Cooper threatened to make a false report, she did not actually do that. Her initial report was accurate.

It is also inaccurate that she made a second call. That was initially reported by multiple news outlets but a few days later, corrections were published that dispatch had called her instead. She did use the term assault in that call but she also said he had not hurt her physically. The term assault can include a threat in many states and Canada where Amy Cooper is from but not in New York. My post documented that she had clarified that she was not physically assaulted.

I had documented these facts but those facts and the references have been removed repeatedly. Dmoran0 (talk) 05:26, 24 October 2024 (UTC)

@Dmoran0 (CC @Smallangryplanet, @Epicgenius, @Viewmont Viking, @Dmartin969): I think there's a reasonable case to be made that the "You're not going to like it" line is appropriate to quote or paraphrase in the lede. I'm not convinced either way yet. Everything else, though, seems to just be your opinion of what's relevant. "Assault" has varying definitions in different jurisdictions, sure—do any reliable sources say that's relevant here? Because if they don't, then we can't. You've been clear on your talkpage that you have an agenda, "Absolutely this incident should not have destroyed Amy Cooper's life". I commend you for that honesty, seriously (although "destroyed [her] life" is hyperbolic). But when you're editing an article where you have strong personal feelings, you need to make sure that every detail of everything you add is firmly backed up by reliable sources and is not impermissible synthesis. So here you're going to need to look for secondary and tertiary sources that discuss the relevance of Canadian assault law and Cuomo's statement on pets as family members as relevant to this incident. Otherwise it's just political rhetoric. -- Tamzin^{[cetacean needed]} (they|xe) 15:16, 24 October 2024 (UTC)

I backed up every fact including with primary sources. The CNN report includes a link to Christian Cooper's own account on his Facebook page. The people who remove my post are clearly aware of his account but cherry pick pieces of his post. My account included the entire dialog. The Canada law was the text, not a description.

The people who have an agenda are those who suppress the most pertinent facts. I have reposted the facts only with no commentary and that was removed also.

I have reposted the facts and will need to reinsert the references which have been repeatedly removed. Dmoran0 (talk) 16:07, 24 October 2024 (UTC)

@Dmoran0: Primary sources are generally unsuitable on Wikipedia. In particular, they cannot be used to show the relevance of things, just the bare content. Please wait for the talkpage process to play out, and engage in discussion rather than edit-warring. If you continue to add this content to the article without consensus, this will become a matter for administrators. Note that we're now up to 6 editors who've reverted you (I'd missed Viewmont Viking in my initial headcount, + now @TheWikiToby). This constitutes an editing-based consensus to exclude the material, and can only be overturned by a talkpage discussion. -- Tamzin^{[cetacean needed]} (they|xe) 16:15, 24 October 2024 (UTC)

Systematic effort to remove documented facts in this article

After posting a more complete account as reported on Christian Cooper's Facebook page and by him to multiple press outlets immediately after the event, the most pertinent fact: that Christian Cooper had made a vague threat and made a concerted effort to take Amy Cooper's dog from her just before recording her, has been repeatedly suppressed. This article is inaccurate as long as that happens. Facts are not up for a vote. They are objective. However many users here likely read the numerous press stories erroneously reporting that Amy Cooper called the police immediately after being asked to leash her dog. That is simply false according to Christian Cooper's own account published immediately after the event. Dmoran0 (talk) 03:02, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

Discussion of the full story of the encounter

Story and podcast:

https://www.thefp.com/p/the-real-story-of-the-central-park

The only difference between me and these journalists is that I read the whole story including Christian Cooper's account from the very beginning and then saw the press begin to report the story omitting the most pertinent facts, that Christian Cooper had indeed threatened her, made a concerted effort to take her dog, and then began recording her while she is still panicked. In addition, Christian Cooper makes it clear he INTENDS to induce alarm. So Amy Cooper's life is ruined because of the sin of being frightened by someone who intended for her to be frightened.

To those of you who are editing, you have left out the context. I have also tried to point out the context of the pandemic but told that was against Wikipedia rules. I had no idea that relevant facts are not allowed in Wikipedia articles. Dmoran0 (talk) 07:12, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Relevant facts are, obviously, welcome and desired in articles. The catch is that we don't get to decide what counts as relevant. That's decided by reliable sources. So it's a good start that you're citing a secondary source that does this analysis. The problem is that that source is The Free Press, which I doubt meets our standards of source reliability. I'll admit some bias there—the FP was rather critical of me in an article a few months ago, but I'd also say that article is a good illustration of shoddy journalism on their part: known only by the ... pseudonym[ ] ... Tamzin—despite my full name appearing on my userpage. Anyways, given that bias, I'll happily defer to other editors if they do find the FP reliable, but my impression is that it's not. -- Tamzin^{[cetacean needed]} (they|xe) 07:59, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

The account starts with Christian Cooper's own version of what happened, the commentary he posted on Facebook along with his video of Amy Cooper. I suggest you listen and read and then decide if the journalism is shoddy. I don't know what is shoddy about obtaining the recording of her 911 call in which we can hear it from the dispatcher's end, that she really was breaking up and could not be heard and that is why she was becoming louder and more agitated.

I first read the whole story in the New York Times, CNN and USA Today and saw the video differently once I understood what had happened immediately before. All three posted Christian Cooper's account and he volunteered to reporters freely what happened. Of course we know that Christian Cooper is a Harvard educated erudite man who would not harm anyone. But he goes so far as to indicate that he INTENDS to scare people so they will leash their dogs. So lo and behold she was scared and was vilified by the whole world for it.

It is terrible what has happened to the Black community and there was enormous attention to it at that time. But the last acceptable prejudice is misogyny. We are seeing it in elections and we saw it here.

I have never seen this article before today. But it discusses everything I noticed at the time, including the context of the pandemic. Not only did she not lie to the police...at that particular time while she was wrong not to leash her dog, she was not nearly as wrong as people think. Even the police were declining to enforce the rules. In fact that is exactly why Christian Cooper was doing it himself. He said they were not enforcing leash laws at the time. I suggest you listen to the podcast and decide for yourself on the journalism. Dmoran0 (talk) 08:15, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

And I have to say that I am dismayed at how Wikipedia works..that you can post documented facts and people who refuse to read the references just decide on a whim what is true and what is not...that facts are now up for a vote. Wikipedia is great for astronomy but I will never trust it again on a controversial issue. I had hoped the democracy of this format and self correction might be the one place an honest story could be posted. I was wrong. Dmoran0 (talk) 08:24, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

You can always request the fellows at the Reliable Sources Noticeboard look at that source and decide how reliable it is. TheWikiToby (talk) 19:29, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

I tried CNN's initial article which included a link to Christian Cooper's Facebook post with both the video and his commentary. It was removed. The existing article is based on his Facebook account but deliberately takes out the most important part, that he did indeed threaten her and try to take her dog, that he intends for dog walkers to be scared, and that the video starts immediately after the threat and two attempts to lure her dog away from her. The same publications: the New York Times, CNN and USA Today started with the full account but selectively removed the parts showing the threat within a couple days in subsequent articles. Many people saw only the video or heard only the story that as soon as he asked her to leash her dog, she called the police and filed a false report. Public opinion was outraged and then it took on a life of its own. If people still hate her after knowing all the facts, fine. But what I have found is they hate her because they heard a false version of the facts. She has lost everything because the story most people heard was false. It is unbelievable to me that Wikipedia claims to protect living persons and instead slanders them. This needs to be put in perspective. Christian Cooper was just trying to protect birds but was completely tone deaf to the pandemic changing safe places for dog walkers and how his usual method might be especially bad for a woman alone in a deserted part of the park.

Publishing the whole story does not demonize either of them, it explains a situation where both of them were trying to do the best they can under the circumstances.

Amy Cooper was not afraid of him because he is Black. She was afraid because he told her he was about to do something she would not like and tried to take her dog, something he himself says is designed to scare people. Her actions after that were verbatim from self defense classes including telling him to stop and then giving a description. Dmoran0 (talk) 20:10, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Anyway, I am getting tired of trying to talk sense into people not even willing to look at the sources I have provided. I now understand that for controversial topics, Wikipedia is policed by people deliberately suppressing facts. I am old enough to remember good journalism and this is not it. Dmoran0 (talk) 20:13, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

I used to talk up Wikipedia's accuracy of 99.5%. But that last .5% that is not right is because virtually every source that can set the record straight is forbidden. Unbelievable. Who ever heard of primary sources being disallowed but paraphrasing them selectively is just fine? Dmoran0 (talk) 20:16, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

And one last story: in junior high school in the 60's I was handed a comic book demonizing Black people. The light bulb went off. People don't hate others for who they are, they hate others because they have been lied to. Wikipedia is just one more source of these lies. Dmoran0 (talk) 20:20, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

You've now had it explained to you multiple times the right ways to get the changes you want made. At least some of the changes you want, particularly mentioning Christian Cooper's "not going to like it" line in the lead, I think there's a pretty good chance you could prevail on in a discussion. Instead you're choosing to complain about how everyone who disagrees with you is biased. It's your right to feel that way. But this is basically the equivalent of trying to enter a building through a wall, being told that the door is a few feet to your left, and instead continuing to push against the wall and complain that in a just world the wall would open. -- Tamzin^{[cetacean needed]} (they|xe) 20:31, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

@Dmoran0 I don't really understand how all of that relates to the Reliable Sources Noticeboard nor how this improves this article at all (see WP:NOTFORUM). If you wanna complain, you can join Wikipediocracy. TheWikiToby (talk) 20:40, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

So I am going to log off. I have made my case and posted sources. There is nothing I can do if Wikipedia is set up to suppress facts on controversial stories. Maybe some other editor will look at the Times articles and the Free Press which refers accurately to the October article and goes into far more context. I only first read and listened yesterday but they looked at the facts and came to the same conclusions. Both Times articles have the link to Christian Cooper's Facebook commentary when he posted the video. What you need to know is the conversation and actions just before the video was made. It doesn't hurt to also know that multiple laws recognize the extreme trauma of having your pet threatened or taken and to also know that Amy Cooper was likely there because of the specific situation of a pandemic that was in the middle of killing 30,000 New Yorkers. You would know that if you would read their conversation instead of repeatedly deleting it. Dmoran0 (talk) 21:53, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Why would we need the conversation when we already have the quote from Christian himself already. TheWikiToby (talk) 22:09, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

You do not have the entire conversation and its tone. Multiple editors repeatedly delete multiple sources that include the link to the conversation. Why? Because it is a primary source. I have tried the CNN article in my edits, the New York Times articles here although I know there is a paywall, and the Free Press article. I cannot find one editor willing to read them. Dmoran0 (talk) 22:35, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Guess what. Source number 6 from the NYP has the full convo with a link to the Facebook post. TheWikiToby (talk) 22:48, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Yes, but not good enough. You can't just leave the threat out in the article. The video interpretation is wrong without it. And there is still outright misinformation. I remember the articles about the second call, all of which said she called the police again. Then came the corrections...no, dispatch called her again because they could not hear her the first time. And there is another important omission. Although she did use the term "assault" in that call, she also clarified that there had been no physical assault. This could be an honest mistakes. Some legal definitions of assault including in some US states and her native Canada include receiving a threat making the person fear harm, and in Canada that can include harm to your pet.

The second call misinformation needs to be corrected but it can't be by me. My edit and the CNN article backing it up gets removed every time. The New York Times also published the correction and the same information, that she did not lie and say that Chris Cooper had physically assaulted her. Your article repeatedly slanders her. Dmoran0 (talk) 00:33, 28 October 2024 (UTC)

And the entire conversation is from Christian himself. There is a world of information in the entire conversation. But rather than being a habitual rule breaker, it suggests that Amy Cooper normally is a rule follower. She is wearing a mask, suggests that she normally uses dog runs which had closed, and says the designated area is too dangerous. The pandemic caused much more crowding in Central Park than normal and people were terrified. There were no quality masks yet and 30,000 people died at that time.

The conversation also starts out fine on Christian Cooper's end but he changes his tone fast in a way that would scare a woman, and very importantly he suggests that is his intent. You can't get that without seeing the full conversation. He uses all capitals to show that Amy Cooper is freaked out when he tries to take her dog and he is clearly happy with that result. Dmoran0 (talk) 22:51, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

I keep jumping through all the Wikipedia hoops. The latest is to make the case to the other editors in the talk section so that is what I tried. But that does not work either because every source is vetoed, and by people too young to know what good objective journalism is. Dmoran0 (talk) 20:42, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

The New York Times in October

This is the New York Times recap in October 2020 and the article referred to in the Free Press article in this talk session on the real story. I do consider the Times a good factual source even if I do not always agree with how the facts are presented...they are always there somewhere. As mentioned in the Free Press, the recap early in the story is vague: "they had words." But the link to Christian Cooper's Facebook post is way down at the bottom of a long article where you can see what those words were. In early CNN, NYTimes and USA Today articles right after this happened, their conversation was reported much earlier in those articles but soon disappeared entirely or was buried only after someone has already told you what to think. Just in case any of you can see this, the link is below. (And God help us if no editor subscribes to a good source of news.) Scroll way down to see the link to their actual conversation, the one the current Wikipedia article selectively paraphrases. Every attempt on my part to get a full description of the conversation or a reference with a link has been systematically removed without even bothering to take a look. The full conversation is simply not allowed in any way, shape or form. No matter in what form it is posted, and I have tried many, Wikipedia's strange rules do not allow it. As far as I can tell, truth is not allowed if some people do not like the truth. I will also post the original article from May so you can see the difference. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/nyregion/central-park-amy-cooper-christian-racism.html Dmoran0 (talk) 21:10, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Original NYTimes article

In this May 26th article, the link to Christian Cooper's and Amy Cooper's conversation is much earlier and there are direct quotes (the ones Wiki editors keep deleting).

Here it is. I watched in horror as I saw the full conversation disappear in most accounts only two days later. Because of irresponsible press, a woman lost her job and her reputation and was bombarded with death threats and hate mail and calls because no one understood what they saw in the video as being self defense, not because he is Black but because he threatened and then tried to take her dog. Also not allowed in the Wiki article is that the State of New York quintupled the penalty for stealing a pet exactly because of the emotional distress. Even lawmakers understood the panic of a stranger taking your pet. Canadian law where Amy Cooper is from does too. And to those of you who think Amy Cooper abuses her dog, notice what happens the second she becomes aware in the video. It is Christian Cooper who saw the whole thing and said nothing. Also I don't care if it is legal, recording a woman whose dog you have threatened and tried to take just adds to her very legitimate fear. As it turns out, she had cause to be alarmed. This family ruined her life by threatening her and then recording her reaction out of context and publishing it publicly.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/nyregion/amy-cooper-dog-central-park.html Dmoran0 (talk) 21:25, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

New York's increase of the penalty for taking a pet

A corollary to this story is that the State of New York in 2014 increased the fine for taking a pet from $200 to $1000. Governor Cuomo specifically cited the extreme emotional distress to the owner. While Christian Cooper did not intend to harm Amy Cooper's dog he made it clear in his Facebook post and early interviews that he intends to scare the dog owner into leashing the dog. Canada where Amy Cooper is from also has a clause on pet theft within its assault laws.

It seems petty to blame Amy Cooper for her distress in the video when the State of New York altered its law in acknowledgement of that same distress. Dmoran0 (talk) 05:50, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

Article on New York's pet theft law:

https://www.recordonline.com/story/news/2014/07/24/new-york-raises-fine-for/36797875007/ Dmoran0 (talk) 05:53, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

If you want to include something along the lines of a link between the change in law and this incident, you should be advised that you need a reliable source that explicitly states that the two are linked. It is not permissible to take a source stating one thing, a second source stating something else, and make your own inference linking the two and write something about that inference on Wikipedia. If instead this is just general discussion around the case and what you believe its impacts are, and you are not intending to add comments to that effect to the article, this page is unfortunately not the forum for that, and you will have to take it elsewhere. Alpha3031 (t • c) 06:08, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

Not only is it reasonable to be distressed if someone appears to be taking or about to harm your pet, Christian Cooper specifically expected that fear to induce dog walkers to leash their dogs. It is in his Facebook post and early interviews including in the New York Times. The law validates the understanding of the lawmakers the distress to pet owners. It is central to seeing the distress of Amy Cooper in the video as legitimate and completely irrelevant to Christian Cooper's race. In fact a black man testified at her trial that he had the same fear when confronted by Christian Cooper. Dmoran0 (talk) 06:26, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

Dmoran0, do you understand that you need a reliable source that says something (and then people to agree that it's due to be included) before you can say that same thing on a Wikipedia article? Yes or no answer please. Alpha3031 (t • c) 06:32, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

Context: The pandemic

This is just discussion and does not change that it was illegal to walk dogs unleashed in The Ramble but it does call into question whether Amy Cooper's life should have been ruined over this incident and whether Wikipedia should be contributing to that ruin.

The incident happened during the height of the pandemic when New Yorkers were dying in large numbers. People were urged to use Central Park but were strongly cautioned to mask and maintain distance. The closing of dog parks dramatically reduced exercise areas available to dig walkers in Manhattan while compressing them into fewer legal areas in Central Park.

Christian Cooper complained at the time that leash laws were not being enforced. Amy Cooper was one of many who expanded into The Ramble only during the pandemic when incursions went up dramatically. At the same time, enforcement by park police went from 58 the previous spring to just 1 in 2020.

Amy Cooper tells Christian Cooper that the dog parks were closed and that the appropriate area in Central Park was too dangerous. See reference 6 for their conversation. She is seen wearing a cloth mask in the video, the only thing available to most people and not fully protective on its own...distancing and collective masking were needed to minimize the chances of getting Covid-19 which was still quite deadly at the time.

Wikipedia welcomes multiple sources and could give a more complete picture of what happened. Dmoran0 (talk) 06:42, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

@Dmoran0: Again. As I and everyone else are trying to tell you: Your opinion does not matter. Wikipedia is not based on your opinion, any more than it's based on mine. If you can find reliable sources that discuss the role of the pandemic in setting the stage for the incident, great! That would be really useful to have in the article as background. But if not, your opinions are just that—opinions, which have no place on this talkpage. But if you keep making comments that are just adding your opinions and not providing sources that the rest of us can review, that will become an administrative issue. -- Tamzin^{[cetacean needed]} (they|xe) 07:37, 25 November 2024 (UTC)