The incident occurred on May 12, 2023, outside of Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Comrie, who is 32 years old and pregnant, had just finished her shift at the hospital. She rented a Citi Bike and was about to leave when she was approached by a man claiming that he had also rented the bike, and that Comrie was trying to steal it from him.
An argument ensued, and Comrie can be heard in the video yelling for help and claiming that the man was hurting her fetus. The man can be heard telling Comrie that she is lying and that he had already paid for the bike.
The video went viral on social media, and Comrie was quickly labeled a "Karen," a derogatory term for a white woman who is seen as entitled and demanding. Comrie's lawyer, Justin Marino, has said that the media outlets defamed his client by publishing articles and videos that falsely accused her of racism and theft.
In addition to mainstream media outlets going all in on Comrie were race commenters including civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Rashad Richey.
Richey, who is with the Young Turks TYT, posted a video titled Karen Weaponizes White Tears To Hijack Black Man's E-Bike The description reads: "Karen” behavior is being called out again.
The latest incident involves a white woman who was caught on camera attempting to hijack a rentable Citi Bike from a young Black man in New York City. The woman appeared to be an employee of NYC Health + Hospitals based on the embroidered health system’s logo observed on her scrubs. In the nearly two-minute video, she tried her best to make a scene that painted the man as a threat to her well-being. “Help! Help me! Please, help me,” screamed the woman to grab the attention of passersby who would see her in perceived despair while surrounded by a group of Black youth." – (Source)
Update 5/19/23 5:20pm the video has been made private but a screen shot shows the information below:
Ben Crump tweeted “This is unacceptable! A white woman was caught on camera attempting to STEAL a Citi Bike from a young Black man in NYC. She grossly tried to weaponize her tears to paint this man as a threat. This is EXACTLY the type of behavior that has endangered so many Black men in the past!”
The tweet has since been made unavailable on his timeline.
Race Baiting
A race baiter is someone who intentionally provokes people of different races into arguing with or fighting each other. They do this by making inflammatory statements or by spreading false information about race. Race baiters often have an agenda, such as promoting racism or division.
Race baiting can be harmful because it can lead to violence, hatred, and discrimination. It can also make it difficult for people of different races to communicate and understand each other.
Defamation
Defamation is the act of publishing false and defamatory statements about another person. In order to be successful in a defamation lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant published the defamatory statement, that the statement was false, that the statement was published to a third party, and that the plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the statement.
Marino told Fox News he is preparing defamation suits against anyone who called Comrie a thief, racist or Karen, saying "She's in hiding. What's at play is what social media did to this woman".
Black Political Opinion is a multi-part opinion-editorial series that will look at various political topics, news, and views that impact the black community. (Disclaimer: Lashaun is a Black female, conservative leaning Independent, who voted for Biden in 2020).
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