I do feel sorry for this young woman

I want to know that help is available for her. This is a sad act that might be indicative of mental illness. She needs help.

Don't bother telling me about the "other side" and how awful they are and how they used this woman and blah, blah, blah. I am not them. That is the damn point. I don't want to be like them, it was the whole reason for fighting them in the first place.

They don't get to win, you see. As awful as these last few years have been, as low as the other side has been, they don't get to win. I get to keep my sense of compassion. I will not succumb to blind hatred and see revenge as the end result of my fight.

I won't do it. I am a Democrat because I believe in second chances. No one and nothing is going to take that away. It's what "Yes We Can" means to me. Yes We Can be a compassionate enough country to take care of those in trouble. Yes We Can resist the urge to turn into the thing we hate. Yes We Can build a better way.

I hope this young woman gets the help she needs. I hope our national media understands the pain they have caused this woman's family. Their actions are low and deeply disturbing.

Don't malign the legitimately mentally ill by lumping this lying sack in with them.

She's a racist. End of story.

Sorry, you don't know this.

You are sucking on the plastic tube of TV and mistaking it for reality.

I have a PhD in psychology and have seen numerous patients over the years.

That's how I know this. If she were truly mentally ill, she would be exibiting more symptoms. The only 'symptom' she has is a delusion of grandeur that she thinks she received from getting calls from McLoser and Mooselini.

That's how I know this.

It was a tele diagnosis.

who is awake and speaking via tv is a lot different than diagnosing someone who is in a vegetative state. Sorry you don't see the difference.

And, for the record, genius, I'm not diagnosing her. She's not my patient. But, it's my opinion that she's not mentally ill.

Plonk.

And she is a racist. The racism came out of her mouth when she said a black man attacked her. No diagnosis needed. She also a liar. She's no poor 'young woman' who needs help because she's mentally ill. She's a dangerous member of the College Republicans group who's now been kicked off the team for bringing shame on them.

Smells like mental illness from here, flavored with a dash of racism.

A sane person would have planned carefully enough not to be so immediately debunked.

the entire thing strikes me as really sad.

it does NOT sound like a carefully planned political stunt whatsoever, which is why i think she's either really mentally troubled or perhaps was trying to cover-up some real assault on her.

she called it in from a friend's house. she couldnt get the location right. she kept changing her story. etc.

she refused medical treatment.

and then kept changing her story over and over, even adding something about sexual assault at one point.

she's either truly disturbed or there's a double tragedy in this.

Yesterday, someone pointed out that if she really has a black eye, it was an injury that was about a week old.

I think she was trying to cover something up, and I agree that she needs help.

maybe she has a history... maybe she was assaulted that night and made up the rest.

maybe she just made it all up in a way that really shows some mental issues on her part.

i dont know.

i just know it doesnt sound like somebody who planned a political stunt. it's way too ad hoc and sloppy.

if this girl had some master scheme to fake this story, it seems like she'd have stayed at the location, called it in from there, and at least have worked out SOME of the details consistently...

and that goes for the possible scenario where she was assaulted and then made up the rest.

she knows better.

what she did was very harmful and illegal.

thanks to Reagan, most of them can't get the help they need.

that every woman is assumed to be helpless and an abuse victim, without any evidence whatsoever? She carved the B into her own face, for pete's sake.

I get ill when I think of what has become of feminism.

Sheesh.

How about the KKK?

There is a difference between waging a battle to defeat an ideology and hate.

100% responsible.
Period.

There are a lot of people who exhibit self-destructive behavior who are in need of help.

She might be one of them.

The media reaction to her story is the media's fault.

This POS racist McCain worker is just one more piece of GOP racist cards here in Western PA.

Why do you think McCain is still campaigning in PA with a consistent trailing on the polls of 10-15 points over a month? BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IN STIRRING UP THE RACISTS.

in her OWN MIND, she thought "if this plays out right, they will look at me as some kind of hero for getting all these white people to change thier vote to mccain" in my honest opinion. so, fuck her! she is a racist piece of shit.

That is troubling behavior.

"Mutilated" was the term Drudge used.

And for taking a too quick reaction to what they should have suspected was a deeply flawed story.

Their own bs dectectors should have gone off. They are responsible for their reaction to this story and to any kind of overtones that come with it.

This story was flawed from the start. The McCain campaign is staffed with professionals who should never have touched this without letting the initial investigation play out. This is not a unique type of event. Things like this happen quite frequently in cities and towns all across America. What is somewhat unique is that it is playing out on such a large stage because the act itself managed to pretend to be political.

nt

She's a young white woman. All she needs is some therapy and a couple of pills and all will be well. No need to criticize. Now, please, let's start donating for her to get the help she needs...........

Do i really need to a sarcasm tag for this post?

Where I live the chances of encountering the mentally ill crosses color, ethnic and religious lines. The families of people afflicted weep for them all just the same.

I think the woman may be ill. I would like to see her get help. As I would others who exhibit this type of behavior.

really i do, but let's be realistic about this. Her actions could have cost the lives of human beings, as they have in the past, and by saying that all she needs is mental help, you're basically giving a pass to all these types of racists for their criminal actions. And make no mistake, this is a criminal action, and she is a racist. A 6'4 black male weighing 200lbs? Why not just a 150lb white male? Please, let's be real about this, let's not just take the medical high ground.

Feel sorry for the person who could have been behind bars for her racist hate.

Good lord.

to blacks and democrats without conscience. that does not make her mentally ill. that makes her the "today" republican.

they all need help. but they willingly by the lies ffed them, and actively remain ignorant. it is their messed up world they live and they can ALL suffer the repercussion of their illusions in SHAME. it is the only way they will heal. to see their own absurdity and change.

You have to have something wrong with you to carry it that far, but it's motivated by racism and hate.

May be ill.

Isn't the chance worth investigating?

If there's a yet-undiscovered reason to investigate, her lawyer will certainly do so.

..to stage this stunt in order to get Palin's wardrobe out of the news.

i really do feel for her when I think how she must feel being forced to recant such a publicized story.

At the same time, I feel sorry for any innocent man who might have fit her description of her attacker and who got followed or stopped or questioned by Pitt. police because of her story.

while I think she is obviously a victim of something (mental illness, abuse), you are quite correct in pointing out that she has created additional potential victims of her story.

That's one of the tragedies of abuse - it creates cycles.

"i really do feel for her when I think how she must feel being forced to recant such a publicized story." :wtf:

This racist scumbag could have gotten people killed, yes killed, not just "questioned" by the police, and you feel sorry for her as if she were a "victim". Please come down to reality and stop living in make-believe land.

because of people like her making up stories? I don't feel sorry for her. she's a racist, lying piece of crap. I hope she goes to jail.

sorry to be so graphic, but she is a liar and if this wasn't caught ( good job, Pittsburgh PD ) it could have caused a great deal of damage.

She deserves to be sent to a labor camp in my opinion, not a mental hospital!

any kind of political shenanigans. She actually may have left herself with a lasting scar on her face.

I think the judgment is to the rest of this country as to the ugliness of race baiting. Drudge decided to run with this story. The McCain campaign pounced early on it. A lot of people made statements that I am assuming that they regret.

A complete lack of ethical constraints has driven wingnut political strategy for way too long now.

I don't really care if there is some clinical diagnosis that can be applied to this form of douchy personality disorder

I thought we wanted to be different from them.

I guess there are a lot who got into this for the revenge.

How sad.

after this election which side people fall under: continuing the political game or getting to work to really change the trajectory of this country.

before their actions.

It's a possibility, "might" being the operative word. If she is sick, then sympathy would be warranted.

My guess is that it was a malicious act, typical of the wingnuts.

for people like me who have been actually attacked, raped and beaten. I went through HELL and was treated like I might not be telling the truth - Why? Because of people like Ashley Todd.

She did this to cover her ass- I guarantee it. She found the lie about the bad, black man way too easy to tell.

Fuck her.

She's a racist young punk who thought she could outsmart us all. Given that we have far more evidence suggesting she's just a racist punk, and have ZERO evidence she is 'disturbed' or 'sick' - I'm going with the evidence we do have on this one - she's a racist young punk who got caught trying to game the system.

Keep that in mind.

especially after she tried to put more logs on the fire and added sexual assault to the fabrication. I'm not saying this traces back to McGollum but I suspect there is still more to this. I think this was at least bit of a plot, at least with her little group of young Republiscum.

As for those who worry she might be 'scarred:

I used to know 'cutters' in high school. Looks like she did that B with the end of a rat tail comb, just like my friends used to emboss temporary 'tattoos' of BF names on their wrists, faces, arms, legs, etc.

As a cook I have cut myself numerous times. That shit in the photo didn't even break the skin- skin doesn't break in curves very well. Her face is just irritated and red. A minor rash as it were.


She'll have no scar, except the lasting imprint of the American electorate's boot up her ass.

I don't feel sorry for her. She wanted attention from somebody, and she got it. Too bad it turned out to be negative attention.

And IF she wears that B for the rest of her freaking life, it will be a medieval warning to others to run as far as possible from her skanky lying ass.

No sympathy, no compassion.

At some point it has to be OK to call someone an asshole. If we can never call anyone an asshole, and all is cloaked in sympathy for the criminal which is what she now is, then how are we ever going to know who the assholes are?

I have a lot more compassion for someone that steals because they are poor than someone that perpetrates a crime for publicity. Second chances? Sure she'll get one because there is no way she will do a days time over this. She'll have some community service, and then if she's lucky she'll do a few interviews and get to be on reality TV.

Fuck her, she's an asshole.

She's young enough for me to believe that she can overcome her upbringing, which I suspect is the root of her racism. I hope that the attention she will undoubtedly get for this, won't prevent her from that course.

The cure for bigotry is death. The answer to bigotry is raising fewer bigots. By 23 you are what you are. She may publicly disavow past acts and beliefs but inside her illness is terminal.

And even 23 is not too old. It really isn't.

The only way to end bigotry is for the death rate of bigots to outpace their replacement rate. There is no such thing as an ex-racist. They can get redemption by changing their behavior but inside they are racists until they die.

I can't feel sorry for anyone trying to deliberately stir up hatred.

She knew what she was doing. Sociopath/disturbed, probably, but this was calculated.

Where does mental illness stop and morality kick in? What about all the mentally ill victims of abuse etc. in this country who manage to drag themselves through the day without concocting politically motivated racist scams?

There is a difference. There is no reason to believe she was mentally ill. She was just desperate to see her guy get elected. Nothing more nothing less.

She's definitely messed up and this stunt isn't going to help her, unlike the "tase me bro" guy whose stunt probably had GOP operatives behind it. So K/R.

hi TayTay!! :hi:

Yes, we all hope she gets help, yes, we all think it's so very sad, yes the poor family and yes, yes yes...aren't you just so kind, so very kind, we are just the insensitive brutes....but then there's always someone who wants to be the first to give the obvious sympathetic slant, makes them feel soooo good, righteous and a notch above assholes like myself.

I'm glad that I know that people can change, and that trampling on someone who's admitted a wrong doesn't help matters.

It's not about feeling good, or righteous or above anyone else. It's about believing that people can CHANGE. I grew up in Texas around racists and Republicans. I know that people change.

What makes me lean toward seriously troubled young woman is the fact that it really was such a pathetic attempt. My first reaction when I saw the picture was sadness more than anything, because it really was such an obvious, pitiful attempt. We're lucky that she wasn't smarter. We're lucky that she didn't make more of an attempt to make it more believable. If she'd thought it out better, and got away with it, I really think it could have been disastrous for us from a political point of view. Not to mention whoever might have been wrongly accused of attacking her. I wasn't worried about it until I saw that it seemed even a few DUers seemed to be buying it, and then I began to worry that enough people might actually buy this to make a difference. So, I'm relieved that this finally resolved itself the way it did.

and prejudices. No one feeling is the appropriate feeling, just as no one feeling is the definitive feeling. Everyone sees it through their filter.

this is her "theme" according to her Myspace. She's a sick disturbed criminal. I do not feel sorry for her.

Do you think Bush also needs mental health care? They both can share a cell imo.

She is a despicable, lying bigot who told a foul lie to influence an election. Her lie put lives in danger and did harm to the many women in this country who fall victim to real attacks.

If she wants to ever deserve even a particle of sympathy, she needs to give a full confession that implicates any and all operatives who helped her do this. She also needs to get thousands of miles away from politics for the rest of her life.

I feel sorry for the people she hurt pulling this stupid stunt.

I blame daytime pop psychology talk shows.

I agree something is not quite right with this young woman and she does need help.

Even if this was purely a racist motive, she is not well.

Sometimes - wrong is just wrong. Not just another "bad choice". She resorted to racism with no regard to the consequences, no regard to what that racism has done in the past. It was a horrible thing to do. Frankly, I think most people with real mental illness would be too busy trying to get through the day and wouldn't have time to think of such a sick thing to do, let alone carry it out. She deserves some jail time.

Particularly since the Obama supporter who really was beaten by a McCain supporter - got no media at all.

She's not the first. She won't be the last.

Just feel great that crap doesn't work for very long in our society anymore......

The second I saw the backwards "B" I knew the dumbarse was looking in the mirror when she carved it.