Opinion: Amy Cooper's racial bias distastefully upholds already prominent violent outlooks against black men

Christian Cooper in New York’s bustling landmark Central Park. Courtesy of Brittainy Newman of the New York Times.

A video showcasing true Karen-like behavior began circulating on Twitter on Memorial Day, amassing over 30 million views on the site as of today. 

Christian Cooper, an avid birder, began recording Amy Cooper (no relation to him) after he noticed she wouldn't comply with Ramble's, a quiet sector in Central Park, rule on putting a leash on pets. However, before the recording began, Christian calmly reminded her of said rule and asked her to oblige. 

She refused. 

Christian then suggested that she should take the dog, named Henry, outside of Ramble to freely roam. 

She again refused. 

It was then, according to Christian's Facebook post detailing the conversation, that he responded, "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.” 

Christian pulled out some dog treats in an attempt to showcase how easy it was for an unleashed dog to approach strangers, but before he could give the dog a treat, Amy grabbed Henry. She began to the threaten Christian to stay away from her dog and that's where the viral video starts. Once Amy notices Christian recording, she begins to approach him, dragging Henry by his collar. She asks him to stop the recording twice, easing out her phone to warn him that she was calling the police.

With that warning, we see Amy Cooper embody white victimhood that's dangerously inflected racial biases against black men for centuries. She begins to boldly exclaim that she's going to call the cops and "tell them that there's an African American man threatening [her] life", continuing to specify his race even as she speaks to the police. Her tone shifts in pure fright as she's on the phone, even though there's now a considerable amount of distance between her and Christian.

She continues to engage in her racially insensitive behavior until she puts a leash on her dog. Christian ends the recording with a "thank you." 

Christian Cooper's sister, Melody Cooper, uploaded the interaction on Twitter where it grew viral. Within 24 hours, Amy Cooper was fired from her position at Franklin Templeton, surrendered to return Henry to the shelter she retrieved him from and asked to issue a public apology. The Central Park Civic Association are even working to ban her from the park for life. 

Though the interaction was captured on video, Amy told a different point of view of the confrontation in her interview with CNN. According to her, Christian allegedly threw the dog treats at Henry, which caused her to retaliate. Christian Cooper responded that he never threw treats and, as mentioned previously, carried them around during his birdwatching walks to encourage owners to leash their dogs.

“I'm not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way,” she issued in her public apology. Yet, her words are completely debunked by her racially charged actions.

Amy Cooper dangerously weaponized her privilege to instill a source of terror and empowerment over Christian. Him calmly asking her to abide by the law shouldn't have inflicted the overdramatized response. She seamlessly stepped into character, understanding the cadence of her words would properly deem her as the victim and Christian as an aggressor to authorities. Why else would she include Christian's race into her shaken plea if she wasn't aware of the dark stereotypes hauntingly circulating black bodies?

“I think I was just scared," Amy Cooper continued. "When you're alone in the Ramble, you don't know what's happening. It's not excusable, it's not defensible.”

It makes the already daunting tone behind the video frustrating once you notice that Amy’s the true aggressor throughout the confrontation. Christian never physically approached her, oozed fear upon Amy’s life nor threatened any following actions once the authorities were contacted. Even when she finally placed a leash on Henry, he stopped the noticeably fiery interaction with a simple thank you. Amy, however, approached him once she noticed him recording, dragging her unleashed, thrashing dog with her. She moved towards him in, what seems to be, an attempt to move her hand in front of the lens, possibly to physically stop him from recording once he refused or to hide her face. Even as she’s seen calling the police, you could see Amy nearly strangling her dog, a loud outcry emitting from the animal as she’s too focused on reporting a nonexistent threat than Henry’s physical safety.

Interestingly, she emphasized to CNN that her "entire life is being destroyed right now." It may seem that way, being that her reputation is fizzled with her own problematic behavior. But that’s just it. Her own behavior. Knowing that she was being filmed, she let viewers of the video know that she’s well aware of her privilege and has no problem forming a false narrative to impend harm on Christian. We’ve seen this plot one too many times.

From Karen’s unjustly pouring their internalized racism upon black children to grown adults “suspiciously” lingering in areas where they rightfully belong, Amy’s behavior not only defines racism, but abuse and violence. She abused a 911 call to report a nonexistent threat and weaponized Christian’s race against him in hopes for a thorough punishment. Christian could’ve became another trending topic filled with rightful black outrage being diminished by careless apologists. Being a black male, Christian understood the dynamics at play, responding to CNN that it’s vital to have this documentation. That “unfortunately, we live in an era with things like Ahmaud Arbery, where black men are seen as targets. This woman thought she could exploit that to her advantage, and I wasn’t having it,” he said.

A leash. Something as diminutive as a leash could've introduced something more sinister to an interaction that should’ve been seconds long.

With outrage immediately swarming on Twitter, several viewers took the time to research Christian Cooper’s background. Many noticed his brilliant creativity as a former Marvel comic book and current science editor, his Harvard graduate status and warmth as a Audubon Society board member. Though Christian’s closely aligned with success, those external factors still made him a threatening force to Amy Cooper. We should also take into account that acknowledging his “perfectness” clearly contradicts racial stereotypes. Black bodies shouldn’t have to possess a rich and admirable upstandingness in order to prevent other races from piling us into a considerably low category. Christian could’ve been an average essential worker on his day off, a homeless man, or have the same success and dress in underwhelming clothing; it’s black men’s exterior that’s used to promote dangerous narratives.

As for accepting Amy’s apology, Christian responded, “if it’s genuine and if she plans on keeping her dog on a leash in the Ramble going forward, then we have no issues with each other.”