Update: [11 pm Monday] Thanks so much to everyone who responded!
Kossack monkeybrainpolitics perfectly expressed the reason for such an effort with this declaration: "Waves of hate have to be countered with Tsunamis of support."
And you brought it!
Diane Walker's Facebook page, which had been weighted down with false accusations and racist insinuations, was today filled with words of support and encouragement. (The station's main Facebook page likewise was heavily permeated with calls for management to back her.) Her Facebook followers jumped by 20 percentage points just since this morning. (Overall, she's up 30 points from one week ago.) These numbers are closely tracked by the TV station and will not go unnoticed.
In addition to the boost Walker received from Facebook likes, I am told that calls to the station today ran heavily in her favor. I'm confident that much of the credit for all these things belongs to you and the friends you contacted.
Meanwhile, the angry group that had been pushing to get Walker fired -- once almost 2,400 strong -- appears to have completely stalled and lost interest in harassing her.
Whatever happens going forward, at the very least you showed the powers-that-be how ridiculous it is to quickly cave to the conservative fringe. You also helped show that supporters of #blacklivesmatter are in it for the long haul.
If anything further develops, I'll post a followup. Thanks again!
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One of the largest TV stations in Virginia has thrown one of its own journalists under the bus for telling the truth about the current relationship between police officers and the communities they serve.
What she said was actually pretty innocuous.
A news anchor for the NBC affiliate in Richmond, VA, Diane Walker ran a blurb on her Facebook page last week promoting an upbeat story about a local cop who spontaneously took time out to play a game of catch with children. In her remarks, Walker noted that police officers in some parts of the country have gotten a lot of criticism, "some of it deserved," then went on to say, "But, here's one instance we could see more of: a cop who stops to play catch with some neighborhood kids."
Walker noted that the kids' mom "feared the worst when that officer first got out of his cruiser and was headed towards them." But the end result, Walker said, was a "heartwarming story" that she encouraged her followers to tune in for later than afternoon.
Here's a screen capture of Walker's original Facebook post, which has since been deleted:
The text:
POLICE OFFICERS HAVE IT ROUGH and it some cases it's deserving, as we've seen in Ferguson, New York, South Carolina .... But, here's one instance we could see more of: a cop who stops to play catch with some neighborhood kids. The kids' Mom says that one moment in time helps to change negative perceptions people have about law enforcement. But honestly, she feared the worst when that officer first got out of his cruiser and was headed towards them. See more of this heartwarming story Today on First At Four: Turn to NBC-12 at 4.
Police boosters promptly responded to this good publicity by ... losing their collective minds. They flooded Walker's Facebook page with furious, sometimes openly racist, posts. (The worst have been deleted.)
Among other things, they claimed that Walker was attempting to justify the murder of police officers. They demanded she retract her post and apologize. Walker refused.
When she didn't bow to their demands, they created their own Facebook page and spread the word through officer advocacy forums. They claimed Walker was "racist" and repeatedly accused her of siding with Michael Brown over Officer Darren Wilson. (She did not. She referred to "Ferguson" only, which according to the DOJ does indeed have a law enforcement problem.)
In less than 24 hours, management cried "Uncle!" and posted a disclaimer on Walker's page, stating that the station had nothing to do with her post.
Behind 'er? We hardly know 'er!
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Three days later, Walker posted her own written and videotaped apology. In light of the fact that she previously had strongly defended her original post, it seems likely she was ordered to create this one.
But that still wasn't enough. In just a few days, the Facebook page created by her critics had gained more than 2,300 likes, with participants vowing not to let up until she's fired.
It's almost superfluous at this point to note that almost every single one of her attackers is white (Full disclosure: so am I). And, of course, a number of them had Confederate flags flying in their profile pic or cover photo.
A pleasant diversion occurred when someone hacked the protester's Facebook page, reducing much of it to a more benign form of gibberish than it was originally. (Walker's haters are trying to regroup, and have begun directing their supporters to a new page.)
One happy note: both the news station and Walker have experienced upticks in Facebook likes. Walker's likes, in fact, are up nearly 12% over the previous week.
But that may not be enough to keep her job safe. It certainly hasn't been enough to convince the station to show any support for her.
Want to help?
Consider liking her Facebook page, since that's one method the station uses to measure market popularity. You also can post statements of support to the station's main page. Or contact the station (804) 233-1212 and ask for Mr. Kym Grinnage, VP and General Manager. Please be polite, for her sake.
(I tried speaking with him and other members of management on Friday, without success. A tired-sounding staffer finally told me, "They're in a meeting -- like they've been all week.")
PERSONAL NOTE: I know that some members of the DK community are police officers, or have relatives who are. My uncle is a retired decorated officer, who endured abuse from his own superiors for refusing to turn a blind eye to corruption in his department. Which is why I am doubly convinced that it is long past time to frankly acknowledge problems in law enforcement and take action to address those problems.