#Bernhard Goetze

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Gloria Oladipo at The Guardian:

On Monday, Daniel Penny, a 26-year-old white man, was acquitted of all charges related to the 1 May 2023 killing of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old unhoused Black man with severe mental illness, on a New York City subway train. Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide after he choked Neely for nearly six minutes, causing his death. The Marine veteran claimed self-defense after an unarmed Neely made threats to passengers and complained of being hungry and thirsty, according to witness testimony. In a police interview following Neely’s death, Penny referred to Neely as “just a crackhead” who was “acting like a lunatic”. Experts say Penny’s acquittal fits into a longstanding pattern of how white vigilante crime is treated in the US, with white killers celebrated and Black victims denigrated.

“In situations where people of color have tried to defend themselves, it’s a whole different result,” said Mark Brodin, a professor of law at Boston College Law School. “It’s as transparent a double standard as you can ever imagine. And race is the only explanation. Class enters into it with Mr Neely, his mental problems entered into it. But race is at the top of the pyramid.” Despite widespread outrage about Neely’s killing in New York City, Penny received an onslaught of support from those on the far right after his arrest. A crowdfunding campaign for Penny’s legal fund amassed more than $2.9m in the months after the incident. (Neely’s burial funds, on the other hand, raised just $150,094.) The Fox News host Greg Gutfeld called Neely a “violent mess” who was “better at impersonating Michael Meyers than Michael Jackson”, referring to Neely’s previous impersonations of the pop star. And another Fox News pundit, Kayleigh McEnany, laughed alongside her colleagues at protesters who gathered to condemn Neely’s killing.

Following his acquittal, Penny has been praised by conservatives, including the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis; Ben Shapiro and Meghan McCain, who called those critical of Penny “lunatics”. Such commentary is part of an “unfortunate spiral” in which news outlets, platforms and people “demonize individuals for existing”, said the NAACP president, Derrick Johnson. “The fact that [Penny] called this individual [a] crackhead shows his state of mind. He didn’t see this person as someone who was human [or who] more or less had the right to live.” Brodin said that Penny’s acquittal was virtually certain, given the “history of the legal system sending these people out the back door at the courthouse. You can set your watch to it,” he said of cases in which white vigilantes claimed self-defense. “There’s just no accountability with these people.”

For example, George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in Florida in 2012, Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two men and injured a third during a Black Lives Matters protest in Wisconsin in 2020, and Bernhard Goetz, who shot four Black teenagers on the New York City subway in 1984, were all acquitted. Vigilantes like Penny are also generally portrayed and celebrated as “heroes”, Brodin added. Goetz was hailed as the “subway savior” by New York tabloids. And Rittenhouse received messages of support and fundraisers following his arrest for first degree intentional homicide. (Rittenhouse’s victims were all white, but the protest he traveled to was against the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man. Rittenhouse’s defense team said that he traveled across state lines to the demonstration to “help people”.)

Acquittal of white vigilantes takes place for several reasons, said Brodin. For one, standards of self-defense are based on a perpetrator’s testimony that they believed they were in danger, with the burden of proof in a criminal case high and jurors being “vulnerable to fear mongering by the defense lawyers”.

The acquittal of Daniel Penny is yet more proof that White vigilante violence is A-OK.

See Also:

The Dean's Report: MAGA’s cheering of Daniel Penny killing Jordan Neely is what white supremacy looks like

[sictransitgloriamvndi]

[racefortheironthrone]

As a New Yorker, what are your thoughts on the death of Jordan Neely? I was a bit surprised to see that a sizeable segment of NYC-ers apparently support Penny, but I understand that the state of the subway has been rather unsafe of late and people feel more on the edge.

As a New Yorker, I'm not surprised that there's a segment of NYC's population who support Penny; there was a segment of NYC's population who supported Bernhard Goetz. The sad reality is that when most of the NYC media relentlessly trumpets scare stories about crime (when crime rates are actually down), people get scared of people they are told are threatening, whether that's racial minorities or homeless people or the mentally ill - and god help you if you're all three.

As for my thoughts about the death of Jordan Neely, I think it was manslaughter. From every account I've read, while Jordan Neely was clearly in the throes of a mental health crisis and was ranting and throwing his jacket on the ground, at no point did he strike or threaten anyone on the train. Ranting and shouting was apparently enough for Daniel Penny (and his as-yet-unnamed accomplices), who put Jordan Neely in a chokehold for 15 minutes. Even if Penny didn't intend to kill Neely, he definitely intended to do harm to Neely - i.e, rendering him unconscious by choking him - and Neely died of a direct result of his actions. There is a reason we banned the police from using chokeholds; there is no way to use them safely.

The state of the New York subway system (and the state of New York's mental health system) is something that's come up a lot in regards to this case. It's not actually true that the subway has become less safe - crime on the subway is in fact down - but riders think that the subway has become less safe because there are more homeless people in the subway and a lot of those people have mental health issues that riders find frightening.

That fear does not excuse Daniel Penny's actions, and mental health issues cannot be a license to murder. I've lived in New York City most of my life, in periods where rates of crime and homelessness were much worse than they are today. I've been around homeless people and housed people who're experiencing a mental health crisis, and while it can be an unsettling experience, responding with violence makes things worse. NYC is supposed to be responding to these issues with teams of mental health and social work professionals, but I don't think that it takes a mental health or social work professional to know that when someone is hungry and thirsty, maybe you respond by offering them something to eat and drink rather than killing them.

[darkmaga-returns]

By Douglas Schwartz

Without safe cities, including New York, the nation’s largest, America’s prospects are dim.  Cities house over 80% of Americans, a figure that has risen steadily over time.  The collective experiences of the 12 New York jurors selected to judge subway hero Daniel Penny provide insight regarding the city’s status.  Penny is charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide by one of your favorite president’s favorite prosecutors, New York City DA Alvin Bragg.  

Juror #1 “has seen outbursts on the subway before” and “feels apprehensive about being physically threatened.”

Juror #4 ”has witnessed subway outbursts and has felt personally targeted.”  

Juror #5 “has witnessed outbursts and has felt personally targeted.”

Juror #6’s “daughter was once assaulted in Times Square.”

Juror #7 “has seen outbursts.”

Juror #9’s husband “survived a street mugging . . . and said ‘Yes, of course’ she has witnessed subway outbursts.”

Juror #10 is a “woman who endured harassment on a near-empty subway car.”

Juror #11 “survived a robbery four years ago . . . he said he has witnessed outbursts.”

Juror #12 “has seen outbursts.”

Two jurors are attorneys, one female, one male.  Given the facts of the case and jurors' experiences, the likelihood of Penny’s conviction seems remote.  The Penny trial echoes 1987’s Bernhard Goetz trial.  Goetz was acquitted by a jury after having shot four black youths who allegedly attempted to rob him on a subway.  1980s subway robberies have largely been replaced by today’s mental health cases creating their own chaos.  In Goetz’s era, 38 subway crimes a day were reported and the city’s annual murder rate hovered around 2,000.  Those numbers are now down to 6 and 386, respectively.  Rudy Giuliani won his first mayoral election six years after Goetz’s trial, beginning the city’s crime turnaround.  The strength of the case against Goetz was orders of magnitude greater than the evidence against Penny, yet a New York jury refused to convict Goetz, victim of a previous mugging and beating, of attempted murder and first-degree assault.  Ironically, with the recent assassination of Peanut the squirrel, Goetz went on to become a squirrel rescuer.  One of his four shooting victims eventually committed suicide after serving 25 years for rape; another was in and out of prison.

[forthegothicheroine]

To people who really think more vigilantism would be good, I’d recommend Chuck Klosterman’s essay Easier Than Typing. (To summarize, Bernhard Goetz, who shot people in maybe-self-defense, lost all his public sympathy once it became clear he was a racist creep eager for the opportunity to shoot people in maybe-self-defense. Batman or Charles Bronson in Death Wish can have totally altruistic motives and unerring judgement because they’re fictional; real life vigilantes do not tend to have those things.)

[minayuri]

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, Gertrude Welcker! ❤️

(July 16, 1896 – August 1, 1988)

Gertrude Welcker was a stage and silent film actress; her film career was short lived, lasting from 1917 to 1925. The role she’s best known as, the alluring and enigmatic Countess Dusy Told of Fritz Lang’s 1922 epic crime thriller masterpiece, Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler.

Below is a summary of her life and career, with the people she had collaborated with as an actress.

She was born in Dresden, Saxony, Germany on July 16, 1896. Her younger brother Herbert was born in 1898. Gertrude’s father worked as editor-in-chief and general manager of the Posener Tageblatt, he died in 1909.

During the First World War, she visited Max Reinhardt’s acting school in Berlin. In 1915-16, she had starred in productions at the Albert Theatre in her hometown. During the years of 1916-19, Welcker performed at Deutsches, Kammerspiele, and Volksbühne theatres. Her stage roles include portraying a prostitute in August Strindberg’s Meister Olaf, Lesbia in Friedrich Hebbel's Gyges and His Ring, Recha in Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s Nathan the Wise, Sister Martha in Gerhart Hauptmann's The Ascension of Little Hannele, and Desdemona and Jessica in William Shakespeare’s Othello and Merchant of Venice respectively.

Her film debut in 1917 was in Felix Basch’s Eine Nacht in der Stahlkammer as Jane Kendall, starring Harry Liedtke as her husband. Her next film was as an angel in Hans Trutz in the Land of Plenty, starring and directed by her stage collaborator Paul Wegener. The film also featured film director Ernst Lubitsch who portrayed Satan.

In 1918, she was in Lupu Pick’s Der Weltspielgel with Bernd Aldor and Reinhold Schünzel. She also starred in Viggo Larsen's The Adventure of a Ball Night with Paul Bildt and Paul Biensfeldt.

Welcker was also in Carl Froelich’s Der Tänzer with Walter Janssen.

She was the lead in the low-budget films, Die Geisha und der Samurai in 1919 and Eine Frau mit Vergangenheit in 1920.

Gertrude Welcker acted in films alongside Conrad Veidt, but those films are sadly considered lost. They portrayed siblings in F.W. Murnau’s Evening – Night – Morning and in Carl Boese’s Nocturne of Love, with Veidt as Frederic Chopin. (I, for one, would’ve loved for her to have been in a film as one of his leading ladies!)

In Hans Werckmeister’s 1920 sci-fi film, Algol: Tragedy of Power, she portrayed Leonore Nissen opposite Emil Jannings. It also starred Hanna Ralph, Hans Adalbert Schlettow (whom Welcker would appear with in Part II of Dr. Mabuse), and John Gottowt. The sets of the film were designed by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’s Walter Reimann.

She also appeared in Richard Oswald’s Lady Hamilton in 1921 as Arabella Kelly, in her first scene she is seen with Theodor Loos.

In 1922, Welcker portrayed her most infamous role as Countess Told in Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, with Aud Egede-Nissen, Alfred Abel, and Bernhard Goetzke. Also, in that same year - Welcker was in Carl Froelich’s Luise Millerin, an adaptation of Friedrich Schiller's Intrigue and Love as Lady Emilie Milford, another of her noteworthy roles. Previously, she was in a stage production portraying the role of Lady Milford's maid, Sophie. The film's all-star cast featured Lil Dagover as the title character, Paul Hartmann, Walter Janssen, Friedrich Kühne, Fritz Kortner, Werner Krauss, and Reinhold Schünzel.

She portrayed the villainess Gesine von Orlamünde of Arthur von Gerlach’s 1925 period drama film, Chronicles of the Grey House. It stars Lil Dagover, Paul Hartmann, Rudolf Forster, and Rudolf Rittner. Thea von Harbou was the film’s screenwriter with music composed by Gottfried Huppertz.

Her final film role was in Goetz von Berlichingen of the Iron Hand as Adelheid von Walldorf. She continued to act on stage until 1930. She has a total of 64 film credits to her name.

Around July 1930, Welcker married the Swedish painter Otto Gustaf Carlsund. She met him while on a trip to Paris. Their marriage lasted until August of 1937 and had no children. Before WWII broke out, she worked as an editor for UFA and by 1941, was active for the Red Cross. Some time before the war's end, she managed to leave for Sweden, and lived the rest of her life there.

It’s a great loss that so many of the films Gertrude Welcker did are considered lost and that her career as a film actress was as short as it was. Certainly, that many of those lost films showcased her great versatility. Gertude Welcker carried a remarkable set of talent, grace, beauty, charisma, and wit and is one of my most favorite actresses of the silent era I love.

Her filmography can be viewed here and here.

[byneddiedingo]

Rudolf Klein-Rogge in The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Fritz Lang, 1933)

Cast: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Otto Wernicke, Karl Meixner, Oscar Berege Sr., Theodor Loos, Gustav Diessl, Wera Liessem, Rudolf Schündler, Jim Gérald, Oskar Höcker, Theo Lingen. Screenplay: Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou. Cinematography: Károly Vass, Fritz Arno Wagner. Art direction: Emil Hasler, Karl Vollbrecht. Film editing: Conrad von Molo, Lothar Wolff. Music: Hans Erdmann.

Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) hardly needed a sequel, but the director makes it worth our while by adding sound to the concoction. Take, for example, the segue from the tick ... tick ... tick of the timer on a bomb to the chip ... chip ... chip of someone removing the shell from a soft-boiled egg. It's a witty touch that not only eases tension with laughter, but also demonstrates the prevalence of the sinister in everyday life. Hitchcock, it is often noted, learned a great deal from Lang. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) is more of a felt presence than a visible one in this version, confined as he is to an insane asylum where he supposedly dies, only to haunt not only the inmate Hofmeister (Karl Meixner) but also, and especially, the head of the asylum, Prof. Baum (Oscar Beregi Sr.), who is compelled to carry out Mabuse's plans for world domination. As in the 1922 film, there is a doughty policeman, Commissioner Lohmann (Otto Wernicke), who is determined to foil Mabuse's nefarious plans. Wernicke, whose character Lang brought over from M ( 1931), is not as hunky as the earlier film's von Wenk (Bernhard Goetze), so Lang and screenwriter Thea von Harbou add to the mix a young leading man, Gustav Diessl, who plays Thomas Kent, an ex-con who escapes from Mabuse's snares to aid Lohmann in trapping Baum in his efforts to fulfill Mabuse's plot. It's extremely effective suspense hokum, not raised quite to the level of art the way the 1922 film was, but still a cut above the genre. As is usually noted, this was Lang's last film in Germany. It was suppressed by the Nazis, ostensibly because it suggested that the state could be overthrown by a group of people working together, but perhaps also because of its suggestion that world domination might not be such a good thing.

[tfc2211]

Needs more Bernard's and Perry's

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.22 (1950-2000)

1963 – The cruise ship Lakonia burns 290 kilometres (180 mi) north of Madeira, Portugal with the loss of 128 lives. 1964 – The first test flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird) takes place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, United States. 1965 – In the United Kingdom, a 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) speed limit is applied to all rural roads including motorways for the first time. 1968 – Cultural Revolution: People's Daily posted the instructions of Mao Zedong that "The intellectual youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty." 1971 – The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France. 1973 – A Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crashes near Tangier-Boukhalef Airport in Tangier, Morocco, killing 106. 1974 – Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli vote to become the independent nation of Comoros. Mayotte remains under French administration. 1974 – The house of former British Prime Minister Edward Heath is attacked by members of the Provisional IRA. 1975 – U.S. President Gerald Ford creates the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in response to the 1970s energy crisis. 1978 – The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform. 1984 – "Subway vigilante" Bernhard Goetz shoots four would-be muggers on a 2 express train in Manhattan section of New York, United States. 1987 – In Zimbabwe, the political parties ZANU and ZAPU reach an agreement that ends the violence in the Matabeleland region known as the Gukurahundi. 1989 – Romanian Revolution: Communist President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu is overthrown by Ion Iliescu after days of bloody confrontations. The deposed dictator and his wife Elena flee Bucharest in a helicopter as protesters erupt in cheers. 1989 – German reunification: Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany. 1990 – Lech Wałęsa is elected President of Poland. 1990 – Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship. 1992 – During approach to Tripoli International Airport, a Boeing 727 operating as Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 collides in mid-air with a Libyan Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, killing 157 people. 1996 – Airborne Express Flight 827 crashes in Narrows, Virginia, killing all six people on board. 1997 – Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas are massacred by paramilitary forces. 1997 – Somali Civil War: Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquishes the disputed title of President of Somalia by signing the Cairo Declaration, in Cairo, Egypt. It is the first major step towards reconciliation in Somalia since 1991. 1999 – Just after taking off from London Stansted Airport, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 crashes into Hatfield Forest near Great Hallingbury, killing all four people on board.

[certifiableminds]

The Self Preservation of Bernhard Goetz-New York’s “Subway Vigilante”

[antonio-velardo]

Antonio Velardo shares: Crime Is Down. So Why Don’t New Yorkers Feel Safe? by Ginia Bellafante

By Ginia Bellafante Crime isn’t what it was in the 1980s. But a new podcast about the Bernhard Goetz subway shootings suggests that even then, the fear of crime outpaced reality. Published: August 4, 2023 at 03:00AM from NYT New York https://ift.tt/IGUNXv8 via IFTTT

[alivesoul]

Fuck Bernhard Goetz.

36 years ago today. Dec 22, 1984. On the New York City subway, Bernhard Goetz, a 45-year-old white male, shot four young black men after they surround him and ask for $5. After wounding three of the unarmed men, Goetz pointed his gun at 18-year-old Darrell Cabey, who was not wounded but cowering terrified in the subway car, and said, “You don’t look too bad, here’s another.” Goetz then shot Cabey in the back, severing his spinal cord. Three of the youths recovered, but Cabey was paralyzed and suffered permanent brain damage.

Goetz, who fled the scene of the crime, turned himself in to police in New Hampshire nine days later. During his subsequent interrogation, Goetz admitted on videotape that when one of the threatening young men smirked at him, he wanted to “kill them all.” The seemingly racially motivated shooting caused considerable controversy in New York and around the country, especially after Goetz pleaded innocent to charges of attempted murder in the subsequent criminal trial.

Goetz’s lawyers argued that the men were trying to rob him and that he was only acting in self-defense, while the prosecution maintained that the four young men were merely panhandling. The case proved particularly divisive in New York City, where racial tensions were high. In 1987, Goetz was cleared of murder and assault charges, but was convicted of illegal gun possession and served 250 days in prison. In April 1996, Darrell Cabey won a civil lawsuit against Goetz and was awarded $43 million by a Bronx jury. Goetz declared bankruptcy soon after the rulings.

In 2001, Goetz made an unsuccessful bid for New York City mayor. In 2013 he was charged with trying to sell marijuana to an undercover police officer. The charges were dismissed by a judge in September 2014 for lack of a speedy trial. [History]

[acrosstobear]

dtm.official The selfie you’ve been waiting for 😍 @kelvinvanderlinde @timo_bernhard_official @maximilian_goetz @mickschumacher @swish41 ⚽️

[thesexypolitico]

Vigilantes or 'Good Guy with a Gun' Folk Heroes?

Vigilantes or ‘Good Guy with a Gun’ Folk Heroes?

“You don’t look too bad, here’s another”Bernhard Goetz In 1981, teenagers attacked and injured Bernhard Goetz on a New York subway station. Afterward, Goetz applied for a gun permit. On December 22, 1984, Goetz, a 37-year-old white male, carrying an unlicensed .38 caliber revolver, boarded a Manhattan train. Four black teenagers, Troy Canty, Barry Allen, Darrell Cabey, and James Ramseur,…

[storiesweneedtotell]

1984 NYC Subway Shooting

[WARNING: Graphic Content] December 22 1984, four men (Barry Allen, Troy Canty, Darrell Cabey, and James Ramseur) were shot and wounded by Bernhard Goetz after they surrounded him on a New York City Subway train in Manhattan.

Goetz surrendered to police nine days after the incident and he was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and several firearms offences. Similarly to the story arc in 2019′s Joker, the media took the story by storm and Goetz initially became a hero of the people defending himself in a harsh city. He was seen as a vigilante and he received widespread public recognition and support. 

However, public opinion soon turned against Goetz due to statements and damaging details of the incident that later surfaced. He confessed on video tape to intentionally wanting to hurt his victims, even shooting Cabey a second time which gave him permanent brain damage and left him paralysed. 

A quote from Goetz’s website later discussing the shooting stated: “I immediately looked at the first two to make sure they were "taken care of," and then attempted to shoot Cabey again in the stomach, but the gun was empty. I thought Cabey was shot twice after reading a media account no shots missed; I had lost count of the shots and while under adrenaline I didn't even hear the shots or feel the kick of the gun. 'You don't look too bad, here's another', is a phrase I came up with later when trying to explain the shooting while I was under the impression that Cabey was shot twice. Cabey, who was briefly standing prior to the shooting, was sitting on the subway bench during all attempted shots. The others were standing. Shortly after the shooting my vision and hearing returned to normal.” 

Despite all this, a jury found him not guilty of all charges except for one count of carrying an unlicensed firearm, for which he served eight moths of a one-year sentence. 

Bittersweet Linings: 1996, Darrell Cabey obtained a civil judgement of $43 million against Goetz- to date Cabey is yet to receive this money from Goetz.

[acrosscenturiesandgenerations]

Attributed to: Gottfried Bernhard Goetz (1708-1774)

▪︎Ivory tablet notebook and pencil.

Medium: Ivory, gold, wood, watercolour on ivory.