MAGA critic faces attacks but the hat-wearer doesn’t think she should have been fired

April 7, 2019 12:13 pm

BY ALLISON LEVITSKY
Daily Post Staff Writer

The Palo Alto man who a woman berated at Starbucks over his Make America Great Again cap said yesterday (April 5) that he doesn’t think she should have lost her job — or suffered death threats and other online attacks — over the assault.

“I don’t believe in death threats or anything like that… I’m against, generally, intimidation and threats,” Victor, 74, told the Post. “I don’t think anybody should lose their job over something like that. You’ve got to make a living.”

The firing and threats weren’t the only life-changing consequences this week for Rebecca Parker Mankey, who also quit the Bayshore Progressive Democrats, a club where she served as co-chair.

Mankey hasn’t returned the Post’s requests for comment.

It all started when Mankey, 46, of Palo Alto, posted on Facebook that she had yelled at Victor about hating “brown people” when she walked in to the California Starbucks on Monday (April 1) and noticed his hat.

Victor is an observant Jew and wears his MAGA cap over a yarmulke.

“He will never forget me and will think seriously about wearing that hat in my town ever again. If you see him in this hat, please confront him,” Mankey wrote on Facebook. “He wouldn’t call the police, so I called him a wimp. He got his stuff together to leave. I followed him to the register while he complained about me.”

Mankey also wrote that she wanted to find out Victor’s name, his wife’s name, where he lives and where his kids go to school, seeming to imply an intent to “dox” or publish his contact information with malicious intent.

On Tuesday (April 2) morning, Trump supporters on Twitter shared the post widely, spurring hundreds of vitriolic online attacks against Mankey and a flood of angry calls to Gryphon Stringed Instruments, where she worked as an accountant and office manager.

Mankey was fired from Gryphon Strings on Tuesday (April 2) and on Wednesday (April 3) quit the Bayshore Progressive Democrats.

“Bayshore Progressive Democrats seeks a world that works for everyone, where all humans have a chance to realize their full potential and to live lives of dignity,” the progressive group posted on Facebook early Thursday morning. “Harassment and abuse are inconsistent with these values, and we reject the use of such tactics in civil society.”

The group had previously denounced the attacks on Mankey, stating on Tuesday night that she and her family had been doxxed, and received several death threats and other threats of injury and harm.

“Parker felt strongly that she wanted to use her privilege as a white woman to stand up for those who are living in fear because of the hateful atmosphere fostered by Trump,” the group wrote. “Unfortunately the manner in which she chose to stand up against a slogan that stands for racism led to an even stronger hateful response that has endangered her and her family.”

Online attacks

Trump supporters on Twitter have called Mankey a “walking shred of human debris,” a “fascist tyrant” and a “toilet brush,” among other attacks.

But Victor said that while he doesn’t agree with attacking or threatening people online, he sees many online attacks — even if they mention violence — as excessive rhetoric akin to dialog in a “cowboy movie” that doesn’t pose a real threat.

“I don’t think, in Palo Alto specifically, Rebecca has much to worry about. We’re not in rural, rural Alabama or something,” Victor said.

Both Mankey and Palo Alto Human Relations Commissioner Steven Lee, who was also harassed online after posting a statement about the incident at Starbucks, have deactivated their social media accounts.

Lee declined to comment on the record about the online harassment.

Reporter receives threat

And this reporter received a threatening Facebook message yesterday from an Ohio man who seemed to have confused the name on the story’s byline with Mankey.

“Hello Allison. I saw you were in the news for attacking an elderly man at Starbucks,” read the message from John Mcnamara. “Just wanted to let you know that you are the true Nazi and a worthless human being.”

Mcnamara went on to say that he had “banned” this reporter — seemingly by mistake in an attempt to ban Mankey — from the Starbucks that he runs in Dayton, Ohio.

“I would like you to know that your pic is up and you are banned for life from my businesses,” Mcnamara wrote. “I know you may never visit Dayton but it’s a small step my Hispanic wife and I can take to stand up to bullies like you.”

Mcnamara said that he and his wife bought MAGA hats yesterday (April 5) to support free speech.

Then, in an apparent nod to Mankey’s attempt to find identifying information about Victor, Mcnamara gave his home address in Uniontown, Ohio, outside of Akron.

“My kids are out of school so you don’t need to know where they go,” Mcnamara wrote. “But you are more than welcome to send (Black Lives Matter), (Council on American-Islamic Relations), socialist Democrats or any other racist group you want after me for owning it.”

Mcnamara then warned that Ohio residents “enjoy” their Second Amendment rights and that he has pistols, AR-15s, shotguns and an MP5 submachine gun at home, “all legal.”

Victor, meanwhile, said he hadn’t received any serious threats. When he went back to Starbucks on Thursday — without his MAGA hat — a woman approached him and introduced herself as a progressive, but told him that she agreed with his “side of the story.”

The closest thing to a threat came when a man named Alex told KCBS off-screen that after hearing the story, he went to Starbucks on Thursday hoping to confront Victor about his hat.

“Stay out of my town, you MAGA hat-wearing people,” Alex told KCBS in a story aired yesterday. “The basis of what he’s doing is so incredibly hateful and evil that it needs to be called out.”

Other than that, Victor said it’s been “all quiet on the Palo Alto front.”

Mayor’s reaction

Mayor Eric Filseth yesterday condemned Mankey’s confrontation with Victor, but said it “remains to be seen” whether the City Council will make a statement about the issue on Monday.

“The intolerant behavior exhibited is not consistent with our values here in Palo Alto,” Filseth told the Post. “The City Council is going to review it and decide what course of action makes sense.”

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34 Comments

  1. Victor sounds like a really wonderful soul. I am not a Trump supporter, but neither am I a “progressive”. I am a Jew, and I am proud to have a decent man like Victor as part of the Tribe, standing up for free speech.

    • Wait, the woman who approached someone in real life and harassed them,came back multiple times, incited others to do so as well and attempted to get a mob to force him out of town, while making him feel so uncomfortable to be out in public that he felt the need to leave the public forum, and tried to have others identify and harrass him on social media is a critic.

      But people who treat her similarly on social media are attackers?

      • It’s amazing how hypocritical they are Alex. They live in an alternate universe. People were upset that this woman and her family were doxxed. That was someone taking a play out of the lefts playbook. The left doxxed a barely 16 year old kid for something it ends up he never even did!! No apologies or anything afterward. Unfortunately I believe this woman did need to lose her job and a few other things because I guarantee you that she wouldn’t have learned her lesson unless she lost something big. Who knows she probably still didn’t learn her lesson. I haven’t seen any stories where she apologized to Victor yet. What it comes down to is people are finally fighting back to the bullying of the left who use bully tactics but don’t like it when they get used in them.

      • It’s the new left…. Do as I say, not as I do! Or, see, I am a victim because this MAGA hat guy managed to round up his “friends” to attack her. See, she was right all along….. NOT!
        The truth is, Mankey got a sudden and very real taste of irony. The town is named Palo Alto not Parker-Mankeyville. She has no right to say who can live there. Her actions demonstrated that she is the real Abuser and racist as she verbally assaulted an elderly, jewish, white male over a hat with some letters on it.

        She’s the real racist here. She’s obviously a white woman. She has a Mohawk haircut, which is something that belongs to a very proud tribe of Native Americans (is this any different than wearing blackface.). If we get on the it’s wrong to wear blackface bus, then every other thing that whites do, like hair styles (as many a white person has been called out for corn row hair styles) then Mankey should be called out as well for her hair.
        It appears that the more you look at this situation, the more you come to realize who the true evil person (political party) is.

        • Ya know, I never thought about Mohawk haircuts on whites (or on anyone other than an American Indian) as being “racist”. But however, they are IF YOU SUBSCRIBE TO THE LEFT’S PHILOSOPHY: if one emulates another group’s characteristics, that’s inappropriate, condescending and RACIST. Huh, look at that!

    • Vctor, you are a decent man! I am a Proud Trump supporter myself,and that is our right & freedom to do so! But I must agree People like Mankey who act like that in public places had it coming! I am not unfortunatelyas forgiving as you! God bless you Victoy❤️We shall MAGA on

  3. While losing her job is bad, assaulting customers is worse and grown ups should know better. the firing was more than justified. I hope that unstable people become enlightened and recognize that half the nation aren’t Nazi racist bigots and takes a long look in the mirror before attacking fellow citizens.

  4. Just another white guilt feminazi claiming a false narrative about the,”Make America Great Again” hat being a racist symbol. Can’t fix stupid. She probably still thinks she did a great thing for, “The Cause”.

    • Lol there is. I first amendment issue. A private business can fire her for what she did. I wouldn’t want a trash human like this representing my business and postentially costing me my livelihood either.

      • My uncle, a retired federal judge, said that she would, in all likelihood, he awarded her job back – with back pay. He noted that this was not done during work time, was done off-site, and had nothing whatsoever to do with her job. Her behavior might be abhorrent but again, this had absolutely nothing to do with her job and she’s not a public servant. I suspect the matter is closed but thanks for listening anyway.

        • In California you may be fired for any reason except discrimination.
          She will get no back pay legally.
          Your uncle is old and is wrong.

  8. I see myself as a Democrat and find this woman’s actions detestable. Regardless of political views, there is no reason to harass another human being or threaten them and potentially their family. Yes, the MAGA movement appears to be extremely racist in its roots, but appeals to people because of the patriotic take. Not all people who support a cause want to take the same actions to reach their goal.

    • Beatrice, I am a Republican (Fiscal Conservative actually), I am a moderate in most views but feel we should be able to stay within budget (we can’t throw money at everything and everyone across the planet). On the one hand I wrestle with the fact that this country was founded by asylum seekers. On the other hand, we have to control the population as “the system” cannot handle the flood of immigrants taxing our budgets.
      So, that said, where is the explicit racism from the term MAGA? It is not racist at all. It is seeking to control the “illegal” immigration. There has been no efforts to stop legal immigration. This is a national security issue- you have seen the EU nearly fall apart over illegal immigration and the fact that with so many people coming from war torn middle east that the governments can’t possibly “vet” them all. This means public safety is at risk. This same thing is happening on our southern border. We have immigrants coming from countries where there is no internal security and crime groups are terrorizing the populations. Along with this vast influx of people, you have or will see terrorists from the middle-east sneak in un-vetted. Just pure statistics based on the numbers.
      Like it or not, the Presidents first duty is to protect American citizens.
      From what I see, the president is trying to do that, protect our citizens (even MS Mankey it seems). People in Palo Alto, Los Altos, Cupertino and much of Silicon Valley live in a coddled bubble. The high cost of homes has an impact on keeping some of the criminal element out. Yet, go to Salinas, the Central Valley or Sonoma, Lake and Medocino counties and you come across MS-13 and other gangs. There are many neighborhoods where a white person or couple are literally not safe after dark.
      For me, far too many people from both the Democrats and Republican parties are living in coddled bubbles and know very few real life facts that they have seen with their own eyes. I have been lucky to have traveled and actually “worked” in many parts of the world in 2nd and 3rd world countries (and few that need to climb a few steps to get into that 3rd world category.)
      I served in the military for many years. I swore an oath to protect and defend the constitution. No where in that document have I been able to find anything that states we will have completely open borders and allow anyone in without some level of being vetted, or a way to control the numbers so we can afford to accept them.

      • First, Thank you for your service. Second, I believe your above entry is such a spot-on description of how a large portion of Trump voters do feel as well. Oftentimes those moderate stances are not put into the written word as eloquently as you did. Thank you.

    • how the f is mega a racist root movement???? You mean DEMOCRAT RACIST HISTORY AND STILL GROWING under the umbrella of social liberal justice keep you under the welfare system new ERA plantation. This makes me sick and sad to see!!! What happened to Human decency and respect your fellow neighbor?

    • The term “MAGA” originated with Bill Clinton. Trump used it in the campaign as a joke to get under the skin of Hillary. It turned out though, that the term resonated with middle America and the fly-over states that have been hit hardest by economic down turns and job availability.
      Sorry to tell you this, while you may think that the MAGA logo is the new swastika, your actions and those of Ms. Mankey reflect more of an actual Facist act by trying to incite riots and prevent free speech just like the Nazis did in the 1930’s lead up tp World War 2. Your right to free speech ends when you interfere with the rights of others. To berate the person wearing the hat is wrong. To state that you think/feel the MAGA logo is the new swastika is something I will defend your right to state (Whether I agree with it or not). These lines are very clear to me. You have to the right to say it, but to state she was right to berate him is wrong. And that is indefensible.

  11. What a nice man you are, Victor! We are sorry for the pain this criminal caused you. She has no right to have attacked you. This week marks the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week…..we’ve came a long way in protecting victims, but got a lot more to go. It’s disappointing that no one called the police to protect you from this criminal, name Rebecca Parker Mankey. Stay strong. You are valued.

  12. To think that U.S. has a group of people so brain washed that without any evidence, just rhetoric from the one sided Trump hating media, these individuals have literally lost their sences!!! Falling apart over a STRANGER wearing “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” HAT, that President BILL CLINTON FIRST said THOSE EXACT WORDS!!!! SHOWS you how pathetic this fake racism IS!!¡

  13. Someone threatened the reporter from Dayton Ohio. I did not read any threats. Telling someone to come to my house if you’re brave enough and I carry a gun isn’t a threat.

    Unfortunately all these Neo-Nazi Democrats would never stand a chance outside of California.

    Come to any place outside of California and try this BS you may meet your maker in real America we respect all people whether they are Democrats or Republicans we strongly believe in freedom of speech and the Second Amendment.

    But it is great entertainment reading all the stories about California. But strongly suggest you keep it in California.

  14. Minor but unfortunate point, as a Jew living in Alabama… and who spends a lot of time in rural Alabama… c’mon. If we’re going to dispense with the stereotypes…

    • Yeah, sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, just slipped out, I regretted that right away when I saw the story, my apologies. Maybe Cool Hand Luke just popped into my head. Visited Alabama when I was a kid, loved it.
      Vic

  15. It just proves be careful for what you wish for. Everything Mankey wished would happen to Victor actually happened to her. She thought she would get her 15 minutes of fame being the hero, not the pariah.

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