I vote that TYT is trying to drive traffic from youtube to theyoungturks.com.  Smart.

I also think Ana is just going through a skeptical phrase where she thinks everything is fake or staged unnecessarily.  

by publius on 09/21/2009 11:40:52 PM EST

I think if it was fake, they would have put a little more effort into making it more entertaining or over the top. I know if I was making that video, I wouldn't have wanted the cashiers just sitting there calmly.

by gazugafan on 09/22/2009 01:46:33 AM EST

Saw this on Olbermann and Maddow,  and  apparently it was on the BBC as well so I am going to assume it is real.

by Mustang424 on 09/22/2009 09:18:48 AM EST

Because stone cold, SAID SO!

by IllTellYouWhatsMyOpinion on 09/22/2009 12:36:20 PM EST

First of all.... of cooooooourse it's real. But let's assume for a second that it's not. That brings up 3 questions:

 

1. What was their goal in staging this?

2. Was it worth it?

3. How did they pull it off?

 

I can almost hear Ana answering the first question by saying, "Well, we're discussing it, so they're getting all kinds of attention." While that's true today, it probably won't be true tomorrow. I really can't think of any other purpose they would have for doing this. It was done in a way that made it look as real as possible, so it's not a show, and it there's no reason to think it has any kind of artistic value.

 

So if their goal is publicity, it SO wasn't worth it. This was always gonna be a random news item at best and not worth the time and money to stage something like this.

 

And that brings me to the third question of how they did it. This is the question that is NEVER addressed by the TYT Supreme Court when deciding these real or fake videos. When arguing why a video or a situation is fabricated, no one ever explains how it was done. From whose camera are we viewing this? Did they somehow get their hands on the bank's security footage or did they manage to install their own cameras in there? Was the bank in on it? Was it EVEN a bank, or possibly a sound stage? Is the old man really a fit twenty-something in make-up? Did they all stage this robbery so that the world could talk about it for a day or two?

 

Or is it more likely that this was a bank robbery that was foiled by an old man who jumped into action in order to protect his wife (according to Keith Olbermann's report of the story in his Oddball segment)?

 

TYT, next time there's a dispute over whether something is real or fake, make sure there is something specific you can point to that shows it might not be real. Skepticism can't be a default position. You have to accept what you're seeing with your own eyes is true BEFORE you begin to deconstruct it. Saying that you don't believe something is real without giving evidence to support your claim is a republican move. It's the very M.O. of the birthers. And no right-minded individual wants to be like them.

by BishopAP on 09/22/2009 01:21:29 PM EST

back when i played rugby at UGA, at the very end of the season we would have to play the Alumni. always a fun game, anyway, there was this fella on there; probably about 5'2, bald, white beard, probably older 60's to early 70's.

this guy was quite possibly the baddest motherfucker on the field at any given moment. i'm talkin i was 19 at the time, about 190lbs and i was scared of this guy.
 
some people get more frail and fragile when they get older, much like my grandparents. had it been them in the bank, they would've stared and the floor and prayed for it to be over quickly. the old man in this video is like the old man on the alumni team. he probably takes his calcitrex in a shot of whiskey, and on this day he decided that he wasn't going to be a bitch, and i thoroughly commend him for his bravery. he wasn't gonna stand around while some punkass took his money!

by voodoofrnchtoast on 09/22/2009 05:18:55 PM EST

I don't question whether it is real or not.  I just don't understand the old guy looking down at his papers as if nothing out of the ordinary is going on.  That part was really odd and that the burglar was pacing and not paying attention to the old guy.  People are strange and don't always react the way you think they will.  I can't imagine how I would react in that situation.  As a society we are getting so immune to shock.

by pam on 09/23/2009 02:55:27 AM EST