It's nice when the wealthy and powerful fall into the traps lain for the indigent and disempowered, as it's the only way the rules can get changed. They're the stories we hear about. I'm not saying you can't accidentally strangle yourself when handcuffed, but the fact that Mrs. Gotbaum was left unsupervised long enough for it to happen points to a problem with hiring minimum wage workers and leaving the mechanisms of the state in their hands.Carol Anne Gotbaum, 45, was arrested Friday at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix after she allegedly became “irate” when gate crews refused to let her board a flight for which she was late, according to US airways officials. She died at the airport.
Gotbaum, 45, of the upper West Side of New York, died less than an hour later, after cops claim she apparently strangled herself while trying to escape from the handcuffs in a holding cell at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Her step-mother in law may run for mayor, and I think the more people who've suffered due to this sort of thing that we have in positions of authority, the better off we are. So, until I find out she actually has unsupportable views, I'm going Betsy Gotbaum 2009!
2 comments:
"It's nice when the wealthy and powerful fall into the traps lain for the indigent and disempowered, as it's the only way the rules can get changed"
I'd rather say it: "when the wealthy and powerful think that there are a different set of rules for them, it is nice when they are treated as equals with the indigent and disempowered"
Unfortunately it ended badly: "I believe she was a little not-there. She kept punching. She kept screaming. She kept kicking,". Someone that mentally unstable should never be left unaccompanied EVER, especially when in custody.
Rob,
Thanks for your comment. I don't think we actually think different rules apply to us, so much as greet the conspicuous failures of the powerless with befuddlement. So, when we get tagged with misfortune meant for them, it becomes real and solving it becomes important.
It seems like Carol Anne Gotbaum should have been escorted, and doing so was too much trouble. I imagine she resisted the idea -- her husband does seem to have been quite concerned -- and her loved ones let the argument go. So, she was exposed to the travails of the mentally ill who can't afford such care, and died from them.
It's an individual tragedy, and my prayers (and my vote!) go to her family. But, I'm hoping that it sparks positive change.
Post a Comment