Mon, March 22, 2004
I was catching up on Joan of Arcadia over the weekend, and they had an episode in which one of Joan's dad's cases involved an elderly guy who accidentally mowed down a bunch of people in a farmer's market. It's rare and off-putting when shows that don't do the "ripped from the headlines" thing co-opt a story from reality like that. It got me thinking about Russell Weller again, though. In the show, Babsy and her gaggle of scribes seemed to be aiming for the point that even when you want to be angry at someone, when it's an accident you just have to realize that life is rough. Joe "I don't get mad, I get stabby" Mantegna's character wanted to lash out at the elderly driver because his negligence reminds him of the drunk driver who crippled his son. The show seems to say, "Yes... but that would be wrong," and I guess I can respect that. It's a TV show. But I still say, hang the bastard! Because, while anger and hostility at Weller won't necessarily bring anyone back to life, neither will his tearful apology. He should never have been behind the wheel in the first place. Make an example of him, and while you're at it, rework the entire driver licensing process for anyone over 60 or with a history of mental infirmity. If they have to take a couple of extra vision tests and prove their reaction time, it's a small price to pay to make the rest of us safer.
Hearing Set... [KNBC]
Joe Mulder — Tue, 3/23/04 11:42am
It's nice that someone else out there thinks that being directly responsible for the death of nine innocent people is a bad thing. Not a neutral thing, as long as you're sorry, but a BAD thing.
I will say, though, that when a nice old man does it, it's obviously negligence, which doesn't seem as bad to me as recklessness, which is what it would be if, say, a teenager does it.
Of course, it's a matter of degrees; if you negligently plow over someone's mailbox, you should have to replace the mailbox; if you negligently plow over someone's family, then, no matter how sweet, old or sorry you are, you shold probably do a little time.
Bee Boy — Tue, 3/23/04 12:05pm
Exactly, because a family is unlike a mailbox in one crucial way: you can't replace it. (Other than that, though, I usually have a hard time telling them apart.)