» A new sport?

By now, everyone has likely seen the video of, or at least heard about, the quadriplegic in Florida who was detained by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s department and dumped out of his wheelchair.

What’s less widely publicized in the media is the call in January of 2008 by Rod Liddle in The Times newspaper for people to do precisely what occurred.

It’s astonishing to me, there’s such an uproar about this one case, caught on video, but relatively speaking there is absolutely no practical reaction to Liddle’s column. I can’t understand the reason behind the silence in the UK from all “decent” people, when those same people are so vocal condemning what happened in Florida.

Let’s be clear here, the action of the Detention Deputies (they weren’t even “real” cops to begin with) go so far beyond the realms of common decency they should, if there is any justice in this world, be looking for new jobs by the end of the week. There is absolutely no way their behavior can be excused, from the potentially criminal assault perpetrated by Marshall-Jones, to the utter lack of supervision displayed by the others involved. Marshall-Jones facing felony charges for assault and civil rights violations under color of authority would be icing on the cake, she can have a good long quiet chat in the shower block with those people unfortunate enough to have been exposed in the past to such a pathetic excuse for a human being. Yes, Marshall-Jones, you might be used to being hated because of your job, but right now you’re hated because of who you are.

But looking forwards, if something similar happens in the UK, will there be anywhere near the reaction, or the results that are hopefully coming to these pathetic excuses for human beings? Will Liddle ever face liability? More worrysome, will the silence of the British population regarding Liddle’s encouragement towards acts of violence against disabled people be used to excuse his hatemongering and the tragic events that will be the result?

Disability discrimination is one thing, but violence against people with disabilities is, at the end of the day, a sign of a sick and impotent culture. Those who perpetrate it are cowards of the basest sort, but those like Liddle who incite it are worse, they are cowards without the courage to face potential repercussions.

Is it any wonder that public trust in the media is so low, when sorry excuses for journalists such as Liddle hide behind vague “freedom of the Press”, or the “people’s right to know” (a right I can’t find enshrined in any constitution in the UK or the US) , thinking they are above the law and immune from even the most basic responsibilities being citizens of those countries imposes?

Is it any wonder too why people have no sympathy for those who fall victim to such hatred, when they have sat on their behinds and done nothing to address the bigotry and prejudice they complain about?

Whilst the Florida incident is in the news, it should be used to illustrate plainly the effects that Liddle promoted in his article. It happened there, it will happen in the UK, and Rod Liddle bears as much responsibility for this heinous crime when it does occur there as the perpetrator themselves will.

The question is: Will anyone bother to do something about it, or is the UK doomed to forever be a third-world country with fourth-class citizenship when it comes to people with disabilities? Is tipping people out of their wheelchairs going to become the new sport for individuals with such self-loathing they have to hate someone different just to feel as if they are worth something in this world?

[UPDATE Feb 16 2008] - CNN reports that Marshall-Jones is facing felony “Abuse of a disabled person” charges, but as yet no news on what actions will be taken against her supervisors for failing to intervene. Here’s hoping the District Attorney’s office is also going to tag “under color of authority” onto the charges and doesn’t plead this sad excuse of a woman down.

[UPDATE Feb 18 2008] - The Miami Herald reports that Marshall-Jones has resigned.  Well duh, she was going to get her bigoted ass fired.  Does she really think resigning is going to look better on her future job applications than “was fired for gross discrimination and abuse”?  I almost felt sorry for her attorney that he’d actually have to try to defend this woman until that same report from the Miami Herald included this section:

Norman Cannella, a Tampa attorney who is representing Marshall-Jones, said she would offer her explanation for the incident if the case went to court. As for the charges, Cannella said he felt Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee was “rushing” in his investigation and that the charges seemed motivated by “emotion more than anything else.”

Umm.  What rush?  The actions are perfectly clear in the video.  Is her “explanation” going to be that she thought the chair was tipping over and she grabbed the canes to try to stop it?  A localized failure of gravity perhaps?  She didn’t realize he was horizontal rather than sitting up when she searched him?  I doubt Perry bloody Mason could rationally explain away this woman’s assault - unless, of course, Cannella’s going to fall back on “dirty the victim” somehow, which would only be adding insult to injury - literally.

The only way this woman can redeem herself in the eyes of the world as being any sort of civilized human being is if she takes responsibility for her crime, and takes the felony hit for what she did.

Tags: bias crime, Disability, discrimination, hate crime, Hillsborough, news corporation, paraplegic, rod liddle, sheriff, the times, united kingdom, united states, wheelchair