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Woman sentenced to carry the 'idiot' sign is just the tip of an idiot culture

spanky

spanky

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Woman sentenced to carry the 'idiot' sign is just the tip of an idiot culture: Phillip Morris | cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — I tried to ignore Shena Hardin. I really did. This region and nation are confronted with far more pressing issues than her brand of recklessness.

But as I watched her coolly light up a cigarette on camera Tuesday, before casually hoisting a handwritten sign that properly declared her an "idiot" for failing to stop for a Cleveland school bus, I could only marvel at Hardin's remarkable disinterest and aloofness before the condemning eyes of the public.
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IMO the idiot here was the judge.

Seriously, what was this supposed to accomplish?
 
spanky said:
Woman sentenced to carry the 'idiot' sign is just the tip of an idiot culture: Phillip Morris | cleveland.com



IMO the idiot here was the judge.

Seriously, what was this supposed to accomplish?
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Making the legal penalty for the "idiotic" act harsher. It seems that the state law fine for illegally passing a bus by illegally driving on the sidewalk should perhaps exceed that for speeding or DUI, but the judge was at least trying to add something that might deter her next attempt to get there "on time" by placing others at risk of injury or death. I would have prefered elevating the initial charge(s) to reckless driving and suspending the driving license for at least a year along with a much, much higher fine.
 
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Hicup said:
Shame..

You know, that thing we used to all commonly share as a society. Now there is no shame in ANYTHING..


Tim-
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So what you can't accomplish through the law you'll accomplish through public humiliation?

This woman was already shamed, the judiciary getting involved is an abrogation of our system of justice.

I call a ten yard penalty for piling on. Seriously, why didn't the judge just condemn her to a public stoning? Much more efficient and satisfying to those who find their vision of morality compromised by constitutional protections.
 
American said:
If you have a better solution, bring it.
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How about a larger fine and temporary suspension of her driving privileges? I don't see anywhere in our constitution or system of justice where public humiliation is a meted punishment to be ordered by the courts.

You can see how well it worked in this situation. The woman is a YouTube sensation. I wonder when she'll hit the speaker circuit.

All this accomplished was making our system of justice look Byzantine.
 
spanky said:
So what you can't accomplish through the law you'll accomplish through public humiliation?

This woman was already shamed, the judiciary getting involved is an abrogation of our system of justice.

I call a ten yard penalty for piling on. Seriously, why didn't the judge just condemn her to a public stoning? Much more efficient and satisfying to those who find their vision of morality compromised by constitutional protections.
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I'm ok with stoning.. :)

Seriously though, she lit a cigarette and rolled her eyes before dawning the idiot sign. She, like so many American's, isn't capable of feeling shamed for passing a school bus, or taking food stamps when you and your husband both work, and one of you takes cash under the table, or anything else you can think of. It used to be taboo and embarrassing to accept welfare, it was once thought of as a sign of failure. Those days you'd be on it for a month, maybe two or three, but got yourself back off as soon as possible. What was the motivator back then as opposed to now?

Now, society has become the negative nancys. You know who they are, they are the group or pack of people that always hang out together complaining about why their sales suck, or why they can't do this or that because of some excuse NOT of their own fault. It's always someone else's fault. I used to sell cars for a living way back, and there was ALWAYS this group of sales folks that hung out together ALWAYS complaining about why they couldn't sell a car today, or this week, or that month.. It was always the weather, or bad advertising, or bad economy etc.. etc.. They empowered each other and fed off each others shame to a point where it was no longer shameful, and the good salespeople became the targets of their anger. It was the good sales people that felt like outcasts..

Something is wrong when poor performance, or poor behavior is what's normal, and good and great performance and behavior is what's to be reviled. It's exactly what has happened to black culture in America, it's what's happening to our younger generation of all stripes, and it's damn time we all start admitting it.


Tim-
 
spanky said:
Woman sentenced to carry the 'idiot' sign is just the tip of an idiot culture: Phillip Morris | cleveland.com



IMO the idiot here was the judge.

Seriously, what was this supposed to accomplish?
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The only thing the judge was an idiot for is letting the woman obscure her face and take smoke breaks while she holds up a sign. If you drive on a sidewalk to avoid stopping at a bus stop sign and refuse to stop at a bus stop sign not only once but on multiple occasions you should be publicly humiliated,everybody in town should know what a ****en moron and piece of **** you are.
 
spanky said:
How about a larger fine and temporary suspension of her driving privileges? I don't see anywhere in our constitution or system of justice where public humiliation is a meted punishment to be ordered by the courts.

You can see how well it worked in this situation. The woman is a YouTube sensation. I wonder when she'll hit the speaker circuit.

All this accomplished was making our system of justice look Byzantine.
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You don't think she got a fine or anything?
 
MaggieD said:
Well, if the intent of punishment is also to act as a deterrent? Her example probably reminded a whole lot of people that they should be stopping for school buses.
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I doubt it. Just makes the criminal justice system look like a bigger joke. At the very least have her doing something somewhat related to her crime like having to do so many hours tagging along with crossing guards or cleaning buses or something.
 
The judge stated that she thought the prescribed punishment(250.00 fine + light suspension) for driving on a sidewalk and illegally passing a school bus wasn't enough, so she added the sign.

A DUI in Ohio ends up costing you about 10 grand, when its all said and done.
 
Comparisons to DUI laws are immaterial. If the punishment for going around a school bus and driving on the sidewalk are what she got, well, it is what it is. The sign holding thing was idiotic and the only reason the judge would have been able to impose it was if she agreed to it so she wasn't charged with another crime like reckless endangerment.
 
spanky said:
Comparisons to DUI laws are immaterial. If the punishment for going around a school bus and driving on the sidewalk are what she got, well, it is what it is. The sign holding thing was idiotic and the only reason the judge would have been able to impose it was if she agreed to it so she wasn't charged with another crime like reckless endangerment.
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Nonsense. Traffic offenses like driving on the sidewalk WHILE illegally passing a school bus are far more serious than blowing a .03 after "driving strangely" and appearing intoxicated. Even the new national DWI limit of .07 is insanely low to receive the severe penalties imposed for that act alone. One can argue that the "imparement" in judgement to drive after drinking is bad, but to make a stone cold sober, fully concious decision to pass a school bus by driving on the sidewalk demands more of a penalty than $250 fine and a 30 day license suspension. It is the Ohio lawmakers that should have to wear that sign, until they stiffen the reckless driving sentencing guidelines to equal or exceed that for DWI.

Ohio Reckless Driving Penalties - OH Operation in Willful or Wanton Disregard Laws | www.myohiodefenselawyer.com
 
this is alittle off topic but when this country use to have real environmental laws. California had the toughest of the tough eco cops. and if you got nabbed by them and convicted you had to take out a full page ad in the local newspaper admitting to your guilt and what you did.

Environmental crime in California plummetted after SCOTUS upheld it.
 
I saw the video of the woman doing it. If you want to shame her make her hold a sign while taking a bus to work that says she lost her shiny SUV because she couldn't stay off the sidewalk.
 
One of the reasons culture has become lax is due to sheer population, which means we have anonymity in sheer numbers. In a small town, if this lady runs by a school bus, everyone knows by the next trip to the barber shop. In a larger community, this is not possible. So really what the judge is doing (poorly I think) is bringing back that old social dynamic.

I think "I have to wear this sign because I did xyz" would have been sufficient.
 
spanky said:
So what you can't accomplish through the law you'll accomplish through public humiliation?

This woman was already shamed, the judiciary getting involved is an abrogation of our system of justice.

I call a ten yard penalty for piling on. Seriously, why didn't the judge just condemn her to a public stoning? Much more efficient and satisfying to those who find their vision of morality compromised by constitutional protections.
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Nothing different than the Ohio DWI license plates issued after a drunk driving conviction.

Public knowledge for transgressions is a good concept.
 
Hicup said:
Now there is no shame in ANYTHING..
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Yes! It's amazing. Things that no so many years ago would have been deemed irresponsible or shameful have no become mainstream. It's anything but progress...
 
SMTA said:
Nothing different than the Ohio DWI license plates issued after a drunk driving conviction.

Public knowledge for transgressions is a good concept.
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So you're all for the ol scarlet A then?
 
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