Dear Bored: "Tempest in a Tea Pot":

“I hate things all fiction…there should always be some foundation of fact for the most airy fabric and pure invention is but the talent of a liar.”

-- Lord Byron 1788-1824: “Letter to John Murray,” 2 April 1817

What follows is a true story.

In the late nineties I decided that buying some land would be a good investment. And so it I was somehow introduced to one Charles Heineken, who subsequently sold me on an inexpensive parcel in a beautiful tract of land with some upscale homes already in place, and available pieces for the heady future that was sure to unfold post 2000.

The homeowners in place, of course, had a covenant forbidding trailers, livestock, shooting ranges, and such. Agreeing to this covenant, which I was required to do as a part of the purchase agreement, meant that I was responsible for paying yearly dues that covered plowing the road, garbage pick up, and a number of other services enjoyed by the association homeowners.

Since I signed on, the dues have gradually escalated, as would be expected; but what haven’t escalated are the economic fortunes of those that live there, including my own.

Needless to say, I have struggled to keep up with my taxes and the association fees.

Understandably, then, upon paying my last installment my frustration got the best of me.

Let me preface this by saying that about a year ago a certain member of the association used the association’s group e-mail as a platform for his political agenda. I might also add that the board immediately made it clear that this was inappropriate behavior.

Here then is a discussion thread I hope you find amusing.

Dear Board:

Just a note about the small gift I recently sent your way.

As I recall, about a year or so ago some of the Tea Bagging Patriots in your sad little neighborhood held a meeting to discuss the socialist threat presented by the incoming administration. Since you all commute from your nouveau-riche McMansions (no doubt you also approve of expanded drilling in the gulf. Who cares about a few shrimp and seagulls) you need your Hummers!

Which brings me to clearing the snow for your gas-guzzlers, as well as the disposition of the amount of garbage (I’m sure quite ample) you generate holing up your rural enclave. Have you contributed to the Hutaree yet? After all, they do share your same values.

I’m sure a pillar of these values has to do with not wanting to spend your hard earned money on government assistance programs that benefit you not in the least. I mean it only makes sense that you wouldn’t want to carry the shiftless masses unwilling to work and make their own way.

Which is why I’m hoping you’ll see the wisdom of exempting me from paying for YOUR SERVICES, when they provide absolutely NO BENEFIT to me. I don’t live there. I don’t use the road. And I try to avoid visiting uncivilized rural areas like yours as much as possible.

In closing, let me reiterate that I hope you’ll see the injustice of your socialist association’s ways, and quit hounding me for money that subsidizes your burden on the carrying capacity of the planet.

Best – Randall L. Tessier

Dear Mr. Tessier,

1. You bought land in this neighborhood knowing there was an association fee. Next time, read your contract before you buy land in an 'uncivilized area' then make sure you understand the contract before signing.

2. Your drunken rant does nothing to help the wildlife or the people in Lousiana. Twenty families, not all of whom are teabaggers, did not cause the oil spill with thier hummers, their Fords, their VW bugs, or any other such thing.

My friend in Louisiana whose husband is currently working 24/7 trying to stop that catastophe from spreading says your rant did not help him in the least. In fact, if you really want to help, get your boots on and go down there and participate in the cleanup, like he is!

3. Thanks for making the left wing look as bad and as annoyingly brainless as the teabaggers look. For your information, there are many people in this neighborhood who voted for Obama; who support single payer health care; who are anti-oil drilling, pro-regulation, pro-union, pro-environmental protection, and who felt that Mr. **** (the teabagger) should not have used this list for his fundraising purpose and who said so to the board

respectfully at the time.

So maybe next time before you get drunk and send out spiteful emails, you can think before you act. Your words did nothing to help, unless your intent was to make you look foolish. You succeeded at that quite well. Mission accomplished!

-- Faith

And this rant originates from an employee of the University of Michigan, a taxpayer funded institution that prides itself on the intelligence and open mindedness of its staff. I would suggest that the Board bring the contents of this

email to the attention of the UM administration. Using public resources, like email accounts, to spew such vitriol needs to be exposed.

-- Hope and Charity Blaze

I would suggest we, as an Association, stay out of the emotional vitriol altogether and simply put a lien on the property.

When Mr. Tessier purchased the property, he became a part of the association and responsible to abide by the bylaws, one of which is obviously paying dues. The Association bylaws run with the land and were necessarily part of the closing on the property when Mr. Tessier bought it. If he chooses to disown his property and eventually let it default to others, that's his issue.

I think there is clear recourse for the Association to simply put a lien on the property if he refuses to pay.

I would also strongly suggest that the Association stay OUT of politics altogether in the future.

Regards,

Barbara Ann

Dear All:

While I don’t always have time to address every consideration that crosses my desk, let me attempt to patiently answer your concerns. First off, for those of you who may lack the intellectual savvy to recognize more nuanced forms of rhetoric, like irony and satire, I have no problem contributing to the welfare of others, including yours. This is what an enlightened society is all about. I know some of you voted for Obama, and I applaud you for that.

While I heartily agree that, as Ms. Ann suggests, the Association stay OUT of politics, as I recall, it was a group e-mail from your association, and a strong political statement against Obama’s policies, that landed in my mailbox last year. As for my, refusal to pay, the money was, of course, sent two days ago (why else would I send this?).

Lastly, I’d like to address Hope and Charity’s missive. As a university writing instructor, I am sorely disappointed in your response to my argument. Rather than address my claim: that some of you are benefiting from an act of socialism where I pay for your services while gaining nothing for it; you instead fall into a predictable rhetorical trap: the fallacy commonly known as the ad hominen argument (attack the man). It’s much easier to imply that I’m drunk, or vitriolic, or whatever, than to admit I PAY FOR YOUR SERVICES, and address that argument.

Best - Randy

Dear Mr Tessier,

I would like to address some of the concerns you raise in your email as well as a few of the responses. It is not my policy to begin a note in this manner, but since you don't know me personally, I will start by writing that I am classically liberal and very progressive. Furthermore, the residents of Manwich, in general, and Hilfigerlake Road, in particular, are a pretty even split of progressives and conservatives. In fact, Mancwich has become a bedroom community for UM professionals and I count as my local friends a number of physicists, conservationists, doctors, nurses, writers, and artists.

I empathize with your frustration with the fact that the official association mailing list was used as a conduit for a very contentious and provocative political advertisement. However, Mr. **** had never intended for this to happen and has told us personally that he regrets that it did. While I pretty much disagree with everything Mr. **** stands for politically, I can say that he is a decent person, like most people (excluding the Hutaree, of course). And like most conservatives, he does what he believes is best for the community, even if I believe he is seriously misguided.

Which brings me to the rhetorical style of your original post. I am not surprised you received some emotional responses. Frankly, I found your note insulting. While you claim to be writing irony or satire, this was neither. It is clear your intention was not to entertain through wit and irony, but rather to demean the members of this community and make a jagged point about the right wing's hypocritical despising of any social program. This is the difference between satire and a mean-spirited attack. In much the same way, Rush Limbaugh using the term "retard" is not satire, notwithstanding Ms. Palin claims.

Unfortunately, this style of rhetoric does nothing to alleviate the bad feelings between an already deeply divided polity. Furthermore, coming from a "university writing instructor" only affirms the ridiculous notion that intellectuals are out-of-touch, elitist prigs who disdain regular folk.

Concerning your critique of **** reply, I would advise reading up on your informal debate terminology. For his statement to be an ad hominem fallacy, he would have to be actively refuting your claim by using an attack on your character. In fact, he doesn't address your claim at all. Instead he avoids it completely and chooses to point out the fact that you are using a public service (the umich email service) to make a personal political statement. Simply stating that your email contained vitriol does not qualify as an ad hominem fallacy. If it is a rhetorical fallacy at all, it is a tu quoque fallacy. That is, pointing out that you have made a mistake justifies his making of a mistake; Or, the two wrongs don't make a right fallacy, as I like to call it. Personally, it looks more like a childish "nanny-nanny-boo-boo" kind of response to me.

Finally, regarding your argument concerning the association dues: I would point out that the dues are not for the purpose of paying for community services, per se, although recurring maintenance is part of the deal. The dues are primarily intended for maintaining the road for the long term. All garbage pick up is handled by individual homeowners on a parcel-by-parcel basis and does not come out of the association dues. Contrary to your assertion, this benefits you directly, assuming that your intention is to eventually sell your parcel(s) and make a profit. We have had to make a number of repairs to the road in the past decade due to normal wear and tear, although the wear on the road is much less than on a public road, thank goodness. When you get to the point of cashing in on your investment, you will get much more of a return if the road is paved and passable. For a real life example, take a look at the road directly across Austin, also developed by Chuck Heineken. It has not been maintained, nor even properly finished in the first place. The property is worth substantially less, if they can sell at all. The road is a disaster. I would not advise investing in some of the many properties for sale in that development. However, they don't pay association dues either.

I am not trying to start an argument here. Honestly, I believe you and I have a lot in common philosophically. I would, however, caution against sending emotion-laden emails to a broad audience and I hope you will take this message in that context.

Respectfully,

David Ann
Manwich, MI

Dear David:

Allow me to ramble a bit over your concerns.

Firstly, I've vented sufficiently, I don't mind paying, and 'll try to keep up.

What prompted my letter was the very cold notice I received informing me that your kindly group would be placing a lien on my property should I not pay up now, even in the face of some hardships I won't cry about here (I'm not surprised there are some bad feelings in your deeply divided polity).

Regarding Mr. ****.s comments: the implication that I was drunk when I wrote this most certainly does qualify as an ad hominen response to my argument (unfortunately, it's the strategy du jour of the negative campaigning now in vogue). The lack of refutation is exactly why it's a fallacy.

My gripe is this, given that your association is a good example of a socialist model of governance -- which is a good thing -- why is it so hard to admit that your benefit from my dues far out weights mine?

As for finding my post insulting, thicken your skin. Do you find Mark Twain's prose insulting? I'm sure all of you have larger concerns than this tempest in a teapot.

On the topic of elitist intellectual prigs -- of which there are many at UM -- even a minimal investigation of my current position and background would disqualify me from that status. The majority of my students are minorities who come from lesser socioeconomic circumstances (please google the Comprehensive Studies Program CSP). Do you have and minority owners in your neighborhood demographic?

Finally, please send an e-mail to the group assuring them I have every intention of paying my dues, and that I've had my say and will heretofore confine myself to that cozy little socialist enclave, Ann Arbor. However, should any on you like to meet me, I'll be playing with George Bedard & the Kingpins at the Manwich River Festival in August.

Best - Randy Tessier

Mr. Tessier,

Sorry Mr. Tessier for not responding to you sooner but my frequent trips in my gas guzzling Hummer with my Hutaree buddies to attend all the tea bagger rallies has kept me pretty busy. I think I can only speak as one board member of the Timberlake Homeowners Association when I say that we will not be hounding you for money in the future. Really, what would be the point? It is obvious to me from the content of your response that whatever medicine you are taking is not working. I am going to encourage the other “tea baggers” on the board to just proceed with the lien process so we can be standing somewhere in the line when Washtenaw County seizes your

property for back taxes in 2012.

I was going to point out that your argument was flawed when you so skillfully alluded to the fact that you don’t use our roads so why should you have to pay for them. Don’t many of us pay for services that we don’t use, such as school taxes or taxes assessed for Washtenaw Community College? I was going to say that to you but then I realized you don’t pay your County taxes do you?

Also while I am thinking about it, I don’t know what “little gift” you have in mind for us collectively but please don’t hesitate in personally delivering mine. You wouldn’t the first person that has tried to give me a little gift. Sometimes it is better to give than receive, isn’t it?

Best regards. ****

Mr. Tessier,

Since sending this email, I have been advised that your “little gift” was a cashier’s check for $600. From the tone of your letter, that was not what I was anticipating. I wish to apologize to you for the sarcastic and derogatory statements I made to you. I perceived your response to be an underserved attack on our collective intentions and potentially a veiled threat to us all. I have a tendency to become “assertive” whenever I feel I or someone I am associated with is threatened. I let my emotions dictate what I wrote to you and that was unprofessional and just plain wrong. I know that you are under financial duress and I am hoping that you will be able to make things right with Washtenaw County soon.

Hoping for your success -- ****

Dear ****:

Don't worry about it. My letter was off base.

Best - Randy

IMAGE: Mikel Jaso

Eagle Rock S.O.S.

“Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he’s been given. But up to now he hasn’t been a creator, only a destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wild life’s become extinct, the climate’s ruined and the land grows poorer and uglier every day.”

-- Anton Chekhov 1860-1904: “Uncle Vanya” (1897)

“What have they done to the earth?

What have they done to our fair sister?

Ravaged and plundered and ripped

Her and did her,

Stuck her with knives in the side of

The dawn,

And tied her with fences and dragged

Her down.

Jim Morrison 1943-71: “When the Music’s Over” (1967 song)

I had a list of things to talk about, let’s see.

Ok….my review.

Today, I

will attend a lunch to honor my passing of the

periodical review visited on we lecturers every three years. Three cheers for me! But seriously, negotiating this scrutiny can be nerve wracking. And why shouldn’t it be? I mean, it’s only one’s life we’re talking about here. Just the small things: health benefits, a salary, the modicum of dignity afforded one in a system set up to spend you like one more commodity, and a cheap one at that.

Ok…Mcgee's Birthday Bash.

70's today, 80's tomorrow. It’s spring, baby, and if you’re a native Michiganian, here comes the easy part of enjoying the four seasons. Commencement is upon us, and Shadow and I will be walking down to observe the hoopla surrounding the Prez’s speech. It’s also the time when the summer musical season arrives, festivals (the Blueberry and Medieval), concerts (Top of The Park and the Manchester River Fest), and special events (weddings and wakes) abound.

But first and foremost, it’s that time when our thoughts turn to Lake Superior, Marquette, and Big Bay. The plan is to repair to Squaw Beach for a month of R&R. As is our habit, during that time some music will be made. And it seems to me there is no better time to do that

than the weekend of Mcgee’s birthday, July 29, 30, and 31.

Ok…My last blog.

It’s the saddest scene I’ve ever witnessed

Ok…The Gulf Tragedy.

This is bad, really bad.

Consider these excerpts from letters concerning the catastrophe on the Gulf:

To the Editor:

Re “In Gulf Spill, Marshes Face a New Threat” (front page, May 2):

“Birds have always had an extraordinary capacity to fire the human imagination. Their beauty and variety are remarkable, but it is the power of flight that humans have always found magical — and enviable. That is why oil spills that devastate large bird populations are the most heartbreaking of all environmental catastrophes.

To see creatures suddenly robbed of the freedom to fly is both an assault on the natural order and an assault on our most primal fantasies. If negligence and greed are found to be contributing factors to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, our sadness and shame should be all the greater.

David Hayden
Wilton, Conn., May 2, 2010”

“To the Editor:

Recent coal mine accidents and the explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico deliver a message. It is the need to recognize modern society’s insatiable demand for energy.

Accidents in ever-deeper coal mines and oil wells bored three miles into a seabed beneath a mile of Gulf water show how demand for energy pushes energy companies toward, and sometimes beyond, the frontiers of technical feasibility.”

John J. Kohout III
Alexandria, Va., May 2, 2010

And why this push?

John Hofmeister, president of Shell’s U.S. operations, had these reassuring words for homeowners who live in coastal states like Florida and California, who fear that their views and property values would be hurt: "Those numbers of people are large, and influential, and politically active," he said. But he also believes that data and reason will bring them around. "The phenomenon of the roundness of the earth means that at a certain point away from the shoreline you can't see operations offshore." he said. He believes the industry's safety record—there hasn't been a devastating spill since the 1969 Santa Barbara debacle—should inspire confidence. "You'd have to say the industry has performed very well."

How does this apply to what’s happening in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula?

Simple, Kennecott, and their parent company, Rio Tinto, like BP, are ruthless corporate gangsters that can’t be trusted with our environment.

Consider the testimony of a BP employee on the rig that exploded and caught fire: “At least one worker who was on the rig when it exploded April 20 and who handled company records for BP said the rig was drilling deeper than 22,000 feet, even though the company's federal permit allowed it to go only to 18,000 to 20,000 feet.” (May 3, 2010 NYTimes)

Kennecott isn’t BP, you say?

Think about Alder Falls, Eagles on the Salmon Trout, and Bears on Squaw Beach. Don’t kid yourself brothers and sisters, it can happen here.

Also think about the irrevocable damage that liars can wreak. And what about the question of whom would benefit from the degradation of the Yellow Dog Plains -- China.

“China sentence Rio Tinto Employees in Bribe Case

By DAVID BARBOZA

SHANGHAI — Four employees of the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, including an Australian citizen, were found guilty Monday of accepting millions of dollars in bribes and stealing commercial secrets.

They were given sentences of 7 years to 14 years in prison.

Rio Tinto, which until Monday had defended its employees, said court evidence showing that in recent years the employees had accepted about $13.5 million in bribes was ‘beyond doubt.’ Stern Hu, the Australian citizen who served as Rio Tinto’s general manager in Shanghai, was sentenced to seven years in prison for bribery and five years for stealing business secrets.

Although the court reduced his sentence to 10 years in prison, it is still one of the stiffest sentences ever handed down against a high-ranking executive working for a multinational company here.

From 2003 to 2009, the court said, the four defendants used “improper means” to gain information that allowed Rio Tinto to “jack up the price that China paid for its iron ore imports.” The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court said that it would soon charge at least two Chinese steel industry officials with passing trade secrets to Rio Tinto.

Rio Tinto is one of the biggest suppliers of iron ore to China, which imports tens of billions of dollars’ worth of iron ore every year — a vital component for steel that is fueling this booming economy.”

The grim point: China’s economy -- Rio Tinto’s consumer focus -- is being fueled by the mortgaging of our children’s environment. Following the pillaging of the plains, the polluters simply move on to foul the earth where someone else eats and breathes.

There are those of us, however, who choose to do something, however futile.

Environmentalist charged with trespassing at site of contested nickel sulfide mine

Kennecott has begun mine construction without a water permit from EPA

By Eartha Jane Melzer 4/23/10 7:14 AM

Cynthia Pryor, a prominent opponent of a nickel sulfide mine planned for state land on the Yellow Dog plain northwest of Marquette, spent two days in jail this week after being arrested for trespassing on land where Kennecott Eagle Minerals has begun clearing trees for the first phase of construction for the mine.

Pryor, 58, the director of the non-profit Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve said that she was arrested midday Tuesday after she sat down on an uprooted tree on state land and refused to leave the area.

According to Pryor and other environmentalists and groups in the area, Kennecott’s construction activities are illegal because the company has not obtained a federal permit for its waste water disposal system.

On Wednesday Pryor was arraigned in Marquette County District Court and entered a plea of not guilty to the misdemeanor charge. Her bail was set at $1,000 but she refused to pay the $100 bond and spent another night in jail.

Pryor said that on Thursday afternoon she was re-arraigned and dismissed from the jail without bond.

“I think they were concerned about all the attention this was getting,” she said.

“I think the big question in everyone’s mind is who is really guilty here,“ said Kristi Mills, director of Save the Wild UP. “We are from the camp of believing that they do not have all of the legal permits needed to do what they are doing.”

Mills said that according to the land lease agreement between the mining company and the state all permits have to be in place before any work can begin on the site. This condition that has not yet been met, she said, because federal officials have yet to decide on a permit matter relating to wastewater.

“It was a bold move on [Kennecott’s] part,” she said. “It was pretty gutsy. They are pushing this forward as fast as they can.”

“No one is holding Rio Tinto accountable for this at all. Media has been so slanted here it is disgusting.”

Since 2007 Pryor’s organization, together with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), the National Wildlife Federation, and the Huron Mountain Club, have challenged state permits for the mine through administrative appeals and action in court. They argue that the planned mine will devastate the area.

Following a years long contested case hearing an administrative law judge determined that the rock outcropping known as Eagle Rock held religious significance for members of the KBIC. State officials were in the process of considering that finding when, in January, Granholm appointee Frank Ruswick intervened and determined that the permits for Kennecott should be finalized without further judicial review.

The state determined that because Eagle Rock was not a building it was not subject to protections as a place of religious worship.

That move left Kennecott with one final permit hurdle for the mine — it still required a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to discharge treated wastewater into the ground.

But in a March 22 letter, Kennecott notified state and federal regulators that it had changed its design for a wastewater treatment system and determined that it no longer required an Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit from EPA.

That same day Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment Forest Management Division Chief Lynne Boyd responded that based on the company’s certifications, the state was giving the go ahead to begin work on the mine.

Mine opponents argue that Kennecott’s design modification — covering their discharge pipes with Styrofoam rather than a man-made mound of soil — does not change the fact that the company will be releasing 500,000 gallons of treated wastewater into the soil and and ultimately the drinking water.

They say that nothing in Kennecott’s design alteration changes the fact that EPA is responsible for regulating the mine discharge under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and they’ve urged the agency to insist that the company obtain a permit.

EPA spokeswoman Karen Thompson said Wednesday that the agency has not yet reached a decision on the matter.

MDNRE spokesman Bob McMann said that the state only requires the company to certify that it has all the necessary permits before beginning work on the site.

“If that turns out to be wrong (in other words, if EPA were to come back and decide they DID need a permit from them), that would put them in violation of their agreement with us which could result in penalties against them,” McCann said via email.

“Kennecott’s work on public land right now is illegal activity,” local activist Teresa Bertossi said in an e-mailed statement. “I don’t know what we’ve come to when a citizen can sit on a tree stump, with her dog next to her, and get arrested for being on public property while Kennecott blatantly breaks the law. Do foreign-owned companies now decide what we can do on our own land in the Upper Peninsula?”

I want to focus on a particular issue arising out of the "religious significance” issue: “The state determined that because Eagle Rock was not a building it was not subject to protections as a place of religious worship.” To do that, I’m simply going to provide some excerpts from an essay I had our Argumentative Writing Class (225) read in 2008.

If Nature Had Rights

What would people need to give up?

by Cormac Cullinan

“’SO WHAT WOULD A RADICALLY DIFFERENT law-driven consciousness look like?’ The question was posed over three decades ago by a University of Southern California law professor as his lecture drew to a close. “One in which Nature had rights,” he continued. “Yes, rivers, lakes, trees. . . . How could such a posture in law affect a community’s view of itself?” Professor Christopher Stone may as well have announced that he was an alien life form. Rivers and trees are objects, not subjects, in the eyes of the law and are by definition incapable of holding rights. His speculations created an uproar.”

“Stone stepped away from that lecture a little dazed by the response from the class but determined to back up his argument. He realized that for nature to have rights the law would have to be changed so that, first, a suit could be brought in the name of an aspect of nature, such as a river; second, a polluter could be held liable for harming a river; and third, judgments could be made that would benefit a river.”

"Stone’s seminal ‘Should Trees Have Standing? Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects’ (‘Trees’) argues that courts should grant legal standing to guardians to represent the rights of nature, in much the same way as guardians are appointed to represent the rights of infants. In order to do so, the law would have to recognize that nature was not just a conglomeration of objects that could be owned, but was a subject that itself had legal rights and the standing to be represented in the courts to enforce those rights.”

“Throughout legal history, as he pointed out, each extension of legal rights had previously been unthinkable. The emancipation of slaves and the extension of civil rights to African Americans, women, and children were once rejected as absurd or dangerous by authorities. The Founding Fathers, after all, were hardly conscious of the hypocrisy inherent in proclaiming the inalienable rights of all men while simultaneously denying basic rights to children, women, and to African and Native Americans.”

“In the eyes of American law today, most of the community of life on Earth remains mere property, natural “resources” to be exploited, bought, and sold just as slaves were. This means that environmentalists are seldom seen as activists fighting to uphold fundamental rights, but rather as criminals who infringe upon the property rights of others. It also means that actions that damage the ecosystems and the natural processes on which life depends, such as Earth’s climate, are poorly regulated. Climate change is an obvious and dramatic symptom of the failure of human government to regulate human behavior in a manner that takes account of the fact that human welfare is directly dependent on the health of our planet and cannot be achieved at its expense.”

Best - Randy

What does one do upon encountering a horrible tragedy?

"State a moral case to a ploughman

and a professor. The former will

decide it as well, and often better than

the latter, because he has not been led

astray by artificial rules.”

-- Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826: “Letter to Peter Carr, 10 August 1787”

My intent is to use what amounts to a small sampling of opinions (via the interactive comment thread on a small dot.com newspaper) as a way of showing just how contingent and subjective our moral values are.

Why this? Please consider the short posts contained herein as evidence of my connection to this otherwise sad and obscure local story.

What follows then is a blog surveying a variety of perspectives on something that happened to me two nights ago in the mundane heat of a 6 o’clock rush hour.

STAFF

By: Amalie Nash
AnnArbor.com News Director

Updated: Man dies after jumping from overpass onto M-14 in Ann Arbor, police say

Topics: Ann Arbor West, News

43 Comments. Comment Now

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Posted: Apr 22, 2010 at 9:05 AM [Apr 22, 2010]

A 31-year-old man died Wednesday evening after police say he jumped off an overpass from Newport Road onto M-14 in Ann Arbor.

The man walked from his parents' home to the expressway, where witnesses told police they saw him jump over the the rail onto the expressway at about 6 p.m., Ann Arbor Detective Sgt. Brian Jatczak said.

The railing there is about a 4-foot concrete barrier, Jatczak said.

A car stopped and blocked traffic around the man's body on eastbound M-14, Jatczak said. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The man's name was not released today. Jatczak said he had been living with his parents and did not have a history of suicide attempts. No note was found.

Tags: Ann Arbor police, M-14, Michigan State Police

DISCUSSION THREAD (Pasted as written)

“My comments in the earlier story about a crash on M-14 at Newport... this person jumped/fell from the overpass estimated to be about 30 feet and landed headfirst in the lanes of travel. They were not struck by a vehicle, but still sustained massive injuries and bloodloss from the fall. They left the scene alive but in very critical condition and personally I would be surprised if they survive.”

“AA.com please follow up on this story; not necessarily the gory details but simply some background. There were scores of kids playing at Wines, and coming to Wines for practices, who witnessed something. Some heard it happen as the baseball / soccer field is just over the fence. Others stopped to look over the bridge on their way and got an eyeful. It would be helpful to be able to talk to them truthfully about the background of this tragic event.”

“I came up on this scene driving up Newport a few moments after it happened. The most striking thing was that cars on M-14 were just driving around the victim, until one driver blocked traffic in front of the body.”

“what is the protocol when someone jumps off an overpass in front of your vehicle? is it considered disrespectful to carefully drive around the scene? do we all stop until all lanes of travel are clear? please advise.”

“I was the guy that stopped and put my car in front of him and directed traffic. I couldn't understand why people were going around him as if it was an inconvenience to their day. First I want to say "Thank You" to the lady in the Astro van who was the nurse heading west-bound who stopped and attended to the young man. Also I want to thank the young man in the Dodge truck who helped me block the other lane with his truck. Too the rest of you who went around the scene and did not bother to help, look in the mirror and ask yourself what you REALLY should have done. You should be ashamed.”

“why should the people who did not stop feel ashamed? why has having stopped left you feeling empowered?”

“Thanks for your willingness to stop and do what you could.
In cases where someone is in need of help it can be hard to know what to do. If someone can offer help they certainly should. In cases where they would just end up being gawkers or in the way, it might be best to respectfully continue on. Some that went on through no doubt felt inconvenienced others probably did not know what to do and did not know what was going on until it was too late. Hopefully this family can find peace at some point.”

“Re: "The protocol when someone jumps off of an overpass." Yesterday, as I was entering onto eastbound M14 at the Maple rotary I saw cars veering to each side of the road and a cloud of dust as a semi careened into the grass. It was at a significantly reduced speed, then, 5 - 10 mph that I slowly rolled up to a sight that made me hope against hope that I wasn't seeing what I thought I was. It was a young man's body lying fully prone, arms beneath him as in a yoga position, exactly horizontal to the white lines at the middle, and sheet white. My mind raced, trying to bring some context to something horribly foreign to my world. A man was on a cell standing at the side of the road. It had just happened. In shock and disbelief, I slowly rolled around him and continued on to my girlfriend's daughter's lacrosse game in Plymouth. What did I think? Two things: 1) My heart sickened at imagining what sad circumstances might have led him to this; 2) here was a fit young man my son's age that made a decision none of us can fathom. As for driving around him, were I a doctor I would have stopped. As it was, I made an instant decision that my stopping would only add to the chaos. Best - Randy Tessier”

“Thanks to fxdwgi and the others for stopping and helping. You'd be amazed at the kinds of accidents that people don't stop for ... I recall one early morning on EB M-14 to SB US-23 where there was a crash and the disabled cars were scattered across the four lanes and the shoulder at the split; before traffic was controlled, people were threading that needle at nearly full speed, not bothering to slow down or stop, just swerving left and right and continuing on... unbelievable. This is why the fire department usually blocks several or even all lanes often even at the protest of the police.”

“On one hand I can sometimes understand someone not stopping; in their head, "I know nothing about first aid, I faint at the sight of blood, there's already someone there helping, my kids are in the car and I don't want them to see this..." etc... but still... on the other hand, calls come in for serious crashes, people ejected, etc. and when you get there, there's not a bystander to be found - the caller(s) didn't even bother to stop to see if anyone was hurt. Again, unbelievable.”

“Dont judge others for driving around the scene, I have no medical experience, I could not have helped, the best thing I could do is get out of the way. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem...”

“@fxdwgi - While you should be commended and heralded for stopping and lending a hand, I see no logic in stopping the other lane of traffic, and no reason to judge others who did not stop. As others have said, there would be nothing I (or probably the majority of drivers) could do to help that had not already been done. Should everyone have just stopped and gawked with their mouths open? If I were there and saw that the situation was already being dealt with, I would have driven away and looked in the mirror later content with the fact that I GOT OUT OF THE WAY to let the professions do their job.”

“Several comments that violated our conversation guidelines were removed for being off-topic, containing personal attacks and not furthering the conversation.”

“To not stop and help appalls me. I was going westbound when I saw this person lying in the road. It looked like it perhaps was a minute or two after it happened. If you stop and offer, and the folks there say "we got it handled", then drive on. But don't NOT STOP. This young man was the age of my son. My prayers to his family.”

“@fxdwgi- I was one of the people that apparently needs to "look in the mirror and ask yourself what you REALLY should have done", however when I drove past there were already 2 cars stopped and one police car coming up the shoulder. I'm sure if you talk to the police department they would prefer that most people slowly and safely continue on their way rather than turn this tragic event into a spectacle. Although I applaud you for stopping and helping, its not right for you to call out everyone that kept driving. It appears as if you are just looking for a pat on the back or a "job well done".”

“I guess the main point of this argument is, did people who were the first to see the man on the road drive by without stopping to call 911? That seems to be the rub to me. If I came upon the scene and there were already cars stopped and helping I would drive by. But I would never ever not stop if it appears I am the first upon the scene or saw it happen. It is implied that people who were there first did not stop. That is shameful. Even without a phone, you can flag someone down, or try to stop bleeding.”

“Something for those who are offended by people who 'swerved' around the body to consider: You're diving along at 45, 50 - 60 - miles per hour. The LAST thing someone would ever think they would encounter is a human laying in the road. In our area we do encounter deer - sometimes in the road. I'd have to think that the shock of driving up at that speed and seeing 'something' in the road - a first thought is that it's NOT human. Seeing something like that is shocking, I believe it would probably take most people a few seconds - or even minutes after coming upon it for their mind to even grasp what they just saw. Especially when they are on their way someplace - their mind is absorbed in thought.”

“So really - give those people a break, even if it did occur to them to go back - they may have thought they'd only be in the way. I can tell you that when I have gone by accidents and the police have us all slowed up and shifting into one lane - I will not look at the accident. I feel so bad for the people, I also feel that my gawking at them at such a vulnerable and horrific time borders on morbid cruelty. I guess if it were me out there - injured and crumpled om the road - I wouldn't want people staring at me. That's just me tho...”

“My two cents: I have deep compassion and empathy for those struggling with depression or other mental illnesses, but, @Alan Benard - this man chose to end his life publicly. It was done on public property at a high-volume [traffic] time of day, so I feel that YES we as the general public have a right to know the story. It's not as though annarbor.com is posting images or something equally grotesque, they are just informing us on what happened, aka, the news.”

“I was one of the first cars to drive around. Virtually all traffic stopped for the body. Some of the commentary regarding those who did not stop can not pass without comment or explanation. The implication of the commentary seems to be that people who failed to stopped are likened to the lack of reaction by the Kitty Genovese incident in New York some years back. As a person who carefully drove far out and around shoulder to proceed please understand, at the time I had my four-year-old son in the car on my way to pick up my five year old daughter, was able to quickly divert his attention and hold his head looking the opposite direction while we drove around the scene. I noted that virtually all vehicles (traveling an average of 70 mph) did stop upon recognizing what was lying in the road. I did also note that upon recognition folks took extra care to avoid the body. I don't consider myself a nihilist for protecting my family first. Death is hard enough for an adult to deal with much less trying to explain to your young child 'why' an otherwise healthy looking young man is laying facedown on the highway. I wasn't about to stop and expose my son to that. However, in light of the number of others who did stop I don't consider it the same as those who witnessed Kitty Geenovese's murder and did nothing. That was the sense of the comments about those who drove on.”

” I don't think it is appropriate to have open comments in an article about a suicide. This is precisely the sort of thread that makes me unhappy that AnnArbor.com exists in its current format. There is a huge difference between the two paragraphs on an inside page of the news section this story would merit in a normal newspaper and what we see here now. And had this been a suicide confined to private property with no disruption of the public way, it would be in terrible taste and a serious lapse in editorial judgment to report on a suicide at all. What we have here -- beyond the brief, edited content reporting on the facts of the disruption to traffic -- sourced by a public official's quotes -- is bickering over split-second reactions to coming upon the scene, veiled personal attacks approved of by the moderators and remaining published, and other inappropriate commentary. None of it is necessary, and all of it serves to generate revenue for AnnArbor.com by turning this inappropriate commentary about a personal tragedy into page views. I know you will dump this into the Memory Hole with the rest of the criticism of your journalistic standards regarding reader comments. But maybe if enough people explain their unhappiness to you folks over at the second-rate blog, you'll improve your editorial standards, or find management with better judgment."

"Thank you, Alan Benard, for saying EXACTLY what I was thinking. I don't know why most news sites believe they need to have comments for each and every article (or any at all, for that matter). It just devolves into a forum for hate speech, wild speculation, and disrespectful treatment of sensitive matters such as this. The only news site I can think of that does not have comments is MSNBC.com and I like it that way because I an read the news and move on without getting upset about all the stupid and rude things people are putting in the comments."

HERE'S THE LAST POST (4/16/10):

"I am really disappointed by what I am reading here. This is a sad and tragic event made more so by being played out in a public setting. Even more unfortunate is that the public setting included young children, in the vehicles, at the school, and on the bridge. For me this event made me stop and think about the fragility of life and how someone who can appear to be ‘normal’ or even ‘happy’ may very well be tormented and miserable. It is a reminder to me that the many things we surround ourselves with, friends, family, objects, can be taken away suddenly.

What I read above is so filled with blame and scorn and most of it is self-centered and, in my opinion, wrong. The person who came upon this scene first, stopped; as I would guess everyone else would have done had they been the first car down the road; whether they had kids in the car or not. Once there were people on site others chose to continue; and probably with good reason; those that drove on could not help this man. I would guess that many of those that kept going did what they could and called 911 reporting the incident to the police even though they would have suspected that others had already done that too. I strongly doubt that even one medically trained individual kept driving.

It was clear with one brief look that only trained medical professionals could help in this instance if help was even possible at that point. Even the police and firemen first on the scene could do little for this man. Had a different accident occurred on this site that needed many hands I have little doubt that all of you would have stopped and lent a hand as you could; say an accident that needed help evacuating people and escorting them to safety, or something similar. This man’s life essentially ended as soon as he hit the pavement and I suspect any doctor would agree that the damage was far too great for anyone to save him, no matter who was there.

Casting aspersions on your neighbors over this tragedy is just adding more tragedy. Do I have the moral high ground if I cried? Am I lesser if I did not? How long should I mourn, simply because I was there? Am I required to mourn at all for someone I did not know, whose death I happened upon? I suspect that those who have commented have had other experiences with tragedy and then also know that there is quite a wide range of human reactions to events such as these."

Dear All:

For better or for worse, the interactive nature of the media is the news paradigm of the future. What's somewhat disturbing to me is that a certain segment of the readership, and this is an assumption, is more interested in commenting on whatever stories they might come across rather than something that affects them particularly. While it's true that I'm guilty of this by virtue of this very post, the question of what's right to do seems appropriate to address because my witness to this horrifying scene actually happened. In other words, for me, the moral question of what to do was suddenly less an abstract question than something I had to quickly consider because I was there.

The person that surfs the news simply to enter into these kinds of discussions is, in a sense, a cyber-gawker (I miss the hard copy A2 News where this thread couldn't happen). It was a bit of a rag; but it was our rag. I looked up this story because I was so traumatized by what happened that I felt knowing more about it might somehow ease my mind.

Finally, this is my first time entering into a discussion thread like this, and I found it both interesting and disturbing. Why disturbing? Because yesterday, when I was on line for a while following this, there were some cruel and callous comments that I couldn't believe popped up. I assume the reason for this is the lack of a delay, or filter, to stop them before they are posted. It is extremely unfortunate that the readers see totally inappropriate material at the same time the monitor does. Yes, it's only up there briefly, but it’s up there, and that is something that needs to be addressed as a matter of journalistic ethics.

Best – Randy Tessier

Why We Fight

“Over there, over there, Send the word, send the word over there. That the yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming…We’ll be over, we’re coming over. And we won’t come back till it’s over, over there.”

George M. Cohan 1878-1942: “Over There” (1917 song)

Dear Parents:

cc: Barack Obama

Would you be willing to sacrifice your child so that Hamid Karzai might stay in power?

Peace – Randy

Images by Ed Paschke