Burlington Coat Factory Riot
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It’s a crisp fall day as you are perusing the racks of a local Burlington Coat Factory. You notice a commotion and ask what is going on. Someone breathlessly tells you there is a woman in the store who has won the lottery and she is paying for everyone’s purchases up to $500. What is your reaction? Do you continue shopping and ignore the craziness? Or do you make a mad dash for the closest rack of clothes and grab everything? Things you may or may not need, shoes that aren’t even in your size, anything close enough for you to get your hands on.
I just can’t imagine what would go through someone’s mind that would make them start grabbing everything off the racks because some person they’ve never met says they will pay for it. Why isn’t the first thing you think about “umm…I’m gonna need a bank statement first”? I know I’m supposed to be railing against the crazy lady that came in and lied about winning the lottery, but frankly, that’s the obvious. Of course she’s a whack job, but what about customers who began stripping the store of all of its merchandise and then trashing the place when they were asked to pay for it? Or the ones who managed to make it out of the store with stolen goods? Some mental case you’ve never laid eyes on before tells you she’ll buy you stuff and when she doesn’t make good, you think you’re still owed the booty.
I’ve never understood the concept of looting and rioting. People would have you believe they are trying to make a point, but whatever message they are trying to send gets lost in the rubble. You can’t expect people to listen to you or champion your cause if you’ve just caused them thousands of dollars worth of damage.
As with most things, greed is the motivator here; it can turn upstanding citizens into criminals, from Wall Street down to Burlington Coat Factory. Not one of those customers thought they would be walking into that store getting their purchases for free (well, with the exception of a possible shoplifter or two), yet each one walked out feeling they had been robbed of something they deserved. In deplorability, this is a case where the effect far outweighed the cause. The woman was wrong for what she did, but the customers overshadowed her by a long shot. Her actions were to grab attention (possibly due to a mental condition); theirs displayed a true lack of character.
I don’t subscribe to the theory that no one is owed anything. I believe we all have basic human rights that we are owed; a roof over our heads, food on our table, and the ability to seek medical care are all things I think everyone should have, regardless of their economic condition. Nowhere on that list will you ever find discount coats.
Showing posts with label greed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greed. Show all posts
Friday, October 16, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Exxon, Pillar of the Community
Exxon Mobile appeals $150 million award
Jacksonville, MD is a town located in Baltimore County, about 20 miles NE of Baltimore. Jacksonville is populated with about 10,000 people and has a median income of approximately $100,000. The number of people who rent in this community is almost non-existent. People move to this town to put down roots, looking for a place to call home. And for many families that’s what they thought they found, until a grave error made by a major corporation changed all that.
In 2006, Exxon Mobil Corp contacted the Maryland Department of the Environment to inform them of a leak. This was no ordinary leak, though; this leak produced 15 feet of gas in just one well. This leak spilled about 4 tankers full of gas into the community’s ground water. This leak caused a mess that could take as long as 10 years before it is ever truly cleaned up. Exxon managed to allow this leak to go on for a 37-day period without investigating, even after the station had to receive extra shipments of product and some $2,000 worth of gas went unaccounted for each day. Obvious negligence on the part of Exxon caused this catastrophe, yet 3 years later, they still don’t want to take responsibility.
For many people, $150 million may seem like a lot of money. However, split between 89 families, the enormity of that amount dwindles. This was the total awarded to families affected by the oil leak that went undetected by an Exxon Mobil station for 5 weeks. For 5 weeks these families had 26,000 gallons of gas seeping into their lawns and ground water. For 5 weeks, their children were drinking tainted water. For 5 weeks, this service station wreaked havoc on people’s lives, havoc that will resonate for a lifetime. They will always have in the back of their minds the possibility that physical damage was done. When they have a headache, they will wonder. When their child complains of a stomach ache, their hearts may, for a brief moment, seize with fear. Each time they put a glass of drinking water to their lips, they’ll hesitate. And if they decide it’s too much to bear and they want to uproot, they may have to take a loss on the sale of their homes to do so.
At the beginning of the trial, the defense attorney promised that his clients “want to make it right”. Yet, instead of Exxon Mobil Corp. stepping up and doing the right thing, they forced these families to muddle through the court systems and be awarded their justice through a jury. And even after a jury saw fit to give these families a little of what they deserve, Exxon is still planning to appeal. They have already asked the judge to lower the sum, and except for a few minor legal adjustments to the amount, the judge agreed with the jury. Yet, Exxon’s lawyer says he is disappointed. Disappointed? Let’s talk about disappointment. Disappointment is a major company allowing this to go to trial, a company who brought in $44 million in profit, a record for the corporation, in 2008, a year when many companies were struggling to keep their head above water. Allowing these families, who have already been through so much, to have to sit and listen to this mega company provide excuses for their lack of consideration for everyday people. The victims were forced to hear an email, written by an Exxon Mobil project manager, discounting their pain and suffering, referring to it as “just another notch in the tree of life”. During his closing remarks, the defense attorney further ridiculed the plaintiffs, calling the families’ fears, about potential health risks, unsubstantiated. Even though, the effects of a long-term presence of MTBE, a gasoline additive, are not fully understood.
Exxon is letting their true colors show, exposing them for the greedy corporation they are. For me, it seems only yesterday we were hearing how this company had to be forced to take responsibility for a far more major catastrophe in Alaska. In 20 years they still haven’t learned community conscientiousness. They still aren’t accepting responsibility for their actions. When will this company see that they can’t railroad the little people? They can’t brush their mistakes under the rug and pretend they didn’t happen. Their mistakes affect the community in which they are made and they need to step up and repair the damage, and not just the physical damage. They need to reach in where it really hurts, the pocketbook. They need to stand up and accept their punishment for these egregious errors. Only then will they have made it right.
Jacksonville, MD is a town located in Baltimore County, about 20 miles NE of Baltimore. Jacksonville is populated with about 10,000 people and has a median income of approximately $100,000. The number of people who rent in this community is almost non-existent. People move to this town to put down roots, looking for a place to call home. And for many families that’s what they thought they found, until a grave error made by a major corporation changed all that.
In 2006, Exxon Mobil Corp contacted the Maryland Department of the Environment to inform them of a leak. This was no ordinary leak, though; this leak produced 15 feet of gas in just one well. This leak spilled about 4 tankers full of gas into the community’s ground water. This leak caused a mess that could take as long as 10 years before it is ever truly cleaned up. Exxon managed to allow this leak to go on for a 37-day period without investigating, even after the station had to receive extra shipments of product and some $2,000 worth of gas went unaccounted for each day. Obvious negligence on the part of Exxon caused this catastrophe, yet 3 years later, they still don’t want to take responsibility.
For many people, $150 million may seem like a lot of money. However, split between 89 families, the enormity of that amount dwindles. This was the total awarded to families affected by the oil leak that went undetected by an Exxon Mobil station for 5 weeks. For 5 weeks these families had 26,000 gallons of gas seeping into their lawns and ground water. For 5 weeks, their children were drinking tainted water. For 5 weeks, this service station wreaked havoc on people’s lives, havoc that will resonate for a lifetime. They will always have in the back of their minds the possibility that physical damage was done. When they have a headache, they will wonder. When their child complains of a stomach ache, their hearts may, for a brief moment, seize with fear. Each time they put a glass of drinking water to their lips, they’ll hesitate. And if they decide it’s too much to bear and they want to uproot, they may have to take a loss on the sale of their homes to do so.
At the beginning of the trial, the defense attorney promised that his clients “want to make it right”. Yet, instead of Exxon Mobil Corp. stepping up and doing the right thing, they forced these families to muddle through the court systems and be awarded their justice through a jury. And even after a jury saw fit to give these families a little of what they deserve, Exxon is still planning to appeal. They have already asked the judge to lower the sum, and except for a few minor legal adjustments to the amount, the judge agreed with the jury. Yet, Exxon’s lawyer says he is disappointed. Disappointed? Let’s talk about disappointment. Disappointment is a major company allowing this to go to trial, a company who brought in $44 million in profit, a record for the corporation, in 2008, a year when many companies were struggling to keep their head above water. Allowing these families, who have already been through so much, to have to sit and listen to this mega company provide excuses for their lack of consideration for everyday people. The victims were forced to hear an email, written by an Exxon Mobil project manager, discounting their pain and suffering, referring to it as “just another notch in the tree of life”. During his closing remarks, the defense attorney further ridiculed the plaintiffs, calling the families’ fears, about potential health risks, unsubstantiated. Even though, the effects of a long-term presence of MTBE, a gasoline additive, are not fully understood.
Exxon is letting their true colors show, exposing them for the greedy corporation they are. For me, it seems only yesterday we were hearing how this company had to be forced to take responsibility for a far more major catastrophe in Alaska. In 20 years they still haven’t learned community conscientiousness. They still aren’t accepting responsibility for their actions. When will this company see that they can’t railroad the little people? They can’t brush their mistakes under the rug and pretend they didn’t happen. Their mistakes affect the community in which they are made and they need to step up and repair the damage, and not just the physical damage. They need to reach in where it really hurts, the pocketbook. They need to stand up and accept their punishment for these egregious errors. Only then will they have made it right.
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