About that passenger on United

[jaysunb]

Ok, before the flames start accusing me and the people who report this stuff of blaming the " victim," I will admit I had some serious questions about the reaction by Dr. Dao, as I've seen this situation played out many times, and have never seen anyone act like this.
Here's some background.

Little is known about Dao or why he was so adamant about remaining on the flight, leading news organizations to probe his history. The Louisville Courier-Journal and other news organizations reported Monday that Dao had previously been convicted of six felonies related to his medical practice in 2004, in which he was accused of illegally prescribing painkillers to a patient in exchange for sex.

He was given five years of supervised probation.
Dao surrendered his medical license in 2005, and applied for reinstatement, telling regulators it was a matter of "family honor." In a 2014 letter, his attorney described Dao as "a grandfather, an active participant in his local church" who supports an organization that helps the homeless in his community, Elizabethtown, Ky.

According to publicly available state licensing records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Dao has a history of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, for which he has received treatment. A 2011 psychological evaluation of Dao concluded that he "lacked the foundation to navigate difficult situations, both inter-personally and in a complex profession."

That evaluation also said Dao has struggled with "poor decision-making" and a "lack of awareness around his personality and relational issues." The records said Dao had been previously cited by a hospital in the 2000s for "disruptive conduct" and was ordered to seek evaluation for "anger management" issues. In 2002, another doctor wrote that Dao sometimes "unilaterally chose to do his own thing."

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/united-passenger-who-was-dragged-from-plane-says-hes-still-in-the-hospital/ar-BBzJGyY?ocid=sf

[BannonsLiver]

1. You're about 12-14 hrs late to the party

It's been done to death today on DU.

[cwydro]

32. Now THAT is funny.

"Done to death?"

Pretty much any topic gets "done to death" here on DU unless it doesn't fit a particular DU narrative.

Too funny.

[BannonsLiver]

46. um okay?

[spanone]

2. i've seen this story a few times posted here. it is blaming the victim.

nothing the victim did in the past had any relevance to the situation he endured.

[dalton99a]

3. Forget his occupation and mental status, nobody deserves that abuse

[malaise]

24. That fugging simple n/t

[uponit7771]

33. bout it

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. The rest of the article says:

"another psychological evaluation administered in 2013 concluded that Dao "emotionally was free of debilitating anxiety, depression, or psychological turmoil to the extent that it would affect his ability to function in activities of daily living or manage the practice of medicine.""

And even if he still had problems, would it still be OK to beat him up?

[dalton99a]

9. +1

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. All the more reason to sense that something was wrong a leave the guy alone.

Instead of rousting him for nothing.

[athena]

6. Are you in favor of physically assaulting people with mental problems

when they are posing no physical threat to anyone?

If not, you should delete your post. It is despicable in its insensitivity, not to mention disrespectful towards those of us who have suffered from depression, anxiety, PTSD, anger management issues, or other mental problems or simply happen to be independent thinkers who choose to defy convention. Behaving differently than the average is no reason to be mistreated or physically assaulted.

ETA: Dr. Dao was convicted of and disciplined for fraudulently obtaining painkillers, but he denied that he exchanged painkillers for sex. You are spreading the word of someone who is addicted to painkillers over the word of the doctor himself.

[jaysunb]

10. Please find the part I say I think it was ok.

And, no, I'm not going to take my post down.

I've also flown w/ passengers with "issues." It's a very frightening thing at 35,000 feet.

[athena]

13. Whether the victim had mental issues is irrelevant.

He was physically assaulted when he posed no threat. Your post is today's equivalent of the 80s phenomenon of blaming rape victims for their own rape because of the way they dressed and acted.

Your post is a demonstration of a total lack of sensitivity. It does not belong on DU.

I hope for your sake you never have to deal with the "issues" you so contemptuously disparage. What is frightening is not someone who has mental issues but someone who has zero sensitivity to the suffering of his fellow humans.

[Warren DeMontague]

23. Why did you put victim in quotes?

[geek tragedy]

31. The only people with issues were the corporate thugs

at United and their hired muscle.

[anneboleyn]

7. PLEASE STOP POSTING THIS SHIT. PLEASE. THIS WAS POSTED MULTIPLE TIMES TODAY AND IT

is disgustingly offensive mud-slinging, a corporate smear campaign, and totally irrelevant to what United did to this guy. Please delete your post. You can do a quick search and see the long threads posted well before yours.

[anneboleyn]

12. Also, whose face did you see smashed b/c they didn't want to leave their seat on an airplane?!

He had boarded the plane and was doing nothing wrong.

[MissB]

8. None of that means he should be beaten and hauled off a plane.

In other words, don't blame the victim.

[meadowlander]

11. It's not just blaming the victim,

it's carrying United's water by corrupting the potential jury pool for the lawsuit.

[jaysunb]

14. Law suit ? Better read that fine print n/t

[anneboleyn]

16. This was already discussed today as well in GREAT detail. It's no slam dunk for United.

[eShirl]

25. Actually, United better read it.

see multiple DU threads

[geek tragedy]

30. Lol, transparent nt

[anneboleyn]

15. Yes, this is it exactly!!! I hate seeing this on DU.

[Lil Missy]

17. All completely irrelevant.

[Nwgirl503]

18. How the hell did anyone get his medical history?

Is it part of his licensing history?

Either way, he's the victim. IDC if he was wearing chicken wings and drooling on himself.

[athena]

20. What I would like to see is the mental health history of the cop who assaulted Dr. Dao.

Why is it that there are no investigations into that?

[Sancho]

28. ...and the medical history of the CEO of United, the gate crew, etc....

the passenger's history played no role in this screwup.

[KingCharlemagne]

37. Ive been following the story at a distance. Has the particular cop been identified yet? - nt

[AgadorSparticus]

19. I absolutely hate this. Ignore the morally bankrupt corporation and smear the victim.

This is bullshit.

[BadgerKid]

21. How is his putative history relevant?

*plonk*

[Warren DeMontague]

22. ...so what?

Know what "history" actually IS relevant here?

This thing-

http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/united-airlines-promised-federal-regulators-all-ticketed-passengers-are-guaranteed

[GeorgeGist]

26. So you ARE blaming the victim.

Got it.

[d_r]

27. To me

This is exactly why we should be outraged. instead of calming the situation with a man with a disability they threw him to the ground and drug him.

[geek tragedy]

29. So only perfect people can be considered victims of corporate muggings? nt

[FBaggins]

36. Actually... Part of this COULD be relevant

Passengers with disabilities are supposed to be the last ones involuntarily removed from flights.

[chillfactor]

34. get off the doctor's case already...

posts like yours make me sick to my stomach....NO person deserves to be treated like the doctor was. he had a real reason to be on that plane.....United employees did not!

[Locrian]

35. oh, let me play - how about this?

Ok, before the flames start accusing me and the people who report this stuff of blaming the "victim," I will admit I had some serious questions about United Airlines, as I've seen this situation played out many times.
Here's some background.

United Has Abused Customers For Years

This is not the first time United has had this kind of problem. In 2009 Canadian musician Dave Carroll became a sensation after producing a series of YouTube videos that chronicled his experience after United baggage handlers destroyed his guitar. The baggage handlers clearly did not care about his guitar. Nor did the gate agents, the baggage department or the customer service department. After many, many calls United personnel simply decided Mr. Caroll's broken guitar would not be compensated -- even though they broke it -- and he should just "get over it."

In 2013 United came in dead last in the Airline Quality Rating. United's response (as I detailed in a 2013 Forbes column) was simply that "they did not care." Quite literally, lowering cost was more important that being dead last in customer satisfaction.

In 2016 United fired its CEO after discovering he was bribing government officials to obtain favorable treatment at New Jersey and New York airports. The pressure to lower cost in the "operationally excellent" strategy was so paramount that judgement falters not only at low levels, but all the way up to the CEO.

more....
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2017/04/10/why-united-airlines-abuses-customers-the-risks-of-operational-excellence/#3b7d5aa7bb10


See - that was easy....

[Mendocino]

38. ...

[Vinca]

39. It doesn't matter if it was Charlie Freaking Manson in the seat on the plane.

He paid for the seat, he had to get home, he was minding his own business and next thing you know 3 goons are dragging him off the plane and bloodying his face. The lawyers must be lined up around the corner from the guy's house.

[Sanity Claws]

40. you take your victim as you find him

In civil law this means that this very vulnerable person should get greater damages as a result of United's mistreatment.

[blogslut]

41. It doesn't matter.

The man paid for his ticket, showed up on time, boarded the plane and sat in his seat.

United airlines overbooks flights as policy and cannot properly staff its venues. The enforcement agents were either untrained or grossly unconcerned with the safety of this man and the other passengers on that flight.

Instead of addressing these troubling issues, the media decides to publicly flay a victim of incompetent violence.

[Bettie]

42. Nothing there renders him

deserving of a beating, nor does it mean he did not have to be back to see patients the next day.

Seriously, why is it so reflexive for people to blame the guy who is bleeding while declaring that he deserved it and got what was coming to him by the ones who did the beating.

Victim blaming is not right.

[mainer]

43. Wow. Revealing personal medical and psychological records

is now OK, HIPAA be damned. Corporations get away with everything, don't they?

[MineralMan]

44. So, was he doing any of those things on the plane?

What on Earth does his background have to do with his taking a flight that day?

I can't believe people are pulling this crap out, as if it were somehow relevant to what happened on that aircraft.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

45. Well, okay.

That definitely excuses United here.

Definitely.


Also, Trayvon Martin should not have been suspended from school. If he hadn't been suspended from school, he wouldn't be dead right now.