justinb138 0 #1 July 11, 2009 QuoteIt was an accident waiting to happen -- an open sewer and a 15-year-old girl who was texting while she walked. Alexa Longueira, a high school sophomore, was walking along Victory Boulevard near Travis Avenue on Staten Island Wednesday evening when she felt the earth move and was plunged into smelly darkness. She said the manhole she fell in to was left open and unattended with no warning signs or orange cones. She said two workers with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection failed to secure the area as they prepared to flush the sewer. "It was just really gross and it was shocking and scary," she said. "Because of their careless mistake I got hurt." Longueira has deep cuts and bruises and said she now has nightmares about falling, but she also did admit she was texting at the time. http://wcbstv.com/local/texting.manhole.raw.2.1081403.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nataly 38 #2 July 11, 2009 Umm.. I have to say.. Even though she was texting and walking at the same time, the man-hole should either have been covered or sectioned-off. She's right.. You don't expect a big hole when you're walking along the side-walk.. which is probably why she felt quite safe in texting and not paying much attention.."There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidB 0 #3 July 11, 2009 Not sure what's more frightening, the fact that she's so secure, or oblivious, that she can walk without looking where she's going, or the fact that she'll likely be texting & driving in a couple years!When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #4 July 12, 2009 you also wouldn't expect a mugger either. no excuse, time for people to be situationally aware. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aresye 0 #5 July 12, 2009 I remember reading about a girl who died because her car rolled over during an accident she caused because of texting. First comment posted the guy said, "I hope she had rollover minutes." Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nataly 38 #6 July 12, 2009 Quoteyou also wouldn't expect a mugger either. no excuse, time for people to be situationally aware. I'm not saying she was being clever, but the hole should have been blocked or covered up. Re the mugger.. It's the mugger committing the crime.. Blaming the victim for being an "easy" target doesn't change the fact that it's the mugger who is at fault."There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #7 July 12, 2009 Quote Quote you also wouldn't expect a mugger either. no excuse, time for people to be situationally aware. I'm not saying she was being clever, but the hole should have been blocked or covered up. Re the mugger.. It's the mugger committing the crime.. Blaming the victim for being an "easy" target doesn't change the fact that it's the mugger who is at fault. oh come on! ok, now i can understand hitting an open manhole with a car cause your cruising along at 40 MPH, (this happened in Long Beach, crackheads were stealing covers for scrap value), but walking right into a hole? what about a curb, or a thorn bush, or maybe a tree. OPEN your freaken eyes! Damn, I hope I am not riding my bike when this idiot learns to drive...or anywhere near a DZ that lets her jump. ** **disclamer. this is a rant, not to be directed at the poster, but the idiot girl. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nataly 38 #8 July 12, 2009 oh come on! ok, now i can understand hitting an open manhole with a car cause your cruising along at 40 MPH, (this happened in Long Beach, crackheads were stealing covers for scrap value), but walking right into a hole? what about a curb, or a thorn bush, or maybe a tree. OPEN your freaken eyes! Damn, I hope I am not riding my bike when this idiot learns to drive...or anywhere near a DZ that lets her jump. ** **disclamer. this is a rant, not to be directed at the poster, but the idiot girl. Yep, I agree she's an idiot, but how often have you stepped in dog poo, or right into a massive puddle, or tripped on a tree root, or bumped into another pedestrian because you weren't quite paying attention? Some people are just plain stupidly unaware, but that doesn't mean it's ok for workers to just leave a big open hole in the middle of the sidewalk either.."There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidB 0 #9 July 12, 2009 True, there should have been something there. Why do I get the feeling she'd just have fallen over the barrier then in the man-hole anyway?When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rlucus 0 #10 July 12, 2009 QuoteTrue, there should have been something there. Why do I get the feeling she'd just have fallen over the barrier then in the man-hole anyway? But then she would have no case... and it would have been funnier Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nataly 38 #11 July 12, 2009 Quote Quote True, there should have been something there. Why do I get the feeling she'd just have fallen over the barrier then in the man-hole anyway? But then she would have no case... and it would have been funnier Makes you wish it got caught on video "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #12 July 13, 2009 Quote Quote Quote True, there should have been something there. Why do I get the feeling she'd just have fallen over the barrier then in the man-hole anyway? But then she would have no case... and it would have been funnier Makes you wish it got caught on video hell, she could have been shooting video why texting. better check the phone for evidence ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surfbum5412 0 #13 July 13, 2009 QuoteQuoteyou also wouldn't expect a mugger either. no excuse, time for people to be situationally aware. I'm not saying she was being clever, but the hole should have been blocked or covered up. Re the mugger.. It's the mugger committing the crime.. Blaming the victim for being an "easy" target doesn't change the fact that it's the mugger who is at fault. It's a psychological phenomenon called "victim blaming." Example, women are more likely to partially or fully blame female rape victims. Nothing a women does gives a man the right to rape a female. In this case, if the hole was not unattended, the women would have not fallen into it. People blame the fact that she wasn't paying attention as the reason she is partially or fully to blame. 1. What if she was playing with a friend, not paying attetnion, and she fell down the hole? -In the past, other girls playing with friends have fallen down sewer holes, and the news covered every minute of it. Did you sympathize with girl then? Of course you did. 2.Ok, so the variable is a cell phone. I'm sure your pre-conceived notions, like mine, of people on cell phones is that they are annoying and oblivious to the world around them. And illogically, what you are doing is thinking cell phone (oblivious people= negative) with unattended sewer hole (not in her control) and coming to the conclusion that people on cell phones are oblivious, therefore it was in her control to avoid falling down the sewer. Switch cell phone with (playing= fun and positive) and now you have a dilemma, huh? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justinb138 0 #14 July 13, 2009 QuoteIt's a psychological phenomenon called "victim blaming." Yup. Even if she is a victim of her own carelessness. Quote In this case, if the hole was not unattended, the women would have not fallen into it. It's about taking responsibility for one's own actions, and in this case, inaction. If the hole wasn't there, sure she wouldn't have fallen into it. Had she been paying attention she wouldn't have either. I'm not saying it was 100% her fault, as it's not, but her choice to text message instead of looking where she was going directly affected the outcome of the situation. If she'd would have accepted partial responsibility for it I'd be more understanding, but calling the media and lawyering up the minute she got out of the shower gets her no sympathy from me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #15 July 13, 2009 She must be a really baaaad person ... most women would "fall down a swer and come up smelling of roses!!" (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #16 July 13, 2009 -It's partly the workers' fault for leaving the manhole cover open, unattended, un-fenced and w/o warning cones/signs. -It's partly the girl's fault for not watching where she was going. It's not an "either-or". And when you cut through all the BS, that's the bottom line. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
