Hey Freak!

Do you have faith in the goodness of people? Yes? No?

I try to. I'm an optimist when it comes to people. But, more and more, I'm losing faith. People are dicks. People are assholes. People are idiots.

See, I was reading about this poor girl, Louise Ogborn. She's a young lady who, while 18 and working at a McDonald's, had her life totally turned upside down. Somebody had called the Asst. Manager, pretending to be a cop, and ordered that Louise be confined, as she had stolen a customer's purse. She was then strip searched. Later, the Asst. Manager's boyfriend joined in the interrogation (while Louise was only wearing a small apron), and the interrogation got worse. Neither the Asst. Manager nor her boyfriend bothered to check on the validity of the cop's identity (turns out, he wasn't a cop. go figure!). And poor Louise went along with everything, because she thought she was in trouble with the police, even though she knew she had done nothing wrong.

They ended up catching a guy who they thought made the calls (and it sure seems like they had enough to convict him, but I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure), but he was found not guilty. The Asst. Manager was found guilty of unlawful imprisonment and only got probation. The (now former) boyfriend pleaded guilty to sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, and unlawful imprisonment. And, currently, Louise Ogborn is suing McDonald's for $200 million.

This is where my lack of faith in people comes in.

You see, I'm not sure whether Louise should get the $200 mil from McDonald's. Really, it's not their fault; it's the fault of the Asst. Manager and the boyfriend (and of course, the perpetrator). But since it happened on company time in a company room, I see McDonald's a liable in this situation. OK, I guess I think that she should get the $200 million. But, I would understand if she didn't get it all.

Now, I read some of the readers' comments. Holy fuck, there are some horrible, horrible people out there.

"this story is rediculous. That girl shouldnt get a penny from mcdonalds. Its not their fault she is a moron."

"PLus, who's to say this girl didn't set this up for herself?"

"If you believe this girl, then you need to send me money. I am a victim too. A CIA officer is forcing me to type this right now. Send me money or it could be your last day on earth. About $200million dollars sounds nice. Thanks for understanding"

Whatever happened to sympathy and compassion? Nevermind that oftentimes, people do things they wouldn't normally do, when threatened by authority figures (in this case, police and management). Are the people who feel bad for this poor girl and what she went through... are we the minority?

That, in itself, is sad.

Ya know...I really want to believe in the goodness of people. I really, really, really do. I try to stay a little optimistic, I try to retain a little bit of my naive self. But the truth is, I expect to be let down. So when it happens, I'm not surprised. But, I'm still disappointed, which lets me know....that I've totally given up on people yet. But they certainly are trying my patience...

I too thought the $200 million lawsuit seemed excessive until I saw this little tidbit:

"In one of the most explosive moments from the trial, a psychologist hired by McDonald's testified that Ogborn had "grown in some way" from the horrific incident. Forensic psychologist Alan Friedman, who was paid more than $50,000 by the fast food company, acknowledged that Ogden experienced post-traumatic stress, but asserted that she has grown from the experience and is more assertive and self-reliant than she was before the 3½-hour humiliating ordeal.

Friedman reportedly stated that after interviewing Ogborn and performing a number of tests on her, "It's not the ideal way to come to new growth, but some people grow through their trauma."

When Ogborn's co-counsel asked Friedman if he thought the event would affect Ogborn for the rest of her life, he said, "She will never forget it, but it won't psychologically affect her for the rest of her life." "

Fuck. that. shit. She's supposed to what? Thank them for the "growth" she's gone through? Hey McDonald's, how about apologizing and admitting you dropped the ball instead of trying to deflect blame? I hope this girl gets every single cent.

I saw a story about this on one of the news shows -- 20/20 or Dateline or whatever.
I find it hard to believe that people would think this girl would SET UP for her manager's gross boyfriend to make her strip naked, do jumping jacks, perform oral sex on him, and spank her.

I hope she gets every cent.

The fact that the Assistant Manager would even think to do any of those things rather than simply saying that she would hold her until the police arrived suggests that she was an idiot, but also thought she had way too much power at her job.

On the subject of losing faith in people, I heard a report on the news on the radio yesterday about a man who was waiting at the bus stop with his groceries when he was hit by a truck, which sped off rather than stopping. Instead of helping the injured man, other people at the bus stop stole his groceries. One person was willing to help, and people stole his groceries, too.

I remember seeing this story a while ago on 20/20 or something too. I still can't believe none of them - not the girl, the manager, or the boyfriend - really questioned what was going on there. I try to have faith in humanity, but I've also realized that common sense is more of a rare commodity than it's name implies. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to being good people. I have to say that the woman who came back and offered to be a witness when my car was hit two weeks ago? She definitely helped boost my faith in humanity.

$200 million is ridiculously high, but she does deserve something. Mostly, though, this proves that all parties involved are completely, totally stupid.

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