There are Five Stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.
I am in the Angry stage.
In his every plate appearance at Angel Stadium in this tragically-abbreviated home stand, Oakland's Jason Giambi was booed heartily by a baseball public sick of steroid abuse and the coverage it got.
The media stoked the steroid story after years of ignoring it. But with famous drunk drivers all around us, where is the moral outrage for those convicted of driving under the influence? Where is the media witch hunt not accepting jurisprudence slaps on the wrist and castigating entire careers because of bad decisions that are potentially fatal to the perpetrator as well as innocent members of the public?
Jim Leyritz killed a woman in a drunk driving accident.This is worse than A-Rod testing positive.
Joba Chamberlain was recently shown in a stumbling state on a police-video of his DUI arrest. This is worse than Barry Bonds telling the feds that he did not know what his trainer was injecting him with.
Mo Vaughn was so drunk when he was arrested for drunk driving as a Red Stocking that he could not recite the alphabet. This is worse than anything Jason Giambi used to increase his muscle mass.
Tony LaRussa was asleep at the wheel of his car at an intersection, drunk, just a season after one of his players had been killed while driving under the influence. This is worse than anything Mark McGwire did to get shut out of the Hall of Fame voting.
And there are lots of others.
Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe are not in Cooperstown because of character issues. Baseball has a long list of players and personnel who have been arrested and convicted of driving drunk. The media loves the sexy secrecy of steroid abuse, the mystique of whether a magic and illegal elixir pumped up the muscles of our heroes into bulges of superhuman abilities. Media outlets practically yawn at drunk driving arrests... until someone dies. But then it is too late, so they better go wag their finger at those evil men in the Mitchell Report... the report about a crime so heinous that nobody even died!
The mainstream media has absconded any role in weighing the true impact of an offense. This editorial attitude has sent the mainstream media into the abyss of being inconsequential. In status, stature and influence, the MSM may not ever recover. But the media could start to gain in the public's eye were they simply to tar and feather the athletes who are actually putting the lives of innocent OTHERS more into risk than a syringe of testosterone ever will.
A decade into a steroid scandal, all of that spilled ink on Human Growth Hormone and the like looks so vain and frivolous now in the harsh light of the morning after a true tragedy with an epic consequence.
16 recs | 78 comments
Agree
Hear, Hear
lbangelsfan - April 10, 2009
As a Giants fan and McCovey Chronicles poster
I used to make a lot of assumptions about HH, and not really come around here much. My loss, apparently. This particular post is critical reading, and I recommended it!
hairball - April 10, 2009
Thank you
Well said, again.
Clutch - April 10, 2009
The thing that
sucks is that tomorrow night there will be somebody leaving angels stadium drunk and driving. This makes me angry and there is nothing that I or any of us can do and that sucks. /but I completely agree with what you said Rev
angelskid2210 - April 10, 2009
Breathalizer as you leave the Stadium, and call ’em a cab if a sober person does not vouch for driving them home.
Too bad that’s incredibly unrealistic.
AlanFalcon - April 10, 2009
Is it impossible
to have a home game where the sales of alcohol are prohibited for a night, if for anything an awareness and/or courtesy to the circumstances?
I know the timing is bad, considering the way Toronto handled a beer-less night, but how awesome and amazing would it be to see Angel Stadium fill up, and know that people are there to watch baseball and honor a wonderful young man, instead of booze up and act unruly?
royhobbs - April 10, 2009
+1
That would be FANTASTIC.
VegasAces - April 10, 2009
Well a suggestion
i heard which i like is the game they make up against the A’s should be an alcohol free night. Whether we can some how get that to the FO i do not know, but that would be really cool to see.
angelskid2210 - April 10, 2009
Rec'd
sqrunt - April 10, 2009
i completely agree
and im in between the stages of Denial and Anger i still cant believe hes gone i just saw him pitch 1 day ago and heard an interview with him and Rex its just unreal and i am mad as fuck at the stupid idiot who was driving drunk and killed 3 possibly 4 innocent people and i hope he gets what he has coming to him
Vladd#27 - April 10, 2009
Rev, great article once again......
thanks.
norcaliangelsfan - April 10, 2009
LSA
Well said, my friend. I was thinking about this earlier today.
You nailed it on the head.
EJThunder - April 10, 2009
Don't forget Donte Stallworth
Piece of shit.
Caseys Kiss of Death - April 10, 2009
And Leonard Little
Killed a woman in a DUI, then got another one a few years after that.
irwin - April 10, 2009
Yep, not sure how he got out of those situations. Ridiculous.
Downing Rules - April 12, 2009
Amen
Very eloquent, Rev.
mustard_man - April 10, 2009
Well said Rev....
Just thought I’d let you know how things are here in Romania. Of course Soccer (Football) is the big sport that everyone loves. Thousands attend games here every weekend but there is absolutely no alcohol for sale in any of the stadiums. No drunkards getting out of control or driving off from the stadiums.
Also there is zero tolerance as far as drinking and driving. That is, If you’ve taken one sip of alcohol you are not allowed to drive. NOT ONE SIP!!!
Should some of these laws be adopted in America? Would the ballclubs be willing to take that kind of financial cut for the good of mankind? Just something to think about after such a huge tragedy. Maybe I’m being to radical as I don’t drink anyway.
stuck in Romania - April 10, 2009
In San Francisco...
there is plenty of drinking before games, particularly on opening day, in SF. Increased beer prices seem to encourage folks to load up before getting to the game, sort of offsetting the end of alcohol sales after the 7th (although there are several places to drink even then).
So let’s just make that the official drinking period. Before game, after game. In addition, ballparks are crowded places with lots of hard surfaces, not exactly the perfect place for drinking.
PS. All condolences to Angels fans. You unfortunately have plenty of experience with these sorts of things.
natteringnabob - April 10, 2009
Great take Rev
I’m still in a bit of disbelief, with flashes of anger about this.
I spent a lot of time listening to AM830 online yesterday evening, and it was great to hear people sharing their stories and working out their grief about this. But you’re right – perhaps a bit of perspective about the really important stuff (i.e. life and death decisions like DUI) is needed here.
That is what could be learned from this tragic, and PREVENTABLE situation.
ViolaHalo - April 10, 2009
Excellent post, Rev
I agree 1,000,000%
Kelly - April 10, 2009
Right on Rev!
Sweetmeats - April 10, 2009
Disagree
Rev, as someone who writes about art and for whom music plays such an important role in your life, you can honestly say the the media is making too big a deal over drug use? I can only think that you were being hyperbolic here. There is no way you believe this.
The difference between the steroid issue and the drinking issue is that the amount of illicit alcohol abuse is a fraction of a fraction of the amount of responsible use. There is NO responsible recreational use of steroids. It doesn’t exist. If they’re not being used to treat a medical condition (asthma, growth deficiencies, rehabilitation, MS, etc.) then they are being used illegally, deceptively, unethically, immorally, and, most important, dangerously. Alcohol use is a whole different issue. You might as well argue that the media should stop talking about the financial crisis to focus on the scourge of drinking and driving.
Lives can be destroyed in ways that don’t involve death. This needs to be kept in mind.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
With all due respect
alcohol is by far the most abused drug out there. His post, the way I read it, points out the hypocrisy of our society. DUI, and other alcohol abuse, doesn’t get the stigma of other drug use in this country.
Halo84653 - April 10, 2009
I here you and I'm sensitive to that point
But the way I read the post, and the way here a lot of the discussion regarding steroids, is: ’what’s the big deal?’ Maybe that’s just my subjectivity getting in the way.
I was kinda shocked to here some like the Rev implicitly downplay the dangers of drug abuse. You’ll get no where if you start trying to argue which crime or vice or whatever is worse.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
I didn't get that take at all
There was no downplaying of steroid use and as a frequent reader (and an infrequent poster), I have observed Rev pillorying steroid use much more than I or even most of the press have. The point of the post is that drinking and driving (an undisputable irresponsible use of alcohol) is not given the same degree of scrutiny that steroid use has with potentially horrific results on innocent non-participating parties.
The question he poses is why? Why the sensationalism and intolerance for steroids (which is appropriate), yet only a below the fold one column description of DUI followed by a back page article of a plea agreement?
In light of the possible exclusion of Bonds, McGwire, et al from the HOF based on character, I think that this is a very valid question.
Moondoggy - April 10, 2009
No,
he specifically argues that alcohol abuse is worse than drug abuse. That’s the argument that I have a problem with.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
Really? You do?
Rev’s not talking about alcohol abuse, per se. He’s talking about people who allow themselves to put other people’s lives at risk. The only life endangered by steroid abuse is that of the abuser. When you drive while drunk, you’re basically turning your car into a murder weapon.
Nadingo - April 10, 2009
But that's just it
It’s not that black and white.
You can’t say that steroids only affect the user. How many players have been passed over for promotion or denied MVPs or all-star appearances or $$ because they DIDN’T use?
Couldn’t you blame the car manufacturers because they but safety belts in cars but not breathalyzers?
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
Well I agree with that
Steroid use, while insidious, affects the individual, alcohol abuse (NOT USE) can have destructive effects that go far beyond impacting those you love, etc. No one is arguing that responsible alcohol use is on par with steroid use, but alcohol abuse, alcoholism, DUI, puts the damages caused by steroid abuse in the dust. IMHO.
Moondoggy - April 10, 2009
Maybe, maybe not
See my reply to Nandingo above.
Maybe, given how much alcohol we drink and have drunk, the rate of DWI incidents is fantastically small? Sure, any life lost is unacceptable but argue that case on it’s own merits.
You can’t argue that DWI is bad because steroids are not as bad. That’s a ridiculously bad argument.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
The questions is the moral equivalency
The morality of steroid use on a scale of 1 – 10 versus drunk driving on a scale of 1 – 10?
Rev Halofan - April 10, 2009
I don't think it's a scale issue
Bad is bad is bad. Drunk driving involves someone making an important decision when their judgement is severly impaired. Steroid use involves, unethical decision making, illegal activity, lying, a whole host if reprehensible actions.
DWI is a poor decision with a dangerous weapon when you are not thinking properly.
Steroids involves several criminal actions and decisions made while fully conscious and aware of the consequences.
You can’t measure these two things on the same scale.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
With all due respect, I think there are some holes in your logic that need to be addressed:
1) “You might as well argue that the media should stop talking about the financial crisis to focus on the scourge of drinking and driving.”
I don’t understand the connection here. Rev isn’t saying that the media should stop vilifying players for their steroid use; rather, he’s asking why the media doesn’t vilify players for drunk driving incidents ALSO. I just know as an average Braves fan, that most Braves fans can give you a laundry list of players who tested positive for steroids, but they often don’t know that one of their OWN PLAYERS (Rafael Furcal) pleaded guilty to DUI charges not once but TWICE. There’s something inconsistent about that.
2) “You’ll get no where if you start trying to argue which crime or vice or whatever is worse.”
Well, whether you like it or not, our entire legal system is based on a hierarchy of seriousness. The punishment for a parking violation is not the same as the punishment for premeditated murder, although both are criminal acts. I think you very much can argue that one crime is worse than another.
3) “he specifically argues that alcohol abuse is worse than drug abuse.”
Not true. He specifically argues that SPECIFIC INSTANCES of drug abuse are worse than SPECIFIC INSTANCES of alcohol abuse. The blanket statement is your own extrapolation. If you read the post, his comparisons are rather more direct (i.e., “Player X’s drunk driving is worse than Player Y’s steroid use.”) Another problem with your language is the extension of the argument to include all “alcohol abuse” and all “drug abuse.” Rev is dealing with drunk driving (NOT alcohol abuse in general) and use of PEDs in sports (not drug abuse in general)…that is a critically important distinction.
4) "You can’t say that steroids only affect the user. How many players have been passed over for promotion or denied MVPs or all-star appearances or $$ because they DIDN’T use?
To begin with, you’re right in a sense: steroid use does not affect only the user. It has chain-link effects, some of which do include death (high school kids who have died from using PEDs, having been “inspired,” directly or indirectly, by PED use in the MLB). However, there is a difference between direct consequences and indirect ones. Drunk driving DIRECTLY endangers the lives of every other driver who ever comes in the vicinity of the intoxicated motorist, and, furthermore, the endangered have no say in the outcome (no one ever CHOSE to be hit by a drunk driver…it just happens). Steroid use INDIRECTLY endangers lives; taking away All-Star appearances or dollars from a player is hardly equivalent to taking his life, and even beyond that, the slighted players could have taken action. It’s important to realize that NO ONE, not the owners or the fans or the users or the non-users who knew about steroid use (and all did, to some extent or another), decided to take any kind of action (even though they could have). Everybody was getting paid, so why think twice? Victims of drunk driving have no recourse; “victims” of PED use do, and that’s important to realize.
There really is no equation between the decision to drink and drive and the decision to use PEDs, especially when you consider that DUI has always been illegal, and steroid use hasn’t.
tgthree - April 10, 2009
Thank your for someone with common sense!
MH252525 - April 10, 2009
I think tgthree will send the invoice for his services to Halosheaven...
That seemed like a lawyer talking IMHO. ;)
Downing Rules - April 10, 2009
Totally pro bono, actually. The loss of a young talent like Nick Adenhart is truly a tragic blow for all of baseball, and I love to hear someone making legitimate noise about what I believe to be a serious problem in baseball. Though I’m not a lawyer, I’ll stand up for that all day long. Even free of charge.
tgthree - April 10, 2009
I'm willing to concede
that I may have misunderstood Rev’s point. I can’t read his mind. But to me, his post implied that the very serious problem of alcohol abuse and DWI, esp. when involving athletes, to argue that steroids was a minor and perhaps trivial issue that has been completely overblown. I disagree with this.
I feel Rev should have simply said that this is an issue that we should be more outraged over and not used this as a way to forgive drug abuse. I’m sorry if my poor logic has made my position unclear.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
ignore "to argue" in that 3rd sentence.
Typo.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
You make a good point
I have been critical of the roiders. I wouldn’t vote for McGwire for the HOF. I think Pete Rose is even worse than the juicers.
I just am angry when I realize that A-Rood will be heartily booed by visiting fans for years to come and that Joba Chamberlain will not and that there is a disparity in their individual violations of the social contract that I believe to weigh more heavily against Chamberlain.
Rev Halofan - April 10, 2009
The reason the Media pillories players involved in the steroid scandal is
not as much for their steroid use, but for the players that have lied, denied they used, or attempted to cover it up. Bonds and Clemens have done it under oath and A-rod has done it on national television. This is the story that causes public interest and scandal. This is why they get the media attention. The ones like Petitt and others who have admitted it were excused by the media and became a non story. Same with the players convicted of DUI, they get convicted, admit and apologize to the press, and a pass is issued. I agree it is wrong and DUI should be covered by the press more seriously. I believe what goes on with professional football players is much worse and often wonder why baseball is treated so differently. Hopefully the sports blogs on the internet will take up the responsibility of having this discussion as is demonstrated by this thread.
44FAN - April 10, 2009
Right
And if people could cover-up DWI’s the same way and speculate that the cars were drunk for years and years then I’m sure there would be a great deal of outrage when it was finally revealed that it was the drivers who were drunk all along and they had been lying to us all this time.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
Fair enough
And I apologize if I came off as implying that you were anything other than anti-juicing. I was only criticizing the way you made the argument and that it left open that possibility.
However, I don’t think anyone is going to give drinking and driving or even just drinking a try because they saw the Joba video on youtube or thesmokinggun. I do believe that there are some kids out there and probably many adults that saw A-Roid on 60 Minutes and thought, ‘He wasn’t taking them to play better. I’m cool with taking them or my kid taking them.’ That is a very good reason to be outraged at steroid use.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
Perhaps I am the one who misread, but I definitely did not come away from Rev’s post with the sense that steroid use is something to be ignored. I simply see Rev making a heartfelt plea that drunk drivers in baseball ought to get the same black mark as steroid users. I read the contraposition to PED use as simply a rhetorical device in order to illustrate just how ridiculous it is that drunk drivers get off with (apparently) no lasting stigma.
tgthree - April 10, 2009
Well
what’s worse, embarrassment or imprisonment? If the argument is that the punishment for drunk driving should be shame, well I don’t think that’s enough.
Now, of course I don’t believe that anyone here is making that argument, but I think that’s where the confusion and anger stems from. The appearance is that there is no punishment for steroid use and so the fans, congress and the media are trying to make these guys pay some sort of price. There are very serious punishments for alcohol related crimes but anytime there is a death involved what possible punishment could be satisfactory? A fine, 30 days w/out a license, parole, 6 mo in jail, the stockade, execution? What is sufficient?
The fact is (and I’d bet money on this) not once in history has anyone ever said, “I am getting s—-faced tonight and then I am gonna drive around until I kill someone!” The law believes this as well. We’ve all had drinks or been with someone who has and we know how it alters and impairs. This is why there is no intent to murder for DWI. Steroids are all about intent. Intent to use, intent to cheat, intent to deceive.
Until our legal system recognizes that in some cases being indifferent and irresponsible is worse then being malicious and destructive we will have to accept that DWI is a crime for which the punishment just doesn’t ever seem to fit.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
I don’t think Rev’s point really has anything to do with the legal system though, and I know mine doesn’t. I’m not seeking to change the legal system, but what I am looking to change is the attitude of baseball fans. Joba Chamberlain may not have paid for his crime with jail time, but he ought to pay for it every time he steps out on the field (at least on the road). Fans ought to treat drunk drivers in baseball with as much scorn as they do steroid users, and just as a player can never escape the “PED user” label in the media, he should be equally unable to escape the “drunk driver” label. That’s all I’m saying (and I think that’s all Rev is saying too).
Should these guys be imprisoned? That’s a different question and, in all honesty, I don’t know enough about law to really give you a proper answer. But what I DO know is that the fans and the media can convict these guys in the court of public opinion, if they so desire. That is what I’m asking for.
As for the intent issue, I simply cannot agree with you at all. Killing someone may not be intentional, but it’s not an accident either. A drunk driver has little to no control over the outcome of his decision to drive; if he makes it home safely, he did so only by blind luck. If a person gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle intoxicated, that’s tantamount to “intent” to kill someone, because he doesn’t have any control over whether he does kill someone or not. They know that by driving they are putting other drivers at a HUGE risk, and yet they choose to drive anyway…again, not intent but nearly as bad. (I understand that perhaps they are not aware of all these factors when they make their decision, but I don’t exonerate them because they make bad decisions in an altered state.)
Steroid users aren’t all malicious, either. You have to remember that stuff you could buy at a GNC six or seven years ago is illegal now. Driving drunk has always been drunk driving; the rules surrounding steroids have not always been the same. When you place that ambiguity alongside the total non-ambiguity of drunk driving, AND consider the substantial difference in risk, there remains no real way to put PED use on the same moral plane as driving while intoxicated.
tgthree - April 11, 2009
YES
they are 2 different, mutually exclusive moral planes and that has been my point all along. Don’t use one to argue for or against the other. I don’t care who DWIs while I’m watching a ball game just like I don’t care who is a juicer when I’m driving home at the end of the day.
Keep it seperate, know your time and place, have some context and be reasonable people.
Match Day 5 - April 11, 2009
Excellent points, every one of them
If I could, I’d “recommend” four times.
tobias - April 13, 2009
Why?
$$$$$.
The alcohol corporations depend on the MSM to protect their huge profits made from selling this legal drug. Of all drugs, alcohol causes by far the most harm to our society, followed by tobacco. The alcohol and tobacco lobbies are two of the most powerful in the country. Drunk driving has affected my family and probably most families in the country.
Now it has affected the Angel’s family and the MLB family as well (as witnessed by the outpouring of messages from other teams’ fans). It sucks, and I don’t have a lot of hope that anything will change anytime soon.
From my personal experience, I can only say that while the hole in your heart never goes away, it does get smaller over time.
Idaho87 - April 10, 2009
Agreed
or a greed
Moondoggy - April 10, 2009
beg to disagree
sorry match, i’m not buying it.
the direct impact to victims of drunk driving and their families and friends is far, far worse than anything bonds or clemens or mc gwire or even canseco the rat did to themselves. the randomness of it makes it all the more scarier. the next time i’m at a red light that turns green, i’m not worrying about needles and injections or urine tests, but that one person who runs the red light.
SoCalCMH - April 11, 2009
I think you actually agree with me
‘cause my point was that they are two different monsters. They can’t be compared and in doing so Rev was treading dangerously close to saying ‘drug use isn’t so bad.’
Match Day 5 - April 12, 2009
I agree
Good post.
rjcicc - April 10, 2009
Well said Rev
I’m linking to this wherever I can. Drunk driving and the seeming public acceptance of it has gone on FAR too long.
VegasAces - April 10, 2009
If it were mathematically possible
I would agree 1000%.
Steroid – harm to yourself, maybe a irresponsible lesson to young athletes
Drunk Driving – Manslaughter, possibly murder, of who ever gets in your way
I’ll be honest with you, when I watch the LaRussa video or the Jabba video, I laugh at the fools they are making of themselves, but I never took it as a serious offense. I never thought of what could have easily happened.
thrill000 - April 10, 2009
I used to laugh whenever I’d see mugshots of guys like Dontrelle Willis or Scott Olsen after their follies in South Florida involving cars and alcohol, and always snicker at the AP notes always seemed to throw in sports statistics as if they were relevant to the offense.
Now, it’s just not funny anymore. At all. The what-if’s alone just make me angry and sick. Mostly angry.
royhobbs - April 10, 2009
Forgive and Forget
I am sure that this isn’t going to be a hugely popular sentiment here, but I almost want to forgive Giambi.
I know that he was using roids at a time when he saw a ton of other people doing it, he probably gave in to peer pressure and the desire to be the best that he could be, albeit at any cost.
Reading his comments yesterday and how he talked about Adenhart, the guy loves the game, and he gets the bigger picture behind it. He gets the passion, he gets the drive, he gets the emotion behind it.
I want to think that he was too caught up in everything, too caught up in all that was going on, and he kind of lost his way.
In the wake of what we have experienced in our family this week, I don’t want to be that guy that holds a grudge, I don’t want to be that guy that can’t forgive and forget. I won’t boo Giambi anymore. Hell, I won’t boo any player anymore……. other than Pierzynski of course.
AP2TUDE - April 10, 2009
Booing is fine
It’s gotten a bad rap cause it’s used improperly.
A guy makes a bad play, an Ump misses a call, a guy (Pierzynski) cheats: you boo. That’s fair, it’s not mean, it doesn’t hurt, it’s just a boo. When I screw up at work I get called out so why not call out a player?
You don’t boo because you don’t like a guy. You don’t boo because a guy did something off the field. You don’t boo because a guy’s an official. You don’t boo because you think you can do better.
You cheer the good, you boo the bad.
Match Day 5 - April 10, 2009
giambi has seemed to be more candid about his use of performance enhancing drugs than others. that doesn’t mean what he did was right, but he’s not trying to deceive the rest of us unlike some well established juicers. give him that much.
as for booing, only two things should ever be booed; lack of effort, i.e. not running out ground balls and poor sportsmanship, i.e. jose guillen and manny being manny when manny was a red sox.
SoCalCMH - April 11, 2009
Wow, that was a powerful statement.
This should get national attention since you bring up some great points.
Downing Rules - April 10, 2009
While Adenhart was not the drunk driver (neither drunk, nor the driver) in this incident
It should bring attention to the proliferation of DUI arrests in sports, not just in baseball.
Good piece, man.
Orlando Rays - April 10, 2009
I'm also still in the Anger phase
I couldn’t agree more with your sentiment. Any person that would drink and get behind the wheel is a scumbag and it’s a million times worse than anyone who took steroids and didn’t lie about it. I have more of a problem with the lies that have followed the steriod era than the actual steroid use.
Back to DUI’s I agree that our society does not treat it as the serious crime that it is. My brother-in-law’s step-brother got a DUI and all his family could say was how punitive our society is and he did not spend even a single day in jail after he was released pre-trial. He wound up with community service. Talk about the last thing they should be doing. Put them in jail for at least a month even for a first offense with no priors so they realize the severity of what they did. We have people in jail for crimes that only affect themselves like drug use and then give slaps on the wrist to people who put themselves in a situation to kill others.
When I hear people talk about the consequences of drunk driving I typically here about the negative ECONOMIC impacts it has. I think I heard that a DUI typically costs someone around $30k when you factor in everything from lost time on the job, fees, and increased insurance. Who cares that they are out 30k? That should be the least of their concerns.
Also while I’m torn about whether the scumbag’s parents address should be listed, I obviously don’t think anyone should do anything about it but I don’t think it’s illegal either. I can’t stand people in society that are telling about the hurt they are feeling. Now maybe I’m wrong but it was probably his parents van that he went out in. I mean how many 22 year olds have mini vans?
So option A: His parents let him take their minivan knowing he had a suspended license and a past DUI. Result: His parents are also scumbags.
option B: His parents let him take their minivan NOT knowing he had a suspended license and a past DUI. Result: His parents are also scumbags.
If it can be proven that they let their son take their minivan with knowledge of his record, I honestly hope they both spend a year in jail.
MH252525 - April 10, 2009
I Will Never Understand Drunk Driving
I don’t get drunk, not ever, while I enjoy a drink now and then. It never ceases to amaze me how we do not treat drunk driving as we should. My local representative was found in a DUI situation a month or two ago and mostly he just lives his life.
Cars accidents among sober individuals are bad enough. Alcohol, cell phones, children in the back seat – we should be doing more as a society to control the variables that increase the odds of an accident, and alcohol is such a case.
Regardless of the status of Mr. Gallo at the tiem of the accident, his license was SUSPENDED, which means he should not have been driving. We really need a Fifth Element-style system where your car confirms or denies your eligibility to drive it.
Kernel - April 10, 2009
I used to drink heavily
All day, every day, for eleven years.
I took the bus everywhere.
I used to say about driving “IT INTERFERES WITH MY DRINKING.”
ftw!
Rev Halofan - April 10, 2009
Good Point.
Big Bad, 'Vlad'! - April 10, 2009
This
All I can say.
BaronVonCurrentEvents - April 10, 2009
Artie should ban alcohol from the game tonight...
It would send a strong message. Maybe even do it for the entire season.
Probably unrealistic, but it wouldn’t bother me.
Nice piece, Rev.
bc56274 - April 10, 2009
Wonder if club retires #34 as a tribute to Nick
I think they will some time down the road. Would be a nice gesture.
hk47 - April 10, 2009
I think the problem is
there would be too many numbers to retire. too many tragedies.
thrill000 - April 10, 2009
too many tragedies...
within the organization? You may be right. Perhaps they will put up some sort of tribute billboard/patch thing inside the stadium
hk47 - April 10, 2009
Another McCovey Chronicles poster here..
I just wanted to say very well done. It is so hypocritical that the many of the very same individuals that participated in the “lack of coverage” during the 1990’s are the ones that are expressing the most outrage during this decade.
nvsfg - April 10, 2009
So fucking true, great post.
EnglishMariner - April 10, 2009
Well said, Rev.
katal - April 10, 2009
toughen the penalties!
I have always said the penalties for drinking and driving need to be very stiff, starting with the first offenders, which luckily my state of Ohio understands and is now putting first offenders in jail for 30 days and suspending their license for a period of one year. I even think that is a light sentence, but it is tougher than most. I personally think when you kill someone when you are drunk behind the wheel, you should get the death penalty. EVERYONE with a driver license who has been through driving school knows that drunk driving is like getting behind the wheel with a loaded gun and pointing it at every person that happens to be on the road. Drunk drivers sicken and disgust me and there needs to be more done to prevent these murderous proles.
labelledame20 - April 10, 2009
Media Coverage
A couple of things here. If you are looking for NEWS, forget about it today. In today’s world, it is not about reporting what is the “responsible thing to report” (a subjective matter) more than it is about WHAT WILL GET RATINGS. Example, see the Octomom coverage.
I agree with you Rev, that from a “life threatening” responsibility issue, those caught drunk driving (especially those who are looked up to/ role models a.k.a. famous people), and whether they like or not, they are that, the news missed the mark on investigating further “the system” and how it needs to be looked at and how those who were caught DD should have much more heat put on them.
It all comes down to responsibility.
Dono Romantico - April 10, 2009
SPEAKING OF OCTOMOM...
Has she hit you up for Child Support yet, Dono?
Rev Halofan - April 11, 2009
Frankly, drunk driving penalties are not harsh enough. The first violation has a reasonable penalty, but any further violation, whether it be violation of parole, another incident, ANYTHING, should result in jail time. These people are dangerous, and they show a complete disregard for the law, as well as the lives of those they endanger around them. In my home town, an 18 year old kid ran into a tree while under the influence, and killed his friend. He served something like 2 years, and within 6 months of being released, he was again pulled over (with a suspended lisense) for drunk driving. It is outragious that these people are not punished more.
This post was a great read, and it is 100% correct.
MonkeyChow - April 11, 2009
what I have been told
After our son was killed by a drunk driver, the trooper later told us that the laws will not change until some legislator’s or judge’s family member is killed. Defense lawyers who specialize in DUI/DWI law are a big part of the problem. I now monitor court cases and watch DWI cases get continued for years. Why? Because defense lawyers run many of the courtrooms, they sit in our legislatures and they help write our laws.
DWI law is the bread and butter of many lawyers and it provides an extremely lucrative living for some. They use all the tricks in the books to get their drunk driving clients off. So my question is this? How many DUIs has the offender in this Adenhart tragedy been charged with in the past? We know he was convicted of a previous DUI, but I would not doubt that there may be previous DUI charges that he beat with the help of a lawyer.
That was certainly the case in our son’s death. The drunk driver had had a previous underage DWI, underage possession of alcohol, and numerous speeding tickets, but all were dismissed with the help of his enabling, indulgent ,clueless parents. At sentencing, none of that could be brought up in court because they were not convictions. The man responsible for my son’s death served only 16 months in prison because he had a “clean” driving record. I will add that his BAC, however, was .19 two and a half hours after the crash.
My heart aches for Adenhart’s family and the families of the other innocent victims killed as a result of this horrific tragedy. I can promise you that they are the one who will serve the longest prison sentence . . . .the death of a child is the worse prison sentence there is to serve.
Drunk driving is not an accident. It is a violent crime and it should be punished as the violent crime it is . . . not as, oops, it was an accident.
Jackson's mom - April 11, 2009
Hell Yes
It does seem dumbfounding to me, the moral outrage applied to all drugs but alcohol. Thanks for calling it as you see it.
jeffro - April 11, 2009
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