Archive | January, 2012

Imponderable #31: Niagara Falls Canada

13 Jan

January 13, 2012

And you thought nonsense like this only happened on the American side of the border.

To recap:

  • 80 year-old woman slips and falls in a hospital lobby
  • Staff cannot help her unless she calls an ambulance
  • Emergency room is only 50 yards away
  • Ambulance from another hospital arrives 30 minutes later
  • Security guard wraps her head in a dirty blanket
  • Canada’s Health Minister calls incident “disappointing.”

On the other hand, this was a triumph for the legal profession. Who makes those stupid laws? The lawyers. Much as I despise the nurses who did not help the woman despite rushing to her aid, what would have happened if that woman died while under their care? They’d be up on charges. Why? Because they did not follow the rules.

There is nothing new or shocking about this story. By now we are used to incidents like this. Even the tone of the article isn’t outrage or anger, it is mild bemusement.

What is wrong with society when incidents like this are subjects of humor, not outrage? How can a hospital administrator call an 80-year old woman bleeding on a hospital floor “a communication problem”? How can a government official only be “disappointed”?

Why do we put up with this?

The question is Imponderable.

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A Matter of Perspective

12 Jan

January 12, 2012

First impressions are often wrong. It is easy to jump to conclusions. Consider the following news story.

I was all ready to write a post about bosses from Hell. I’ve had a few. On my very first job I was a stock clerk and my boss would send us across the mall to get her a smoothie- skim milk with low-fat yogurt. It has been over twenty years and I still remember how she ordered it. We all hated her so we never ordered it the way she wanted it and she was so disliked throughout the mall that the people who made her drink, who never worked for her, would do unspeakable things to her shake.

But I like to do a little research first, especially since this post was originally slotted to be an Imponderable. Check out the next article about this same story.

After this article, while I wasn’t feeling much friendlier to the boss, I was feeling much less friendly to the employees.  I was starting to get the sense that the employees really needed a swift kick in the butt. They were talking on their cell phones during work and playing video games. I’m a consumer. I’m not feeling so bad for them right now. And if the boss’s memo made them quit, then the store is all the better for it.

I am not so sure he’s the boss from Hell. Yes, he did a stupid thing but I’m swinging toward the employees being the staff from Hell.

And now article three. (Click to enlarge.)

I would never have expected it, but an industry site had the best take on the story. There was plenty of blame to go around. Who would have expected the funny story about the boss from Hell to become a teachable moment?

And who would have expected it to have the best journalism?

I guess this turned out to be an Imponderable after all.

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