"I am the victim because I made a mistake"

[Unabogie]

This is a really strange case.

A man claims his mother died because the EMT refused to give her CPR because she was black.

Mullins had filed a complaint claiming that his mother had died when the Algood’s deputy fire chief refused to perform CPR because she was black. The complaint stated that the fire chief covered it up by falsifying medical reports.

So they go in to talk this over with an investigator, and the investigator started out by insulting the son.

“His very first question was, ‘Mr. Mullins have you ever been to the penitentiary?” Mullins recalled. “That was more than insulting to me.”

Then he followed this up by telling Mullins that his ancestors had lynched a black man and kept his skin as a knife sharpener.

“They made a strap out of his skin, and they used that strap as a knife sharpener,” Allen remarked.

Ok, so they fired him, which is good.

But then the investigator says:

Even after the death of Mullins’ mother and the intimidation that he suffered, Sewell argued that he was the true victim.

“I am the victim because I made a mistake,” Sewell observed.

******* of the year? And what the hell is in the water down south that this guy thought telling the story of his trophy skin was an appropriate way to talk with anyone? And if Mullins hadn't brought witnesses, would he even have been believed?

 

[BStrong]

This is a really strange case.

A man claims his mother died because the EMT refused to give her CPR because she was black.



So they go in to talk this over with an investigator, and the investigator started out by insulting the son.



Then he followed this up by telling Mullins that his ancestors had lynched a black man and kept his skin as a knife sharpener.



Ok, so they fired him, which is good.

But then the investigator says:



******* of the year? And what the hell is in the water down south that this guy thought telling the story of his trophy skin was an appropriate way to talk with anyone? And if Mullins hadn't brought witnesses, would he even have been believed?

Nothing is stranger than folks.

 

[Unabogie]

Nothing is stranger than folks.

Except folks south of the Mason-Dixon line seem just a tad bit stranger.

 

[turingtest]

This is a really strange case.

A man claims his mother died because the EMT refused to give her CPR because she was black.



So they go in to talk this over with an investigator, and the investigator started out by insulting the son.



Then he followed this up by telling Mullins that his ancestors had lynched a black man and kept his skin as a knife sharpener.



Ok, so they fired him, which is good.

But then the investigator says:



******* of the year? And what the hell is in the water down south that this guy thought telling the story of his trophy skin was an appropriate way to talk with anyone? And if Mullins hadn't brought witnesses, would he even have been believed?

It seems the investigator thought he was showing empathy for Mullins with his story; but you gotta figure that someone who thinks that empathy with a person complaining about racism consists in graphically telling him how much granddaddy enjoyed being a racist is probably not the most competent person to either define "victim" or investigate racism.

That's the generous interpretation; it could also be (I emphasize "could"- without knowing the guy, "could" is all it could be) that the investigator is one of those morons who think racism is some sort of absolute that's only real when someone is being dangled from a tree- "you think that's bad?!!?!? Why, back in my grandpappy's day..."

 

[DavidJames]

Nah, can't be racism

AFTER the civil rights movement. Racism was legally dead and buried in America in 1965 and that was too good for democrats, who had to reinvent it.

 

[Jekyll's Guest]

The investigator apparently felt pretty bad about the whole thing though, and wanted to put things right, so he invited Mr. Mullins to a nice home-cooked meal at his house.

 

[Dr. Imago]

I don't understand.

Was the woman who was refused CPR already able to be pronounced dead on the scene? It seems that there is more to the initial story that we're not necessarily getting from this report. Was there a pattern of refusing CPR to black people in this department?

I also watched the video report, and I agree that it appears that Sewell showed, if nothing else, some incredibly poor judgment in sharing an anecdote about his grandfather. No one can be sure what his intentions were, but there are two sides to every story and it appears that whatever the intent of his message was it was missed. I mean, he had witnesses in the room including one from the local NAACP chapter. Unless he's a complete moron, I don't think this would be a prudent place to attempt to intentionally intimidate someone.

Likewise, to me Mullins is clearly playing the race card. So, how stupid would it be for an investigator to show-up in front of two witnesses and start trying to intimidate a complainant? That would be just incredibly stupid.

What is paramount to me is what actually happened on scene when Mullins' mother died. Now it's just a botched investigation within a racially-charged atmosphere. And, it doesn't appear that we're going to get to the bottom of what really happened during the 911 call any time soon.

~Dr. Imago

 

[newyorkguy]

I find the actions by investigator William Sewell to be absolutely despicable. Sewell was confronted with a black man complaining his mother was allowed to die because a white first responder refused to perform CPR on a black woman. His response includes telling the complainant that his ancestors lynched a black man and saved his skin for a knife strap?

It sounds like Sewell should be in mental hospital. I also don't understand the tepid response here.

 

[autumn1971]

Dr. Imago, it is actually a fairly common attitude in the South, at least here in north Florida, that blacks are an "untouchable" caste. There are rural bars that will serve blacks solo-cups instead of mugs, because the white customers refuse to drink out of anything that has touched a black person's lips. There are also plenty of friendly whites who will have no problem with their black neighbors, but if a black person has a yard sale the whites around here will buy anything except dishes and clothes.
Because even though they're "not racist at all," they wouldn't consider the possibility of wearing clothes worn by black people.

 

[StevenLeonCooper]

I have to admit, from the main page I thought this said, "I am the victim because i made a milkshake" and I got really excited thinking it was going to be some zany story.

 

[Ladewig]

I don't understand.

Was the woman who was refused CPR already able to be pronounced dead on the scene? It seems that there is more to the initial story that we're not necessarily getting from this report. Was there a pattern of refusing CPR to black people in this department?

I also watched the video report, and I agree that it appears that Sewell showed, if nothing else, some incredibly poor judgment in sharing an anecdote about his grandfather. No one can be sure what his intentions were, but there are two sides to every story and it appears that whatever the intent of his message was it was missed. I mean, he had witnesses in the room including one from the local NAACP chapter. Unless he's a complete moron, ...

Obviously, the following is more of a humorous anecdote than a scientific law but it is wise to remember: the difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits.

There are a lot of stupid people in the world. There are also a lot of people of average intelligence that have one or two areas in which they excel in public displays of stupidity.

I learned a long, long time ago to never say "no one could be that stupid."

 

[Dr. Imago]

Dr. Imago, it is actually a fairly common attitude in the South, at least here in north Florida, that blacks are an "untouchable" caste. There are rural bars that will serve blacks solo-cups instead of mugs, because the white customers refuse to drink out of anything that has touched a black person's lips. There are also plenty of friendly whites who will have no problem with their black neighbors, but if a black person has a yard sale the whites around here will buy anything except dishes and clothes.
Because even though they're "not racist at all," they wouldn't consider the possibility of wearing clothes worn by black people.

I'm familiar with racism. Forgetting the fact that I actually did part of my training in Florida, it occurs in the north as well.

Again, maybe it's ultra-sensitivity, but I think the facts of what happened during the 911 response are what are germane here. A long, long time ago, I worked EMS and responded to calls where the family had reported that the victim was "found down". Upon our on-scene arrival, they were d-e-a-d. I recall on at least one occasion where we still did CPR more for theater in front of the family rather than for any real chance of saving the victim. The person was blue and stiff, after all.

Now, I'm not suggesting that is what occurred here. We don't know, hence the investigation. But, I also know that, in this climate, playing the race card is fairly easy to do, polarizes people into camps, and creates an obstacle towards getting at the truth. Maybe the EMS crew should have engaged in a little theater and we wouldn't even be here now? Or, maybe Mullins' accusations are accurate? I dunno. I do know life is a lot clearer through the Retrospectoscope™.

Clearly, Sewell blew it. Whether he wasn't well-prepped about the delicate nature of current race relations in the U.S. or was just simply an insensitive idiot, it's obvious he wasn't up to the job of "investigating" what happened, starting with his initial line of irrelevant inquiry.

But, that still doesn't answer what really happened during after EMS arrival when the 911 call was made. And, regrettably, we now may never know the whole truth.

~Dr. Imago

 

[Jekyll's Guest]

Dr. Imago, it is actually a fairly common attitude in the South, at least here in north Florida, that blacks are an "untouchable" caste. There are rural bars that will serve blacks solo-cups instead of mugs, because the white customers refuse to drink out of anything that has touched a black person's lips. There are also plenty of friendly whites who will have no problem with their black neighbors, but if a black person has a yard sale the whites around here will buy anything except dishes and clothes.
Because even though they're "not racist at all," they wouldn't consider the possibility of wearing clothes worn by black people.

I'm shocking myself here, but I feel I must step in to defend "The South", because that's a big place.

I lived in Texas for a long time and I didn't see anything like you describe. Plenty of culture shock and resentment about Mexicans (as an invading horde more so than as individuals) from blacks and whites, but no bizarre "blacks have cooties" meme.

This was urban Texas, and rural-but-near-a-highway Texas, so I guess there could be inbred little communities like that, but it's certainly not indicative of the South as a whole.

North Florida apparently sucks.

 

[mikado]

Dr. Imago, it is actually a fairly common attitude in the South, at least here in north Florida, that blacks are an "untouchable" caste. There are rural bars that will serve blacks solo-cups instead of mugs, because the white customers refuse to drink out of anything that has touched a black person's lips. There are also plenty of friendly whitest ha who will have no problem with their black neighbors, but if a black person has a yard sale the whites around here will buy anything except dishes and clothes.
Because even though they're "not racist at all," they wouldn't consider the possibility of wearing clothes worn by black people.

REALLY??? what the hell is wrong with people?

 

[Beanbag]

REALLY??? what the hell is wrong with people?

They were raised that way. The same way my father (raised in WW2) referred to Japanese as Japs. And don't get him started on Koreans, as he served in Korea.

It's NOT an excuse -- it's a reason.

One of the examples of change I can give involves a firework, one that you lit the fuse and it zig-zagged around the street, whistling. These days, it's called a Texas Twister. Back in my youth (the 60's), it was called an "N-Word" Chaser by my much-loved namesake grandfather. That's what they always called it, and could see no issue with it.

Familiarity breeds blindness.

Beanbag

 

[Jekyll's Guest]

Familiarity breeds blindness.

This is especially true when someone marries their sister.