WHO'S GUARDING THE GUARDS    

By:  N. Goodman

The other week in the UK, an amazing, modern event happened.  It was amazing in the fact that a passenger, witnessing an event, is being chastised and praised, both at the same time for what he has done.  And just what did this "citizen journalist" do?  He captured, on his phone-camera an elderly man being bullied and verbally abused by a TFL, ‘Transport for London’, worker who is employed by the UK transit authority; a worker who is ultimately being paid by the UK citizens. 

The following is a statement of fact, fair and balanced.  The straight facts of the situation are: An elderly man caught his arm in the door of a subway car or “tube” as they refer to it in the UK.  At which time the transit worker began his verbal abusive, assault.  Upon hearing the commotion, the passenger, guru Marketing businessman, Jonathan MacDonald,began recording with his phone-camera.

Upon interviewing Mr. MacDonald, this is his recount, paraphrased, of the chain of the incident.  … the westbound Central line train unexpectedly terminated at the Holborn station. The elderly man, during a passenger-bumbling-rush-to-exit the train car, caught his arm in the closing tube door, and was unable to remove it.  The door then closed on the man’s arm for about 30 seconds.  Because of the obstruction, the train did not move forward.  The guard was called.  The tube driver released the door, thereby allowing the man to remove his arm from betwixt the door.  The man then approached the guard, and whilst speaking with him, physically, in a calm manner, indicated something regarding his arm.   The new train began its approach, the TFL worker started shouting at the elderly man to stand back, 'there is a f***ing train approaching'.  The new train pulled-up and the passengers embarked.  The guard then continued to follow and yell and verbally assault the elderly man.  Using such phrases as, “Ladies and gentleman, this train goes nowhere until little man gets off." and "Because you're a jumped up little git, mate. I'm not holding anyone else's journey up for a little girl like you.”   Then the train pulls away, with the elderly man on board, and the TFL worker says he wants to “Sling him under a train.”  And citizen MacDonald, caught the entire incident on his phone-camera.

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Jonathan MacDonald, that day, was not acting as a businessman, he was not acting as a top executive Marketing Director, he was acting as a modern citizen journalist who captured the event.  And is now being hailed by some as a hero and by others as a bully.  A hero because no one, especially an elderly man and especially one who is in need of assistance, should be yelled at and threatened.  A hero because he was brave enough and courageous enough to film an injustice real-time and then report it in a socially responsible manner.  A bully because he "tattled" on a “wrong-doing” by a transit worker, and its "wrong-doer”, the transit worker. Also, a bully because this citizen journalist posted this clip, and because he did not take the clip to the transit authority's authority.  It's clearly understandable how the citizen journalist is hailed as a hero.  It is not understandable how he is classified as a bully. 

A hero is someone who rights wrongs.  Mr. MacDonald did just that.  He spoke up, telling of this wrongdoing via today's modern news medium, the Internet.  A bully is someone who exerts abusive power.  Now, who is the bully by definition?  You decide.

What kind of times do we live in whereby it has become proper to sit still and do nothing when an abuse is taking place?  To stand by and watch they who are defenseless be victimized?   Better yet, what kind of citizens have we become whereby we may gingerly, like lemmings "report" incidences of abuse to a higher authority with juvenile expectations that "it will be handled" by the proper authority, and in this case their employer. 

Societal Empowerment
In today's modern world, especially in the UK, cameras are absolutely everywhere.  They are in the intersections, on dashboards, in the trees and in everyone's telephone.  Big brother watches in the UK, like no other place.  Yet, this incident was "caught" on camera by a regular bloke using a regular phone.  And now, this man, who saw an injustice, and recorded it and blogged it, is the one some view as the bully.  That’s wrong.  When did our society become not only complacent about violence, but show a blatant disregard?  There are many who do believe, this man was in the "right" for blogging the incident.  They believe that when he captured the incident, and then posted it, that he was merely reporting what he saw in a visual, unbiased, modern manner.

“Sitting still and being silent” is not part of the fabric of Freedom of Speech.  It is not part of the cohesion of a communal society.  This behaviour for which citizen journalist MacDonald is being criticized, is not the basis on which our society was built.  Especially in the UK, where there exists a Speakers Corner, whereby one may stand and speak at any moment, without permit; or whereby one may have a protest march 20 city blocks long and the Police help by guiding traffic and putting up tape lines for the protesters.  This is not the society our forefathers fought so hard to build and maintain and die for. 

We live in a society of democracy.  A society whereby the people's voices are heard. We live in a society powered and empowered by the people.

Questions
Specific questions at this time should be raised.  Such as, how often has this UK employee been abusive to the paying customer?  Answer, it turns out a few times.  Another question, if there are cameras at the station, then he has been filmed before, but with no repercussions from his employers; why did this worker's employers not reprimand him or help him; why is the UK transit authority in agreement with this worker's actions, why is the TFL hiding this progressive abusive behavior? 

Additionally, there was another female transit worker on this captured footage.  Now, she is just as guilty for not stopping the incident.  Why is it okay for her to condone her co-worker's abuse?  Answer, it is not okay.  It is never okay to abuse, to bully or to threaten.

Now another question that comes to mind, is what did the TFL worker do, upon his knowledge of his abuse being filmed and posted.    Did he find the elderly man he bullied and apologize?  No.  Did he go public with an apology?  No.  Did he post an apology on his facebook account?  No.  Did he hold a discussion with Mr. MacDonald on Mr. MacDonald’s blog?  No. Did he tweet or retweet Mr. MacDonald?  No.  Did he turn himself in for an anger-management course?  No.  What did he do?  He removed his profile from facebook.  This is how he described himself on his facebook account:
 … an "easygoing guy. … My future will be in either the driving of Tube trains or trucks. …
I'm often mistaken for unfriendly because I tend to be quiet, but don't assume that means I hate you, or that I'm bored!" The TFL employee says his religion is "Jedi" and his interests include "hauntings", clubbing, rock music gigs and trucks.

Yet another question, what did the TFL authority bosses do?  Did they offer the elderly man free transit for the rest of his life or even a day pass?  No.  Did they apologize?  Privately?  No.  Publicly?  No.  Did they comment through their public relations agent?  No.  They did nothing.  And by doing nothing, just as the other female transit worker, did nothing, they too have wronged the elderly man, wronged their citizens, and shamed their company.

There have only been two responsible parties involved in this incident,

The most responsible party being Mr. MacDonald, who filmed and reported the injustice, and the second being, the Mayor of London.  The Mayor, took responsibility.  Brilliant, job well done.  And the Mayor communicated in a modern, responsible and immediate fashion, by tweeting.  He, as the community leader, apologized, commented, and took action to remedy and rectify the escalating situation.  He took responsibility for his city’s transit company and immediately acted by suspending the TFL worker with pay.   His swift actions doused any fire.  But it didn’t help the reputation of the London Underground.

The Mayor, at this point, would do well do have the originator, who is also a digital and mobile marketing European leader, consult and guide the Transport For London’s Underground division’s public persona.  There would be no one better, and no one who would have a better vested interest.  N’est ce pas?   Who better to come up with a plan than the man who understands how to “get the message to the people”…No one would be better for that particular position, than Jonathan MacDonald.

But there still remains one enormous question…

Biggest Question
The biggest question should be, why does the transit authority believe they have the right to continue, accept and allow this type of abuse to its customers and ultimately to its brethren citizens?  Is the transit authority so autonomous that they believe doing nothing and turning a blind-eye and ignoring blatant abuse is proper business, let alone, proper societal behavior?

It is appalling that a company as large as the TFL, and paid for by the people, would imagine, on their best day, that they have the power to allow abuse.

It is also appalling that some comments regarding the video have accused Jonathan MacDonald, of being a bully.  A bully is one who inflicts.  This passenger was merely reporting an injustice, in today's modern way.  There was no infliction, or malice, or pre-destined thought.  The incident of verbal abuse happened and Mr. MacDonald was there at the right time, in the right place, with the legal right and knowledgeable where-with-all, to “get the word out”.

But the opposition to this citizen journalist is not new.  When newspapers first came to be, many stories broke, that during times of no communications would never have come to be.  The phone camera is today's immediate newspaper, and today's modern reporter is you and I, and England’s Jonathan MacDonald. And the phone-camera like the newspapers and newsreels, has the ability to capture moments, true moments, moments that change people's lives.  Moments that make people accountable for their actions. Moments that may never be taken back, because they are visually accurate and in no need of explanation.

Wanting to "kill the messenger"' is not new either.  Neither is "kicking the dog" out of anger.  But these ol' methods have no right to belong and to be embraced, especially in today's modern community-oriented society.

Ultimately
Physically, verbally, emotionally, it is never all right to abuse.  It is never all right to be cruel.  It is never all right to bully.  Never.  And it also never all right to turn a blind eye on an injustice.

I say, kudos heir passenger, MacDonald!  We are responsible for one another in this society.  We are our brother's keeper.  And it takes every single one of us to make one cohesive unit.  And damned be the cohesion that ridicules and shames, and righteous be the cohesion that keeps each of us safe and tolerant through goodness and kindness.

Yes, it takes every single one of us, to stand, and unite all through the power of one.  The power of one man and his one phone-camera.

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