Crimes of 2017

By: Gabrielle Sterba    Feb. 2, 2018

 

When gazing back on 2017 what do you remember? Fidget spinners?  Hydroflasks? Despacito? What about the Vegas mass shooting or other crimes that seemingly happen more and more frequently. Some of these crimes we must talk about not per the fact that the events were tragic but because we must learn from them. So let’s explore three crimes that really make you question humanity.

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Back in April, a man by the name of Dr. David Dao got violently dragged off an overbooked flight by two security guards for refusing to give up his seat. Dr. Dao had lost teeth and had his nose broken all due to the fact that he would not give up his seat. This entire situation showed that airlines, especially United Airlines, only care about making bank and not about the comfort of their passengers. Well this is also evident by the lack of legroom but that is not important right now.

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After this incident there was a drop in United stocks, a lawsuit against United, and the termination of employment of the security officers involved in the incident. However, those effects are just part of it. After this occurrence more, light was shed on happenings similar to this for a short time. As months grow past this event, there have been less incidences involving airlines such as this.

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Dr. Dao had a taste of an unlawful exertion of power,

and so did Alex Wubbles. Back in July, a suspect

drove a vehicle into a semi-truck being driven by a

man by name of William Gray. The suspect died right

there at the scene and Gray was taken to the nearby

hospital. The police, after losing their suspect,

wanted an unlawful blood sample from Gray to try and

pin blame on him for this incident. Wubbles,

protecting the rights of her patient, refused and was

unjustly arrested. A video taken of the incident

surfaced online. Body cam footage was soon released

revealing a whole lot of corruption laced in the

police department.

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After the incident Wubbles got a $500,000 settlement and the cop involved with her arrest was fired. But what do we outsiders have to learn from these two ordeals? These events show us that we must know our rights and stick up for ourselves even against a law enforcer.

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Finally, we have the Michigan 5 case. Five teenagers were goofing around and threw a 6-pound rock off an overpass, killing 32-year-old Kenneth White. All the teens pleaded not guilty in court. These 5 teenagers were tried as adults. Each was convicted of an account of second degree murder and malicious destruction of property. Unlike with the other cases, this case has no real impact on any outsider to this situation. But there are two things everyone can learn from this situation. One, do not throw rocks off over passes. Two, it pays to be a decent human being.

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While these crimes are not all that flashy or news breaking as others, we can learn that it pays to stick up for your rights and saves you money to be a decent human being. So try to be a good humane human or you will most likely get sued and shunned by 56 million people.