Point taken. There have been no end of horrible tragedies caused by drunk driving. There is no defense for it whatsoever. But I just found the complete and apparently genuine breakdown into blubbering waterworks to elicit a certain amount of sympathy. I think the police acted appropriately – they gently gave her time to recover and consider whether she wanted to continue with the sobriety test, but strictly followed the rule book on charging drunk drivers.
Blubbering drunk drivers.
Sympathy.
Nope, not compatible.
Maybe if she were out shopping or walking in the park or driving sober, sure. But breaking down because you got caught fucking up and put others at risk? Nah.
I did like her saying, “I’m not allowed to” when the officer ordered her out of the car. I think she missed some subtlety in her father’s instructions.
Well, as I said, I tend to be an old softie in situations like this. Conversely, some of the distinguished citizens that have been featured elsewhere in this thread are the sorts that I would happily punch in the face. Yeah, I’d make a terrible cop! What tended to elicit sympathy from me is that this young woman apparently has some deep emotional problems that made this event much more distressing than it would be for a normal person. I don’t know if her repeated references to “PTSD” are in any way accurate, but there’s something really wrong with her for reasons that are probably not her fault. This is separate from the crime of drunk driving, to which she plead guilty and faced the appropriate consequences.
You’re not alone, I have sympathy for people who commit most crimes. I don’t necessarily think society is to blame, but most people wouldn’t be in that position if they weren’t at a particular nexus of desperate, unlucky and dumb. Depending on the relative levels of desperate, unlucky and dumb it’s totally forgivable in a “I don’t hate you, but you have to pay some sort of debt to society” sort of way.
But I didn’t watch that vid for the same reason I stopped watching Cops. I don’t want to watch someone on their worst day unless I know I’m going to see someone spout some comedy gold in the middle of it. A sovereign citizen is pretty likely to. A privileged lawyer’s daughter? Probably not.
As a lawyer, I have been in the courtroom many times when DUIs have been sentenced. I don’t know what happened at the traffic stop (well, sometimes I do, because it’s my client), but I have seen what happens in court. And when the judge hands down the sentence, even the biggest, baddest SOB in the valley sometimes breaks down. He may be Mr. Tough Guy on the street, especially after a few, but he’s no such thing in court and stone-cold sober. And when the reality sinks home in that courtroom—well, sometimes, it ain’t pretty.
If MADD really wants to curtail drunk driving, it should stop showing commercials where a group of young people leave the bar and call a cab or walk to the bus stop. They should show what happens in the courtroom if you didn’t call a cab or take the bus.
Interesting perspective, thanks. Not something I’ve ever seen first-hand. In this particular case, it appears that this young woman got off pretty lightly, perhaps in part because she willingly acknowledged guilt. If the conclusion of the video is accurate, she was required to have an ignition interlock for 6 months, and probation for a year. No mention of a fine or license suspension.
As for MADD, it started out as a very worthy cause, but as it grew and matured it started to become a self-serving bureaucracy with increasingly outrageous demands. At one point – I don’t know if they’re still beating this drum – they tried to lobby for all new cars to have ignition interlocks, basically meaning that no one could start any car without providing a breath sample! This is commonly referred to as “losing one’s grip on reality”, or in more common parlance, “going insane”.
My neighbor had a barbeque and there was their loud drunk SovCit friend who explained to us
Code and law are not the same thing. And for the record, he was not referring to Codes of Regulation in which case he may have a point. It was the Vehicle Code.
You have to have insurance if you are parked on the street because that is federal property since they pay for it.
That might just lead to risking the life of the sober passenger who otherwise wouldn’t be there.
If she genuinely has PTSD, then it’s likely that it’s not her fault, but it is her responsibility to find appropriate ways of dealing with it, which includes not drinking and drinking, and probably just not drinking at all.
I have PSTD so I can sympathize with getting anxiety attacks, but I don’t drink anymore.
She also needs to learn how to say “Call an ambulance.” although I can totally get being in the middle of a panic attack and not being able to explain yourself.
Rookie sov cit gets a failing grade on her performance at a traffic stop, turning a speeding ticket into multiple charges and a trip to jail in handcuffs.
Evidently the event of the week in Blackhawk County, Iowa.
Wattaya you mean, failing? That’s an A+.
Nah, C- at best; she didn’t get combative and wind up being taken to the ground to be handcuffed, let alone have to have the window smashed to drag her out.
Anyone can be a flailing asshole, they’re just playing for the camera for clicks, views and that sweet, sweet Youtube money.
She’s a natural talent that pisses people off to the point of arrest without even trying.
If yo ain’t tazin’ yo ain’t tryin’
Hah! This was also in my YouTube feed. Here a couple of things I noticed. First, it’s a miracle someone as braindead as she could even operate the vehicle. Next, there’s no such thing as an Iowa passport card. The deputy was a tad mistaken there when he said it’s good for travel to Canada and Mexico. An actual United States government issued passport card is valid for such travel; however, an “Iowa passport card” is meaningless. Finally, yeah, when reality slapped her on the wrists, all of a sudden she wanted to cooperate. Too little, too late.
I actually felt a tiny bit sorry for her by the end, even though she brought the hammer down on her head by her own actions. Her attempts at sovcittery were so feeble, it was like she was tossing out all the bits of nonsense she’d been fed without understanding even the sovcit “logic” behind them, with none of the true believer passion behind her resistence, just a pathetic attempt to keep repeating the magic words and have them somehow work this time. I don’t think she’s very bright; I do think she’s easily led; and the overall impression I had was of a bewildered rabbit.
Speaking of sovcits and magic words, a Youtuber who follows the Moorish American subcult of sovereign citizens has found this amazing incident. It’s the perfect one for play sovcit bingo. But make sure you have “prayed to an African deity” and “cast a magic spell” on your card. Even at the end, her husband/significant other is still pushing the narrative.
There are reportedly “tens of thousands” of sov cits in the Netherlands (which has a population of under 18 million). Some are violent.*
The arrests of eight sov cits there have been linked to a threat against next week’s NATO summit at The Hague.
*there’s also a connection to antivax ideology, because of course there is.