Hannah Cohen during attack by Memphis airport security
Not only am I not ashamed to admit I treat certain people much more differently than others, I will even go as far as to reveal if some vermin…and I use the word quite loosely…hurts a physically and/or emotionally impaired human being in any way, I will do everything within my power to help such a roach be held accountable.
A step further -- If their victim … again a loose word…happens to attend our precious Orange Grove facility, or has ever been treated at the world-famed St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, I am reminded of what Marine Corps General James “Mad Dog” Mattis once told some Iraqi tribal leaders: “I come in peace, I didn't bring artillery. But I am pleading with you with tears in my eyes: If you (screw) with me, I'll kill you all.”
Today those who revere peace, but who also strongly believe the idiots of the world must be “held accountable” indeed, are casting a Pat Summitt-like glare at Scott Brockman, the CEO and president of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority.
When Brockman was asked about a lawsuit that has just been filed after Chattanooga’s Hannah Cohen was mauled and bloodied by airport security buffoons last year, this as she returned with her mother from St. Jude Children’s Hospital, he came across as the world’s biggest Jerk of the Day on Friday, this at a time when competition for our rancor is noticeably fierce.
Brockman, whose haughty arrogance may be kindled by the fact the gullible taxpayers in what is known to be one of the Top 10 Worst Cities in America pay him in excess of $300,000 a year, scoffed at an impending lawsuit over the Cohen assault. He just told the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “Anybody can file anything…”
Are you kidding me? A very telling picture of the bloodied and hysterical Hannah is now being shown by almost every media outlet in the United States. The horror story has gone viral and every major network is focusing on what is an absolute tragedy occurred in the airport’s security area June 30, 2015. But the boorish Brockman, who is already the focus of a pointed federal discrimination investigation, said of the Cohen incident, “At this point, it is only alleged.”
Please, say that again! We’ve got visual proof and the best lead clown in this baffling circus can comes up with is, “It is only alleged.” My starry heavens, this man is daft. “We don’t comment on active litigation. Clearly, there are additional facts in this matter,” he told the newspaper as though he might have swatted at a pesky fly.
My Lord, why is our FBI not looking for those “additional facts?” If ever a handicapped citizen of the United States was abused the evidence seems to be overwhelming. The lawsuit claims the airport police, the TSA, and the airport discriminated against the Cohen child who --- let’s see – had just been treated for a brain tumor, is both blind and deaf on the left side of her face, and is noticeably limited in her ability to walk, talk, stand, see and hear due to the tumor and the intense treatment the disease has required.
It gets worse. Hannah, 19 at the time -- 17 of those spent as a St. Jude patient – was arrested after she “allegedly” struck some security expert, taken to a hospital for treatment of her wounds by armed guards, and then booked in jail. Are you with me here? Where in the world was – or, where has been -- the federal Department of Justice? The FBI needs some of these sadists in a criminal courtroom.
Hannah’s mother Shirley, who some will remember worked at East Ridge Hospital, did everything she could to tell security personnel about Hannah’s condition but they still took Hannah to jail where she was charged. Sure, the ridiculous charges were later dropped in one of the Worst 10 Cities in the United States but who among us can begin to condone such debauchery? Well, that would be the $300,000-plus airport CEO, Scott Brockman, who tells us “Anybody can file anything.”
The TSA, under harsh fire and heavy criticism for the ridiculous long waits at airports, is a gargantuan mess. Morale is terrible, much due to a culture of retaliation among its screening officers, and then there is this: According to the website TheHill.com, “Staffing levels fell from 47,147 full-time security officers in 2013 to 42,525 in 2016, while passenger volumes rose 15 percent. In 2014, the TSA lost 4,644 employees and only hired 373 workers to replace them.”
How is that working for America? With the TSA’s woes well known, I tend to believe Scott Brockman could easy find out why “anybody can file anything” simply by reviewing the security tapes surely taken of the airport’s security area on June 30, 2015. I also believe a seated jury can see much of the same thing from the same tapes.
But it is the picture taken of the bloodied and scared St. Jude patient that is now flashing all across the world that Scott Brockman needs to fear most when he dares to say, “It is just alleged.”
Actually, even in one of the Worst 10 Cities in the United States, it makes so harsh a statement we ought to send for Marine Corps General James Mattis, a gentleman who knows exactly how to deal with a travesty the likes of this one and the vermin that must be held accountable.
royexum@aol.com