I slept pretty good last night and no headache this morning for a change.
I may even go out later.
I have been discussing something online and thought I would share it here. This happened before the blog, back in 2006. I remember because part of it happened around Hurricane Katrina.
I am changing some details to protect the guilty. The whole incident went so badly for me...
Anyway, someone got upset about our pricing at work, a big guy, solid. He caught me in a hallway between the workfloor and my work area. There were locking doors on either side of the hallway. My stockroom was in the middle, I came out, shut the stockroom door, and he confronted me. Screaming at me about prices, I tried to get away, he blocked me and forced me back toward my stockroom. Threw me against the wall, pinned me, still screaming. I kept telling him Ron set prices, not me. The guy was totally irrational which is amusing considering what he later said. I got away and told Ron, he went and found the guy "WTF did you do to my wife?" and the guy said nothing happened, Heather made it up. Then he shouted at Ron about prices.
Ron came back to me and told me. I said I wanted to file a complaint with the man's supervisor. There was no call to do that over prices. I have had people get their hand stuck in the vending machine not that upset; one guy the machine threw a soda at him, which exploded all over his nice suit. He was very nice.
Now, I told everyone about my diagnosis when I found out I was bipolar. I thought I could educate (which I did, I had people coming to me for advice), explain any odd ball behavior, and apologize for any bad behavior in the past, if I had any. Most of my oddball stuff had been "funny" so no one cared about the last. But it was important they understand and I have a supportive environment. Overall, 99.9% of them have been great. Until this guy.
So Ron placed an irate call to this guy's supervisor. The supervisor called us back, asking some odd questions about had anyone witnessed the incident. No. "What does Heather say happened? Because the other guy has a different story" Then he reminded Ron I was bipolar and my word couldn't be trusted. Ron said I wanted to file a formal report. He said he wouldn't do it, because I was bipolar and had likely made it up. Ron specifically asked what the other man had said and was told the other guy had "reminded him that Heather is bipolar and can't be trusted". THEN, the crowning insult, told Ron I had to work on my people skills and stop pissing people off.
I was assaulted. But it's my fault.
So the crazy, irrational guy got away with his assault because he used my illness against me. Now, admittedly, we have all seen a crazy person off their meds. It is ugly. They would not make a reliable witness. But the supervisor saw me on a regular basis, knew I saw my doctor and took my medication as directed, and was stable enough to take care of Ron, my cats, and the business.
Yes, crazy is an obstacle, but you have to look at it in context. Yes, my testimony may not be as credible - period, to an officer of the court, to a jury, etc. but it has merit. Assaults are not OK "Because she is crazy".
But in this case I had no value. None. It was perfectly OK to attack me, because I was "crazy" and no one who knew that would believe me. That's just wrong.
This came up in the context of Cleo's abuse by the kids next door. I don't think the police will take it seriously if it is a he said-she said case and I am mentally ill. I have been there and it was awful. I am going to need hard proof (footage) of the attacks before I feel they will be taken seriously.
Someone said I was "a victim" for saying the last but it is just practical. My experience shows me my word has no value to the powers that be. None. So I need proof.
Basically a higher standard of proof for me vs. a regular citizen. I find that very upsetting but there it is. I would rather accept it, get the proof, and get things done than sit here beating at my keyboard raving about the unfairness of it all.
But I do need to get a camera set up.
3 comments:
Some predators specifically prey on those whom they believe will not seem credible. A drunk female at a party, prostitutes, drug addicts, etc. They are the worst of the worst because they know exactly what they are doing and do it with intention to get away with their crimes. The only defense is having a camera to videotape the incident or a voice recorder to record it. There are so many affordable hidden cameras on the market it is silly not to look into it.
As for that loser I hope you never talked to or acknowledged that man ever again. What a piece of garbage. It is not like he had to buy products from your vending machine. Snack foods are not life or death.
Yes you need a video camera for proof. After all the 3 kids can say this is what happened and all you have is your word to back it up so bipolar or not video evidence is the best way to bust those little mother-fers.
Just because this happened to you once doesn’t mean it will happen again. It wasn’t right of them to assume you made it up due to your diagnosis. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be allowed or feel like you can’t report things to the police because of that one incident, because THOSE people were dickheads.
Same goes for the other bad experiences you have had where you know you were wronged.
Absolutely. I plan to document everything on the other side as well so the landlady cannot point the finger at me, one day, and say whatever is damaged is my fault. She already tried that yesterday.
Absolutely getting a camera, maybe 2. One for in front of the garage and one for the front door. Plus someone pointed out always a camera on my cell phone. I just need to carry it at all times.
It is interesting because we had a case where the DA lost her job over a bipolar witness. She was testifying at a rape trial, not on her meds, had a breakdown relating her assault. She was a danger to herself and they worried she would flee rather than testify again. So they put a rape victim in jail, kept her there for A MONTH. DA said "We protected her" - her opponent had a very different take, and basically ran on the platform 'I will never put a rape victim in jail and force her to testify". So you could say an ingrained history of abusing bipolar victims of crimes. They did convict the guy but the DA lost her job.
Normally I love my city, but...
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