The Blonde Is Obviously Guilty
By Mitch Berg
When the usual suspects – 99% of Twitter users – jumped on board in attacking ESPN correspondent Brett McHenry for her altercation with the folks at an impound lot, I thought to myself “let’s hold out for a moment here”.
Yes, sports “journalists” usually don’t rate much in the way of consideration. If Ancient Rome had had cable TV, ESPN would have made major bank covering gladiator fights.
But if there’s a group of people in the world that have not earned themselves much in the way of indulgence for their behavior, it’s the folks at tag and tow impound lots like “Advanced Towing”, where Ms. McHenry had her dustup.
Sure enough – a few days have past, and it looks entirely possible that Ms. McHenry’s outburst may have been rhetorical self-defense against a tag ‘n tow clerk who was, to put it politely, being a pig.
A review of the company’s Yelp page reveals many disgruntled customers who aren’t just griping over the fact they got towed.
According to NBC Washington, there have been incidents where the company towed cars with a golden retriever and even children inside.
Are you smelling what I’m cooking, “Mark’s” in Eagan, or Goebbels’ Towing in New Brighton?
April 20th, 2015 at 12:19 pm
As a practical matter, companies like Advanced Towing don’t have customers, only victims. McHenry isn’t a nice person, but it was evident from the start that the video was completely devoid of context.
The incident reminded me of the Steve Goodman song about a predatory towing company in Chicago, the Lincoln Park Pirates.
April 20th, 2015 at 1:17 pm
It strikes me that it’s not just the police who ought to have photographic evidence of what they do. Thankfully I’ve never had a car towed, but an experience a friend of mine had with a Twin Cities area impound lot–huge fees per day, must pay in cash in a neighborhood that can only be generously described as “dicey”, surly people, iffy treatment of the vehicles–suggests that a great deal of the disdain they get is earned, and a great portion of why people with employable skills choose not to work there.
Not that that excuses the young lady’s treatment of the attendant, but I can understand the anger, even if the towing was justified.
April 20th, 2015 at 1:43 pm
bb; not to mention the kick backs that they must be giving to have a sole monopoly on specific cities. Although Chief’s has been Bloomington’s sole towing company since 1960 at least, my two experiences with them were good. In fact, after my daughter was involved in her first accident on 494 on a Sunday evening that totaled my car, both the driver and the dispatcher were very nice to her while she waited for me to pick her up.
April 20th, 2015 at 2:42 pm
10 years ago, I lived on Charles near Snelling. Snow emergency declared, cars moved, plows came by, cars returned, then the city’s contract ticket-writer showed up followed by the tow truck. I saw them preparing to hook up my neighbor’s car so I ran out to argue “wait, the snow emergency is over” but his response was “It’s got a ticket, I tow it, take it up with the judge.” Turns out the kid writing tickets was behind the plows instead of in front of them, because it was easier to drive where the streets were plowed!
April 20th, 2015 at 3:19 pm
She’s still a bitch or even the c word. No one at ESPN is defending her. It is possible that both the company and the woman is at fault.
April 20th, 2015 at 5:04 pm
Until the towing company releases the full audio including its employee’s contribution, I have no opinion on the ESPN correspondent. The towing company, however, is at best practically a criminal enterprise in extortion.
April 21st, 2015 at 7:52 am
Best description I heard was, despite whatever the towing company did, playing the “Don’t you know who I am card?” is never a good plan.
April 21st, 2015 at 8:47 am
A certain commenter here at SITD, who once claimed after an insulting rage she went on towards the host of this small yet regionally prominent blog that she was in fact a better friend to our esteemed host than any ordinary ‘Mitchkateer’; once lectured/scolded all (those who didn’t immediately think “eh, Doggone… tl;dr” and skip her drivel) that any video report done by James O’Keefe must be viewed in its entirety as the subjects of O’Keefe’s stings (ie: Democrats and their allies revealing their true selves) redeemed themselves. Eventually. If you watched enough and held O’Keefe in complete contempt.
Now we’re learning that the video was heavily edited by the towing company. The video which shows ‘the blonde’ to be utterly horrible (not that she isn’t) has many flash cuts and we miss what the (allegedly) toothless, fat, uneducated, not-on-the-TV tow lot attendant said. Based on closer viewing by others, it is hypothesized that the insults were flowing in a two-way manner.
With the internet/social media going from needing an outrage fix a week (Indiana RFRA OUTRAGE! Dude that was like so two weeks ago); to a rage a every few days (Skinny, pretty, on-the-TV, blonde berating a poor tow lot attendee-OUTRAGE! one day then just a day later Boing Boing posted a cat picture with a caption that was interpreted as a slight against ‘trans pyple’ – OUTRAGE!); we’re now at a point that I’m afraid to order my coffee ‘black’ unless I know I’m not being recorded (and yet I probably am) to fill the the now hourly fix the Outrage Addicts require. Thanks Obama!