November 16, 2012 6:21 AM

And if this doesn't work, we'll put her in stocks in the village square....

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

(apologies to Keith Olbermann)

Shena Hardin

CLEVELAND - A woman caught on camera driving on a sidewalk to pass a Cleveland school bus that was unloading children stood in the cold Tuesday at an intersection holding a sign warning people about idiots. A Cleveland Municipal Court judge ordered 32-year-old Shena Hardin to serve the highly public sentence for one hour Tuesday and Wednesday for the Sept. 11 citation. She arrived bundled up against the 34-degree cold, puffing a cigarette, wearing head phones and avoiding comment as passing vehicles honked. Satellite TV trucks were on hand to stream the event live near downtown Cleveland. The sign read: “Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus.”

In order for our society to function, there has to be a certain recognition that…well, that the world doesn’t revolve around you and your needs and desires. There has to be at least minimal recognition and acceptance of certain basic rules in order to minimize the possibility of chaos, injury…or worse. That there are people who, for whatever reason, cannot or will not obey these rules is why we have an overwhelmed judicial system.

In most cases, specific crimes result in specific punishment. Sometimes it works, and society can breathe easier in the knowledge that the responsible party has been rehabilitated and can be counted on to be a productive member of society. When that doesn’t happen, and the recidivist becomes a recurring thorn in society’s side, the question becomes how best to address the problem.

For reasons best known only by Ms. Hardin, she decided that driving on a sidewalk to get around a school bus loading or unloading children was a good thing. Who knows; perhaps she was worried about not having time to get a latte if she had to wait for a school bus. Perhaps she just doesn’t feel as if the rules the rest of us live by should apply to her. Or perhaps she just really doesn’t care about the potential consequences of her actions.

I’ve never been a fan of public shaming, but there are instances when it seems the most appropriate option. In Ms. Hardin’s case, it seems clear that not much else has worked, so ordering her to stand on a street corner holding a sign seems a step in the right direction. Perhaps the judge is a Nathaniel Hawthorne aficionado, though I doubt that forcing Ms. Harden to wear a scarlet “I” would have the desired impact.

Rules and laws may seem silly and pointless in some instances (Hamlet’s “The law is an ass”), but when it comes to protecting children who don’t always understand the risks automobiles and their drivers pose, they should be rigidly enforced. The alternative is looking the other way until Ms. Harden kills someone’s child in her haste to make it to her destination.

You may not like a law or agree with the idea that it applies to you, but do you really want the death of a child on your conscience?

That’s assuming you even possess a conscience….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on November 16, 2012 6:21 AM.

Denial is more than just a plank in the GOP platform was the previous entry in this blog.

Elections have consequences...and they reveal some truths is the next entry in this blog.

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