A Sorry State of Affairs
If I bump into someone at the Target store, I offer an apology.
Which means I would probably fall over myself to do so if my actions triggered a chain of events that led to the carrier of 13,000 gallons of fuel to crash and explode, in turn knocking out an entire overpass, inconveniencing 160,000 drivers a day.
That is, after I thanked the good Lord for my still being alive.
But that's just me.
That's apparently not Saied Haidarian-Shari.
Haidarian-Shari, the 27-year-old whose car spun out of control at I-75 and 9 Mile on Wednesday, causing a fuel tanker to crash, igniting a whale of a fireball, won't be uttering the words "I'm sorry."
He was approached by those pesky devils at WJBK-TV (channel 2) Thursday night, who asked him if he felt he should apologize.
"No," he said.
Ohhh-kayyy.
He explained why.
“I don’t think I made a mistake.”
I see.
In Haidarian-Shari's defense, he's already given a statement to police, who say that no one has been cited. Yet.
OK, that's enough defending him.
If Haidarian-Shari didn't make a mistake, like he maintains, then that leaves the tanker driver. But police have already said that Haidarian-Shari's car swerved into the tanker, broadsiding it, causing it to tip over, exploding its contents.
And just because there have been no citations yet, doesn't mean Haidarian-Shari's in the clear. Often, in spectacular crashes like this, police take their time before either pressing charges or issuing tickets.
Nothing so far has indicated that the tanker driver did anything wrong.
The not-sorry Saied Haidarian-Shari
And if he had, don't you think that Haidarian-Shari, instead of tritely saying he has nothing to apologize for, would have used the ch. 2 interview as an opportunity to tell us why he's guilt-free?
"It was the other guy's fault!" he would have yammered. "Blame him, not me!"
Or something like that.
Haidarian-Shari's cavalier attitude smacks of smugness of the highest order. And symptomatic of the times we live in.
Something went wrong Wednesday night. And it's likely that something Haidarian-Shari, who only got his driver's license in May, did is to blame.
And don't come at me with charges of ethnic bias, based solely on Haidarian-Shari's name.
I'd be ticked off if the driver was named John Smith.
There's nothing legal that could be held against Haidarian-Shari if he'd simply say, "It was an accident and I'm sorry that it happened."
That's a way to say "I'm sorry" without taking responsibility, if that's what he's afraid of doing.
But Haidarian-Shari seems content to neither accept responsibility nor express any remorse for what happened.
It's amazing no one died, not the least of whom is him.
But hey, Haidarian-Shari doesn't think he made a mistake, so why should he be glad he's still breathing?
Now THAT'S sorry.
******************************
UPDATE:
This appeared in the Detroit Free Press on July 22:
The man police say was responsible for the crash that caused a tanker explosion that destroyed an overpass on I-75 in Oakland County last week has been issued a traffic citation for speeding, according to Michigan State Police.
Police say Saied Haidarian-Shahri, 27, of Clawson lost control of his 2004 Honda Civic on July 15 and struck the fuel tanker. He is required to respond to the Hazel Park District Court within 14 days, police said today.
Transportation
estimates rebuilding the overpass at 9 Mile will cost $2 million and will not be completed before Thanksgiving.
Why am I not surprised?
************************
UPDATE II
July 29
Haidarian-Shahri will take the ticket to court, BUT he finally did offer an apology of sorts, through a statement.
Click HERE for details.
Which means I would probably fall over myself to do so if my actions triggered a chain of events that led to the carrier of 13,000 gallons of fuel to crash and explode, in turn knocking out an entire overpass, inconveniencing 160,000 drivers a day.
That is, after I thanked the good Lord for my still being alive.
But that's just me.
That's apparently not Saied Haidarian-Shari.
Haidarian-Shari, the 27-year-old whose car spun out of control at I-75 and 9 Mile on Wednesday, causing a fuel tanker to crash, igniting a whale of a fireball, won't be uttering the words "I'm sorry."
He was approached by those pesky devils at WJBK-TV (channel 2) Thursday night, who asked him if he felt he should apologize.
"No," he said.
Ohhh-kayyy.
He explained why.
“I don’t think I made a mistake.”
I see.
In Haidarian-Shari's defense, he's already given a statement to police, who say that no one has been cited. Yet.
OK, that's enough defending him.
If Haidarian-Shari didn't make a mistake, like he maintains, then that leaves the tanker driver. But police have already said that Haidarian-Shari's car swerved into the tanker, broadsiding it, causing it to tip over, exploding its contents.
And just because there have been no citations yet, doesn't mean Haidarian-Shari's in the clear. Often, in spectacular crashes like this, police take their time before either pressing charges or issuing tickets.
Nothing so far has indicated that the tanker driver did anything wrong.
The not-sorry Saied Haidarian-Shari
And if he had, don't you think that Haidarian-Shari, instead of tritely saying he has nothing to apologize for, would have used the ch. 2 interview as an opportunity to tell us why he's guilt-free?
"It was the other guy's fault!" he would have yammered. "Blame him, not me!"
Or something like that.
Haidarian-Shari's cavalier attitude smacks of smugness of the highest order. And symptomatic of the times we live in.
Something went wrong Wednesday night. And it's likely that something Haidarian-Shari, who only got his driver's license in May, did is to blame.
And don't come at me with charges of ethnic bias, based solely on Haidarian-Shari's name.
I'd be ticked off if the driver was named John Smith.
There's nothing legal that could be held against Haidarian-Shari if he'd simply say, "It was an accident and I'm sorry that it happened."
That's a way to say "I'm sorry" without taking responsibility, if that's what he's afraid of doing.
But Haidarian-Shari seems content to neither accept responsibility nor express any remorse for what happened.
It's amazing no one died, not the least of whom is him.
But hey, Haidarian-Shari doesn't think he made a mistake, so why should he be glad he's still breathing?
Now THAT'S sorry.
******************************
UPDATE:
This appeared in the Detroit Free Press on July 22:
The man police say was responsible for the crash that caused a tanker explosion that destroyed an overpass on I-75 in Oakland County last week has been issued a traffic citation for speeding, according to Michigan State Police.
Police say Saied Haidarian-Shahri, 27, of Clawson lost control of his 2004 Honda Civic on July 15 and struck the fuel tanker. He is required to respond to the Hazel Park District Court within 14 days, police said today.
Police did not say how fast Haidarian-Shahri was traveling at the time.
Why am I not surprised?
************************
UPDATE II
July 29
Haidarian-Shahri will take the ticket to court, BUT he finally did offer an apology of sorts, through a statement.
Click HERE for details.
Greg,
ReplyDeleteThat is a sad statement on our society. It is rare to find the person who will admit to making a mistake or hurting another person. Seemingly, everybody blames others for all of their own foibles and erors.
Another technique is to apologize, "If you believe that I did something wrong" (Monica Conyers and others)! That is not an apology - it just sounds like one.
So, when some clown races at 70 mph in a 50 mph zone, loses control of his car, slams into a tanker, with the result of a destroyed bridge and countless hours of inconvenience for thousands of other folks, it is no surprise when he says that he is not sorry - it has become the M.O. of our society.
Our kids (and adults, too) need more role models who can admit when they are wrong. After all, the admission of guilt is the first step toward restoring one's name and credibility, as well as the first step toward traveling in the paths that will minimize the likelihood of repeating the error.
Keep up the great writing. I just discovered your site on Saturday. I will be a regular reader from this point forard!
Detroit Sports James
(DSJ)
Thanks, DSJ! Appreciate you stopping by and commenting.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree; no one wants to take responsibility for their own actions anymore!